as early as 1914, Basilan was already exporting rubber to the United States as led by American businessman James Strong, who established American Rubber Corporation in the island. President Manuel L. Quezon and General Douglas McArthur visited the island when the exportation boomed.
today, more than 50,000hectares of the island produce latex saps, rubber's raw material but are now handled by several local cooperatives. a road trip to the municipality of Lamitan, East of Isabela City would bring you to the great expanse of these rubber trees. 
the rubber produced in Basilan contributes a small portion to the 94% of Asia's source to the global requirement. among the island's main agricultural industry, coconut, coffee and black pepper are also distributed to the archipelago.
Kumalarang, the West side of Isabela also holds large areas of coconut palm oil fields and rubber trees. a usual weekend of the residents of Isabela City would be doing road trips to this part. popular spots includes the water district swimming pools, some fine waterfalls and the old airport.
it is odd that one of the country's National Park is actually part of the war thorn areas of the island of Basilan. established as a National Park since 1939, the Basilan National Park covers 3,100hectares of dense flora and fauna.
on our trip to Lamitan, we visited the site of the unforgettable 2001 Lamitan siege. just one of the events that has captured the country's attention. an island so rich with natural resources yet because of the tensions it has kept the island isolated giving the island a weak image.
photo below shows travel buddies Tzed, Erick and Oman during the road trip. you can check out their posts on this trip. this ends the Basilan series and up next a short visit to some of Zamboanga City's tourist spots.
how to get there:there are regular flight from Manila to Zamboanga with the major airlines - 1hour 20minutes
from Zamboanga, take a taxi to the pier of the ferry that goes to Basilan. better if you ask the taxi to bring you directly inside the pier.
option 1: cheaper way is by ferry to the pier of Isabela. 1hour and 40minutes.
option 2: taking the fast craft which is less than an hour to the pier of Isabela.
for this road trip: one has to rent a van to make stops to the rubber plantations or take the bus to Lamitan going East and Lantawan going West which can partly show some of the rubber tree plantations.
important note:
it is advisable to check first the situation in the island before setting a visit. i also recommend that you know of someone from the island who can guide you around.
location:
island: Basilan
province: Basilan
GPS location:
6^ 42" 22' N
121^ 58" 20' E
36 comments:
Ang ganda naman dyan. I especially like the photos where you showed the rubber trees. Tama ka, the war weakened the image of the place but I hope it doesn't last another lifetime so we could visit that national park. Kasama ba ito sa hacienda niyo? Hehe.
Yey! First comment! :D
A wonderful arch of trees in the first photo!
great series Dom, im so sold!
so happy to met someone who's a local of Basilan. kaya sorry, i will take advantage.. haha alam mo na! ^_^
i didn't know there are rubber tree plantations in Basilan, and its rich agriculture industry. i believe that as long as there is abu sayyaf, basilan will never recover economically. investors and tourists would be afraid. sayang talaga.
Wonderful post Dom!Its another info i've learned re:rubber trees grown in Basilan. Wish we could visit the place too =D
lamitan? di ba dyan malimit ang barilan (no pun intended).
on a lighter note, this post reminds me of my botany class back in the 90s on my premed (bio-man ako, este bs bio prior to youknowhat) Ficus eslastica, if i remember it right, is the scientific name of rubber tree! :) *wala lang*
Graceful, strong, beautiful!
Been following your trip in your posts, very interesting and if you did not post, dont know anything about Basilan. Thanks for sharing.
i love how the trees roof the road.
First time ko makabasa ng tourism-related post tungkol sa Lamitan, madalas kasi dati puro tungkol sa terorismo sa Basilan ang nalalagay sa balita.
i love shaded roads. i wish there were more of those in the cities.
Dom..thank you for sharing such beautiful place in your hometown:) Your place has so much to offer so sad nga lang ang laging naririnig sa balita ay terorismo.
Parang ang sarap mag pictorial mode sa daan parang fall lang:)
kelan na ang Bsilan nga w/ Chyng? sana maksama ako! =)
i love the pic of the rubber trees.
naalala ko yung madrasta ni amaya, lamitan ang pangalan nun e. :-D
Ganyan pala itsura ng rubber trees. The first photo rocks =]
thank you for sharing the beauty of your hometown with us. i like that first image. i hope more travelers can safely visit the place someday.
hi dong! as usual, very nice :) hay it's been awhile since i visited your blog.. the change is truly awesome! keep it coming! :)
and oh, my first time to see a rubber tree.. i didn't really know that there is such a thing like rubber tree hehehe..
We also have a lot of that rubber trees in Maguindanao. I saw some on our way there last weekend.
Basilan is a nice place..would love to visit the place yung nga lang, not at this moment. I just hope na maging okay na dyan para no worries and pag travel.
Thanks for sharing Dom.
i love the first photo. ang ganda ng place noh yon nga lang nakakatakot namn puntahan.
ay.yan ang pinaka gusto ko sa lahat. yang mga rubber trees. like Malaysia has millions of it diba? at ang mahal. why not take on their exampl. at nakakatuwa na meron na pala sa basilan na malaking area for this. Sana gawin sa mainlang Mindao.:D
So beautiful the trees in the first pictures! Nice landscapes indeed.
wow...picture perfect yung daan.
Dom! sama din ako sa Basilan! :D
Hahaha! gaya gaya lang, very nice ng first photo :D
My first time to see a comprehensive blog post about Basilan... showing the other side of the place prominently featured in media as bandits' lair. Thanks for sharing this.
hi, can we exchange link www.wowsurigao.com - the City of Island Adventures, Philippines.
Buzz me if you done so that we can link your site too.
Thanks!
Regards,
http://www.wowsurigao.com
mahusay dong...hope na pag nakapagbakasyon ako makasama ako sa eskapo mo.. congrats and thank you for sharing...hanga ako!
Really glad to see and read about this part of Basilan. This made me hope for peace here.
another sweet escape.
It's really wonderful to see the pictures surrounded with trees and its reflection. Once again, great post!
ang ganda nung pics sa daan. parang setting lang sa mga cheesy romantic films.
i love trees na nagsasalubong
medyo eery
pero, nonetheless, ang ganda
rubber is getting a good price too nowadays. synthetic rubber just cant match the quality when it comes to gloves n such
I never knew there's rubber plantation in Basilan. Nearby Malaysia is so well known for that - perhaps they share the same soil characteristics and climate ideal for cultivation? This is a great cap to your series Dong!
"important note:
it is advisable to check first the situation in the island before setting a visit. i also recommend that you know of someone from the island who can guide you around."
This got me thinking. Should I or should I not visit the island? Well, we will never know unless we try.
Dong, would you know someone in Basilan whom you can recommend as a tour guide? Just asking. :)
Been in there in Basilan last summer coz my husband's from there and I was amazed at the rows of rubber trees though I was told that I just saw a portion of them..please take care of them, looking forward to visit your place again...
Post a Comment