Mati City: The next big thing

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

“AS I traversed the road, I can really feel the beauty of the place,” observed Representative Lorenzo R. Tañada III. The lawmaker from the fourth district of Quezon Province was talking about Mati, the lone city of Davao Oriental.

It was his first time to visit Mati, where he was invited as the guest speaker of a tourism business and investment forum. During his speech, he said he was impressed by how the city preserved its scenic spots. “This is a tourism haven,” he said.

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“Our place has so much economic and tourism potentials,” agrees Governor Corazon N. Malanyaon, adding that the provincial and city government are working together “pursuing tourism vigorously as part of our economic development.”

Representative Thelma Z. Almario believes tourism is the main industry of the city which can be an engine for economic growth. “People will come here for nature, adventure, and culture,” she declares.

Indeed, Mati City is “the next big thing” in tourism, points out Dashiel I. Indelible, Jr., the city tourism officer. “We are positioning ourselves as the alternate tourism destination of Davao City,” he says.

Mati, which became a component city on June 19, 2007 by virtue of Republic Act No. 9408, is the capital of the province and the center of commerce, education, and government. It has a total land area of 791.09 square kilometers, with more than half of it is covered with forest.

Mati faces the Pacific Ocean and it has a coastline of 150 kilometers. It has three bays (Pujada, Balite, and Mayo) with a combined area of 418 square kilometers. There are three marine protected areas (although two of them are still “on-process”) and its mariculture park area encompasses 345 hectares.

The city has several famous beaches. Leading the list is Dahican Beach, noted for its crystal clear waters and a 17-kilometer pure and fine white sand shore. “You don’t have to go to Boracay to experience white sand,” said Michael Rabat, the brother of the city mayor. “We have it here.”

Dahican Beach, about 15-minute ride from the heart of the city, is known as Mindanao’s mini-Hawaii as it is a prime location for surfers and skimboarders. The strong wind is ideal for wind and board surfing. If you’re lucky, you can meet the homegrown group of surfers called Amihan, which refers to the easterly winds of the Pacific Ocean.

The Mayo Beach, ideal for picnic and small gathering, can be reached by 30-minutes travel from the Poblacion. The place reminds you of the Brooke Shields movie because it has deep blue lagoon and cold spring water. The wind coming from the ocean could sooth you tired mind and body.

Along the coastlines of the city are some beach resorts. Operating within the stretch of Dahican Beach are Botona Dahican Beach Resort and Kanakbai Tropical Homes. Botona maintains its quiet and relaxing ambiance while Kanakbai is part of a 14-hectare coconut plantation with a beach front facing the Pacific Ocean.

Located along the Masao beach strip are Masao Beach Resort, Gregorio Beach Resort, and Jam Bay Resort. Both Masao and Gregorio have floating cottages while Jam Bay has cottages along the beach front.

Mati is dotted with enthralling islands ideal for swimming, snorkeling and diving. It has three islands and the biggest of them all is Pujada Island, a 156-hectare located at the entrance of Pujada Bay. White sand beach and clear blue waters surrounds the island which can be reached by motorboat in 45 minutes.

Not far from Pujada Island is the Oak Island, which is visible only during low tide and disappears during high time. It can be reached by one-hour motorboat ride from Masao Beach Resort.

Another sea gem is Waniban Island, about 15 minutes by boat ride from Masao Beach Resort. Only three hectares, it is ideal for picnic, swimming and sunbathing because of its white sand. Visitors may either bring food and water when entering into this island or may opt for a fresh catch fishes.

Mati is home to a wide variety of marine mammals. So, you may opt to do the Dahican cruises in order for you to watch up close dolphins, dugongs, and pawikan. Most of them are already endangered but you can watch them live at Mati waters.

On land, there are several places you can visit. You can scale Mount Hamiguitan, where you can marvel the 2,500-hectare pygmy (bonsai) forest. In barangays Cabuaya and Luban is the 7,000-hectare tropical forest, which is considered home to the endangered Philippine Eagle.

Amidst the forest of barangay Buso is a hot spring, whose mineral water can provide invigorating and relaxing sensation. In Barangay Dahican, you can find the Guang-Guang Mangrove Forest, a pawikan and mangrove nursery.

Of course, there’s Badas, a zigzag road along the top of a cliff that offers a captivating vista of Pujada Bay. Badas is lined with trees and its every bend lets you take a peek at the serene blue ocean below. From this viewpoint, you get to see the so-called “sleeping dinosaur,” a natural attraction approximately 579 hectares.

And there are festivals. Mati is known for two: Pujada Festival (which is celebrated in June) and Sambuokan Festival (every October). “The Sambuokan festivities, especially the street dancing and other merrymaking activities are comparable to, if not better than, others conducted by neighboring local government units in the region,” observes veteran journalist Antonio M. Ajero.

At the helm of the development of Mati as a top tourist destination is Mayor Michelle N. Rabat. “Next to agriculture, I think tourism is our biggest industry,” the lady mayor said.

According to Richard Villacorte, the city administrator, the government is doing sites and destinations development, promotions and marketing, and regulation and benchmarking since 2001. “We work with all the tourism stakeholders in developing Mati’s tourism potentials,” he said.

Indeed, Mati will come a long, long way. As Ajero, who attended the recent business forum, observed: “The unity and the support pledged by Governor Malanyaon and Representative Almario to Mayor Rabat was particularly touching considering how disastrously fractious politics in Davao Oriental was in the past. I’m sure this newly-found unity will result in synergy needed by the fledging city and the province to fully develop their latent potentials.”