Rounding Cotabato

Sometimes, stories heard in the news or in national broadsheets were exaggerated and over hyped. News on how unsafe or how dangerous the places in Central Mindanao were just ‘misdescription’ of the actual condition of the areas which are predominantly populated by our brothers of the Moslem faith.

Through the years, media may have delivered horror stories of strife and crimes in Maguindanao, Cotabato and ARMM. The news caused fear in us and the rest of the Filipinos. We were frightened that such troubles may fan out to nearby land and eventually spread out to the Visayas and Luzon.

The events of Mindanao’s past continued to dwell in the minds of those who were informed through the broadsheets and broadcasts. These have caused us to form judgments on how this part of Mindanao would never rise up from its sunken state.

Neneng (GLODIA) and Takeshi

Of course my personal safety and security is foremost in my mind. This is my primary concern when the dealer rep and I decided to take the road to Cotabato City for the very first time. It’s another first in my 2-year stint in my company. We took the less popular route that connects Koronadal City in South Cotabato to the seat of ARMM for a time, Cotabato City. The road was very good, except for the portions after a fork that leads to either the Awang Airport or the city center of Cotabato. 

After a day of covering hospitals and laboratories in General Santos City, we drove to South Cotabato’s capital Koronadal City and spent a night at a pension house. The capital is also known as Marbel and it started out as a town in 1947 and had progressed and made into a city in the year 2000.

Koronadal had its share of horrible stories. In May 2003, 10 people were killed while several others were wounded when a bomb exploded at the city market. People believed that the carnage was the result of the fallout of the peace talk between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (which was a rebel group).

In August of 2007, a twin explosion happened in a Yellow Bus Line Terminal in Koronadal killing 12 people. It was said to be an extortion attempt but eventually it was described as an attempt to terrorize the people of Marbel. But stories were revealed later on that the bombing was for the extortion, as the bus owner admitted that the extortion group Al-Khobar demanded 2 million pesos from him.

The present-day Koronadal is a grown city which was dubbed as one of the most competitive and business-friendly cities of the Philippines. With its prime location in the valley between the Roxas and Quezon mountain ranges enriched with resources from the surrounding rivers and lakes, the agri-based city had overcome the horrors of bomb explosions. Spending the night in Koronadal was a sound decision. The city is after all ready to grow a little bit further.

We left the city of Koronadal at 7am. A long stretch of highway commenced at the city rotunda that led to the adjacent province of Sultan Kudarat. The road, concrete and wide, cuts through fields of corns, rice paddies and pineapple plantation. Then a break from the tracts of crops we passed minutes after we reached the boundary of South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat. From then on, there were no more crops. The untilled lands were dotted with small houses made of palm leaves, bamboo and local lumber.

We reached the city of Tacurong in Sultan Kudarat. I made several visits to this city before to cover clients in the academe and in the water treatment industry. It used to be called as ‘Pamansang’ then later changed to ‘Talakudong’ in reference to the Maguindanaoan head covering.  Finally, the place was called Tacurong and was made into a component city of Sultan Kudarat in 2000.

Just like Koronadal, the city of Tacurong had an awful history of bomb explosions, Five people were killed in a blast in 2007. Seemed that the bomb was intended for the politicians and the policemen who were having a meeting at the nearby building. The bomb went off in a billiard hall and at the passenger terminal building. This carnage was traced to the Jemaah Islamiyah group.

A year earlier, 4 people were killed from a blast in a crowded public market in Tacurong. Explosions also happened in the town of Makilala, North Cotabato and the city of Cotabato on the same day that brought the number of fatalities to 33. Jemaah Islamiyah was said to be responsible for both butcheries.

Passing through Tacurong’s vast plantation of palm trees, I could not help but ponder on the terror that the bombings had caused the people of Tacurong.  The city has suffered from the disturbance. But just like after any storm, lives had continued and Tacurong had shown how it could rise up above its suffering.

Tacurong is just a few kilometres away from Sultan Kudrat’s capital Isulan. The first class municipality boasts of its stunning capitol complex, a huge building that looked like a mosque. The imposing structure of the provincial capitol had a gold-painted dome and white arches. Taking a photo with the capitol as background makes one think that you travelled to countries such as Brunei Darrusalam or peninsular Malaysia.

Provincial Capitol of Sultan Kudarat

 

The province of Sultan Kudarat was formed when the rich-province of Cotabato was divided into 3 provinces in 1973. Out of the division emerged the provinces of Maguindanao, North Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat. President Marcos signed the decree to divide the huge province of Cotabato for the intention of handling political, economic and social concerns and to establish safe, stable and economically viable local units.

The province of Sultan Kudarat was named after Sultan Mohammed Dipatuan Kudarat who ruled over the Sultanate of Maguindanao in the 17^th century. Sultan Kudarat was deemed as the anchor for unity and freedom among various tribes and inhabitants in Maguindanao. A concrete statue of the ruler of the sultanate stood atop a round ball several meters away from the capitol.

Rotunda of Sultan Kudarat

 

Isulan was not spared from the troubles that plagued the rest of Cotabato. Last June 2008, 10 people were injured when a bomb went off at a drugstore and at an Iglesia ni Cristo complex.  Sultan Kudarat is one of the most ‘bombed’ provinces in the country. Six months after, an explosion happened at the town’s public market near the previously bombed Mercury drugstore, injuring more than 10 people.

Then we exited the province of Sultan Kudarat and entered the heart of Cotabato which is the province of Maguindanao. Most people would think that the road condition going to Datu Odin is poor and rough. We were surprised to see how smooth and good the highway was until the part when we reached Awang in Cotabato City.

Passing through a couple of towns in Maguindanao, one would be reminded of how the province was severely ravaged from the political, religious and cultural clashes of decades past. You would see several abandoned buildings, destroyed houses and empty shops. The province had huge empty lands that were not cultivated, contrary to fields of crops in Koronadal and Sultan Kudarat.

Passing through Maguindanao makes one think how the people missed the opportunity to grow crops on these lands. Maybe the Maguindanaoans were traumatized by the troubles from the past. Instead of crops growing from their lands, evacuation sites sprout like fungi which grow in colonies. The evacuees were the people of Moslem faith.

The displaced people live in makeshift houses and tents donated by the government and various international organizations like the International Red Cross, the United Nations and Japan-BIRD.  The evacuation sites had become a semi-permanent as the evacuees chose to remain in the sites out of fear that trouble may strike anytime they would return to their homes.

The portions before the town of Datu Odin Sinsuat had been the focal point of several military operations against terrorist groups. But after years and years of under the shadow of fear, hatred and trouble, Maguindanao has yet to start the road to recovery and healing.

Travelling through the towns of Maguindanao, fear became my companion. We passed by several checkpoints and military detachments and we’d seen several military armoured tanks and trucks loaded with soldiers and men in tropical camouflage uniforms. The presence of these elements could paint a picture of a land as a hot spot for operations and insurgent activities. Seeing these elements made me think that peace has not yet arrived in Maguindanao.

The Maguindanaoans had a passion for music of the Kulintang. A lot of records state that the fascinating culture of these ethnic group revolves around the music from the special type of gong that is used my both Muslim and non-Muslim groups in southern Philippines. After all, the Maguindanaoans are said to be the sixth largest ethnic group in the country. Their kulintang may be the symbol of their culture.

The music of the Kulintang may have been replaced with the sounds of war. Music from the rapid machine guns and mortars may have drowned the ears of many. The visions of military operations have driven them to temporary shelters and camps secured with wire fences and bamboo posts.

Maguindanao has then reduced in size when the 80th province was formed in 2006. The new province was called Shariff Kabunsuan, named after Shariff Mohammed Kabungsuwan from Johore, Malaysia who introduced Islam to the Cotabato Valley in the 15th century. The new province was short-lived as it was dissolved a few years after by the supreme court and the towns under the nullified province was returned to Maguindanao.

We passed by the town of Shariff Aguak. The road passing through this capital town is one of the less-travelled highways. It was once called Maganoy. Neneng of GLODIA told me that her parents were from this place. They used to have hectares of land here but they sold it and moved to Bukidnon to escape from the horrors of fighting. A couple of years ago, the highway was being avoided by motorist because of series of attacks done to civilians.

Shariff Aguak (Maganoy)

 

Five were killed and fourteen people were wounded in 2006 when a car bomb exploded at a roadside in Shariff Aguak . The bombing was aimed at the convoy of vehicles led by Gov. Ampatuan. The act led  to the military operations in the area in the attempt to capture the leaders of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

The heavy fightings in Shariff Aguak had displaced at least 2,000 people. Aside from the capital town, there were also heavy fighting in Datu Piang, Datu Unsay and Mamasapano towns. MILF had Camp Omar as their base. The militia had zeroed in on Camp Omar and had undertaken tactics to seize the camp and arrest the major rebel leaders of MILF namely Jamil Ombra and Sajid Pakiladatu.

The government and the MILF made several attempt to open peace talks to end the years of strife and heavy fighting in the ravaged Cotabato basin. Part of the peace process or the restoration thereof are the road projects that would open Maguindanao to the rest of island. Part of this road network is the stretch from Shariff Aguak to Datu Odin Sinsuat.

Datu Odin Sinsuat is the last town before one reaches Cotabato City from the Koronadal City. The town functions more as a major checkpoint that intercepts any plans to bomb Cotabato.

A commuter van was stopped in the town when the military discovered the bomb. Last month, an improvised explosive device was discovered in one barangay while two bombs were also discovered in another barangay of Datu Odin. These explosives were defused.

We passed by several checkpoints in Datu Odin. Several kilometres more and the road had gradually changed from excellent to poor condition. At Awang, traffic began to build up as we enter Cotabatao City via Sinsuat Avenue. This is the major road that passes through the heart of Kuta Wato.

We reached the city of Cotabato at past 10 am. It was once the regional capital of Central Mindanao. Back in the ‘70s, Cotabato City was at the forefront of economic development in southern Philippines. People from Luzon and Visayas migrated to Cotabato. This region is blessed with the a generally pleasant climate, away from the typhoon belt and protected by the mountain ranges in the north and in the southwest.

Cotabato had seen better days. Datus and sultans used to rule the land where people recognize their authority. Spain took a long time to penetrate this predominantly Muslim place. The Christian arm was able to put hold on the soils of Cotabato in the 19th century.  But it was only when a civil government was established in 1914 when Christians from Luzon and Visayas migrated to Cotabato City.

Cotabato Regional Medical Center

 

Progress came to the city after its liberation from Japanese occupation in 1945. Cotabato became a hodgepodge or melting pot of all ethnic, socio-cultural and religious groups. It had risen as a commercial and industrial center of Mindanao.

Now Cotabato serves as a seat of two regions: Region XII and ARMM. Eventually, government offices for Region 12 would be moved to either Koronadal or General Santos City in South Cotabato while the administrative offices of ARMM might either remain in Cotabato or in Lanao.

The Cathedral's Bell Tower Vs McDonald's Arches

 

Cotabato City will be celebrating its 50th or golden anniversary in June. With the 50 years as a city, the people of Cotabato had seen the ups and downs of growth and progress. It has its first mall, a couple of national fast food outlets, a new city hall. According to the author, Thomas Mackenna, Cotabato City remains the principal commercial center for the Cotabato basin.

A common sighting

He said that ethnic diversity is a noted feature of Cotabato City. There’s a strong migration activity that happened centuries before that resulted to a mix of Chinese, Cebuanos, Ilonggos, Tagalogs, Ilocano and the Maguindanaoan inhabitants. Because of the diversity, “Tagalog” is the primary tongue in use.

The Polangui or the Rio Grande de Mindanao that runs through the city is the only witness to how the city faced the passing of time. Some years in the past the city was plagued with bombings and fighting between the military and the MILF as well as other extortionist groups.

Last year, a bomb in a WEENA bus was exploded when the owner refused to give money to extortionists. Bus operations were suspended because of the incident that injured several people.

Cotabato was put to the limelight when a kidnapped Korean national was released in 2002 at the time when President Arroyo was in the city. Kidnapping and abduction activities in the early 2000 had been major discouragement for Cotabato’s road to progress and glory.

We spent the night in the city, at a hotel across the South Seas Mall. Contrary to what others thought about Cotabato, visitors could find peace and safety at night. I was able to get sleep without worries.

Old Steel Bridge

We left the city before lunch. We exited thru the dilapidated Quezon Bridge that spanned the mighty Polangui River. We passed by the strife torns town of Pigcawayan and Libungan as well as the deceivingly tranquil waters of Lake Labas.

Pigcawayan and Libungan, Along with the towns of Midsayap, Aleosan and Pikit were the sites of heavy clashes last year between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the military. The Moro rebels occupied these towns displacing over 100,000 people who fled for the lives and moved out to safer places. Several evacuation sites were put up for the displaces people of North Cotabato.

We drove as fast as we could and reached Midsayap at lunch time. Midsayap is one of the progressive towns of North Cotabato with a couple of big hospitals located at the center. We covered these two important hospitals and made a quick stop for a lunch of vegetables and ice cold coke ‘litro’.

Empty Coke Litro

We hurried a bit as we passed by the towns of Aleosan, Pikit, Kabacan and Matalam before we made a detour to the town of Mlang. We decided to skip the capital city of Kidapawan since the city was on a holiday to celebrate its charter day.

Mlang is an old town of Cotabato having been inhabited by the Bagobos hundreds of years before the arrival of the Spaniards. The town’s name was derived from the word “tamlang” which means “bamboo.”  A first class municipality backed by its agricultural foundation, Mlang is a major producer of rice in Mindanao.

Mlang, North Cotabato

We made a brief stop to the Mlang to visit my dealer’s clients. Mlang was heavily affected by flood and pests in 2007 which placed it under the state of calamity. In August of last year, a bomb was discovered in a public swimming pool and was detonated. Several others were found at a nearby school and a bakery. These bombs were believed to be planted by MILF elements in their objectives to wreak fear and disorder in North Cotabato.

Soon as we were done with our field work, we hurriedly left the town and hit the road again at 3pm. We took the east road towards the town of Makilala and bypassed the capital city of Kidapawan. Before dusk, we were already out of the woods of Cotabato.

Before we even made a right turn towards Bansalan, Davao del Sur, a convoy of SUVs, police cars and military trucks were behind us. Neneng and I were engulfed with fear as we pulled to the road side and allow the convoy to pass. We do not want to get near to any convoy of this type for they could make the convoy an easy target for rebel and extortion groups.

Them Soldiers

We allowed the string of government vehicles to proceed a hundred meters further before we went back to the road again. It was dusk when we emerged from the outskirts of Digos City, Davao del Sur.

We spent 3 days in rounding up Cotabato. In those 3 days, I came to the point of accepting that Cotabato has been trying its best to move on in spite the awful events of its past. I definitely agree that Cotabato was painted differently in the newspapers and by media as whole. The negative articles about these places had caused setbacks in their hopes of ever rising from the horrible events of fighting, of strife and of disorder.

In rounding Cotabato, I came to the point of hoping for an end to terrorism, to displacement of innocent people, to the suffering and fear caused by worthless fighting. The valley needs to experience peace and order once again.

I realized how lucky I was to live in a place where I could sleep peacefully at night; where I could go to public places without the fear of any explosions; where I could hit the higgway without fearing for ambushes or attacks.

In rounding Cotabato,  I began to believe that it still had chances to be better in the days to come.