My visit to Malita was a race against time.
On the morning of October 1, 2018, I was in Lake Agco, where I spent the night before. I left the place at 8:00 in the morning going down to the Kidapawan Overland Terminal and arrived there just before 9:00 am. Luckily, I was able to catch a departing bus to Digos as soon as I hopped out of the motorcycle (they call it "skylab") I was riding. I was really on the rush because I want to visit Malita before I catch my flight later that night. The trip to Digos was around 2 hours long. From Digos, I rode an ordinary bus going to Malita and it also took another almost 2 hours. I finally reached Malita at 12:30 PM.
My travel from Digos to Malita is a very feel good experience, I daresay. The mountains, the coves, the verdant rolling hills, the tall trees... the nature... They all made the 2 hour long travel enjoyable. As I soak into the moment of just watching the scenery outside the bus's window, I forgot (well, intentionally forgot after 1 or 2 shots) to take pictures because I don't want the joy of seeing them in split second be disrupted. I just let them be ingrained in my mind.
Upon reaching Malita, I readily get my lunch at Penongs Malita, a Mang Inasal-like fast food in Davao region because I was already starving. The food is good and there are many choices, including seafood dishes. After having my lunch, I readied myself to explore the Malita town proper.
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| Malita Municipal Hall |
Malita Municipal hall is just beside Penong's so it was an easy walk. I was greeted with a well-maintained cream colored building with a well taken cared of lawn and front garden. After taking some shots, I proceeded to the office of the Tourism Officer-in-Charge and asked about the spots which I can visit in the town proper. He told me that many of Malita's tourist spots are currently being developed so I won't be able to visit them yet. The LGU would want to ensure first that said tourist spots (including caves, diving resorts, etc.) are tourist ready.
After that small talk, I continued my town proper tour and visited the newly constructed Davao Occidental Provincial Capitol, at the back of the Malita Municipal Hall. The province of Davao Occidental has just been created in 2013 that's why their capitol has just also been erected. It is composed of only 5 former southernmost towns of Davao del Sur: Malita, Santa Maria, Don Marcelino, Jose Abad Santos, and the island town of Sarangani. Of all these towns, Malita is the largest as well as the most progressive.
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| Davao Occidental Provincial Capitol |
Just some steps away from the capitol is the Museo Malitaño, a beautiful period house housing artifacts and heritage pieces of the town of Malita. I wasn't able to go inside the museum because it is also under maintenance presently and the Malita Tourism OIC told me that there's no museum curator as of now who can guide me through the displays. Even though I wasn't able to have a peek inside, I was contented seeing the exterior of the house because it is already a museum piece on its own.
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| Museo Malitano = Malita Museum |
The last place I visited is the town church. It is of simple and modern design and can be found at most 600 meters taking the road in front of Museo Malitaño. I was actually also expecting to see mosques in the town but too bad I saw none. Maybe because I wasn't able to roam much around the town or because I was actually touring so fast so that I will already be able to get on a bus and catch my flight to Manila. It would have been nice if I visited a mosque in the town at least once.
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| Malita Church |
At 2:00 PM, I was already at the van terminal to ensure that I would be able to catch my flight that night at 8:00 PM. As I was expecting a 4 hour travel to Davao City, I am already very nervous and sweating a lot because I need to be at the airport at least until 6:30 or I may not be able to catch my flight anymore. Finally, the van left the terminal at 2:48. I was crestfallen but still hopeful I will be able to arrive on time. Fortunately, van travel was faster than bus travel and I was able to reach SM Davao at 5:20. Only another 16 km ride from there and I will already be at the airport. In the end, I was able to catch my flight and made it back to Manila successfully.... and 7k poorer. :)
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| Tubalan Barangay Hall against the green background |
Finally reaching Malita made me feel extremely good because at last, I was able to visit my 77th Province out of 81!
TRAVEL TIP : If you are racing against time like me but will do it all just to have a glimpse of Malita, take the van instead of the bus. There are vans from Malita going directly to Davao City and vice versa. Travel time is approximately 2.5 hours compared to bus ride's 3.5 to 4 hours travel time. Fare is Php 200.00.
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