CATEEL NOW DURING KULAS (BECOMING FILIPINO) AND AFTER PABLO

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I have never been told how beautiful Cateel is, despite this is the home of my forefathers. How beautiful their dialect is. As beautiful as the women here who drive motorcycle, the food, the character, the simplicity and vulnerability.  

I have never been told any of these things. That's why I seldom went to this place. Or was I just full of prejudice? Arrogance and Indifference. Maybe because it's too far in the old days. In the early 90's, the last time I visited here, you can get to this destination taking a bus or jeepney from Davao City, even a private car, for 12 hours maximum. But now, after more than 30 years, it wasnt quite far at all. You can reach Cateel for only 3 to 4 hours. This is because of the newly built roads. You can now easily get to this place if you’re from Davao City.

  

Located at the northern coast of Mindanao and Davao region, near pacfic ocean, Cateel, officially the Municipality of Cateel, is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Davao Oriental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 44,207 people.  

Aliwagwag? No. Not that one. Or none of those sights and picturesque views amaze me. You know whats more beautiful here? It's the people. Their resilience. Well, we know that for sure with Filipinos in general, but Cateelenos are full of hope and trust to their little town. How they have risen up and brought their lives back from the super typhoon that hit them in 2012, among other tragedies and adversities they encountered over decades, even centuries. 

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