Sabal brothers rule Apo

(Veteran marathon runners Cresenciano Sabal, left, and Gerald Sabal, representing Team Bebang, win the 2nd International Mount Apo Boulder Face Challenge in Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur, Sunday. The Sabal brothers, both soldiers of the Philippine Army, clocked in at 15:38:33. The team, which also includes logistics crew Jhanalodin Lucman (not in photo), received the grand prize of P150,000.)

VETERAN marathon runners Cresenciano and Gerald Sabal finished first as a team, in the Second International Mount Apo Boulder Face Challenge in Davao del Sur over the weekend.

Soldiers of the Philippine Army, the brothers Sabal with logistics crew Jhanalodin Lucman representing Team Bebang clocked 15:38:33 as they crossed the finish line at 7:02 a.m. on Sunday, beating last year’s record of 22:51:42. They won a cash prize of P150,000.

Cresenciano is a three-time Milo Marathon champion, while Gerald also regularly joins marathons. Both were in the CamSur Marathon last year, a qualifier for the Boston Marathon.

Last year’s champion, Team Carmen of Davao del Norte, came in second with a time of 15:59:18. Composed of P01 Jonathan Pido, Ronald Dagaang, Edwin Bueno, the team won P100,000. The team was first to reach the summit of Mount Apo at 3 p.m. on Saturday, but a slight injury suffered by Dagaang may have slowed them down, according to race organizers.

In third place was Team Apo Ville from Digos, Davao del Sur, composed of Marcial Catanggui, Romeo Mascardo Jr. and Hilario Ladra, which clocked in at 17:12:58.

The Mount Apo Boulder Face Challenge is a 24-hour extreme challenge using various disciplines such as mountain biking, trekking, water tubing and road running. The race covers a distance 90.3 km, including the 10,000-feet elevation of Mount Apo, and as such it is considered one of the toughest adventure races in the country.

In an interview with the BusinessMirror, Arturo Boncato Jr., regional director for the Department of Tourism-Davao, said this year’s race attracted 13 foreign and 35 local teams. Some of the racers come from Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia. Last year, the first time the race went international, there were only 18 local and foreign teams which participated.

But it was the Filipinos who dominated the race.

He explained that most of the foreigners “were unfamiliar with the terrain,” participating in the race for the first time. “It also rained hard in the mountain and at the peak [Saturday]; that slowed them down.”

Team Champion Systems Adventure from Hong Kong composed of an Australian, an American, with a Filipino logistics crew was the first foreign team that made it through the finish line. They placed fifth in the race after Team DOTA, also Filipinos, from Davao City.

Fourth-place to eighth-place finishers get P10,000 for their effort.

Still, according to Boncato, “this is the biggest set of prizes among adventure races in the Philippines.” DOT-Davao co-organized the race with the municipal government of Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur.

The Mount Apo Boulder Face Challenge was started in 2008 and is one of the highlights of the annual Pista sa Kinaiyahan (Feast of the Environment) of the municipality.

(Participants in the 2nd International Mount Apo Boulder Face Challenge set off on their mountain bikes for the first leg of the race, Saturday morning. Organized by the Department of Tourism-Davao and the municipality of Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur, the race this year attracted 13 foreign and 35 local teams.)

The race kicked off at 6 a.m. on Saturday with a mountain-bike race starting from the municipal plaza.

After the biking leg, racers had to scale the boulder face of Mount Apo, whose peak was first reached at 3 p.m. by Team Carmen. However, on the way down from the summit, they were overtaken by Team Bebang which reached the Sibulan pit stop at 9:30 p.m.

The race resumed at 5:30 a.m. on Sunday, with a water tube ride down the river, then running back on foot toward the finish line at the municipal plaza.

Boncato said the annual race has made the Davao region a leading destination for eco-adventure tourism. It has also helped increase awareness about the importance of protecting the environment.

Mount Apo, an active volcano, was declared a national park in 1936 and a protected area in 2004. It is home to the Philippine eagle, and hundreds of other critically endangered bird and plant species. The national park is on the tentative list of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) as a Heritage Site.

At 10,000 feet, it is considered the highest mountain in the Philippines.

Data from the Sta. Cruz municipal government showed 923 climbed Mount Apo using the Sta. Cruz trail in 2011, up 19 percent from 2010. There are two other major trails going up the mountain’s summit from the North Cotobato side.

The 2nd International Mount Apo Boulder Face Challenge was also supported by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Region 11, Department of Trade and Industry-Davao del Sur, San Miguel Corp., Aboitiz Power Corp.-Hedcor Sibulan Inc.; Columbia Sportswear Co., Primer Group of Companies, Recreational Outdoor Exchange, and Zest Air.

(This piece was originally published in the Sports section of the BusinessMirror, April 30, 2012. Photos courtesy, the Department of Tourism-Davao.)

The stuff champions are made of

Trekking the craggy boulders of Mt. Apo. (Photo by Rhonson Ng)

EVEN as a child, champion racer/mountaineer Jonathan Pido constantly tried to outdo himself.

A native of Carmen, Davao del Norte, Pido came from humble beginnings—the son of a farmer, Pedro Pido (now deceased), and Vivien, a food vendor.

He said when he was in grade school, he would help out in his father’s farm planting rice, bananas and vegetables. “Pero nu’ng namatay s’ya, bumalik na ulit sa may-ari ’yung lupa. Tenant lang ang papa ko. Ang mama ko, nagtitinda ng banana cue, barbecue, nagbabalot ng ulam.”

Pido, a police officer by profession, was the grand-prize winner of the 1st International Mt. Apo Boulder Face Challenge held last year in Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur. He, along with his team mates Angelito Sibayan and Edwin Bueno (Team Carmen), bested 18 local and foreign teams, and clocked in at 22 hours, 51 minutes, and 42 seconds. The team won $3,500 (about P154,000) and a trophy for its effort.

I met him at the recent press briefing to announce the 2nd International Boulder Face Challenge, which will be held on April 28 and 29. With neither “hiking” nor “mountain climbing” in my vocabulary, I wanted to discover for myself the stuff champion racers/mountaineers were made of.

The second to the last child in a brood of 12, Pido said when his father passed away, “naghiwalay-hiwalay na kami.” Some of his siblings went to find work in Manila, some went abroad, while he and a few others stuck close to home. All the siblings, he said, now help out to support their widowed mother.

Despite the family’s financial circumstances, Pido wasdetermined to continue his education and graduate from a university, hoping to become a soldier or a police officer. He said he was inspired by his relatives who were in the Philippine Army and in the police force. “I was attracted to their keen sense of leadership, and their self-discipline,” he explained in the vernacular.

To support himself in his studies, he worked in a banana plantation tending to the flowering plants, then as a bagger wrapping huge plastic bags around the fruit bunches. “It’s backbreaking work,” said Pido half-chuckling and wincing at the memory. He said he had to wake up at 4 am to be at the plantation by 6 am for “assembly time”, and work continued until 2 pm, just as the sun was shining at its mightiest. By 4:30 pm, he was off to school where classes lasted until 9:30 pm.

Amid his hectic work and school schedules, Pido said he still managed to find time to join school clubs, become an officer in the Student Council, and even help in the local Kiwanis chapter.

In college, he joined the varsity volleyball team to help defray his tuition. His hard work and focus on his professional goal paid off. Armed with a Bachelor of Science degree in Education from the University of Mindanao-Panabo College, he applied at the Philippine National Police and passed its entrance exam in 2009.

Pido has been a cop for three years now. As P01 with the Regional Public Safety Battalion, 2nd Maneuvering Company of the PNP Region 11 Command, Pido helps beef up the checkpoints in Davao to ensure that the city and its surrounding environs are always safe from criminal elements.

Taking part in extreme sports or activities appears to be second nature to Pido, now 28, having faced adversity most of his life. He runs to keep fit but also takes part in running competitions and marathons. (Last December, he also ruled the Century Properties Ultra Marathon in Manila.)

He said he took up mountaineering in 2007 and first climbed Mount Apo with newfound friends from the Panabo Eco-Adventures and Keepers. “Matagal ko ng gusto mag-mountain climbing, at umakyat ng Mount Apo,” he said. “Why?” I asked. “Wala lang, out of curiosity,” he answered. But I sensed it was probably due to a desire to again challenge himself with some new activity.

It’s easy to comprehend why Mount Apo holds an immense allure for mountaineers and other extreme sports enthusiasts. At close to 10,000 feet, it is the highest point in the Philippines. According to pinoymountaineer.com, the still active volcano “possesses a formidable array of landscapes, from craggy rockscapes to virgin forests; from mossy swamps to volcanic structures,” thus offering “the widest spectrum of environments” for climbers.

Despite their relative expertise in climbing Mount Apo, Pido and his teammates still faced quite a few formidable challenges during the race. One was the sulfur emissions from the volcano—they didn’t have masks to protect themselves from the fumes. And second was battling hypothermia.

Pido said the team reached the peak at 10 pm, or 12 hours after they had set off from the Municipal Plaza in Sta. Cruz, the starting point of the race.

By then, he said, the temperature at the summit was freezing and they were garbed only in singlets (sleeveless running shirts), their shorts, and running shoes. “Wala kaming pang-ginaw,” he said. Fortunately, they stumbled on cellophane bags which they used to wrap themselves with and keep warm.

Because it was a race, there were no breaks except at the designated checkpoints, and to eat their meals. “Ang baon namin pork adobo at kanin, at saka mga energy bars. Kailangan mo talaga ng kanin para sa carbo-loading, para me energy ka umakyat,” Pido explained.

According to Art Boncato, regional director of the Department of Tourism Region 11 (Davao Region), the Boulder Face Challenge was first held in 2008, but in 2011, they decided to encourage international teams to attend as well.

“The Mount Apo Boulder Face Challenge is one of the toughest adventure races in the Philippines,” he said. “It is a 24-hour extreme challenge using various disciplines such as mountain biking, trekking, water tubing and road running. The race starts from the Sta. Cruz beach lines and participants will navigate through the town’s tough trails and raging rivers, scale the boulder face of Mt. Apo, and culminate in the skyline of the country’s highest mountain.”

The event is one of the highlights of the annual Pista sa Kinaiyahan (Feast of the Environment) of the municipality of Sta. Cruz. Boncato said the annual competition has made the region of Davao a leading destination for eco-adventure tourism. It has also helped increase awareness about the importance of protecting the environment. This year, organizers expect participants to reach the maximum 35 teams—each team consisting of two racers and one logistical crew.

Declared a national park in 1936 and a protected area in 2004, Mount Apo is home to the Philippine eagle, and hundreds of other critically threatened bird and plant species. The national park is on the tentative list of Unescoas a World Heritage Site.

Despite the handicaps, and competing against better-prepared international racers and climbers, it’s amazing how Pido and his teammates still managed to snag the top prize last year. Asked what he did to his share of the prize money, he said with a hint of pride, “Bumili ako ng lupa, one hectare lang. Ginawa kong sagingan.”

Still unmarried (“Gusto ko muna makapag-invest para ‘pag panahon na, at least handa na ako.”), Pido said he intends to join this year’s challenge and is quite focused on winning again. And maybe someday, he said, he’ll make it to the top of Mount Everest as well.

To join the 2nd International Mount Apo Boulder Face Challenge, register online at www.boulderface.com.

In lower photo, P01 Jonathan Pido, left, and teammate Angelito Sibayan cross the finish line in the 1st International Mt. Apo Boulder Face Challenge in April 2011. The Department of Tourism Region 11 has announced the 2nd International Mt. Apo Boulder Face Challenge, which is scheduled on April 28 and 29 at Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur.(Photo courtesy www.boulderface.com)

(My column, Something Like Life, is usually published every Friday in the Life section of the BusinessMirror. This piece was originally published on Feb. 10, 2012. Yes, I've remiss in my posts. Wah.)

Leading with Mt. Apo Challenge, Davao tourism looks to scale new heights in 2012

Rising at 10,000 feet, Mount Apo is considered the highest point in the Philippines. Close to 1,000 mountaineers climbed the still active volcano in 2011 from the Sta. Cruz trail, according to data from the municipality. (Photo courtesy DOT/Rhonson Ng)

THE Department of Tourism is projecting close to 820,000 in tourist arrivals for the Davao region this year, as the area continues to attract the lucrative conventions and exhibitions market, as well as a growing number of eco-adventure travelers.

DOT Region 11 Director Arturo Boncato Jr. made this bold prediction after announcing the region's first major tourism event for the year – the 2nd International Mount Apo Boulder Face Challenge to be held on April 28-29, 2012 – a joint project with the municipality of Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur.

"The Mt. Apo Boulder Face Challenge is one of the toughest adventure races in the Philippines," he said in a press briefing on Feb. 1 at the R.O.X., Bonifacio High Street. "It is a 24-hour extreme challenge using various disciplines such as mountain biking, trekking, water tubing and road running. The race starts from the Sta. Cruz beach lines and participants will navigate through the town's tough trails and raging rivers, scale the boulder face of Mt. Apo, and culminate in the skyline of the country's highest mountain." This year's grand prize is P150,000.

The event is one of the highlights of the annual Pista sa Kinaiyahan (Feast of the Environment) of the municipality of Sta. Cruz. The Boulder Face Challenge was first held in 2008. The DOT and the Sta. Cruz municipality decided to encourage international teams to participate starting last year. (Click InterAksyon for the rest. My piece was published on Feb. 3, 2012)

Lost in translation

I’VE always loved traveling to new and exotic places, because of the cultural dimensions it opens up. Being in a new country, and meeting all sorts of nationalities keep me educated and well-informed of the goings-on in the bigger world. In this era of globalization, one cannot be too preoccupied with just local concerns.

I’ve just come back from a trip to Beijing upon invitation of the Department of Tourism. I was with my friend Art Boncato, former marketing manager of Marco Polo Hotel in Davao City, and who is now the regional director for the Department of Tourism’s Region 11, and a wonderful group of government and private tourism representatives.

I think Boncato is a good choice for the region because he has always been such a productive and diligent worker ever since I met him. For sure, he is the best person to market the region to tour operators and travel establishments here and abroad. In fact, the event I was covering in Beijing was the launch of the Davao Cultural Festival at the Marco Polo Parkside, ongoing until June 30.

(Of course, I am not surprised that Boncato works the way he does because his boss at the Marco Polo was none other than Halifax Capital chairman Carlos “Sonny” Dominguez, who was also my old boss at the Department of Agriculture and whom I had covered previously as a beat reporter back when I was still young and innocent to the ways of the world. When you have a boss like Sonny, you are forced to become smarter and tireless in your job...or face the consequences, hahaha.)

Unfortunately, for the most part of the trip, I was sick. I was battling a nasty cough and terrible colds and virtually sidelined for two-and-a-half days. It sucks to be sick, and all the more when you are in another country where only a handful speak English. Your patience is virtually pushed to the limit, and you either have to choose your words carefully and use the barest and simplest to get your point across, or die trying.

One time I was trying to explain to a waitstaff at a local roast duck restaurant that I didn’t order the bottle of Evian water that they gave me. Hello, Evian is expensive in any part of the world! There was no way I’d be paying for that! Maybe it’s the favorite bottled water of Americans and European tourists. Unfortunately for them, I’m a cheap Pinoy tourist.

It can be quite upsetting when there is no meeting of the minds on the ideas presented to each other, and I suppose this was why I really couldn’t recover from my illness much more quickly. (I woke up one morning without my voice actually, and to this day, my normally high-pitched soprano is still a bass. Ugh.) I was too stressed, wildly gesturing or trying to endlessly explain to the other person what I needed or wanted information on.

But despite the sometimes distressing moments, there were a number of instances of joy, as well. I found many Chinese, especially the younger generation, always eager to talk to me and willing to help me out any way they could. Of course, for the most part, they all wanted to practice their English on me, which made me even more enthusiastic in speaking with them to help them out in their pronunciations or vocabulary.

(According to my tour guide Lucy, they have to pass some English exams before they graduate from the university, but since they have no one to practice the language with, sometimes they tend to forget the words and meanings. But most of the young Chinese can read English well, and translate the words to their own Chinese characters.)

(With my new friends, salesladies April, left, and Mao-Mao, at the Silk Market. Photo copyright owned by Stella Arnaldo)

This was quite helpful because when I had to buy cough medicine, for instance, the hotel concierge, after Googling the kind I should buy at the pharmacy, wrote its name in Chinese characters so it would be easier for me to make a purchase. And even at the pharmacy, given a choice between two locally-manufactured cough syrups, the pharmacist earnestly indicated which had the more effective formulation by giving a two-thumbs-up.

Also, when I was going around using the subway, the subway guides were always helpful in pointing out what line to take whenever I approached them in a moment of confusion. One female guide in her 20s, wrote everything down for me—in Chinese script and English numerals—all the lines I had to take to make sure I got back to my hotel in one piece.

(An aside: the Beijing subway system is a marvelous mass of interconnectivity, which we should try to duplicate for our metro railway systems. Connections from one line to another are seamless, and all announcements of train stops are made in Mandarin and English so there is very little chance of a tourist getting lost. Also there is an illustrated map of the subway line where each station lights up as the train arrives at the said station.)

Lucy, my tour guide to the Beijing Acrobatics Show, and her driver Mr. Pei also went out of their way to give me a tour of the Water Cube and the Bird’s Nest after the show. I had seen them in the daytime but these two architectural wonders are so much more gorgeous lit up in the evening sky. The latter wasn’t part of our itinerary but it touched me that they wanted to please me so I could take home good memories of Beijing.

Despite the language barrier, Beijing is quite an exciting and pleasant place to be. It’s no wonder so many foreign tourists have gone there, and companies have decided to set up shop. (Of course, the rising status of living of its residents makes them a prime target for foreign consumer goods.)

I will treasure the number of friendships I have formed with the tour guides and sales ladies at the Silk Market (most of whom I promised to bring more customers from Manila), and look forward to seeing them again when I return in the near future. I also cherish my hardworking cleaning ladies on my hotel floor, who never forgot to leave me six bottles of water every day because they knew I was sick, and had difficulty with my cough.

The often befuddling lost-in-translation moments are awkward for sure. But for the most part, I love the Beijingers for their eagerness to learn and educate themselves, and their motivation to please their guests and visitors. I can’t wait to go back.

(My column, Something Like Life, is published every Friday in the Life section of the BusinessMirror. This piece was originally published on June 17, 2011)