Royal Security Force HQ in Tawitawi

General Headquarter
Royal Security Force
Camp Dayang Muranapsa Kiram
Tanjong, Tubig-Indangan, Simunul
State of Tawi-tawi

STATE OF TAWI-TAWI, those words struck me, not with amusement but more with curiosity and interest.

It was still morning when I hired a (overpriced!) motorcycle to bring me around Simunul Island in the province of Tawi-tawi. While motoring at a dirt road, with me just behind the driver, a group of native huts caught my attention.

It wasn’t for the architecture of the huts but it was the flag beside the Philippine flag as well as the signage at the wooden board. I’m not so familiar with the workings of the Sultanate of Sulu but the State thing was something new.

The flag has similarities with the Sultan Khairam III flag with the same colors of yellow and green but differs in the lower color, the placement of the stars and the form of the kris.

After taking some shots, we continued with our trip.

Simunul is an island off the main island of Tawitawi and is famed for having parts of the oldest mosque in the Philippines. Wooden motorized boats ply the Bongao-Simunul route leaving around noon at the old Chinese pier.