If not for the sweltering midday sun, I would have immediately started our adventures at San Jose, the capital municipality of Dinagat. But it seemed that my travel companions and I had far more important things to do instead. As soon as we arrived at our accommodation, we had a quick shower, grabbed lunch and just slept for an hour or so. The long journey to get here must have taken a toll on each one of us.
I must admit that if not for a blog post in Akrosdayunibers.com, I wouldn't have known about Dinagat, a small cluster of islands in Southern Philippines and one of the fairly new provinces in the country.
It used to be part of Surigao del Norte up until 2006 when it became an independent province by virtue of RA 9355. Four years later, this status was nullified by the Supreme Court but in 2012, the high court reversed itself and upheld the constitutionality of its original ruling.
We stayed by the way at Bahay Turista Mini-Chalet which has 7 guest rooms, each named after the municipalities in the province. Only 3 of these are functional for now and we were booked at the Cagdianao. Our corner room has more than basic amenities - 2 twin beds, ensuite bathroom, A/C, toiletries and a balcony that gave us great views of the busy town center, the nearby islets and the calm Dinagat sea. At only Php 600/night, I'd say that this is more than a steal.Although we have an island hopping tour planned the following day, we were not really sure what to do at San Jose that afternoon. It was good that we stayed at Bahay Turista as it also houses the Dinagat Provincial Tourism and Culture Office. The government staffs were helpful and patient with our inquiries. They assisted us in contacting habal-habal drivers that will take us to the Islander Castle and the PBMA Founder's Shrine.Since our Dinagat contact was not yet around, it was Marvin who accompanied us to these destinations. Our first stop was the Islander Castle, the private residence of Gov. Glenda Ecleo, the wife of the PBMA founder. It was built in 2007 and is reported to cost Php 350 million.Visitors could only enter the property at an allowed distance. We were consoled however with the beautiful view of Stingray Islet (aptly named because it is shaped like one) and Lalaking Bukid (male mountain), which is said to be Prinsipe Gat.Legend has it that there was once two royalties, Prinsipe Gat and Princess Dina, who eloped away from their kingdom somewhere in Mindanao. Their escape coincided with the sudden appearance of 2 islands - one was shaped like a sleeping man and the other was of a pregnant lady. This was how the province of Dinagat got its name.We proceeded to the PBMA Founder's Shrine next. This is where the remains of Reuben Ecleo Sr., the founder of the Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association, are entombed.Security was very tight in the compound. We had to leave our cameras and mobile phones by their visitor center as photography was not allowed. Everyone must also be in their white shirts and the ladies were required to wear skirts.![Around San Jose]() |
| The PBMA Founder's Shrine. Photo taken from Wikipedia |
I wish I knew more about this organization - their supposed healing powers, the various symbols around the vicinity and the reason why many people all over Mindanao (at least the handful of locals I've met), migrated here at one point in their lives. But even our guide politely begged off as he can't disclose what they are not allowed to share.Needless to say that they have practices and beliefs that many may not agree with. But at the very least, the singsingan, as what others call these Ecleo followers, deserve everyone else's respect.Our final stop that afternoon was the palm-fringed and surprisingly deserted Sta. Cruz Beach. By this time, Prinsipe Gat's silhouette was more prominent with the sun slowly setting over the horizon.Someone in our group quipped that the Lalaking Bukid was featured in the Life of Pi. Unfortunately, I could only remember the beautiful ambiguity of the film's ending. I managed to suspend my disbelief though and said that I'll watch the movie again to check it out."How do you see Dinagat five or ten years from now?" I asked our habal-habal drivers and our guide while we walked back to their parked motorbikes."We'd like Dinagat to be more prosperous and San Jose to be a city by then," one of them replied.Like the road network around San Jose, getting to cityhood from just being a 4th class municipality, will be a long, uphill climb. There are undoubtedly a lot of changes that should be set in these parts. But I sincerely hope that all these will happen sooner than thought.----------How to get to Dinagat ProvinceDinagat is located off the northeastern coast in Mindanao and can be reached by taking a public bangka (motorized outrigger boats) stationed by the boulevard at Surigao City. Fare is Php100 and travel time is approximately 1 hour.You can reach Surigao by taking a commercial flight from Cebu or Manila. Alternatively, you can also take an overnight boat trip from Cebu.
