Bapa's Notes

Traversing Zamboanga Peninsula

Off-road Action

   Traversing Zamboanga Peninsula was one of those unforgettable travels during the late 90’s. Driving through the rough roads of Ipil, Zamboanga del Sur , passing the towns of RT Lim, Siocon, Vitali then finally reaching the busy city of Zamboanga. We were amazed at the performance of our Mitsubishi L-300 Diesel Engine that was able to weather all those rugged terrain and unbearable ditches mostly passable by trucks with engines like Fuso Fighters, 4BC2 Isuzu , that powered those Fish Cargo Trucks. 

    On such travel where only the sound of our car engine and the music from The Platters through our car stereo have interrupted the deafening silence of the forests of Vitali, it was truly nostalgic. There were instances that we passed by some trucks broke down in the midst of those wilderness, some were abandoned to rot in the place. In such wilderness, some 200 kilometers away from the city of Zamboanga, the possibility of getting an early rescue or replacements of malfunction mechanical parts was totally imaginary.

   Remembering the dangerous climb of the famous Tuktuk Kalaw then, and enduring the sludge that disabled our vehicle’s tires to grip against the slimy road, while smoke of carbon bursting from our vehicle’s muffler as our engine accelerates to overcome the gravitational pull, moving upward through those slippery roads with an impossible slope.

    That long difficult travel from Ipil to Vitali lightens a little upon approaching the town of Siocon, the presence of few and far between concrete roads was quite a convenience, we can accelerate up from the sluggish 20 kph speed to a comfortable 40Kph. Reaching Zamboanga City after those long and hard body- beating travel was considered by neophyte drivers like us then as a  morbid test of skills.

 

 

DADIANGAS

 

 

Road to the sea

Travelling on the coastal roads of Saranggani Province, the southernmost coast of Mindanao.The completed roads built by the Japanese engineers, funded by the Americans through the US Aid, I guessed, it is one of the well built coastal road in the country, comparative to the great superhighways of the West. As you cruise over the towns of Maasim, Kiamba and Maitum, then to the opposite, across the generous Sarangani bay are the towns of Alabel and Glan, the sights of white cliffs and crags above the asphalt roads, you will truly appreciate the scenic beauty, mostly seen on Holywood movies. As you drive along the western parts, traversing Maasim, Kiamba and Maitum, in the deep ravines at the left side of the roadway, its refreshing to see the boundless Celebes Sea lying beyond our territorial waters. Across the bay, as you approach Maasim, you can visibly see the White Provincial Government Building of Saranggani, located at Alabel. The rich marine resources of Sarangani Bay has put General Santos City as the Tuna capital of the Philippines, where countless multinational companies operating their tuna cannery plants, all were crowding in Makar Port of Dadiangas. One thing I also remember on those travel were the Giant Sea Clums, sold at P100 each at the place called Cabatiol, a score of minutes drive before reaching Maasim. As we reached Kiamba, vast coconut trees greeted us, from the shorelines up to the mountains. An old Catholic school of Notre Dame served as a welcome landmark in this small town of Kiamba. Today, Kiamba is the home of our famous Filipino pugilist, internationally acclaimed as the greatest boxing fighter of the decade by the American sportswriters, our very own Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao, now a member of the 15 th Congress of the House of Representatives. Leaving Kiamba, one will notice those lush forests that covered the mountain ranges which divide the Saranggani Province from South Cotabato in the northeast. Upon approaching Maitum, another school founded by the Protestant Calvary Church is the Edenton College. I could only imagine how the Ilokanos thrived here where Apong Lakai and Apong Baket were blessed so much and their grandchildren have prospered here Maitum, a thousand miles away from their home region of Ilocos in Luzon. Palimbang, a town of Sultan Kudarat was just 15 kilometers away from Maitum. As a salesmen then, we tried to weigh our options, we even argued with my partner on whether it was worth to open some product outlets in Palimbang or not. We asked the townfolks of Maitum about the market prospect of the place, and the negatives outweigh the positive, so we junked that plan. We returned to our city base in General Santos, thankful that our day was full of adventure and our sales was way above the quota.