Tawi-Tawi to the World!
I was about five or six, decades ago in the Philippines, when I remember my nanny gossip about a new neighbor in Manila who just moved in next door. My nanny was suspicious of the ordinary-looking man, eyeing him with fear and distrust. “Muslim ‘yan. Dahan dahan kayo dyan…!” (He’s Muslim. Be careful of them!).
Thus was my unfortunate introduction to one of the most complicated relationships between Filipino blood brothers. Raised in a country that’s predominantly Catholic, roughly 86%, I, and many others like me, grew up wary of a small minority --- Filipino Muslims. And much of this wariness was fueled by a lack of understanding and awareness of their existence as a people and as fellow Filipinos.
As I grew older and started learning about the complex colonial histories that birthed these prejudices against Muslims, I became more curious. Then intrigued. How am I proud of my Filipino heritage when a small yet significant part of this heritage is still shrouded in unease and ignorance? I caught a lucky break. I married into a family whose patriarch was a proud and celebrated Filipino Muslim, the late Ambassador Romulo Mercader Espaldon, who played an important role not just in my humble education but in the history of Muslim affairs in the Philippines.
When my husband and I started planning our anniversary trip to some fancy city like Seoul or Tokyo, we decided instead to fulfill his (and my) bucket list wish to visit the childhood home of his dad in Simunul, Tawi-Tawi – a tiny, predominantly Muslim island in the southernmost tip of Mindanao -- a few dozen backstrokes to Malaysia.
I was thrilled. Neither a scholar nor a historian, I became an eager and excited tourist to a destination where very few, if at all, of my friends and family have gone. And so, as I share some memories of this very special trip, I leave it up to you to start looking up Wiki articles about our Muslim brothers and the complicated saga that continues to unfold in our midst. And to learn as much as you can. My personal favorite is Cesar Adib Majul’s Muslims in the Philippines.
We are thankful to our fellow travelers from the Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education (MBHTE) Directorate General for Basic Education led by Director General Junn Salik whom we met and befriended in Bongao, the capital of Tawi-Tawi. Through their kindness, we were ushered to a whole new world of possibilities—a more prosperous and peaceful South where Muslims, Christians, and different indigenous groups—the Samas, the Badjaos, the Tausugs, and many others—work to preserve their identities and craft their destinies while embracing one Filipino identity.
Many of my trips to the motherland in the last several years have always been spent either in Metro Manila visiting the latest shopping mall in the bustling metropolis, or the newest beachy tourist destination – El Nido, Bohol, Boracay. Not this time. For a precious few days, we flew to Zamboanga City, then to Sanga-Sanga Airport in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi, then on a speedboat to the wild and beautiful island of Simunul, Tawi-Tawi – the southernmost tip of the Philippines!
My father-in-law, Romulo Mercader Espaldon, was Tawi-Tawi's first provincial governor when it was separated from the Sulu province by presidential decree and became an autonomous province in 1973. We visited the Tawi-Tawi capitol building in Bongao, one of the many structures he helped oversee. Remarkably, Romulo grew up as a Sama boy in Tubig Indangan, a small village in the island of Simunul. He was a Christian son and the eldest of nine children of two teachers from Bicol -- Cipriano and Claudia Espaldon -- who moved their family to Tawi-Tawi to become pioneer teachers. We named our youngest child after her great grandfather, Cipriano.
Traditional houses on stilts standing along the shores of Bongao, Tawi-Tawi. Indigenous groups such as the Badjao still live in these houses while earning their livelihood as fisherfolk or seaweed farmers. Our destination, Simunul, is about an hour and a half by pumpboat, or twenty minutes by speedboat from Bongao.
A stunning display of a new housing project overseen by the autonomous government. We saw these brand new socialized housing on stilts on our way to Simunul. Families are provided these homes based on financial need, along with livelihood projects. Simunul is quite prosperous and home to many overseas Filipino workers or OFWs in Malaysia while remitting funds back to their loved ones in the tiny island.
The welcoming sign in Simunul, Tawi-Tawi encourages more tourism in the area. The destination is definitely the “road less traveled,” and an amazing tourism discovery!
"Ukit,"is an intricate architectural element of the Bangsamoro that is found in government buildings in Simunul. A source of pride for the Bangsamoro, this shows a portion of the brand new municipal building which opened to the public last December.
Simunul Island is home to the oldest mosque in the Philippines, established in pre-colonial times. As we prepared to visit the holy mosque, friendly tourist representatives helped me wear traditional clothes to show respect and reverence in the sacred space of Shiekh Karimul Makhdum Mosque. It was surprisingly light and airy, and truly an honor for me to wear.
The beautiful mosque of Sheikh Makhdum in Simunul, Tawi-Tawi. And here are our new friends – all educators from the autonomous government who heralded me with the history and contemporary events of this magical island.
Local folklore tells us the mosque was built by an Arab scholar named Sheikh Makhdum Karim in 1380. It was first thought that the pillars of the old mosque found within the current mosque are the pillars of the original. My husband is Christian, but he felt right at home in his white thobe.
A national historical landmark in the Philipines, the current mosque building was constructed in the 1960s, after most of the prior structure was burned down in 1941 during the Japanese occupation in World War II.
One of the pillars many believe to be part of the original mosque erected in 1380.
Barangay Tubig-Indangan, now a Badjao Village, which is just a few meters from the Sheikh Makhdum Mosque. Note that we visited during low tide. The Badjaos are an indigenous Muslim group known for its seafaring tradition. My father-in-law grew up as a young boy in this humble village. The house with the flag is an elementary school.
Three fingers to your heart signifies "Tawi-Tawi to the World!" Meet our wonderful friends from BARMM. I felt the friendship and peace of the South, and believe that we made some lifelong friends along the way.
