[9][8] Under a treaty concluded by exchange of notes dated 3 and 10 July 1907,[10] the two countries agreed that the administration of the islands would continue to be carried on by the British North Borneo Company, with that arrangement to end should an international boundary treaty end it or should either government give the other government one year's notice.

[16] The Treaty of Peace concluded in Paris between the United States and Spain on 10 December 1898, which ended the Spanish-American War.

[8] The 1930 international treaty dealing with the transfer of administration of the Turtle Islands including Taganak contained the following provision:[14] In the event of (the administration) of the Island of Taganak...being transferred, the United States Government will give favorable consideration to the question of the compensation to be paid to the (British North Borneo Company) in respect of the capital expenditure incurred by the company in connection with the lighthouse situated on the island, and that the United States Government will provide for the future maintenance of the lighthouse.At the time of the transfer of the island the Philippine government rejected the U.K. request that the Philippines pay for the cost of the lighthouse and that they provide for its maintenance in the future.

[16] The Manila government asserted that the obligations contained in the 1930 treaty "presupposes naturally that the lighthouse be in working condition at the time of the transfer and that its operation is necessary and will provide some public benefit to the United States, or its successor, the Philippines".

Manila asserted that the lighthouse had been severely damaged in the war, that it had not been in operation since its destruction, and that the Philippines did not need its service.

[16] The government was willing to lease the site for the lighthouse to North Borneo for one peso per annum, as long as the British needed and used the facility.

[16] The United Kingdom view was that the Philippines was required under the terms of the 1930 treaty concerning the Turtle Islands to maintain the lighthouse in the future.

Lennhoff of the U.S. Army who reported on the Taganak Lighthouse Dispute in the American Journal of International Law assessed the arguments of the British and Philippine sides.

[17] The Turtle Islands were constituted as a 'special municipal district' under the jurisdiction of the province of Sulu under Executive Order 95 signed by President Manuel Roxas on 13 October 1947.

[18] The following year, Executive Order 130 was signed by President Elpidio Quirino providing for regular and more usual local government structures.

[20] The islands are located within the Sulu Sea[21] at the south-western tip of the country, at the edge of the international treaty limits separating the Philippines and Malaysia.

[24] Perhaps owing to its tiny size and the fact it does not have a fresh water source, Sibaung is sometimes omitted from the list of Philippine Turtle Islands.

On Great Bakkungan Island, grey mud quietly flows from the vent in a pulsating manner accompanied by gas bubbling.

[5] Such extrusions are reported to be accompanied by mild earthquakes and evidence of extruded materials can be found high up the surrounding trees because of its explosive character.

Huge amount of materials are discharged from this volcano that drainage was cut on the northern slope of the hill to direct the flow to the sea.

[32] The relative dominance of the settlements is mainly due to the limited land area and the resulting high population density level, which is more than four times the national average.