By Ellson Quismorio Agusan del Norte 1st district Rep. Lawrence Fortun is hopeful that his colleagues would soon give third and final reading approval to his so-called "Balangay Bill." This picture taken on October 6, 2017, shows a traditional Philippine wooden boat known as balangay sailing in Manila Bay.
(AFP PHOTO / NOEL CELIS / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO) Such House action is seen to bring more meaning to Butuan City's participation in next year's celebration of the 500th anniversary of the victory in the Battle of Mactan as well as the first circumnavigation of the globe. "I am hoping the House Bill (HB) 4953 will be approved in the chamber on or before December 14, in time for the start of the 500-day countdown on December 14, 2019 to highlight the boatbuilding and seafaring genius of our ancestors," Fortun said. The Balangay was the first-ever wooden watercraft excavated in Southeast Asia. It is proof of early Filipinos' boat-building and seamanship expertise during pre-colonial times. HB 4953 seeks to declare the Balangay as the National Boat of the Philippines. The “Butuan Boat” was used by our ancestors to maintain trade relations with neighboring islands near the archipelago as well as empires around Southeast Asia during the 10th and 11th centuries. Recently, the National Quincentennial Committee announced that the Balangay would be part of the countdown of the country’s quincentennial celebration. The 500-day countdown will end on March 16, 2021, which will mark the 500th year of the battle between  Datu Lapu-Lapu and his warriors against the Ferdinand Magellan-led Spanish conquistadores. "This next 2,000-kilometer round trip Balangay voyage would take about a month to complete," Fortun said after the proposed legislation's second reading approval. The Balangay boats will sail from San Vicente, Palawan where the boats are currently berthed and from there, shall cross the Sulu Sea  to reach Butuan. "It will be a great honor to join the representatives from the City of Butuan to welcome the Balangay boats," said Fortun, who served as Butuan City vice mayor before joining the House of Representatives last July. From Butuan, the Balangay boats will sail to Cebu-Mactan with a few brief stops along the way. The two boats will return to Palawan afterward. According to the Balangay crew led by former Transportation Undersecretary Art Valdez, they are "working on another project for the Balangay boat(s) to visit major islands of our archipelago in support of education and our pre-colonial heritage." In 1987, President Corazon Aquino issued Presidential Proclamation No.86 declaring the Balangays in the vicinities of Butuan City as "National Treasures,” and the sites where these Balangays were found, as archeological sites in accordance with the Cultural Properties Preservation and Protection Act.