92
A JOURNEY DOWN THE AGUSAN
Cebu Pacific flies to
Butuan from Manila and
Cebu.
cebupacificair.com
water buffaloes, seeking respite
from the heat, soaked in the mud. At
each of our stops, river fish defined
local cuisine — tilapia, carp,
haluwan
(snakehead), catfish and succulent
kasili
(river eels). And everywhere,
the corn was high.
Over two days, our motorized
flatboat covered a distance that
would have previously taken 10 days,
perhaps more. As we approached
Butuan, the clusters of riverside
houses became denser, mushrooming
everywhere. We were seeing more
and more shreds of colored plastic
hanging from the bushes and
branches that lined the river’s banks.
Graceful traditional dugouts, or
casco
,
jockeyed for riverside parking with
motorized “slicers” as the flatboats
secured the choice spots. Sawmills
appeared, one by one, on both sides
of the river’s banks. Some were still
operating. Although it is now illegal
to float logs down the Agusan, it
was sad to see rafts of fresh timber
still heading downstream. In these
remoter areas, left behind by time and
shifting patterns of trade, it seems
that the older habits are harder to
shake off.
Mindanao has chosen to anchor
its development on its river basins,
and the Agusan will set the stage for
the island’s future more than any
of its other rivers. Although much
of this basin remains steeped in
the traditions of its past, the river
now faces accelerating change, and
many new risks. But our river run
showed us a sliver of hope: the luxury
of remoteness has allowed this vast
ecosystem to remain essentially intact.
Still shrouded in mystery, the
creatures of this great river and
marsh live on.
Danata
, the giant soft
shell turtle, still survives, appearing
only when she chooses; no one really
knows why, or when. The endangered
Philippine eagle still soars above the
remaining forests. Large groups of
herons still nest on expansive rafts of
water hyacinth. And, lurking within
the flooded forests and banks of peat,
saltwater crocodiles, some mythical
in size, continue to dominate the
lakes and swamps that border this
ancient stream. In the midst of this,
the AgusanonManobo still live in their
floating houses, rising and falling with
the moods of the river, bowing to space
and time, and flexing with the wavering
fortunes of Mindanao.
Clockwise: The flatboat
that took us on our journey;
one of the many exotic
dishes found in the riverside
towns; author Lorenzo Tan
