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Musing and Awestruck in Idyllic Cateel
Source: Manila Bulletin
Author: HENRYLITO D. TACIO
Date: 2010-07-14
 
When Philip “Sonny” Dizon (yes, the man who owns the Davao Crocodile Park) invited me to join the group in unearthing Mindanao’s biodiversity corridor, I immediately accepted it. After all, it was a trip worth the experience.

It was! We visited several places but the one that really struck me the most (from a historical perspective) was the municipality of Cateel in Davao Oriental. Considered to be one of the oldest towns in Southern Mindanao, it was once a part of the Encomienda de Bislig during the Spanish regime.

History records showed that in 1840 Governor Luis Lardezabal sent an expedition to eastern Mindanao to organize settlements with a considerable number of inhabitants. Cateel was one of those organized.

Several events happened in the succeeding years. In 1856, the townsite was moved from Lapad to the seacost, its present site. The Americans took the town in 1900 and established a military government.

With its pace of development, Cateel was created into a municipality on October 29, 1903, under Organic Act No. 21. With the authority of the Philippine Commission and passed by the Legislative Council of the Moro Province, the act stated: “Its territorial jurisdiction shall include all territory bounded on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the north by the eight parallel of north latitude, on the west by the watershed of the mountains parallel to the coast and on the south by the parallel of latitude about seven degrees thirty- five minutes north which runs through the middle of the swamp lying between the Rio Matuban and the pueblo of Quinablangan and all the islands within the three marine league limit.”

But how did Cateel get its name? In 1610, two encomienderos – Sgt. Juan Camachode dela Peña and Fr. Miguel de Sto. Tomas – visited the town. They landed at the northern side of the river bank now known as barangay San Rafael.

After giving their offering for a safe landing, the two Spaniards entered within the vicinity following the path. They came to land where a man was busy splitting a piece of rattan vine. The strangers asked the man what the place was called, the man replied, “Cateel.” The man who answered thought they were asking him the name the vine he was splitting.

Today, Cateel has gone a long, long way. Bounded on the north by Boston, on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the south by Baganga, and on the west by Compostela, Cateel is a land of rich and fertile valleys, rolling hills, pristine beaches, unexplored swamps, and vast plains.

Despite what is happening in its nearby towns, Cateel seems to retain its rustic beauty. Chronicling in his blog, native Danny Catillones Sillada wrote what it was like in the 1970s and 1980s: “The town is like a forgotten paradise bereft of any infrastructure, regressive as it was since the Spaniards, the Japanese, and the Americans came: no electricity, no television, and no telephone.

“When rainy season came, the muddy roads and dilapidated bridges would be impassable, forcing vacationers from the city during holidays to travel by motorboat via the Surigao route. The faint-hearted would die from a heart attack due to nervousness from the monstrous waves of the Pacific Ocean.”

That was in the past. When we got there, there was already electricity. I saw several houses having television sets. There were also new buildings like banks, restaurants, and offices. And yes, you can use your cellular phones out there.

In fact, as we approached Cateel, Darrel Dean Blatchley (an American who collects bones from countries he has visited) received a text from someone informing him of a sperm whale buried somewhere in San Antonio. He was excited when he learned that the group was going to the said barangay.

So while Patrick Taclob, Misael Abad, and Marco Dizon were surfing the big waves of the Long Beach in San Antonio, Blatchley was also digging the skeletons of the sperm whale, which was buried some two years ago in the area.

According to Wikipedia, a sperm whale has a large head that can be up to one-third of the animal’s length. The species feeds on squid and fish, diving as deep as three kilometers (9,800 feet) in order to obtain its prey, making it the deepest diving mammal in the world. It is also considered the largest living predator and can live for more than 70 years.

Over most of the period from the early 18th century until the late 20th century, the sperm whale was subjected to significant hunting pressure in order to obtain the spermaceti and other products, such as sperm oil and ambergris. Spermaceti’s many important uses include candles, soap, cosmetics, and machine oil.

Aside from its pristine beaches, people come to Cateel because of its unparalleled Aliwagwag Falls in barangay Aliwagwag (about 25 kilometers away from the town). Known among the natives as the natural opus of the Mandaya gods (the father and son Mansilatan and Badla), Aliwagwag Falls is one of the tallest and most unique waterfalls in the country. It is way off the tourist map and is known mostly to locals and intrepid adventurers; it is not even listed in international travel guide books.

Before reaching Cateel, we made a stopover at this majestic waterfall. And when I saw it, I was dumbfounded and awed by the spectacular sight. It is beyond comprehension: a series of 84 falls (count them!) appearing like a “stairway to heaven” with various heights among the steps. One step measures 72 feet and another is 67 feet. Overall, the falls is 1,100 feet of cascading energy and 20 meters in width – all these in the midst of a virgin forest.

People who have seen the falls cannot say anything but marvel. Here’s what one commented: “Crystal clear waters passed by the rocks which looked like stairs from the mountain top in the middle of the forest. It was one of my most unforgettable encounters with Mother Nature, the greatness of God’s creations.”

This is what Danny Catillones Sillada wrote about this amazing waterfall: “The creation of Aliwagwag Falls can be attributed to the tectonic tension along the rift bordering the geologic regions of Cateel and Compostela Valley. The mass of rocks on the site of Aliwagwag Falls compressed and sheared into blocks to form a huge pile of boulders. The structure of staircases was formed over millions of years through the unrelenting flow of waters coming from the upper cataracts, ridges, and valleys of Cateel mountains.”

Aliwagwag Falls has also been recognized as a terrestrial biodiversity corridor for Eastern Mindanao. It is home to several wildlife species, including the endangered Philippine Eagle. About 40 species of birds, five species of mammals, three species of reptiles, and two species of amphibians have been identified to exist in the area.

According to some locals, there are parts in the forest near the Aliwagwag Falls where you can find the burial grounds of the Mandaya which can be reached by hiking. Below the falls, there are some cottages you can rent. You can even swim in the river where the waters come together.

When you are in the town proper, don’t fail to visit the Caraga Church. One of the oldest churches in Mindanao, it houses the 1802 church bell brought by the friars from Spain. In front of the church is the municipal hall. And a few blocks away are stores where you can buy pasalubongs.

Although we have not visited it, the Langyawan Cave is another must-see while in Cateel. According to locals we interviewed, the meeting of stalagmites and stalactites is an indication that the cave was in existence centuries ago.

How do you get there? Cateel is accessible by land and water transportation. It is more than 160 kilometers away from Mati City, the capital town of Davao Oriental. From the regional center of Davao City, it is about 360 kilometers away.

[ Davao City Wiki ]
 

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