Epilogue

While in Mindanao, I ate with members of the MNLF and MILF (now turned government officials or entrepreneurs), stepped on tuna entrails, and skidded down the muddy trails of Mt. Apo. And I had the time of my life.

When I was planning my itinerary weeks before, I planned it in such a way that I would get out of there as soon as possible. Two days into the trip, I was beginning to wish I could stay longer.

***

First things first: Central Mindanao is safe. I'm tempted to say "very safe," but there are, of course, indicators to the contrary.

Like military checkpoints every few kilometers along the highways, and in cities like Cotabato and GenSan.

Like how the mall we went to in Gen San was guarded by the military! Not just security guards, and certainly not security guards with bomb-sniffing dogs, but soldiers in combat fatigues and wielding high-powerd
machine guns.

And like how our very own driver (who himself was a member of the MNLF) was packing heat!!! I found out on Day 2 that he has a .45 caliber pistol and 2 grenades stowed inside our van! He says he brings weapons along when he has guests from Manila, "just in case." I don't even want to know just in case what.

But the bottomline was I felt very safe. In Cotabato City, for example, I never once felt I was in the city that US officials described as a "doormat for terrorists."

***

People always ask me why I went through with my trip to Mindanao. I always tell them that as someone from Manila, I have had my share of foreigners feeling afraid to come here because they see from the news that it's a dangerous place to be. I always tell these people that the news they hear is blown out of proportion, and Manila is not as bad as it looks.

Well, when I was told I was going to Central Mindanao, I asked friends of friends living there and they all said the same thing--that things are not as bad as they are made out to be by the media. And so I went.

***

And the people! I don't think I can ever rave enough how everyone--from the hotel bellboys to the city officials to the farmers-turned-entrepreneurs--were nice, warm, gracious, charming, and accommodating. (And the men were pretty good-looking too!)

Cynical Eric says they were only being nice because I was from the media, but I insist that's not the case. Like I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, many of them did not even know what media establishment I was from!

***

I also have to tip my hat to the government people I met. I have never seen a more hard-working group of DTI and local government officials. They're low-key, know what they're talking about, and are really in touch with the small and medium enterprises that they are trying to help. My photographer, Bahaghari, has gone to other "Best of the Regions" trips for Entrepreneur and he says it's the same in other provinces--the DTI and LGUs are civil servants in every sense of the word. Unlike those in Manila. Or Pampanga, I guess. Ugh.

***

This trip was an eye-opener for me, and debunked a lot of misconceptions I had about Mindanao and the Muslim culture. Such as:

1) Mindanao is not wholly Muslim populated. Where I went, there would even be more Christians than Muslims.

2) Which means not all the women I met wore veils, and not all the men wielded a kris.

3) Tagalog is widely spoken and undersootd, although am starting to have an appreciation for their Visayan lilt.

4) While there are mosques, these are usually just one-story "bungalow types" rather than the huge structures we see in Manila. Most homes, I was told, have their own mosques. Here, it's actually the Christian churches that draw attention.

5) The region is not as underdeveloped as I had thought. The roads are very good, the water strong and constant, and cellphone signals (well, at last for Globe and Smart) are strong. My Sun line was useless, but then again, it's useless in other parts of Metro Manila as well.

***

Life in Mindanao is easy and simple. It's even better than Manila in a lot of ways--no traffic, no noisy buses or jeepneys, no pollution, no billboards, and did I already say no traffic?

People in Mindanao say that when they go to Manila, the most they can stay there is 2 weeks, tops. Manila, they say, is too noisy for them, the pace too hectic and stressful.

***

I would like to think I came out of this trip a better person than I originally was, if only because I got to learn and see so many new things that I would never have gotten to learn, meet or see if I had given in to fear (and a lot of other people's fears) and just stayed home. I'm still on a high right now, and I can't wait to see what my next trip (to Caraga) has to offer.

***

P.S. The clouds seemed more pretty in Mindanao...