PANIKIAN ISLAND in Pitogo, Zamboanga del Sur

Beauty & Bounty of Mindanao!
MINDANAO'S 'PIRATES ISLANDS'
NOW POTENTIAL TOURISM AREAS
Twenty-one months before the end of his 6-year-term, President Rodrigo Duterte could already point to the signing of the Peace Agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) as the greatest accomplishment of his leadership.
Peace may be abstract but the people of Mindanao could feel, see and savor the fruits of that historic Peace Agreement which President Duterte, backed by a deep understanding of the history of the conflict, relentlessly pursued.
Last week, I made a two-island journey considered as unthinkable years ago for a Cabinet-level official like me, especially since I was perceived as the main oppositor to the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) which was declared UnConstitutional by the Supreme Court in 2008.
Sailing from Pitogo, Zamboanga del Sur using two "kumpits" with only four policemen provided by the Municipality of Olutanga, Zamboanga Sibugay as escorts, I and the team from the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) took a 4-hour boat ride to Olutanga Island.
On the way to Olutanga, an island with three municipalities, we dropped by the tiny island of Panikian, about 45 minutes by boat from Pitogo, to explore and appreciate the beauty of the 3.6-hectare breeding area of Green Sea Turtles.
Then, we crossed the Moro Gulf for a 3-hour travel over considerably rough waters but which were amazingly negotiated smoothly by the twin-engine locally-made boats without outriggers called "Kumpit."
The "Kumpits" unbelievably rode the waves by just skimming through the rough waters with the operator steering the boat using a long pole connected to the rudder and standing for the whole 3 hours.
We went through dangerous waters and I am not referring to the huge waves but the reputation of the Moro Gulf as the Sea of Pirates and armed groups who in the past raided the coastal towns of the Zamboanga Peninsula and kidnapped wealthy people.
The most notorious of those incidents was the raid by hundreds of "Kumpit"-riding armed men who raided and burned the town of Ipil, now the capital of Zamboanga Sibugay, killing dozens of innocent civilians.
Kidnappings were common and even Olutanga Mayor Arthur Ruste Jr. said his town was among the identified dangerous places for tourists and visitors.
"Kung may mga foreigner kami na bisita, kinakabahan ako at talagang pinapabantayan kasi maski araw, puede silang kidnapin," he told me.
He said that most of the kidnap for ransom group members would hide in Olutanga after every operation feeling safe because the island is isolated and the escape route is the wide open Moro Gulf.
Olutanga holds the distinction of being one of the few remote islands in the Philippines visited by two Presidents - President Diosdado Macapagal and his daughter, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Those visits, however, did not make Olutanga any safer and the island was forgotten again after that until the former Davao City Mayor won the Presidency in 2016 and really pursued the peace agreement with the MILF.
True, there are still isolated violent incidents like the bombings in Jolo but the general security atmosphere has improved a lot in Mindanao.
With the expected completion of the road and a bridge from Imelda to Ulotanga via Alicia, things are expected to improve even further in the former "Pirates Island."
Critics could continue the debate on the success of President Duterte's War on Drugs and Corruption but they would expectedly avoid talking about the gains of peace in Mindanao because this is one achievement which people of the region know is beyond question.
#SailingSeasDiscoveringIslands!
#PeaceInMindanaoAtLongLast!
#KungGustoMaramingParaan!
(This video presentation is a production of the Beauty and Bounty Media Team of the Mindanao Development Authority.)