Fortune Island is a resort island in the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

. The 27-hectare (66.7-acre) island lies about 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) off the coast of Nasugbu, Batangas

Batangas

Batangas is a first class province of the Philippines located on the southwestern part of Luzon in the CALABARZON region. Its capital is Batangas City and it is bordered by the provinces of Cavite and Laguna to the north and Quezon to the east. Across the Verde Island Passages to the south is the...

, Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

. The island is located at Latitude: 14° 3' 0 N, Longitude: 120° 28' 60 E; and it is within the boundaries of the Batangas Province.

Shipwrecks

It was near this island (approximately 900 meters (2953 ft) northwest of the island) that the galleon San Diego

San Diego (ship)

The galleon San Diego was built as the trading ship San Antonio before hastily being converted into a warship. On December 14, 1600, the fully laden San Diego was engaged by the Dutch warship Mauritius under the command of Admiral Olivier van Noort a short distance away from Fortune Island,...

was sunk on December 14, 1600 by the Dutch warship Mauritius under the command of Admiral Oliver Van Noort. The shipwreck

Shipwreck

A shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....

 was discovered in 1992 by French underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio

Franck Goddio

Franck Goddio is a French underwater archaeologist. After studying at the École Nationale de la Statistique et de l'Administration Économique in Paris, from which he holds a degree in mathematics and statistics, Franck Goddio held key positions as advisor for national and international...

.

This island has also been the site of modern shipwrecks. On December 13, 1995, the MV Kimelody Cristy, a passenger ferry owned and operated by Moreta Shipping Lines Incorporated, caught fire and sank off Fortune Island as it was on its way to Mindoro

Mindoro

Mindoro is the seventh-largest island in the Philippines. It is located off the coast of Luzon, and northeast of Palawan. The southern coast of Mindoro forms the northeastern extremum of the Sulu Sea.-History:...

, leaving 17 people dead and 16 people missing. On September 20, 1998, the MV Princess of the Orient, a Sulpicio Lines-owned passenger ferry, was caught in a typhoon on its way to Cebu City

Cebu City

The City of Cebu is the capital city of Cebu and is the second largest city in the Philippines, the second most significant metropolitan centre in the Philippines and known as the oldest settlement established by the Spaniards in the country.The city is located on the eastern shore of Cebu and was...

 from Manila

Manila

Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...

 and sank off Fortune Island, resulting in the deaths of 150 people.

Ownership and development

The island was long-owned by Jose Antonio Leviste, a former governor of the Province of Batangas

Batangas

Batangas is a first class province of the Philippines located on the southwestern part of Luzon in the CALABARZON region. Its capital is Batangas City and it is bordered by the provinces of Cavite and Laguna to the north and Quezon to the east. Across the Verde Island Passages to the south is the...

. Leviste opened the Fortune Island Resort Club on the island in 1995. A beach resort was built along a 20-meter (65.6 ft) stretch of pristine white sand. Several rest houses face the water. There is a museum dedicated to the San Diego

San Diego (ship)

The galleon San Diego was built as the trading ship San Antonio before hastily being converted into a warship. On December 14, 1600, the fully laden San Diego was engaged by the Dutch warship Mauritius under the command of Admiral Olivier van Noort a short distance away from Fortune Island,...

. The beach also has an acropolis with Grecian pillars and statues on the edge of the island overlooking the sea. The resort also features a salt-water swimming pool, clubhouse, cabana

Cabana

A cabana or cabaña may mean:Structures:*a small hut built with a thatched roof, most commonly built in tropical climates near bodies of water, or...

, basketball court

Basketball court

In basketball, the basketball court is the playing surface, consisting of a rectangular floor with tiles at either end. In professional or organized basketball, especially when played indoors, it is usually made out of a wood, often maple, and highly polished...

, helipad

Helipad

Helipad is a common abbreviation for helicopter landing pad, a landing area for helicopters. While helicopters are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fabricated helipad provides a clearly marked hard surface away from obstacles where a helicopter can safely...

, desalinator for freshwater consumption, and snakes placed in a mirror cage.
This island has since been parceled out into seven lots reportedly titled in the names of three companies: Fortune Resort Club, Inc., Meridian Pacific Hotel Corp., and Batangas Bay Development, Inc. Leviste holds either majority stocks

Stocks

Stocks are devices used in the medieval and colonial American times as a form of physical punishment involving public humiliation. The stocks partially immobilized its victims and they were often exposed in a public place such as the site of a market to the scorn of those who passed by...

 or has interests in these companies.

Some government officials believe that Leviste’s ownership of Fortune Island underwent “scheming procedures” to acquire both judicial and administrative titles. These officials believe that these titles should never have been granted for two reasons, firstly, the island is classified as a marine reserve

Marine reserve

For the United States Marine Corps Reserve see: Marine Forces ReserveA marine reserve is an area of the sea which has legal protection against fishing or development. This is to be distinguished from a marine park, but there is some overlap in usage...

 under Proclamation 1801, issued in 1978 by President Ferdinand Marcos

Ferdinand Marcos

Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos, Sr. was a Filipino leader and an authoritarian President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He was a lawyer, member of the Philippine House of Representatives and a member of the Philippine Senate...

 and, secondly, Section 16 of Presidential Decree 705  (the Revised Forestry Code), which provides that “areas less than 250 hectares which are far from, or are not contiguous with, any certified alienable and disposable land" are “areas needed for forest purposes and may not, therefore, be classified as alienable and disposable land.” Some government officials further contend that subdividing Fortune Island into lots was a “ploy” to skirt environmental and other pertinent laws.