One fine day in paradise

HOLD on tight, your knuckles are

turning white.

At the rate you keep on tugging and

reeling inside the four-wheel-drive Suzuki Samurai, the trip could

save you an entire week's sweat-out at the gym. Or even better.

There's no easy way in, or

out. Getting to Barangay

Miasong in Tupi, South

Cotabato, is one for the

extreme athletes. An action

adventure on 3-D.

The roads are craggy and

fit only for horses that

gallop and spring at the

sight of fallen trees and crevices. Rickety truck ambitious

enough to try their luck would end up leaving a long trail of

rusty parts along the way.

Then there are the huge boulders that wait for the most

hair-raising time to slide and make your day. If you are a

homebody with nary a trace of risk-taking spirit in your bones,

go back to bed and sleep. This one's not for you.

Pineapple country

Barangay Miasong is right at the foot of Mt. Matutum.

Inhabited by barely hundreds of residents scattered around its

more or less a thousand-hectare farmland, the place is as cool as

Baguio City due to its elevation of 950 meters (2,800 feet) above

sea level.

Local folk earn their keep by planting cabbages, sweet potatoes,

corn and pineapple. A pineapple company, T'boli

Agro-Industrial Development Inc. (Tadi), found the area

suitable for growing pineapples and has turned roughly 400

hectares into its plantation, giving visitors a chance to indulge

in the succulence of fresh pineapples anytime.

A grower shyly consents to passers-by adding, ''Pwede

namang kumain kahit ilan, basta huwag lang yung

sobra-sobra.''

The sight of ripening pineapples would easily make one's mouth

water.

Getting there through Barangay Maltana in Tampakan, South

Cotabato, would still require you to pass four more barangays in

an uphill struggle. But the people are friendly and

accommodating. And the view is as green as you can ever

imagine. Just learn to look beyond those cliffs just a vehicle's

tire away.

Ying Ureta, a Tadi superintendent formerly assigned in the area,

is everybody's favorite. People and kids would always stop

midway through farmwork or at play to greet him as he passes.

On first-name basis.

''I consider everybody as my extended family. I spend time for

coffee in one of the houses when my schedule permits me. We

talk of any topic under the sun and I get to earn their

confidence.''

Good for business, huh?

While on his work or as he goes home, his Samurai becomes

crowded with hitchhikers, from schoolchildren to housewives

and farmers on their way to the nearest barangay. When the

vehicle gets stuck in the mud, getting it out courtesy of human

force isn't a problem.

Oroy landmarks

The streams are icy-cool and crystal (''Mga sapa ni Oroy''), the

caves are authentic and the cliffs are terrifyingly awesome. The

scenery around is postcard-pretty you can't resist taking

pictures for posterity. They might never be around that long.

Miasong's winding road, also known as ''Lawit ni Oroy,''

complete with wildflowers, stray ferns and mini-waterfalls, could

give Kennon Road a stiff competition. (Who this Oroy is, whose

name was assigned to every major landmark of Miasong,

remains a mystery. Everybody knows the name without a face to

go with).

All these glorious feast will be for your eyes only. Few souls

would be as adventurous as you take the trip, anyway.

The climate, whether on a wet or dry season, is so chilly one

should never forget to bring a sweatshirt or two. A Tadi

employee once slept at the company's bunkhouse in Miasong

without bringing his warming gears. As the night progressed,

he gradually felt the numbing chill and put on his jacket.

When he still couldn't bear the cold, he wore his day-old socks

and took a fetal position. By early morning, he was in full battle

gear and had worn every single thing he can lay his hands

on--tubao, helmet, boots and gloves.

The millennium craze is sweeping around the country. If one

would care to ask me where would I prefer to be, I'd say without

batting an eyelash--Miasong, on top of a cliff.

I don't intend to take a plunge, but I'll offer prayers that this

country would wake up in the Year 2000 and get on its feet to

rise above the evils of an indecisive and vengeful leader,

corrupt politicians and executives, and an indifferent society.

I will surely be heard and answered.

You see if you're in Miasong, people believe ''Diyes nalang na

pamasahe, nasa langit ka na.''