Many pre-colonial Philippine cultures were maritime voyagers, some using their boats to trade with nearby countries. Unfortunately, this once vibrant seafaring tradition has all but died out.
Fortunately, an organization of adventurers has been working to keep these traditions going. Its latest project: building a balangay and setting sail from Butuan to Manila, with the main purpose of making a peaceful visit to the Spratlys.
Last May 27, the Florentino Das started its maiden voyage, leaving Butuan, where it was constructed, and arriving at the CCP area in Manila on June 11, a day before Independence Day.
What made that voyage special was that the Florentino Das isn’t just any ordinary vessel. It's a balangay, a wooden boat that was used for trading in the pre-colonial era.
“We have a proud maritime heritage. Our ancestors have been sailing our archipelagic waters since the dawn of history. The Austronesian migration out of mainland Asia across the Pacific to Madagascar in the West and to Easter Island in the East is a testament to our innate ability as a people of the ocean. That the Kingdom of Butuan was able to send trade missions to the Song Dynasty as early as 1003AD using boats like the balangay is proof of our forefathers’ ship-building skills and mastery of the seas,” said Fung Yu, the project’s media coordinator and part of the land support team.
This balangay, the sixth of its kind, was built using traditional materials and methods and indigenous hardwoods donated by the DENR, though it does have an engine, making it a hybrid.
It was named after Florentino Das, the first Filipino to sail the Pacific solo.
The building and the voyage event was organized by the Kaya ng Pinoy Foundation, the group behind the 1st Philippine Mt. Everest Expedition and the Voyage of the Balangay Project, the latter involving the building and sailing of balangays as a way to keep pre-colonial maritime cultures and traditions from going extinct.
“The majority of the crew are from our previous expeditions, that of the first balangay project that sailed around Southeast Asia in 2009-2011, then the second balangay project (2017-2018) that sailed to China and HK for the 600th anniversary of Sultan Paduka Batara’s historic trade mission to the Ming Emperor of 1417. The boat builders were once again the Sama Dilaya group from the island of Sibutu in Tawi-Tawi, our southern province where traditional boat building is still being handed down from generation to generation, but sadly, this intangible cultural heritage is slowly vanishing.”
Dubbed “The Balangay Expedition to West Philippine Sea,” the crew consisted of Art Valdez, the expedition leader and former DOTC/DENR undersecretary; expedition coordinator Jody Navarra, Fred Jamili, skippers Cesario Cornejo and Raf Carolino, Fil-Canadian adventurer and mountaineer Ramon Ruiz, expedition doctor Ted Esguerra, Wendell Tamayo, chief engineer Jeffrey Zaragosa, Dhandy Paiton, Edward Valdez, Ernie Oquendo, Gaude Gaylon, Richard Mark Yamba, Meljun Villacura, Jade Castillo, Sama boat builder Al-nadzmie Abdulla, and ABS-CBN embedded media crew Job Manahan and and cameraman Manny Bongcayao.
The balangay was built in Butuan, Agusan del Norte, near the mouth of the Agusan River, to commemorate the three balangays that were accidentally excavated in 1976. They were carbon-dated to the late ninth to 11th century AD. “...To put that into context, that is an average of at least over 600 years before the arrival of the Magellan Expedition in 1521,” Yu said. “So, it was only fitting that the boats were constructed in Butuan, to give pride and homage to the place of their discovery.”
Construction began in the first quarter of 2024. The keel, or the boat’s backbone, was laid in the middle of pouring rain and it took about 100 days for six master builders led by Master Boat Builder Ibrahim Abdulla from Sibutu to complete.
Although one always hopes for smooth sailing, the crew was well aware of possible difficulties that can be encountered on such a voyage.
“There is always the fear of bad weather and shifting sea conditions, plus the worries that the boat may encounter challenges from the contested claimant nations, particularly China and its coast guard ships and maritime militia. Fortunately, no untoward incidents happened, both balangay and crew safely returned after the conclusion of the mission,” Yu said.
“The boat sailed out of Butuan without any sea trial ([the crew were] confident in the skills of the boat builders themselves) to avoid any sudden change of sea conditions that could hamper its voyage as well as the safety of the crew. From Butuan, the balangay boat made a short port call in Dumaguete, then in San Vicente, Palawan for an overnight rest and re-provisioning before heading to its intended purpose, a humanitarian-medical mission to Pag-asa (Thitu) Island in the Spratlys Group,” Yu said.
After arriving at the Pag-asa (Thitu) Island in the Spratlys, the team conducted a tree planting activity and participated in, as Yu wrote in a Facebook post, “ a humanitarian/medical mission for the residents as well as to assert for the maritime rights in the WPS (West Philippine Sea).”
When asked what he wanted more Filipinos to understand about the voyage, Yu replied: “The current disputed waters in the West Philippine Sea and the South China Sea in general belong to the common heritage of mankind, a traditional fishing ground of all claimant countries, and therefore must be protected, sans bullying, intimidation, force, and military actions. It must be resolved peacefully, objectively, and fairly, for the sake of our children, and our children’s children.”