Malingkat, Lupah Sug! | What Lies Beyond Sulu’s Troubled Past

October 6, 2022October 29, 2022 Rex Lim Lim 2022, ADVENTURE, beaches, BLOG, BUDGET, GUIDE, HOW TO, ITINERARY, TRANSIT PINAS, TRAVEL GUIDE

Reading Time: 9 minutes

Jolo, Sulu: It was a dreamy tropical holiday: long stretches of white powdery sand, continuously lapped by turquoise shallow waters and fringed by coconut groves. I was swimming to my heart’s content on this relatively raw and unexploited beach.

I then recalled that this was not just any tropical getaway like the ones in Palawan or Boracay – I was in Sulu, a province part of an archipelagic region that stretches from Mindanao to Borneo.

This paradise was scarred by centuries of socio-political violence and, in more recent decades, armed conflict and kidnappings.

No-Go’s and Negative Connotations

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“Is it safe to travel there?”, “Hala ka! Bakit ka nagpunta diyan?”, “Ingat ka, lalo na sa mga Muslim” -these are the usual reactions and unsolicited pieces of advice I received upon saying I went to Jolo, Sulu. And I kept on telling them that I felt more unsafe walking around Quiapo and Recto than in the busy thoroughfares of Jolo.

I felt hopeless for all the bad rep this province is getting up until now, especially from people who do not walk the talk. Separatist factions which have turned to criminal activities have since plagued Sulu, there is no denying that all of it was true, which in turn scares the hell out of innocent travelers.

Moreover, just like a broken record, it has been rewoven and retold by the no-go people who have not even been to Sulu. They not only like to feed on disinformation but continue to support these negative connotations and biases.

I have always been that adventurous guy who tries to visit and experience what it is like at that place. Albeit the things I read online, I always try to reserve my few cents after the visit.

The only way to know the truth and to write truthfully is to actually be there. So I booked that ticket and steadied my heart for the adventure that was about to come.

Mula Batanes Hanggang Jolo

After ten hours from Zamboanga City, the vessel where we spent the night finally moored in the port of Jolo. “Goodjaos yan master, mababait kasi silang Badjao” mused Norly as he jokingly told me when guys in small outrigger boats flocked the side of our ship.

People started to throw coins into the sea then in turn the Badjaos will dive into the chilly waters to get those coins. Fara and Pat also joined in throwing loose change.

As we slowly disembarked the ship, Najib Julkipli, from the Sulu Tourism Office patiently waited for us outside the pier. There were no military escorts during our trip, they told us that there is nothing to worry about.

With Najib Julkipli of Sulu Provincial Tourism Office

We then drove to Shara’s Café near the Jolo Airport for an early morning breakfast. Piping hot Sulu coffee called “Kahawa Sug” with “Bangbang Sug” or Tausug treats was served on a tray. Also, just like any morning cafe, the atmosphere was calm and relaxed.

Junay and Pastil have a similarity wherein both are made of rice. Junay, on the other hand, tastes differently from Pastil because of the ingredients like the “pipis itum” and the red hot chili.

It still hasn’t sunk in that we had already set foot on the once-infamous streets of Jolo. “Mula Batanes hanggang Jolo”, I sang it silently as I recalled that noontime show theme song that is merism for the entirety of the Philippines while we drove on the busy thoroughfares of Brgy. Walled City.

We stopped by in the middle of the city where the Masjid Tulay or Central Mosque is located. This is considered the largest in the Sulu Archipelago and can be best appreciated from the small park in front called the Abdusakur Tan Square. Colorful tricycles zoom past the busy city center as our Muslim brothers and sisters go about their daily lives.

Malingkat!

Aboard our vehicle, we passed by Indanan and then traversed down into the coconut tree-fringed roads of Parang. As soon as the coconut groves ended, the wide expanse of the Sulu Sea came into view.

We saw children jumping and swimming into its turquoise blue waters. Moreover, young men and women chat on the sea wall while drying freshly hauled agar-agar.

Had we come late in the afternoon on that day, we would have been treated to a gloriously spectacular sunset along the endless stretch of white sand in Parang, Sulu.

Tanduh Beach features a long stretch of fine, white-sand beach with crystal-clear water. A portion of the beach is open to the public for free, while there is also a private area where Mang Sali and Biradali Beach ask for a minimal entrance fee.

We then went to the Guimba Lagasan Weaving Center right after, where they weave the syabit, a Tausug textile. The syabit is the very colorful and elaborately trademark tapestry weave of the Tausug of Sulu. The locals here showed no reservations in demonstrating their amazing skills with the loom.

As we returned to Jolo, a sudden afternoon downpour obscured our view of Jolo downtown from the view deck of Camp Bud Datu, our side trip. To add, this is a military area where one can spend the day marveling at the view from the top of Bud Datu and the neighboring islands of Hadji Panglima Tahil.

Risk and Relaxation

The Sulu Provincial Capitol demands your undivided attention as soon as you lay your eyes on its Moorish-inspired architectural design. Pure white and gold paints dominate this magnificent structure with a semicircular top.

We capped the day as we spent the rest of the rainy afternoon in Mauboh in Patikul. Also, Najib said that it was a breath of fresh air to see their townsfolk like this, savoring the opportunity of sitting in an open space, unarmed, unescorted, and enjoying the cool breeze of the beach on a steady Monday evening.

Without a doubt, Sulu is a gem that is just waiting to be “discovered” and has the potential to change the lives of Sulu communities. This scarred paradise is far better today since peace and order are more established. In fact, the nightlife is encouraged by the local government with the opening of bars and restaurants in Patikul, Jolo, and Parang from 08:00 am until 10:00 pm.

Moreover, this is a far cry from the situation a decade ago when nightfall brought people inside their homes for security reasons as early as 06:00 PM.

There’s no more risk, just relaxation as we dined on Chicken Piyanggal and Hot bowls of Mami while they belted out Air Supply’s “Having You Near Me” at the Little Qeef’s karaoke stage.

From Terrorism to Tourism

#OnlyForTheBrave – the provincial tourism hashtag still replayed over and over in my head as our ferry slowly departed the wharf of Brgy. Walled City’s port on a Monday night. I regret having only spent a day here – but also in high hopes that there will be a next time.

The land of promise definitely served us with a new light of fun, adventure, and pleasant memories in Sulu. We felt no sense of fear while traversing downtown Jolo, or the countryside of Parang, Maimbung, Indanan, and Patikul.

Beyond its troubled past, Sulu province, as of today, is no longer just for the brave, it is for every Filipino to experience paradise and to acknowledge for themselves that situations have since changed drastically.