Blogs from Mindanao, Philippines, Asia
Hubo Falls, Tupi, South Cotabato
Published: December 9th 2011Asia » Philippines » Mindanao » South Cotabato
December 4th 2011
We are at Hubo Falls , Tupi, South Cotabato on December 4, 2011, Sunday. My friends from Mang Gorio planned to have an excursion. We wished to reach the top of Mount Matutum but since it's a bit difficult, we changed the plan. Glenn set up the necessities for our adventure to Hubo. He instructed me to be present at exactly 6 am in our meeting place at Tupi. The weather is not good. When I checked the accuweather, it forecasted that the day in General Santos will be rainy. The scheduled 6 am was moved to 7 am. Koronadal City experienced a heavy rain too and most of the group resided in that area. Despite the bad weather, we don't want to change the plan. The plan is to get wet,so it is either in ... read more
Equating Iligan - Maayong Iligan
Published: August 21st 2011Asia » Philippines » Mindanao » Lanao del Norte » Iligan
August 21st 2011
When people speak of Maria Cristina Falls, it always equates to Iligan City, as it is the seat of power in Mindanao - that is, Hydroelectric Power. But when we say Iligan City, does it equate only to Maria Cristina Falls? NO. Iligan is an 81,337-hectare highly urbanized city which was chartered on June 16, 1950 and became a lone district in October 20, 2009. Iligan City is blessed with 23 waterfalls, the most famous of which is the Maria Cristina Falls located inside the National Power Corporation’s Agus VI & VII Hydroelectric Power Plant Complex. A nature’s park was developed in the compound to give tourist more activities to do like the 4-span zipline that crosses the Agus River and gives a good view of the area and the falls. It also plays host to ... read more
Tree Planting at Nga Bango, Koronadal City
Published: September 7th 2011Asia » Philippines » Mindanao » South Cotabato
June 29th 2011
We plant fruit-bearing trees as an expression of our social responsibility. On June 29, 2011, the City of Koronadal in their tree planting project targeted to plant 100,000 seedlings of fruit trees. I am so glad that I am a part of it. Being a consumer of fresh fruits, I can't imagine if all those trees will bear delicious fruits after 3-5 years. I wake up at around 4 a.m. to prepare myself in a half-day activity. The participants were composed of students, employees, members of civic organizations and residents of the city. We convened in the City Hall at around 6 a.m. Our group will be assigned at Nga Bango while others will be in the nearby mountains surrounding Koronadal City. We have to walk from the highway for about 30 minutes to reach Nga ... read more
Langgal, Ninoy Aquino, Sultan Kudarat
Published: May 6th 2011Asia » Philippines » Mindanao » South Cotabato
May 6th 2011
On April 30, 2011, we visited an officemate's place to attend her birthday celebration. We convene at the store where we all work at 9 am. From Koronadal City to Isulan, it took us 1 hour to travel by bus. We traveled through jeepney in our long journey to mountainous area of Sultan Kudarat. The jeepney is a public transportation where we have to wait for other passengers while they load there goods such as sacks of rice, groceries and big bags and cartoons. In the mountain, the cellular phone signal is not available. In our way, the vehicle can pass in a one-way road. It’s a unique and terrifying experience for those who are not use to it. The road is partially cemented and there is an on-going road renovation. It’s a sunny day and ... read more
May 1st 2011
Jimenez is an old, rustic town in the Province of Misamis Occidental in Mindanao Island, the Philippines. It is home to an old Spanish Catholic church and a number of elegant old wooden ancestral homes. It is a 4th municipality with a population of 24,326 as of the census year 2007. The town is about 15-20 minutes from Ozamiz City, where the main sea-port and airport are located. The main mode of transportation to Jimenez is by a public bus, van, or a jeepney. Old ancestral homes Upon arrival, any first-time visitor will certainly notice the old wooden ancestral homes that still dot the town. Many of these great houses are well-maintained although a good number needed some urgent rehabilitation. One thing that differentiates the ancestral homes of Jimenez from other places in the Philippines is ... read more
December 17th 2010
I am a little bit tired to start an exciting nature trip to Tantangan. It is December 5, 2010. I arrived late at MUTI building located at Osmena St., Koronadal City based on the agreed time which is 6 am. It takes 5 minutes walk from my boarding house. The travel to Tantangan where our initial place to start walking only takes us less than 1 hour travel by truck. Tantangan, where Buayan elementary school is located is a small municipality near Koronadal City. We arrived in a small village with less than 20 households. Most of the inhabitants were muslims. Kids are helping their parents in farming and gathering firewoods. A nice huts made in bamboo and kogon leaves are their common type of house. We have a small talk while walking to the falls. ... read more
October 5th 2010
Lake Maughan Early in the morning of October 3, 2010 , everyone in the group is excited to see Lake Maughan. Sundae is busy distributing “pastel” , a cooked rice with fried beef chunks wrapped in banana leaves, to each of us. I bought 2 pieces for 5 pesos each. After 1 hour of waiting , the army truck arrived. There are 29 hikers and 3 army in the truck. We headed to municipality of Tboli. The truck leaved Koronadal City at around 7 am. To reach Lake Maughan, we need to pass a rough road for 30 minutes from the Tboli public market. While on travel, we saw plantation of banana, pineapple and corn. We passed the 2 rivers and the first river has a bridge while the other one has no bridge. If there ... read more
Where I live
Published: August 28th 2010Asia » Philippines » Mindanao » South Cotabato » General Santos
August 28th 2010
I reside in the Socsksargen Area in Mindanao, Philippines. So I'm going to talk about my hometown and its outskirts first of all. I grew up in Gensan, officially known as General Santos City, named after its founder Gen. Paulino Santos. It lies at the southernmost tip of the Philippine map, cradled between mountains and the seas. ------------------------- The article below narrating the history of the city is taken from the Wikipediahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Santos_City#History HISTORY OF GENERAL SANTOS CITY On February 27, 1939, General Paulino Santos led the first and largest batch of settlers organized under the National Land Settlement Administration to the shores of Sarangani Bay. The 62 pioneers, who mostly came from Luzon, industriously tilled Cotabato's fertile expanse of land. After this first influx of pioneers, thousands more from Luzon and Visayas ... read more
Dakak: The Forgotten Resort
Published: August 15th 2010Asia » Philippines » Mindanao » Zamboanga del Norte » Dapitan
August 15th 2010
Filipinos don't realize just how beautiful Mindanao is. When Mindanao comes to mind, one word immediately pops out: WAR. Even if the news only headlines provinces like Jolo, Sulu and Basilan, most 'Pinoys' plan trips as far away from Mindanao as they can, thus ignoring the hidden and sometimes even exposed beauty of this southern island. I have been to different places in Mindanao and I had fun going there. One of my favorite places in Mindanao is Dakak Resort in Zamboanga Del Norte. When you enter the resort, you will be welcomed by their hotel staff who are incredibly friendly and impressively efficient. Other than having great service, the resort also boasts an amazing white sand beach. It also offers fine food. My only concern is that the hotel needs to upgrade its Wifi facilities ... read more
