Excited? Naah... not really, but okay lang!
There are times in my travel life where it starts with all the excitement, then suddenly falling flatly soo uninteresting, that I wish it could get canceled, or that lightning strike me hard, so I do not have to go!
That was exactly what I felt going on this trip to Marawi. Bakit Why How? Ganito...
One day, I received word from a Lt. Reliable Source that some pre-cleared, pre-identified personalities that included me and a friend from an NGO were being allowed to enter a specific area of Marawi City, under very strict pre-conditions, and only under the guidance (and control) of Lt. Reliable Source. Yea!
Excitement was a gross understatement. I was ecstatic I immediately contacted the two personalities who were given that special privilege. With Lt. Reliable Source, we all agreed on a date of visit - today!
Look at how my day started at the Tacloban Airport - with a ridiculously fun 'ceremony' in-progress!
Sinakyan ko na ang kabulastugan, and I asked "andami naman, 91-gun-salute"?. He said "kay VIP ka"!
Car was closed (and tinted) anyway, so we felt free to criticize, even insult those dumb idiotic officers doing such an idiotic "show" to probably satisfy an overly bloated ego of a bigger idiot, their VIP boss.
Well, other than those policemen being... [whatever]... it was a nice bright "normal" morning!
It was at this point that I learned, a grenade or something blew up inside an imburnal (a culvert) about 7AM over at my target destination. Hmph! Clearance to enter the ex-war-zone area of Marawi revoked.
Ayay! But I was already sitting pretty at the Tacloban Airport waiting for my flight to Mactan transiting to Laguindingan. Argh! Karma? Nagabaan ako for having insulted the policemen in our private jokes?
Pwede. But the left side of my 'pea of a brain' kept my royal composure and said "so be it, but here we already are, wala nang atrasan". I didn't cancel anything, I just hoped some good will come out of this!
Tuloy ang biyaheng Marawi, not anymore excited. Reluctant.., ah bahala na kung ano lang makita. Go!
Okay fine, gaba na kon gaba! I went on with my flights, connecting at Mactan for only about an hour.
Anything can be entertainment to me! Like this stewardess na ang pula-pula ng lipistick hahaha!
And good that I only had a little more than an hour of transit at Cebu Airport. the mind was kept busy!
And I think this was a first time for me to ride a small plane from CEB to CGY. It's usually an airbus...
Hey, I have this habit of looking at the "neck-line" of demo vests especially among budget airlines.
Now, as I told you anything can entertain me - instead of feeling bad about my cancelled inner-Marawi visit, I looked around for things to distract my imaginative brain! Number 1: yun mga mapupulang labi!
Well, if the girl on my TAC-CEB flight (2P/PR) had 'marul nga im-im', aba this one on my CEB-CGY flight (DG/5J), eh hindi magpapatalo! In addition, tingnan nyo naman ang kilay ni inday, aba 1 whole crayola yata naubos dyan! Which makes me ponder.., do they get extra pay for those things? Mahal yan di ba?
And they have to paint themselves everyday. Imagine that!
Okay, entertainment enough na! Bahala kug hindi makapasok ng Marawi, masaya pa rin!
One benefit of being on a small plane... ayan, kita ang Camiguin Island as we approached Mindanao!
And as we approached Laguindingan's Runway 27, a nice view of Misamis Oriental's northern coast.
Arrived at Laguindingan (CGY), and I took that pic to send to my driver that I was still VIP, even here!
From the looks of it, I could sense that that is a Malacañang plane. Ahh, I am guessing, the president of this country is at the moment somewhere in the Misamis-Bukidnon areas for some engagements.
Whatever! Basta ako, I was not even halfway of my expected travel duration - to Marawi City. Haay!
Yes some distance, but not something I would consider far. This is only about a hundred kilometers or a little bit more. This drive cruises along 3 provinces - Misamis Oriental where Laguindingan is part of; Lanao Del Norte with Iligan City as its economic hub; then Lanao Del Sur where Marawi City is capital.
Oh okay.., just thinking about all these places I was to pass through, hindi na ako masyadong 'badtrip'!
To be honest (and I told them this), I somehow wished for them to be a little late, so I could go around and observe or even ask around that row of transport service providers. They were a little chaotic, like a palengke, when the airport was at Lumbia. Here, they're orderly I don't see thugs shouting to get you!
I'd like to know more, listen to, or watch actual processes/transactions, then perchance be able to tell the whole wide world "how Laguindingan did it", "how do they do it"! Why do I want (need) to do that?
Well, FYI, this is the only semblance of real mass public transport being made available at the actual arrival area of an airport anywhere in the Philippines. The MyBus at Cebu would have been the other, but when their T2 was opened (for international flights pa man din), nabuang na. Di muadto si MyBus!
I am hoping the stupid non-availability of MyBus at CEB T2 is a temporary 'birth pain' dahil kakasimula pa lang - although I still say, they should have considered that even during the design process pa lang.
Anyway.., back to Laguindingan, my favorites are Magnum and Super 5, though I know there are other bus and/or coaster/van companies because I have already seen them. If you noticed, I used the word "semblance" above. Yes "pagkakahawig" lang, since hindi naman mga tunay na mass public transport ang mga yun. They're not real franchised bus/van routes. Pinayagan lang, and they provided vehicles that can carry many people in 1 go, so that the cost is shared, at the same time passengers feel safe.
Aw, and anyway too, I almost forgot since I got carried away on that topic above.., papunta pala akong Marawi hahaha! So yun na nga, upon hearing my little wish that they arrive to fetch me "not on time", driver attempted to return saying "aw, it's okay, we can go back to that area.., manginterview diay ka?!
Hahaha! I said yes I want to but let me do that some other time. For now, let us proceed as scheduled to Marawi, after we have lunch, doon sa (and as if nag-chorus kaming apat, sabay-sabay talaga) Lin's!
Hi-hello, kumustahan, daldalan, alaskahan immediately ensued. We "almost" took a wrong turn here!
All 4 mouths were busy, we haven't seen each others' faces in ages! Until one of us screamed as if we were about to hit another vehicle! Still shrieking she told our driver "padulong ta'g Marawi buanga ka, di pa ta manguli'g CDO"! Laughing, driver said "aw, we're turning around to inspect this nice new rotunda"!
Mwahahah! We asked why our companion shrieked like hell, and what made her remember we should turn right. She said "gutom na kaay'ko oi"! Oh yes, it was past noon! And you turn right nga naman pala on that landmark, to Gitagum then Libertad on the scenic Iligan Bay coastline where this restaurant is!
Thus, Lin's Kinilaw it was, for lunch...
For me, there's really nothing fancy nor special in/about this restaurant or their menu. Everything's just like your delectable home-cooked food (lutong bahay), thus always "to-die-for"! Kaya nga siguro sikat!
Ganun! Regularly delectable foods you would 'normally' find cooked by your mother or grandmother in your house. Wala dito yun mga sinisindihan umuusok nagliliyab sa lamesa (do you do that at home?)!
Now now, there're things not normal in this restaurant. I looked at the tables around us, including ours, everyone had the tinola (tuna) and bulalo at the same time - some even had tinolang manok too! I had to ask my companions why all tables seemed to be having more than one soup dish in a single meal.
Back of my mind, I somehow expected these answers: one said "magbuot"? Another said "kung ayaw mo, 'wag mo"! I did expect someone will (eventually) explain to me the meaning of this "phenomenon"!
One finally said "meron available, eh di tirahin mo na, kesa magsisi ka di mo natikman lahat"! Another said "it is not as if we pass here everyday, so while here, take advantage of the opportunity na dayon!
So.., this was probably the first time I had lunch where I needed 3 separate soup bowls: for the tinola (tuna), tinolang manok (native, as this is a halal place), and bulalo - along with pasayan, kinilaw, etc.!
Hindi normal, but it was delectably fun to know. Burp! No more space for Coke!
I noticed too, there were many people at the turo-turo counter, their companions were like running and grabbing tables, some went to the al fresco (outside) tables, and others even to the lower levels, while many tables around us were still vacant but already set-up. I knew it! The many tables were 'reserved'!
Before? Yes, because this place is just 30 minutes to the airport. Wouldn't it be better to have a hearty meal just before your flight? There's nothing like this nga naman at that cramped little CGY airport. Da!
After? Yep, especially morning and noon flights. Upon arrival, families and officemates come trooping to this place, for their arriving passengers (even official guests) to have a taste of fresh hot local food!
I remarked "so, para syang Yolanda's" (since all have been to Tacloban) and my companions chorused "exactly". But they added "'wag lang sila magtaas masyado ng prices at ayusin naman sana ang CR"! I said "makakarating"! Ah all got nostalgic remembering what happened to Mactan's SuTuKil in the 90s.
Business cases and analyses scrutinized, we got so animatedly engrossed in the topic, especially that one of us lived in that area (Punta Engaño) in her college days during that period. We all agreed, it was greed that killed SuTuKil. Kesyo seafood prices became expensive, kesyo rent was increased etc., etc!
Ang ending... no more tourists came, talo silang lahat! It's not anymore as bustling as before, and only few tour agencies bring Korean guests to that area. The economy just dropped! Of course we couldn't help but compare, that this area around Lin's is sprouting with eateries - now a place worth observing!
And the designated driver of the day interjected "ano na, remember we are going to Marawi not Iligan"!
Da! Everyone hastened to move, except me hehe! That's the other thing about Lin's, the place is mostly open-air, overlooking the panoramic Iligan Bay, which I guess is its biggest wow! Masarap tumambay!
Along the way, maybe somewhere in Initao, Naawan or Lugait, trapik! Argh! One of many checkpoints!
Reaching the city, I requested we just pass through, since I'd be here tonight and the next few days.
I did notice and was all smiles, that some jeeps here also style their hoods to look like popular SUVs!
It was already mid-afternoon on a gloomy day, so the skies were darkening up too early, to our dismay. But our "driver of the day" who works for an NGO said he knows an alternate way, so we passed there.
But our driver explained that this area is not known as a relocation site for evacuees - along the Lanao Del Norte Internal Circumfential Road (along Iligan > Tagoloan > Balo-i stretch) so we could only guess.
Well, my guess is: those tents were given (or sold) by original recipients to construction companies or workers (since it looked like they were occupied by laborers of a nearby building under construction)!
We could have asked, but we were running too fast, it was impractical to return just for that info hehe. We did notice that one of the six tents was functioning (being used) as a sari-sari store. Very clever!
Then we arrived at this corner, and I said "aw, so we are past the munisipyo and the airport"?
But the youngest in our group asked "anong airport yan, meron dito? Laguindingan lang ang alam ko". Hahaha, our driver said "aha, sige PT, banatan mo, that is you favorite subject"! And I very willingly did!
So, especially to you my Gen XYZ and Millineal young readers, let me also tell you that information!
Yes there's an aiport here officially/formally called Maria Cristina Airport but more commonly referred to as Iligan Airport (IATA Code: IGN, ICAO Code: RPMI). If you'll be too technical about it, the airport is in the middle of the town of Balo-i, Lanao del Norte. But its been your only Iligan Airport since 1950s.
It is just like BCD (the airport is in Silay), ILO (airport is in Cabatuan), CGY (airport is in Laguindingan), CEB (airport is in Lapu-lapu), MNL (airport is in Pasay) and so on. Anyway, IGN (Iligan Airport) in Balo-i is only about 15kms to the Iligan City Hall. Eh yun Laguindingan nga is 30+kms from the CDO city hall.
Iligan Airport was busiest in the late 1960s to early 1990s (say my reliable sources). There were many flights on smaller planes of various airlines (not just PAL), but the busiest were from Manila and Cebu.
In fact, your humble Pinoy Traveler (yes, ako yun) can still remember... one of my first solo flights as a budding young solo traveler was in a full PAL SD-360 plane (called Shorts) from CEB to IGN and back! Full flight was 36 passengers (plane capacity). But I don't remember people being weighed, that time.
Everything started disappearing when the global financial crisis of the late 80s hit everyone, plus the surge of security (insurgency) issues in Lanao and nearby areas. Last PAL flight to IGN was in 1998.
Eto tsismis: IGN is not actually closed. It is still open and maintained by the government (CAAP), wala lang commercial flights that fly to that airport as of the moment because of various reasons, such as: not commercially viable (walang pasahero or cargo demand). Kung meron man, maigsi masyado ang runway at 1,400 meters only, kaya 'di pwede sa Airbus or bigger jets that most passengers like to ride.
Trivia: Alam nyo ba bakit Iligan Airport was named Maria Cristina Airport? No, it is not because of the Maria Cristina Falls in Iligan City, which is to the north of this place, probably 10 kilometers away. This airport was named so, because part (or most) of it sits in Brgy. Maria Cristina, Balo-i, Lanao Del Norte!
That makes this airport one of the few, if not the only airport in the Philippines that was named after the barangay that it sits on! I'm still asking around, but it is looking like there is no other such airport!
Examples: MNL: named after Ninoy (not a barangay name NAIA 1, 2, 3 or 4), CEB: after Mactan (Island composed of a city and a town), TAC: after DZR (airport is in Brgy. 88), CRK: not a brgy of Angeles nor Mabalacat, it was an airbase. DVO: after FBangoy, the brgy in Agdao (far from airport) is PBangoy etc. Wala lang, aliw lang.
Trivia pa more? IGN is the highest airport in Mindanao at 306meters above sea level. Lumbia Airfield (which btw is not anymore CGY, as that IATA Code was transferred to Laguindingan) is only 183m. But highest in the Philippines is Loakan Airport in Baguio at 1,296m above sea level. Iligan is 2nd highest!
And by the way too, from Iligan Airport to Marawi City Hall is only about 20 kilometers passing via the town of Pantar, which is the only way, actually. But imagine if there were flights into / out of Iligan, that would have been most convenient for Marawi, than 100+ kilometers all the way to Laguindingan diba?
Oops, so talkative, I didn't notice we were already by Pantar CES. Just 1km away, Lanao Del Sur na!
Ayan, as we slowed down to cross Pantar Bridge and pass through another military checkpoint!
Ayoko nga mag-reklamo, that's for the safety of all of us, di ba?
Anyway, let us talk more about "inside Marawi" in my next installment!
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