A 20-kilometer sea trip amid crazy winds is bad enough, what about a distance 50 times longer, in varying degrees of weather condition and you’re on your own in a wooden boat 20 times smaller than an aircraft carrier?
This is the story of Filipino pride called the Balangay. It is an epic sea voyage that made Chinese immigration people shake their heads in disbelief.
On May 3 another milestone in Philippine history was achieved: as three 18-meter boats, each a replica of a Balangay—a type of vessel used in the region as far back as 320 a.d.—retraced the route made by Filipino Sultan Paduka Batara in 1417 and successfully reached Xiamen (formerly Amoy), China, almost 600 years after. What made the voyage truly historic was that no sophisticated navigational equipment aided them to traverse the treacherous South China Sea.
Long live
WE were supposed to meet the 33-man crew of the expedition at the Xiamen port terminal, but a Chinese immigration glitch had prevented us from getting nearer.
After a 24-hour quarantine policy elapsed, we were able to give the proud Philippine team our most heartfelt joy and screams of “Mabuhay ang Pilipinas [Long live the Philippines]!”
The team was then ushered into a rousing welcome prepared by the Philippine and Xiamen Filipino-Chinese groups at the plush lobby of the Xiamen International Cruise Center. While the celebration was going on, the festive mood grabbed the attention of onlookers and the Xiamen city folk gamely joined in the momentous occasion.
Edsa People Power Commissioner Pastor Saycon, Princess Jacel Kiram (daughter of the late Sultan Jamalul Kiram III), Abraham Idjirani and his wife Dayang Dayang Sitti Idjirani, Manila Councilor Bernie Ang, Gerry Sanchez (who represented Ambassador William Lima), businessman Paul Shi, Consul General Julius Flores, descendants An Lizhu and Wen Fang from Dezhou, Shendong, China, were among those who welcomed them.
Valdez expedition
THE leader of the heroic crew was Arturo T. Valdez, former undersecretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and of the Department of Transportation and Communications.
Valdez is a veteran mountaineer and former president of the Mountaineering Federation of the Philippines. In 2017 he successfully led two Filipino mountain climbing groups scale Mount Everest.
“[Our vessel] is not an all-weather boat; it’s very vulnerable to weather [changes] and [the] stormy sea,” he said during a banquet given to him and his men. Though the three were duplicates of the ones used way back before the Spaniards came, engines were installed on two of them to comply with Chinese maritime regulations as China prohibits wind-powered vessels from docking on its ports.
“My greatest fear was sailing at night, because you can be run over by big ships,” Valdez said.
Without advanced navigation equipment, the only way his team will spot oil tankers is with their eyes.
“We cannot even be seen on their radar because [our boats] are made of wood,” added Valdez, who also runs marathons.
In an emotional speech, Valdez said the voyage demonstrated how the people of Southeast Asia crossed the high seas in the past to maintain contact with their neighboring countries.
“These waters never divided us. They unified us,” he said. “And this boat, as a replica of an ancient boat, is a symbol of that relationship.”
Brave men
THE Balangay boats sailed from Manila to China on April 28 and arrived five days later in the port of Xiamen.
A gem of a boat similar to those constructed by Filipinos in the olden days, they had none of the trappings of a modern maritime vessel. No nails. No steel. No hinges. No nuts and bolts.
They were solely made of Filipino ingenuity that braved foreign waters and reached unprecedented distances—1,000 kilometers to the eastern city of Xiamen on May 2.
“If there was no wind, we had to paddle our way. We had mobile phones, but there was no [signal],” Valdez said. “We did not stay too far from the coastline. We asked fishermen which was the best way to go.”
Princess Jacel Kiram, meanwhile, thanked Valdez and the people who conceptualized the trip, saying, “The bravery of the men is a continuing task.”
“If it can happen before, it can happen now,” she said. “We should value history for it is only through it that we can become a strong nation.”
The princess also met up with her Chinese counterparts, Wen Fang and An Lizhu. They visited Xiamen University and bonded together during the entire welcome party for the crew.
Kiram, to note, is a direct descendant of Sultan Paduka Batara.
The Sultan sailed to China in 1417 to pay tribute to the Emperor of China and engaged in trade. He fell ill and died while in Shendong province.
His two children were left behind in China and eventually inter-married with the locals.
Firm boats
MADE from a Philippine hardwood, the planks of the Balangay boats were fastened together by the same hardwood pins measuring 19 centimeters long and were driven into holes on the edge of each plank.
The boat parts were sewn together, according to Valdez.
Its hull (about 15 meters long and 4 meters wide) was ordinarily semicircular in cross section and with no marked keel. Provided with huge outriggers, the boat was propelled either by a sail or paddles.
The Balangay was declared the National Boat of the Philippines in November 2015. It was chosen so that “future generations of Filipinos will recognize its invaluable contribution to the shaping of the country’s maritime tradition.”
Back in 2009, the “Kaya ng Pinoy” (Filipinos can) movement that conquered the summit of Mount Everest in 2006 announced plans to reconstruct the Balangay boat, with much help from Badjao and other tribal members. Its aim: trace the routes of our Filipino ancestors around Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
The team hired Badjao master-boat builders whose predecessors used traditional tools. They were constructed near the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) complex.
When finished, the Balangays, named Diwata ng Lahi (spirit of lineage), Masawa Hong Butuan (bright light of Butuan) and Sama Tawi Tawi (referring to the original inhabitants of Tawi-Tawi), navigated to the southern tip of Sulu. The small flotilla stopped over at numerous Philippine cities along the way to promote the project. The journey around the Philippines covered a distance of 2,108 nautical miles or 3,908 kilometers.
On its second voyage, the Balangay sailed throughout Southeast Asia in 2010, then to Micronesia and Madagascar the following year. The small flotilla ventured across the Pacific to the Atlantic and all the way around the world, returning to the Philippines in 2012 to 2013.
Vessels of valor
FORMER President Fidel Ramos appointed Valdez as DOTC undersecretary in 1996, staying on until 2004. In 2007 he was deployed to the Middle East as a special envoy, staying there for a year.
He is currently still in government as DENR undersecretary for field operations. He is also a director at the Lopez-owned Energy Development Corp., the country’s pioneer in geothermal energy generation.
In 2008 Valdez participated in the 42-K Everest Marathon, finishing in 10 hours, 5 minutes and 46 seconds. During his voyage throughout Southeast Asia, Valdez and his men were held by naval authorities when they reached Malaysia, Cambodia and Indonesia.
“But all these difficulties were made up for by the beauty they encountered on their voyage,” recounted Anson Yu who chronicled most of Valdez’s extreme adventures. “Dolphins swam alongside the boats. Spirits were lifted by the welcome they received when they landed.”
“Hunger and fatigue would disappear when they saw the enthusiasm of school children wanting to learn more about the country’s maritime heritage,” Yu wrote in his website “Tulay” (https://tulay.ph/2017/08/01/art-valdez-dreamer-adventurer-explorer/).
When the voyage of the Balangay was about to end in December 2010, after three months of voyage in Southeast Asia, “Valdez invited all former and current presidents to join them on the final leg of the journey from Cavite to the CCP,” he added.
“The message he wanted to send was that despite our leaders’ differences, they must never at any point endanger the country itself, but rather learn to work together and safely guide the country to the right port at the destination,” Yu continued.
According to him, Ramos agreed to join the final leg of the journey.
“Then newly elected President Benigno Aquino III sent Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. as his representative,” he wrote. “On December 13 the three vessels sailed into the breakwater behind the Manila Yacht Club and were greeted by a grand homecoming ceremony.”
A trip was supposed to coincide with President Duterte’s China visit in April but was tentatively postponed.
Valdez continues to spread his message, a call for national unity and to develop our maritime sovereignty. He and his crew were glad that politics had not gotten in the way.
“We don’t want to get involved in politics,” he said. “It is a cultural voyage. These waters in Southeast Asia unified all peoples. And I think, in a way, that’s the message of this entire voyage.”