Extracts of Article by Penelope C. Sanz, Mindanews, 2005
A local paper here recently published “dos and don’ts” for travelling around Mindanao. Since my parents are about to visit here I thought it might be useful to provide a summary of this guidance, just so they are warned!
The ‘must have’s in your survival kit are: a shawl, flashlight, loose change, a plastic bag, a bottle of water, and tissue paper.
Never leave home without a shawl. It protects you from dust and UV rays and is useful cover when you need to pee in the middle of nowhere. Shawls also keep you warm in air-conditioned buses, as drivers always put it on full blast to keep their seat by the engine cool. This is a constant cause of bickering. Passengers holler at the driver because the bus is like a freezer. The driver snaps back “pasagdihi ko kung gusto ninyo mabuhi” (let me be if you want to live).
The “last trip” of the day can mean a full vehicle. There’s nowhere to go but go “taplod” (sit on top of the jeepney or bus). Try to find a seat in the middle, but chances are these are already taken. So you have nobody or nothing to hang-on to. What do you do? Pray! Also, try not to look down the cliffs if you can help it, okay?
Don’t be surprised to find a chicken, goat or even a large pig traveling in the vehicle with you.
Never sit beside the window. Scallywags along the highway sometimes throw rocks at passing buses. Besides, if the bus rolls over, you don’t want to get squeezed between a heavy weight male and the window.
The flashlight. Landslides are common during the rainy season. You may need to walk in darkness and heavy rain over a kilometer of mud to get to a bus on the other side. Flashlights are also useful when the bus breaks down in the middle of the night in some God forsaken area.
Transferring buses is mayhem, with everybody scrambling for seats. You may need to clamber up the side of the bus and wiggle your way in through the window (be prepared for bruises).
Grandmas will watch your things for you – just be prepared to endure an inquisition for the rest of the journey. The tricky part is she will probably be matching you up with her son or nephew.
Never try to eat a full meal at stops. The bus will go whether you’re finished or not. Instead survive on the biscuits, boiled eggs and peanuts sold through the windows by vendors.
Coins are needed for using the comfort room (WC) – prices range from P 2.00 to P 4.00 – depending on what you need to do (yes, you are meant to declare which it is). They are also effective in hushing up preachers who step into the bus and conduct biblical sermons.
Keep P 500 handy to give robbers should a hold up occur. Better that than your cell phone, which should be kept hidden as much as possible.
Nighttime checkpoints are a real inconvenience. Soldiers can be overly eager and suspect all boxes of containing arms.
The plastic bag is for puke. You may not be “dagaton” (easily nauseated) but the kid beside you or a pregnant woman might be.
Habal-habals (motorcycles) are very accident-prone. If you can afford to hire the whole habal-habal, great! If not, the two seats behind the driver are best (they seat about 8!). On a long trip you may need to seek shelter from a sudden downpour in a hut along the road. In insurgency areas, check first if it has foxholes or underground tunnels. It’s better to catch pneumonia than be caught in a crossfire. Listen to the habal-habal driver’s instructions. In rebel areas, if he says never point or dare to look at a certain hill or mountain, obey!
Be careful with your questions. Sometimes people easily open up to strangers. A simple ‘kumusta?” (how are you?) could release a torrent of emotional trauma. Let them cry.
What else? Prayers help a lot. You need them when you’re fording a river and there’s a sudden flood, or when the bangka (boat) you are riding in stops in the middle of the sea and there’s a whirlpool gaining momentum.
Whew! All you can do is just have faith and hope for the best.
