Mindanao

Understand

History Mindanao has a long, complex and remarkably colorful history. To settlers, it is a Promised Land (Lupang Pangako) rich in natural resources. Much of the region's history circles on a long, ongoing ethno-religious conflict between Christian migrants and native Muslims; religious clashes have been going on since the arrival of the Spaniards on the island in the late 1500s. Until the late 19th century, almost the entire northern coast of Borneo and parts of the Philippines — more-or-less everything from Sarawak to Mindanao — was heavily infested with pirates, and most of the area was ruled by pirate kings. The Sultanate of Sulu ruled all of the Sulu Islands and Palawan plus parts of Borneo and mainland Mindanao, and its capital Jolo (on Sulu) had a great slave market. The Spanish, the British, the Sultan of Brunei, the White Rajas of Sarawak, and later the Americans fought wars against the pirate kingdoms and eventually shut them down, but it was quite a struggle. Pirates from Mindanao often raided towns in other parts of the Philippines. Towns like Altavas and Bolinao were built inland to avoid them, while others had fortifications or a warning system like the Dumaguete bell tower. This may not be entirely ended; in 2001 a group based in Basilan grabbed 20 hostages near Puerto Princesa in Palawan and in 2015 another bunch grabbed four near Davao. In both cases the raiders arrived by boat and some hostages were eventually murdered. The Moros vigorously resisted Spanish, American and Japanese rule for several reasons: Moro nationalism, anti-colonialism, Islam, and piracy. Today some are still resisting the Philippine government. The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) was established in 1989 to give them partial independence, and a peace deal between the government and the largest Moro militia group (Moro Islamic Liberation Front or MILF) was signed in 2012. However there are still armed rebel groups in some areas and a substantial Philippine militar

Getting there

By plane Francisco Bangoy International Airport in Davao City (DVO IATA) is the main port of entry by plane, and there are international flights from Singapore (on Scoot), Doha (on Qatar Airways), Quanzhou (on XiamenAir), and Manado (on Garuda Indonesia). Laguindingan Airport (CGY IATA) is the second most important airport, but only receives domestic flights and has a short runway which cannot accommodate larger aircraft. The other airports with regular flights are:

Zamboanga City (ZAM IATA) - Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines from Manila and Cebu, PAL Express from Kota Kinabalu (suspended). Dipolog (DPL IATA) - Cebu Pacific and PAL Express from Manila, and Cebgo from Cebu Pagadian (PAG IATA) - Cebu Pacific and PAL Express from Manila and Cebgo from Cebu. Ozamiz (OZC IATA) - Cebu Pacific from Manila and Cebu, and PAL Express from Manila Cotabato City (CBO IATA) - Cebu Pacific from Manila and Cebu, Philippine Airlines from Manila General Santos (GES IATA) - Cebu Pacific from Cebu, Iloilo and Manila. Philippine Airlines from Manila, Cebu, and Iloilo Camiguin (CGM IATA) - Cebu Pacific and PAL Express from Cebu, SkyJet from Manila Butuan (BXU IATA) - Cebu Pacific and PAL Express from Manila and Cebu Surigao City (SUG IATA) - Cebu Pacific from Manila and Cebu Siargao (IAO IATA) - Cebu Pacific from Manila and Cebu, PAL Express from Clark and Cebu. Zamboanga, Pagadian, Dipolog, Cotabato and Butuan can accommodate flights using medium-sized jet aircraft like Airbus A320s or Boeing 737s, but the others are only capable of accommodating turboprop planes and small business jets. General Santos, meanwhile, can accommodate large jets such as the Airbus A330 and Boeing 777 in addition to smaller jets and turboprop planes.

By ferry Ferries connect Mindanao with Luzon and Visayas, and internationally from Malaysia (Sandakan) and Indonesia (Bitung).

Ferries from Cagayan de Oro connect with Manila, Iloilo, Bacolod, Cebu City, and Tagbilaran . Zamboanga City is connected by

Getting around

Mindanao is as vast as Luzon, and as said above, roughly the same size as some European countries such as Austria or Netherlands. By land, bus travel is the best mode of transportation, but for even longer distances, air travel is faster and safer.

By bus

Mindanao's long-haul bus services are dominated by the Bacolod-based company Yanson Group of Bus Companies, which runs services through its three subsidiaries in the island:

Bachelor Express. Largest bus company in the eastern Mindanao area, it operates most routes in Caraga and Davao regions from its Butuan and Davao City bases, as well as services along the Butuan-Cagayan de Oro corridor. Bachelor Express buses are painted a vivid yellow; its luxury buses are branded Bachelor Tours. (updated Sep 2020) Mindanao Star. Runs from Davao City to Cotabato City, Davao City to Koronadal via Kidapawan or General Santos, Davao City to General Santos, and Davao City to Samal Island. Buses are painted white, with company logos and markings, and almost all services are run by air-conditioned luxury coaches. (updated Sep 2020) Rural Transit. Serves most of northern, central and western Mindanao, with routes from its Cagayan de Oro and Pagadian bases to most of Northern Mindanao, Zamboanga Peninsula, Koronadal, Davao City, and Cotabato City, as well as from Zamboanga City to major destinations within Zamboanga Peninsula. Buses are painted red; its air-conditioned luxury buses are branded Rural Tours. (updated Sep 2020) Other major bus companies are:

Davao Metro Shuttle (DMS). Based in Davao City, they operate medium-distance services between the major cities in Davao region. Despite its name, they also operate routes in Caraga, and Arakan in North Cotabato, and also has buses to Leyte and Manila which take the ferry. DMS's fleet are a mix of minibuses and full-size buses, with minibuses used in some short routes and some services plying Davao-Tagum. (updated Sep 2020) Super Five. Runs from CDO to Balingoan, Iligan an

See

UK Peak, Aleosan, Cotabato Province Asik-Asik Falls Alamada, Cotabato Province