This Christmas season these people are spreading to the most populous places in Metro Manila. They are often seen at Claro M. Recto in Quiapo. Among the shoppers and jeepney shoppers they will find themselves chasing after a small coin, begging. In the ordinary days boaters would find them on the pier, arrivals and departures of Manila where they were seen floating aboard small boats. Such was the case, the passengers waving their hands, asking for a dime. Inviting them to throw it into the water and simultaneously dive and head out with the coins they chased under the sea. Well done and dive and swim. Their appearance is remarkable. Corn hair shades their hair and burns in the intense sunlight on their skin. They are the ones called Badjao! Who are they? Where did they come from and why are they here in the City? Little is known about the Badjao.

In 1957 a film was made by the legendary director Lamberto Avellana under LVN Films about these groups titled "Badjao". Critics say this is the first film that has smartly portrayed the Badjao culture.

Starring veteran artists Tony Santos, Vic Silayan, Leroy Salvador and Rosal Rosal. The movie is about the son of a Badjao who fell in love with and married a Moro or Muslim leader's daughter. The film depicts the conflicting views of the Badjao and the Moors which seems to have been stuck to the crumbling rock. Eventually the two groups reached a peace agreement.

It has been more than fifty years since the film was released. It is still unclear what and where the Badjao came from. Just as being immersed in the film is also forgetting the identity of the Badjao. Of all the so-called "Indigenous groups" in the Philippines they are probably lacking in understanding and education.

The Badjao are called "Sea Gypsies" or people who wander not on land but on the ocean. They are usually found in the Celebes and Sulu oceans in the Southern part of the Philippines. The provinces of Tawi-Tawi, Sulu, Basilan and Zamboanga have the largest population of Badjao in the Philippines. They are known for colorful boats called "Vinta". They usually live on the seashore in houses called "house on stilts" or in boat boats. They are known as good fishermen and ocean fishermen. Their lives in the ocean are very different. They had a custom where they were thrown into the sea and their newborn baby and the elders of the tribe would take care of them.

Because of the riots brought by the rebels in Mindanao, the Badjao were forced to leave their homeland and move to Sabah, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Part I