FOR THE first time, bloggers based in South Cotabato (BrVince, Aethen), Sarangani Province (that’s me), and General Santos (Avel, Hecky, and Job with his wife, Leizel) held a meetup to get to know each other and to start something new.

In this pic: Job and his wife, Liezl, Sir Avel, Sir, Hecky,
BrVince, Me, and Aethen.

Sir Avel, who organized the meeting, was first to arrive. I and Aethen arrived next. I felt so awkward at first for two reasons: first, I will be meeting people I have never met before, and second, the place intimidated me. Good thing, Sir Avel was nice. We have already ordered some stuff on the menu when Br. Vince arrived.

THE THIRD day was a busy day. We woke up early to get things done smoothly. By eight o’clock, the kids and their parents will already be at the school grounds.

The tasks were divided among us. Some were assigned at the kitchen. Others took charge of the program. I accompanied Sir Leo, Sir Jef, and Sir Boy when they prepared the stage. They used banigs for backdrop, which, I learned were woven by the B’laans themselves. The banigs were the same as the ones I mentioned in my Youngblood article. Sir Boy added grasses and native flowers.

WE WOKE up to a beautiful morning in Sofan. Beautiful because it was the kind of morning we wished to have that day. The sun was clothed with gray clouds so that it would not scorch our skin as we follow the trek to Kiangkos.

We had one worry, though the horses set to fetch the goods have not arrived yet. How were we supposed to bring those 11 sacks of Christmas packages knowing that the trek would be difficult and that there were only nine of us?

A decision was made. We started walking at 8:25 am hoping we would meet along the way those who were contacted to haul the goods. Anyway, the horses walk faster than we do; it would not take long before they catch up on us.

There were two routes we chose from: the one passing by Canaan and the one through Amlitus. The former is about an hour and a half longer, the latter is steeper. With all the reasons considered, we chose the second one.

We were so filled with excitement as we began walking. There was a question that we only laughed at, Could our two older companions or the only woman in the pack make it to the end of the trek?

Sir Robert Mendoza, who teaches at the school in Sofan was asked to come with us and without hesitations, he became part of the pack.

In that journey, we were nobody but simply Sir Boy, Sir Dading, Sir de Paz, Sir Simon, Sir Rimar, Sir Nilo, Sir Robert, Ma’am Judith, and Sir Ariel, who would do our best to survive the trek.

Soon after crossing the river, we arrived at Sitio Calonlama, which is already part of the Municipality of Malapatan. The river divides the Malapatan and Alabel, so for the whole length of the journey, we were walking on the soils of two municipalities.

Every village we passed by had a name, which I found difficult to remember both because they are difficult to say and to spell.

The rock formations and shape of hills were spellbinding but the fact that cogon grows where trees should be was saddening. Those hills I believe were once forests but they were now turned into grasslands due maybe to kaingin. On the sides of the mountains were patches of land used for cultivating corn, the major product of the place. We could not imagine how the locals toiled to plant their crops on very steep mountainsides.

Several springs occurred at some points along the way. Some were simply moisture dripping from rocks on the, others were breathtaking waterfalls. If we had the luxury of time, we could have soaked ourselves in the cool water. So, we just made do with looking at the refreshing sights.

I HAVE heard of Kiangkos so many times, especially during elections, but I have never been there. So, packed with excitement to discover a new place, I carried by backpack and headed to the DepEd District Office of East Alabel, Sarangani Province where the journey would officially start.

A truck they call Weapon would pick us up from there and would take us to Sitio Sofan.

While waiting for the truck, I got to know who were going to go on the trip with me. There was Mr. Diosdao Sichon, the District Property Custodian, who was my mathematics teacher in grade five, Mr. Ferdinand Simon, Principal of Kiangkos Primary School before he was transferred to Famorcan, Mr. Nilo Abag, who had taught in Canaan Primary School, Mr. Rimar Pañares, who had been a teacher in Kiangkos for two years, and Mrs. Judith Maghirang, the district nurse.

All of them had been to Kiangkos once in their lives. Only I and Mr. Casalan, who is about at retiring age already, were first-timers.

The truck arrived already fully packed with people and sacks of goods. We loaded the 11 sacks of gifts we would be distributing to the kids in Kiangkos.

There was barely enough space for all of us. Mr. Sichon and Mr. Pañares had to be on the hood of the trucks head while Mr. Casalan, Mr. Abag, and I had to fight for space with other passengers among the goods.

The other passengers were residents of sitios in Brgy. Pag-asa who took the chance of enjoying this difficult for free. The truck occasionally delivers farm produce to Gen. Santos City and returns with goods to sell to the communities in the barangay.

In the first few minutes, the ride was smooth. So, even if I was standing on one foot while leaning partly on the sacks, one hand on the rope that tied the cargoes together, I was still able to snap shots of the magnificent sights behind us silhouettes of hills and the Sarangani Bay glimmering beneath the golden sun.

I WAS gone for three days because?our trekking to Sitio Kiangkos, Brgy. Pag-asa, Alabel, Sarangani Province. I have not taken enough rest yet so I will be telling you about it soon. There’s a lot of work for me to do here as the official documentor of the event. The Alabel East District officials expects me to compose a narrative report?of the journey, which they will be submitting to the DepEd Sarangani Division Office. I am still writing it now and I am organizing the pictures to accompany the report. I’ll be posting a copy of it on this blog, too.

NO LESS than?Sec. Jesus Dureza of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process graced the Kapayapaan Atin ‘To Peace Forum as part of the 5th MunaTo Festival, November 26 at the Capitol Gymnasium.

Gov. Migz Dominguez explains to Sec. Dureza (left)
and to a Dole Executive the Peace Programs
that are implemented in Sarangani Province.

The Peace Forum also marks the start of the Mindanao Week of Peace.

Highlighted in the event were the Kalinaw Sarangani and From Arms to Farms programs.

AKIN TO the popular white water rafting, adventure-seekers would surely find the white water tubing in New La Union Maitum, Sarangani equally enjoyable.

Photo from Mindanao.com

You can’t imagine the adrenaline rush you could get from riding an inflated tire interior tube, popularly named salbabida, on a rapidly-flowing river that is occasionaly studded with rocks and boulders.