A few years ago, a group of friends who planned to visit Bansalan told me that they had difficulties in finding my hometown on the Philippine map. I told them where the town is geographically located and assured them that one day Bansalan will be placed on the national map.
Bansalan, with a total land area of 20,770.1966 hectares, is subdivided into 25 barangays. The town is the boundary between the provinces of North Cotabato and Davao del Sur. It is sandwiched by two cities: Kidapawan and Digos, probably the reason why progress in the town is so slow. Vehicles do not linger long enough in the town. Passengers from North Cotabato are eager to reach Digos or Davao City, while passengers bound for North Cotabato are raring to reach Kidapawan City and further to Cotabato City. It has never been a place where passengers stay longer for one reason or the other. Business activities remain in the hands of the local enterprising people. And so the town remains largely rural and agricultural and still waiting for a miracle for the local economy to pick up.
The tragic bombing incident last June 15, which claimed 10 lives, made headlines not only in the Philippines but in other countries as well. It was not exactly the idea I have in my mind for Bansalan to be known around the world. For all we know, the town could be listed by the Western countries as one of the dangerous places to visit in the Philippines.
After reading the news, my first reaction was a total disbelief. This incident should never happen in my hometown. But I was thankful that the bomb was not strong enough to hit the two nearby gasoline stations. After all, Bansalan is practically not prepared to deal with a disaster of this magnitude. The municipality has only one ambulance which is ill-equipped and does not even have simple first aid kit. Sometimes the driver is nowhere to be found. There is no para-medic team to attend to patients. In more instances, the ambulance has no gasoline.
The local people were generally calm after the incident. Randy Albores, chair of the Bansalan chapter of the Association of Bansaleños Worldwide (ABW), reported that the town's parish priest, Rev. Fr. Cristito Carmona, DCD, declared June 17, 2007 as mourning day in honor of the victims of the Weena bus bombing. During the 8 a.m. Mass, prayers were offered to the victims and peace for our town. After the Mass, a procession was held from the church to the bombing site. There was a short liturgical service. Prayers, flowers and candles were offered. A small white cross was erected at the site.
This bombing incident is regrettable since Bansaleños abroad have been trying their best to stimulate local tourism to enhance revenues for the town. As a matter of fact, Bansaleños abroad are preparing for their first grand reunion this coming December and planning to invite their families and friends to visit the town.
However, “out of sight, out of mind” may not aptly describe the attitude of ABW members. The longer they live abroad, the more they are drawn to this sleepy town like falling in love for the first time and falling in love all over again.
ABW members launched the “Give Back” campaign since two years ago to help the development of their hometown. They have finished the re-painting of the ABC Gym (check http://www.bansalan.com/giveback_abc_evolution.htm ) in cooperation with the municipal government.
They also support poor but deserving pupils in their hometown. This school year (2007-2008), they were able to raise enough funds to buy uniforms, school bags, school supplies, and pay school contributions of 84 pupils (please visit http://www.bansalan.com/literacy/abw_scholars.htm ).
They were able to raise almost P200,000 after conducting a fund-raising campaign from December 2006 – May 2007. A funding agency based in the Netherlands matched 70 percent of the net amount they actually raised.
ABW members have many dreams for their beloved town: they want to send books, set up a learning center, build waiting sheds, and improve the Rizal Park. Some are seriously thinking of investing to spur the local economy. One member based in Germany already built a nursery school, the Metilla Day Care center, and in fact shoulders the salaries of the teachers.
The bombing incident clouds a bit of these dreams. However, I know Bansaleños are resilient people. The incident may inspire them even more to work harder and support the development of their hometown.
Perhaps, ABW members could explore with the municipal government unit what measures to be taken to protect the lives of the local people. For instance, the municipal council can conduct disaster preparedness campaign to teach people to become more vigilant in dealing with terrorist attacks.
If they find a suspicious bag or box, the first thing they should do is not to touch or open it. They should vacate the area carefully but quickly without moving the object.
In developed countries, the first thing people do is to call a bomb demolition team. But in Bansalan, is there such a team or a person who knows? And if there is, do people know whom to contact? Anyhow, this is easier said than done. “Curiosity kills a cat,” so goes a saying and our tendency is to satisfy our curiosity first but the consequence can cause many innocent lives. Even if one calls a bomb squad, probably the instruction might be “open it first to be sure that it is a bomb!” For all we know, it is too late.
It is important that peace and order must be restored. Engagement of local government officials to the development of the town is equally important.
ABW members will explore possibilities in establishing such cooperation with the local officials in identifying projects that will improve the quality of life of the local people.
Now, where is Bansalan exactly located?
From the ABW website, I found this information:
“In the lowlands of Mt. Apo lies the rural town of Bansalan. Despite being considered an agricultural economy, it is one of the progressive municipalities in the province of Davao del Sur.
"Legend has it that Bansalan got its name from a Bagobo chieftain (datu) named 'Dansalan' whose tribal folks were the original inhabitants of the place. A so-called reporting error by the early surveyors transposed the name to Bansalan and somehow became the official name on record.
"Bansalan is also formerly called 'Miral' and some local folks still refer to this former name. Visitors to this rustic town would notice that in public transportation the signboard still says Miral instead of Bansalan.
"Bansalan is about 72 kilometers south of Davao City and is very accessible by land transportation mostly by buses going to Cotabato City, Kidapawan City, and Tacurong. Bansalan is about 12 kilometers northwest of the capital city of Digos. Her neighboring towns include Makilala, North Cotabato in the north; Magsaysay, Davao del Sur (formerly called Kialeg) in the west; Matanao, Davao del Sur in the south; Mt. Apo and parts of Digos City in the east.
"The town of Bansalan is a second class municipality which means its income level is between 27 million to 35 million pesos. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 51,781 people in 11,073 households.
"Agriculture is the major source of income for this town. Bansalenos grow rice, corn, banana, fruit trees, coconut, sugar cane in the lowlands. Coffee, vegetables and fruits are grown in the colder highlands of Mt. Apo.
"Bansalan is also keeping up with the times in terms of technology. It has access to cable television, computers, and cell phone sites. It may not be at par with the big cities but it's getting there. Gone are the days when radio was the only source of mass media communications.”
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