Booming Balilihan
From Corella, we drove going further northeast, and the next town we stumbled upon was Balilihan. I think the Corella-Balilihan drive is similar in distance to Tagbilaran-Corella. Probably some 10km too.
And just like the Tagbilaran-Corella stretch, this road is also fairly newly paved. Surely an after-effect of the 2013 magnitude 7.2 earthquake. Roads had to be rebuilt, for easy delivery of goods & services.
And it was also a scenic drive... amidst green fields and forests.
We entered town center with this view that made me say "woah, progressive"!
Across them, on the right side of the road, are the munisipyo or town hall and the sports complex.
Okay.., here's a 'disclaimer' that I always keep in mind, during "unmeticulously planned" joyrides... "you may not always get to see or do, all that you want to see and do". It happened to me here, in Balilihan!
Example? Here... the Municipal Hall called "Balilihan Presidencia" was being repaired hehehe! Argh!
Me and driver tried circling around it, it's not really big. But there are other buildings behind it. But...
I liked this! Just beside (to the left of the municipal hall being repaired) is their old one. Wow!
Sorry na, many of you already know I adore wood/stone houses of yesteryears. I went near...
I couldn't get enough of that staircase ceiling (the "soffit"?)... I went near of course, for a closer look.
Alright, all the time, we were parked just beside their sports center that was also being spruced up, yet I didn't snap even one pic of any part of it. Maybe I got too engrossed with the lovely "old presidencia"!
Anyway, I said "teka, where's the church"? My driver/guide said it's on another block diagonally behind the public market. But we could see that the three streets leading there (perpendicular to the highway) were all closed so vehicles could not enter. So we started walking towards it. I could see a wide plaza!
As we walked, we both wondered why it looked like the whole population of Balilihan were at the park leading towards the church. Too many people - adults, office workers, parents, students, little children, grandparents, farmers, vendors, with uniforms or not - gosh all kinds of people! Founding Anniversary!
Yes, we saw a sign that said "Founding Anniversary". Thus, I asked what would be the usual activities here during such occasions. When he said nothing much other than politicians offering extra services. I said "ah let's get out of here"! Yep fellow travelers, call it "OA", but as a roamer I stay away from them.
I mean I do not abhor any politician.., lots of them are my friends and/or relatives all over the country. Many are also my clients, and some of them are even avid subscribers to this humble blog. But if they have activities like that, and I have nothing to do with them, I keep distance. Why? Because I might 1) disturb the activities; 2) distract the people; 3) be suspected of partisanship! But if invited ako, go ra!
Ask me by email/txt/call/PM/DM, if you need me to expound on that last sentence... hehe!
So we drove onwards east, in the direction of Batuan and Carmen on the way to Sierra Bullones. But my guide continued with the many things he needed to tell me about Balilihan, even if he was driving!
Like, similar to Corella, there was also a conflict between the town's priest and their civil leader, which even became physical - meron daw hilahan sa kalsada na nakatali sa kabayo! Da! Pang-action-movie! Mala-wild-wild-west ang episode! This allegedly caused some of the residents to migrate to as far as Surigao and Leyte, until the priest was transferred to Siquijor. I liked this driver/guide, well researched!
Since we were not able to visit it, he also just told me instead, that the church in this town is called the Our Lady Of Mount Carmel Parish. That it has paintings on its ceiling, and a bell-tower that is on a hill!
Balili is a grass, and it was abundant in this place, reason why this town was named Balilihan. There is also a "Kawasan Falls" and there are even other waterfalls worthy of a visit in Balilihan, says my guide!
Then we passed by another community that I thought was already another town, because of this...
Mind you, the church looks big. It has wide well-maintained grassy loans all around it! The whole area I saw, looks like a town to me. It has its own infrastructure like a big sports center and a health center.
Anyway, I found out that at this point, we were only halfway between Balilihan and Batuan.
A little bit forward however, we were entering the town of Catigbian? Mahayag? That confused me, so I asked the driver "aren't Balilihan and Batuan next to each other"? He said "yes, but It's Complicated"!
Da! Interestingly interesting!
But let's better discuss that in my next story!
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