Presko ang hangin, pino at puti ang buhangin, at malinaw na tubig-dagat ba ang hanap mo? Matatagpuan daw ‘yan sa Malamawi Island sa Basilan!
Malayo ito sa nakasanayang imahe ng probinsya na dating pugad at tawiran noon ng bandidong Abu Sayyaf at mga rebeldeng MNLF.
Pero ligtas na nga bang mamasyal dito sa kabila ng travel advisory na inilabas ng Canadian Embassy kamakailan?
Panoorin ang video.
Malayo ito sa nakasanayang imahe ng probinsya na dating pugad at tawiran noon ng bandidong Abu Sayyaf at mga rebeldeng MNLF.
Pero ligtas na nga bang mamasyal dito sa kabila ng travel advisory na inilabas ng Canadian Embassy kamakailan?
Panoorin ang video.
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FunTranscript
00:00 The province that was once a place of fear and excitement is now ready to welcome tourists.
00:11 This is Basilan.
00:13 For those who want to go to the beach this afternoon,
00:17 but are looking for a beach that is less crowded,
00:20 this island in the southern part of Mindanao is for you.
00:28 The air is fresh, the sand is fine and white.
00:33 And in the clear water,
00:35 you can feel cold.
00:42 This is Malamawi Island.
00:53 Welcome to Malamawi!
00:57 Malamawi, Philippines
01:01 Life on the island is peaceful.
01:04 It is far from the province that we are used to imagine.
01:10 Malamawi Island is located in front of the vast ocean
01:14 where ships pass from Sulu and Tawi-Tawi,
01:17 which were once the home of the bandit Abusayaf and the rebel MNLF.
01:24 The province of Basilan.
01:26 It's 6.30 in the morning,
01:31 almost two hours more that the military and the members of the MNLF are marching.
01:36 But now that their island is peaceful,
01:42 they are starting to attract tourists.
01:46 From Cabicerra, Isabela City,
01:53 it takes 15 minutes by boat to reach Malamawi Island.
01:58 There is a 60-meter boardwalk,
02:01 just like the famous poem of Siargao.
02:04 The friends of Alexandra, Dodds and Diane from Manila
02:10 are here to meet their friend Jacques from Cebu
02:15 to color their long-awaited travel goal.
02:21 You will see your ingrown toenails on your feet.
02:24 It's because of the beauty of life.
02:27 Honestly, it exceeded my expectations.
02:29 I was really surprised. I thought, "Wow, this is so beautiful."
02:32 We have a coast guard on duty here.
02:36 After the trip, they are tired of the huge alimango,
02:43 canned fish, seaweed and squid.
02:46 The food is everything. Relax.
02:50 Long live the Marangmarang Barangay!
02:55 In the nearby barangay,
02:58 many people are harvesting what I call "tehe-tehe" or sea urchin.
03:03 We are looking for a place to live here in Marangmarang.
03:08 It's better if it's at night.
03:09 By the moon, they will really come out.
03:11 You need to clean the mud.
03:14 The last "tehe-tehe" are filled with rice inside.
03:19 It's called "oko-oko."
03:28 It's delicious. It's just right.
03:31 Basilan used to be a news center.
03:37 It was often the place where the rebel MNLF
03:41 and the terrorist Abu Sayyaf were involved in the series of high-profile kidnappings
03:47 from 2000 to 2001.
03:50 They came here from Hulu and recruited people.
03:53 But because of the government's campaign against terrorism,
03:57 the group was gradually wiped out.
04:00 We have nothing to fear anymore.
04:02 Now, they are growing the Basilan Tourist Friendly Row.
04:11 The tattoo artist from America, Teha,
04:14 admitted that she was hesitating to come here.
04:18 It's really nice. It's very secluded. It's a great view.
04:21 Now that I've experienced it, I would definitely come back.
04:23 45 minutes from the port of Isabela City,
04:36 you can reach Lampinigan Island.
04:40 Basongkam! Lampinigan Beach!
04:50 Lampinig means "bubuyog."
04:54 Back then, there were a lot of "bubuyog" here.
04:57 It was the first. Now, it's gone.
04:59 It's now home to more than 1,000 residents,
05:02 most of them are Bakwit or those who have been in the war.
05:06 We are now in Lampinigan. We are now in Sinau.
05:09 We are in Manbono.
05:11 We are here because we need to work properly.
05:15 In the rise of tourism in the province,
05:18 they have regular income.
05:21 Iray makes tepo or traditional "baning."
05:25 Sarah is an assistant cook for those who cook "putahe" for tourists.
05:32 Not only is Basilan a rich sea,
05:35 but also the mountains of Basilan.
05:38 The province also has what is called "white gold."
05:45 It is not extracted from the cave or underground,
05:48 but from more than 50,000 hectares of rubber tree plantations.
05:53 They cut the skin of the trees
05:59 until the white skin comes out.
06:02 As a nature, we can see how beautiful the rubber trees are.
06:07 It's really in line.
06:09 Meanwhile, just recently,
06:11 the Government of Canada issued a travel advisory
06:15 for their residents to travel to some provinces of Mindanao,
06:20 including Basilan.
06:22 Canada still discourages travel to the following due to serious threat of terrorism,
06:26 kidnapping, high levels of crime,
06:29 and violent clashes between the security forces and rebel groups such as Basilan.
06:33 We are now gearing towards peace and development.
06:36 Just to correct the information,
06:38 we have no experiences on the kidnap for ransom since the start of the pandemic.
06:43 We have a tourist police that is assigned to the tourists.
06:47 We are encouraging the Canadian Embassy
06:50 to reconsider and reaffirm the different places that they included in that list.
06:57 I think it's high time to give them a chance to be recognized again.
07:03 Actually, last year, we were able to record more than 400,000 visitors,
07:10 which included tourists.
07:12 Basilan
07:19 It's like a promise that with the rise of peace in their province,
07:24 terrorism will be completely eliminated
07:27 so that its beauty and potential for tourism can be better recognized.
07:34 [Music]
07:39 Thank you so much, Kapuso!
07:41 If you liked this video,
07:44 subscribe to the GMA Public Affairs YouTube channel.
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07:53 [Music]
07:56 [Chanting]