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.

ON MONDAY until Wednesday, I will be scaling the heights of the mountains in my town for the post Christmas gift-giving dubbed as Tuloy and Pasko ng mga Bata.

I will go with the team composed of DepEd officials of Sarangani to distribute goods and to conduct?a fun day for the kids at Sitio Kiangkos, Brgy. Pag-Asa, Alabel, Sarangani Province.

The area is a mountainous place that is beyond the reach of vehicles. As I’ve heard, we have to walk about 5 hours on a steep trek to get to the place. So we actually set one day for the trip to the area and another one for the journey back home.

ANOTHER BAD news:

Marcie loses her wallet
Primary suspect: fellow LET passer

STILL PISSED?off with PRC, we decided to take our lunch after the chaos called Oathtaking Cermonies of Professional Teachers?last Saturday.

Just before we ordered, we realized that Marcie’s bag was missing. Not so long after, my friend and fellow physics major decided that she had left at the venue, so off she went with Ian.

She was crying when she answered my call, “I saw my bag but my wallet is missing.” She added that the bag was already open when she found it still perched on the chair she occupied several hours ago.

BAD NEWS first:

PRC spoils my day

FOR THE nth time now, the staff of the (un)Professional Regulatory Board Regulation Commision pissed me off. This time, it happened during the Oathtaking Ceremonies pulled off for new professional teachers at the Notre Dame of Dadiangas University.

For entrants into the world of work, the day of making a promise to abide by the laws and to do?their duties well must be inspiring and worth remembering. But in our case, it is one dreadful experience.

The process of filing for a license, which was held at a public school in General Santos City, was very chaotic:

ALL THREE entries of Alabel National Science High School bagged the championship in the recently concluded 2007 Regional Intel Philippines Science Fair.

Me (in white polo) with my students (from L-R) Jasper, Eula, Eilaine, Liezel,
Charles, Robert, Lianne, & Myreal.

In the Life Sciences category Robert Ramos’ study on the removal and recovery of Copper ions?from wastewater got the first place in the individual contest while Charles Fermin Galarrita, Eula Grace?Abella, and Liezel Anne Decripito’s study on the?antimicrobial, and antiurolithiatic property of Nut Grass tuber extract?bagged the first place in the team competition.