How safe is Kapatagan?

[Peter Lee]

Well guys I finally got to talk to my wife on the phone.  I ask her how far Iligan was from her mountain home.  She said 4 hours with a bus if it goes straight through without stopping.  I just looked at the map and used the mileage scale and it looks like 60klm the way the crow flies.  It sounds like she has never been to Iligan and goes mostly to Ozamis so she thinks it is farther away.  Riding a motorcycle for 2200 klm I found that short distances can take longer when the roads are rough.  Did you get a report of what condition the roads are in?   All I know is Kapatagan is in the mountains and close to Dapusilan Bay.  I have never been there just relaying what she told me.  The Doctor comes from Iligan on Tue and Fri.  She did get to see him and is on antibiotics.  This Guy at Basil's office if he has been to Kapatagan could you ask him how safe it is there.  I get mixed stories about the area.  I was curious on why they don’t have cell phone coverage either.  My wife says that close by are Muslim villages and there have been problems.  I wanted to go there a few times but was discouraged by people I met in Cebu.  If I do go, it will be from Ozamis off a ferry from Cebu.  Any detailed information on first hand experience would be appreciated.

[HaroldC]

... in response to How safe is Kapatagan?, posted by Peter Lee on Oct 9, 2003

Is the consensus. You will get mixed stories about absolutely anything in the Phils. They say the populous areas are safe because there is lots of military there.

The travel numbers make sense- two hours Iligan to Kapatagan proper by car, four hours by public transport from some place outlying Kapatagan. That is average 20mph and 10mph respectively- doesn't sound like good roads.

Cell coverage is complicated by the mountains.

Any first hand experience you get from foreigners who have been there would necessarily be from the survivors- and therefore biased. I'm not going to venture into remote areas of Mindanao.

[Peter Lee]

... in response to Not safe for foreigners., posted by HaroldC on Oct 9, 2003

Thanks HaroldC,

I still need some guide if I should go and see the parents in Kapatagan or meet everyone in Ozamis which is known to be safe.   It is very disturbing not knowing if I could ever see her family on the farm and in there home.  It is more complicated coz the older sister is 3 hrs away using public transport in Tambulig which is in Zamboanga.  Going there and being a survivor doesn't sound tempting.  I was a survivor in Vietnam LOL.  The ones that didn't make it had no stories to tell.  To make things more complicated I have a motorcycle there.   I was going to go using a helmet as a partial disguise so not to be noticed.  I know if I use public transportation I would stand out like a soar thumb.  The cycle may be an advantage, go in, visit leave before I create any attention.    I am still not sure what I should do.  I put 2200 klm on the motorcycle with my wife, going to various islands without a problem.  But when it comes to Mindanao I am told the safety factor changes.  Rebels and mountains are not a good mixture, add a few Muslims close by and it sounds like a concoction for trouble.  I didn’t want to seem paranoid about going there, but the risk factor should balance out with the advantage of seeing her farm.  Right now seeing a farm doesn’t seem to make it worth the risk if there is a problem in the area.  I would expect Iligan to be safe just as Ozamis.   Because I would be coming from Cebu on a ferry Ozamis would be the place of choice.  Ozamis is closer to the family if I was to meet them there.  When on the motorbike in Panay on the west side we hit the mountains about 180 klm from Iloilo.  I thought the road up and down the mountains would never stop.   It was isolated and rough, Maricel expressed concerns as it was getting dark and groups of men were sitting along side the road eyeing us as we went by.  I wouldn’t go there again knowing what I know now.  So if any one has more information on Kapatagan or Tambulig I would like to hear from you.