Koronadal, also known as Marbel, is a city in South Cotabato. It is the capital of Region 12-SOCCSKSARGEN.
It is believed that B’laan words- koron or kolon meaning cogon grass, and nadal or datal meaning plain, made the word Koronadal. The B’laan words aptly described the place of the natives. On the other hand, the term “Marbel”, another name of the poblacion, is from B’laan term marb-el which means “murky waters” referring to the river called Marbel River.
These photos (you can see the other one below) were taken back in 2010. Well, at first glance, you are just seeing a shanty town on what seems to be a swamp. This was taken in Buluan, Maguindanao.
My classmate took these quick shots en route to our conference in Marbel City (now Koronadal). I really did not bother about these photos years ago. I really thought they were useless. Until recently, I found that the place has a particular story to tell.
As I could remember, back in 2010, Maguindanao became notorious due to the massacre done to a convoy of journalists. It’s the biggest massacre of journalists that the world had known. The journalists were ruthlessly killed in their cars and were buried together with it.
So, back to Buluan. 
The road in Datu Paglas, the town before Buluan, was inhospitable. It’s full of holes. From the hearsay of my schoolmates, the people of the area intentionally dig the holes for their interests (which I do not really know).As you would expect in a Maguindanaon town, the population in Buluan is predominantly Muslims.
Yeah, yeah, so what about the photos then?
The photos actually show the Buluan Bridge, under which is the Buluan River. The river is the tributary that opens up to the Lake Buluan, the third largest lake in Mindanao. Lake Buluan has been on the eye of investors just recently because of its potentials for tourism. The current governor of Maguindanao, Esmael Mangudadatu, even looked for the potential of Dragon Boat-making and race in the lake back in 2012. I have no recent update if it was successful, though.
Lake Buluan is home to a various fauna, extending from native fishes to exotic birds. There are T’bolis in the area of Lake Buluan, making it a haven for culture and arts of the indigenous Mindanawon tribe. I would love to know the myths about the lake, and I’ll be glad to share it to you once I update this post.
The photos aren’t useless after all. I’m glad I saved such photos. I would have not bumped about Lake Buluan if I did not have these photos.
You might also want to read about a blog from Vinci Bueza, an Atenean from Naga, about Lake Buluan. You can read it here.
I will start to roll the dice by introducing where my fascinations sprung – Kidapawan City.
I grew up in this city. It’s particularly known as the City of Fruits and Highland Springs. You would have expected that I would discuss about Lake Agco or Mt. Apo. Or the bountiful exotic fruits that Kidapawan has to offer. BUT NO! This is something new. Aside from its tagline, Kidapawan is also the commercial hub of the Cotabato Province.
Oh, COTABATO! Yes, yes, I know the stereotypes that are running in your mind right now. Bombings, killings and bullets flying from nowhere. I would admit, there were instances that bombings and killings were prevalent in the city, but the fresh winds are clearing the gunpowder’s smokes now.
Dropping the guns down, Kidapawan was a normal hometown for me though. It is the usual conservative town where you wake up at 6am and sleep at 9pm, on average. Not much of a night life here, relative to Kidapawan’s highly urbanized counterparts. Here, you go to church, ride to school, eat here, jaunt there, or whatnot.
At present, subtle showmanship of competing industries in the city is prompting storeys and stories, HIGH! Malls are setting in. Coffee shops and bistros are mushrooming. Additionally, I commend the recent establishment in the city of Central 911, which is now addressing emergency situations for the residents of Kidapawan and the climbers of Mt. Apo along the Kidapawan Trail.
Sugarcoating aside, Kidapawan was a boring hometown.
BORING HOMETOWN. I also thought of the same thing years back. Not until I entered a university in Davao and distanced myself from Kidapawan, that I appreciated the small yet amazing cultural, political and historical treasures that Kidapawan offers in its cornucopia. I listed them below. Some people do not recognize some of these treasures, and I plan to share it to them.
I present three treasures that reflect a plethora of stories in my hometown. These treasures mark the three identities for the Mindanawon landscape: Lumad (Landmark), Christian (Sa Girls. Sa Boys.) and Muslim (Kiram Mansion).
LANDMARK
If you enter Kidapawan, one thing that will catch your attention is the city landmark. The landmark showcases the Manobo tribe that settles in the uplands of Kidapawan City. It is from the Manobo’s language that Kidapawan got its name, which derives from the words tida, which means ‘spring’, and pawan, which means ‘highland’.
So, what is the role of Kidapawan for the lumads?
The identity of “Lumads” was itself inked in Kidapawan. In June 26, 1986, at the Guadalupe Formation Center in Balindog, Kidapawan City, the autonym “lumad” was officially adopted by the founding assembly delegates of the Lumad Mindanao Peoples Federation (LMPF). The term is the self-ascription and the collective term for the indigenous people of Mindanao.
SA GIRLS. SA BOYS.
Christian Education was established in Kidapawan as early as 1948 through the efforts of Rev. James McSorley, OMI, the first parish priest of Kidapawan. There were names given for the school, but the most prominent is NOTRE DAME OF KIDAPAWAN. Along with the proliferation of Christian Education came the cultural changes that somehow define Kidapawan’s culture today, particularly in linguistics as explained below.
Today, in Kidapawan, you might wonder why people call on a tricycle driver and say “Sa Boys (To Boys)” or “Sa Girls (To Girls)”. There is a historical note to this.
In the 1950s, Bishop Gerard Mongeau, OMI, the prelate of Cotabato City to which Kidapawan belonged at that time, segregated sexes in educating the people of Kidapawan. The girls were educated by the Sisters of the Religious of the Virgin Mary, and the boys by the Marist Brothers.
Consequently, to disambiguate the two Notre Dame Schools in Kidapawan, people started using “Girls” and “Boys”. The two schools continued to educate with distinction between boys and girls for decades, thus etching the “Boys” referring to the Marist Department and “Girls” referring to the RVM Department, in the local language of Kidapawan.
Later, both schools became co-educational. The “Girls” became St. Mary’s Academy of Kidapawan while the “Boys” became Notre Dame of Kidapawan College. Both schools are still considered Notre Dame Schools under the Notre Dame Educational Association (NDEA).
As of today, the “Girls” and “Boys” distinction somehow drifts and slowly diminishes with the times. You could consider it as a fad. But some elders and alumni/alumnae of such Notre Dame Schools still use such distinctions until today. At least now, the younger generations are more aware of such historical distinctions.
Although the earlier distinctions are now diminishing, there now exists a more timely description of students between the two Notre Dames. Today, “Marians” for St. Mary’s Academy of Kidapawan and “Marists” for Notre Dame of Kidapawan College are used.
KIRAM MANSION
Finally, the Kiram Mansion. It was built by a Maranao Prince. A Sultan! I listed the mansion because this is the most valuable treasure we had as Mindanawons in this part of Mindanao, yet our indifference has resulted in its deterioration. A friend of mine, Karlo Antonio David, a Palanca award-winner and now a professor at Silliman University, wrote about the mansion.
“The Mansion in Kidapawan designed and built by Sultan Omar Kiram II, locally known as the Kiram Building, was a testimony to the life and artistic merit of a great man of history. With its distinct Roman-Torogan design, it was arguably Kidapawan’s greatest link to its Mindanawon roots. Yet its destruction, and the Kidapaweño’s indifference to it, painfully reveals how unconcerned the people are for their heritage.”
The mansion itself is a testament of the political, cultural and historical significance of Kidapawan. Who would have thought that we have direct connection with our Mindanawon roots? Imagine what could have been done to the mansion if it was restored and turned into a purposeful socio-cultural area. It could have educated the young people of Kidapawan to appreciate our culture, our arts. In the bid for economic growth, it could have been a tourist spot for our visitors. It could have etched more historical events that are yet to unfold. BUT IT WAS DESTROYED. You can read the entire post of Karlo here.
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Anak – the local term for “offspring” – beckons a deeper meaning. Much like our cultural upbringing with our parents, “anak” summons commitment and respect. I am the anak, offspring, of my land – Mindanaw.
Mindanaw – the land of my birth and the home of my people – is the melting pot of different cultures. It comprises a plethora of stories from the depths of the South Seas to the heights of the Eastern Mountains. It is the land beholden by the Lumads, Muslims and Christians. It is where people’s dreams are weaved into songs, dances and colors, making the artworks alive since time immemorial.
Anak (ng) Mindanaw, shortened as Anak Mindanaw, serves as a platform of Ang Tighambal to foster his advocacies and philosophies of the Political and Cultural Facets of Mindanawons, particularly the Lumads.
Vincent Carlo Duran Cuzon 