Yesterday, I got an e-mail from my friend, Rico Valmonte. Rico is an NGO worker in Basilan, and he was my guide when I went to Basilan last February (2007). Rico had written a short article about Basilan, and the present situation there. He asked that I share it with our readers here on Mindanao Blog, so here it is.

Bob

After  more or less 3 years of seemingly living in a peaceful environment, Basilan is once again in danger of becoming a haven for war and terror, a battleground between the Philippine Government and organized lawless elements.

Three years ago or so, I came to Basilan complying to a call by a dear family friend who was the Project Manager of the Christian Children’s Fund Projects in Basilan and incidentally the Executive Director and Founder of the Maluso Outreach Program – then under the umbrella of the Prelature of Isabela’s Isabela Foundation, Inc. I was then designated the Project Development Officer and Technical Assistant to her for the CCF in Basilan.

Rico Valmonte (right)

We had special projects for children and their families in the Island together with the Philippine Army then headed by Col Raymundo Ferrer (now,  Maj. General of the 6ID in Cotabato City).

Having been so much involved in community development projects, I saw myself being in one of the Philippine’s “Paradise Island” helping children and their families pick up the pieces of their lives after 30 years of war and aggression. Our partners – the Philippine Army’s 1st Division headed by then Brigade Commander Ray Ferrer. We brought the soldiers to the hearts of the people whom they have feared for so long and gained their trust.

My boss would call me anytime and ask me to sit with her to plan for projects for communities which will always involve the military and the lay people especially community leaders who are well respected by their peers. We’d sit from 4:00 in the afternoon until the mostly passed midnight, planning for whatever projects we can have which will involve the “once-dreaded military men in uniform”.

With the on-going regular programs of the CCF in Basilan, penetrating the most elusive clans in the area to join in some of the projects and bestow trust and confidence between themselves were easy as it was contrastingly looked like. Soon people came to realize the true meaning of “Peace” will always start from what they believe to be peaceful and collaborative.

Unfortunately, it was short-lived. With the death of my boss, I was supposed to be left with that great task of filling in her shoes-that was never realized because of some perpetual belief from the higher authorities.

Struggling to stay alive and visible to the people of Basilan who have known me to be the right-hand of the “mother” whom they have trusted their lives and children including their communities, I stayed and tried to work things out the way “she” wanted it for Basilan. Former employees and friends who were now disgruntled decided to leave the organization and settled to register the Maluso Outreach Program as an organization with its own identity. Fund savings from the original Maluso Outreach Program were never brought with the organization’s registration as an entity. Then we started from scratch without support from known individuals who could have been a great deal of help to get projects for the “newly” organized Maluso Outreach Program, Inc.

Struggling to have projects for the communities in Basilan was still excruciating and painful, as I would beg from organizations to help the people through our organization whom people have seen mingling around with them and even staying with them for a week or two- a thing that no other community worker would dare do in the Island of Basilan unless his or her roots come from that community. Soon a project came. An 8-month  implementation for children’s education which would involve Government Agencies and other stakeholders of the community. It was short-lived.

During that time, I stayed in Basilan for more than two years and found myself  so much involved with the people’s craving to have MOPI do projects for their communities-one which I would only have to silently cry for trying to make myself believe that “I will get those projects for you”.

I watched in awe and disbelief when the Philippine Army was pulled out of Basilan. Not wanting to believe, after 3 years of working their hearts out to have peace and serenity with the people, there they go! For them, the New Brigade Commander would say,  “ I have yet to see Basilan as is when I see a foreigner roaming around without any bodyguards with him”. Soon, after a week came, I brought the first ever foreigner to Basilan without even a single bodyguard walk the street from the Port to a fast food restaurant (PGMA’s “ sign of progress” – Jollibee) and waited for our ride.

Bob Martin, an American, who now lives with his wife and children in Davao City, author and web master for www.mindanao.com traveled with me around Isabela City, from the center where the Cathedral is located, the Provincial Capitol, the market site, and long the highway to Lamitan. – Incidentally, he was the first foreigner to go to “Lamitan City” as a City. I brought him to the popular scene of the “Lamitan Siege” where two American missionaries were kidnapped and brought and eventually dragged along in the so-called “great escape”. Before going back to Isabela City, Bob and I were brought to the beautiful place of Bulingan where Bob took pictures of the Bulingan Falls by the driver-engineer, Mr. Oscar Illustrado. What seemed to be a short journey back to Isabela, have otherwise been a long one. We suffered three flat tires coming from Bulingan Falls back to the City of Lamitan. And once waited for a tricycle driver to bring our tire back when we asked for a favor to have it patched.

On the way back to Isabela City, we were praying that no flat tire would again happen during our long travel from Lamitan City. Fortunately! The flat tire really did happen! For the last time we experienced the flat tire, but this time we were back in Isabela city where vulcanizing shops were present. Bob and I rode a tricycle back to the “Landmark of  progress of Isabela City-Basilan” for a quick meal before boarding the fastcraft back to Zamboanga City.

During our travel back, I remembered the Brigade Commander of the 103rd Brigade and sent him a teasing message though SMS. “Sir, I brought the first foreigner tourist in the Island of Basilan, I am sorry I had to do it on my own since you are not there anymore.” He then congratulated me. Funny but beautiful and amazing experience.

That was about a year ago. Now, back to the old ways and ZERO. I had to leave Basilan because I am a father of four beautiful growing kids and a wife who has always been so supportive of me and my dream of helping the oppressed. Now is Cebu, earning a meager salary to help my wife and kids back home In Zamboanga City, I still try to continue to plan for what MOPI should be good in doing for the Island of Basilan. A true “Island of Paradise”.

I am still dreaming of the possibility of working together with the Military present in Basilan to come to a peaceful solution for the benefit of the children who are the ones suffering for their deeds.

Pity the children of Basilan and the families who have yearned to have peaceful and dignified place to live in.

As I write this dream, MOPI is implementing a project for health and nutrition in the Municipality of Maluso funded by the Children’s Hour Philippines for 8 months until February, 2008.

(dedicated to the children of Basilan and Elisa del Puerto’s love and dream for Basilan)
RDV

The one event that I always look forward to when we return to Mindanao on holiday is the family outing. When I say family outing I mean the entire family, those available that is. In the case of our family we have the immediate consisting of two parts direct and extended. The “direct” is my wife’s mother, brothers, sisters, the wives, husbands and their children. The “extended” is when cousins loosely speaking and others who tag along. The other family I call the “greater” which consists of aunts, uncles, cousins and their husbands, wives and children.  This is where serious planning and logistics become crucial.

Before anything else can be done a date has to be set, this can be anything from spontaneous to calendar searching months in advance depending on the guest list or importance of the occasion. Again the occasion can be a public holiday, birthday, wedding or family reunion resulting from the former events. Once the date has been agreed the venue is then chosen this is dependent on the importance of the occasion and the number of people likely to attend and whether it is at a beach resort, hotel, Barangay Hall or whatever venue is convenient.

Kinilaw

Once the date has been set and the venue has been chosen and arranged, all that remains is for the menu to be decided and the chefs (sisters/brothers-in-law) informed and the transport organized. If the outing is following on from a wedding or birthday, usually the food is leftovers from the previous day with the lechon converted into paksiw along with grilled chicken supplemented with barbecued fish/prawns and kinilaw, newly prepared rice and fresh fruits in season. Who would in the West think of having leftovers for a picnic – only a Filipina and her family.

In my time of going back and forth to Mindanao on holiday I’ve attended many family outings at all types of venues and I’ve found the more basic the venue the more pleasurable it usually is.

These outings can take on strange themes, once again depending on the occasion and the venue. If the outing is held at the beach it usually starts with party games and ends up with everyone cooling off in the sea. If it rains whilst at the beach the party games go on a lot longer and the men get tipsy, no way is the party going to be cancelled due to the rain as the beach resort always has shelter and seating.

One particular outing I went to last year with my immediate family involved a trip to a nearby river which had a picnic area. We set off around mid morning once everything and everyone had been loaded aboard my brother in law’s jeepney. The place we visited was in Mambuaya, one of the setting off points for the White Water Rafting that is so popular on the Cagayan de Oro-Bukidnon rivers. When we arrived the women and children went to the picnic area and proceeded to clean it up with improvised brushes and shovels. A fire was then lit in order to burn the collected rubbish, by the way this area is adjacent to a place that is popular with the local laundry for a nearby village and I’m afraid they don’t go the whole hog when it comes to being environmentally friendly. They seemed to appreciate the clean up operation as they smiled a lot.

Very soon everyone was enjoying themselves swimming or watching the various rafting expeditions set off down the river. I also noticed that the helpers from our group proceeded to join the local laundry workers and get on with washing the clothes that they brought with them. Later on I watched the same helpers bring a large bag of shoes and slippers etc to the river bank to also give them the hygiene treatment, I just knew when I saw them boarding the transport there was no such thing as a free lunch. I almost forgot to mention that after everyone had been in the water for sometime, out came the pumice stones and we all got scrubbed down just like in a Turkish bath.  This is what I call a flexible outing.

The day passed very quickly as everyone was enjoying themselves and ate all the food (well most of it) as the local laundry workers were also fed and watered. That’s what I like about the Philippines it’s the spontaneous generosity that they show to others. I just wish that was the norm where we live in the UK as opposed to the exception.
I now know from being a frequent attendee at these outing the meaning of pot luck and just how lucky I am to be able to taste such a wonderful variety of dishes from different cooks using almost the same ingredients but different seasoning. This type of family outing does bind everyone together and it allows each of us to share time, food, memories and laughter – all the ingredients for a happy family outing.