Mindanao and Tourism as a Tool for Peace

Mapun Island in Tawi-tawi. I took this photo from the youtube video of BECOMING FILIPINO by Kulas.

I was watching a youtube vlog of Kulas, the Canadian guy more known for his personal journey of Becoming Filipino (his youtube channel name, btw). He featured a far-away place in Tawi-tawi that seemed amazing and peaceful. Then I remembered an article I wanted to write a couple of years ago when I saw a facebook post of the Tawi-tawi governor about a resort in his province. It made me think then (and now!) that, wow! this part of the Philippines is now shedding off its unfortunate situation and reputation as a place you should avoid visiting. By the way, for many years, the people of Tawi-tawi have consistently claimed that the province is by a large margin, more peaceful than its neighboring provinces. Some of my well-travelled friends attested to that.

What I’m about to write would have two groups of distinct readers, those who fully understand as they are already aware of the past situation, and the younger ones who could not fathom that such things happened in the Philippines.

You see, I have been a keen observer of the things tourism on the Philippines. It started in the mid ‘80s when I was an undergraduate tourism student in the University of the Philippines. The operative word about the western part of Mindanao and by geographic association, even the whole of Mindanao, is that it is a dangerous place to visit. Two rebel groups, the muslim separatists and the communists were holding tight grips on their respective strongholds. Armed encounters where places get bombed and people get killed or maimed were common news. Almost all the countries have issued travel bans to their citizens which discouraged them from visiting large parts of Mindanao.

Then I started working with the Department of Tourism in the late ‘80s to mid ‘90s where my main task was to conduct tourism product research and development. I went to far-off communities, forests and mountains to determine how tourism can come into their places and create some socio-economic contribution that would improve their standard of living.

A lot of the areas I visited were in Mindanao where you’ll see some of the most amazing natural features and cultures. Unfortunately, the situation and the reputation kept tourism development at bay, with the exception of some large cities like Davao and Cagayan de Oro where tourism was able to thrive inspite of the then current situation. The travel ban and advisories of other countries remain, though. Mindanao relied in large part on their local population of 25 million to have a good semblance of domestic tourism industry.

Jumping to early 2020s. So much has happened in the country and that part of Mindanao. The rebellions and armed conflicts have waned, many parts of Mindanao finally received much-needed social and infrastructure development. And read this - new and younger leaders emerged. Then it dawned on me that maybe that’s the main reason why Mindanao has started to change for the better. Because during the height of conflicts, cult leaders, warlords and their private armies ruled many parts of Mindanao. No matter if religion is involved, much of the conflicts were attributed to cult or warlord personalities that are either organic or created from the outside to control the region.

And when the younger leaders emerged, many of them did not have the appetite to continue the culture that perpetuated the sad situation in Mindanao in the ‘70s to mid ‘90s. I met some of them, and was impressed at how singular-minded they were in improving the situation of their people and the economic standard of this part of the Philippines. And they are succeeding. Partly because the warlords are dying-off one by one (of natural causes and old age) and being replaced by people who are not extremely power-centered individuals. The travel bans and advisories still stay, but give it a few more years, then this part of Mindanao will have a fair chance towards development, let’s make it sustainable development.

Tourism as a Tool for Peace

Now, how does the tourism industry help the place achieve and maintain peace and ideal development not only in Mindanao, but in the entire country?

We all know that the economic returns of tourism investment in a well-developed travel destination can be highly rewarding. That, let’s face it, even local, regional and national government officials would have an active stake or investment in places of their interests. That can be in the form of hotels, resorts, restaurants, transportation, or even local tour agencies. Now, one reality is that for tourism to thrive, peace is non-negotiable. Thus, when tourism becomes a major economic element that is participated in by the most influential individuals, we can rest assured that they will do everything in their power to maintain that peace.

Now, when you visit any point in this place, peace and safety concern are hardly the talking points anymore, but rather how easy or difficult it is to get to those interesting places.

And that my friends, is how tourism can become an agent of peace. The kind of peace I have personally witnessed to have evolved in other places where I was involved in and is now fast happening in Mindanao. Ang sabi nga, konting buntong-hininga na lang.