Hindi pala kami nakahiwalay sa mundo, kasi nakarating kayo dito” (We are not cut-off from the rest of the world, because you are able to come here)

These words left an imprint on me and the hearts and minds of 35 other good souls who joined us on an outreach program in Apayao.

TREK Pudtol is Trails to Empower Kids’ 4th Outreach Program.

Why Pudtol?

When we were deciding on the next site for our outreach, it was Mimay, one of the group’s founders, who suggested Apayao. We all haven’t been to Apayao, so we agreed and immediately arranged for our recon.

It was my longest bus ride. Mimay and I were joined by fellow TREK founder Noel, plus Boy Bayhon, one of our most active volunteers. We took the evening bus and woke up just in time to appreciate Ilocos Norte. We caught a glimpse of the windmills of Bangui, the picturesque Patapat Viaduct that connects the Maharlika from Ilocos Norte to the Cagayan Valley Region, and the beautiful coastline of Ilocos Norte.

The tourism officer of Pudtol, Apayao arranged for transportation from the bus station to Pudtol. We left the bus station immediately after tasting Apayao's variation of pansit, the one with fried egg on top, which was our breakfast. We paid a courtesy call to the mayor of Pudtol, Apayao, Mayor Batara P. Laoat. That is when we introduced our group Trails to Empower Kids or TREK.

At the Mayor's House

Pudtol is a 4th class municipality in the province of Apayao and is divided into 22 barangays, which includes Malibang, Cacallagan, Aurora, and Lydia. Mayor Laoat and his staff already plotted our itinerary, so after freshening up, we left. It was another hour-long trip to the jump-off point.

Malibang, Cacalaggan, and Aurora

Our jump off site is a church ruin built in 1684 by the Dominicans and was abandoned in 1815 due to the Isneg attacks. From here, it is only a five-minute walk to the picturesque Apayao River, one of the five biggest rivers in the Philippines, which passes through Cordillera Administrative Region and the Cagayan Valley Region to the Pacific Ocean. The Isneg or Apayao people are riverbank dwellers.

Our ability to balance was tested on these bancas we used to cross the river to Malibang.

Crossing Apayao River

Here, we saw how the people cope when the river unleashes its fury. Most of the houses have second floors to keep the people from harm when the river overflows.

We met some of the locals and we inquired about their schools. Lack of school supplies and books were our expected replies from them, and we guessed right. We visited what looked like oversized chicken cages, which turned out to be one of the school's classrooms.

Next on our itinerary were Cacallagan and Aurora, which were 30 minutes walk from Malibang. The locals discouraged us from pursuing our plan. They worried the walk would be too difficult for us. They looked at another option, which is cruising Abulug River, Apayao River's twin river located at the other side of Malibang, but the tide was too low. So, we decided to walk.

Time was not on our side, so we decided to go straight to Aurora. We passed by the school of Cacallagan along the way. There was no school in Aurora. The teacher and students, mostly Agtas, used the barangay hall as their classroom.

Most of the students reside in the mountains and walk hours to go to school. Their teacher is a passionate Christian who made it his mission to help these students.

After our ocular inspections, we went back to Mayor Laoat's place, and he had the most sumptuous dinner waiting for us, all from the bounty of their land and sea.

Lunchtime came and we were out of food. We rested in the waterfalls, and the guides went up to the falls and came back with greens. That was one of the tastiest vegetable dishes I ever tried. We reached the jump-off site after around five hours.

The following day was Palm Sunday so we heard mass and thanked God for keeping us safe and helping us find our next TREK site. We took a different route back home. We rode a van to Tuguegarao where we rode the bus back to Manila.

The Outreach

A month later, we were back in Apayao.

We almost didn't make it because of the incessant rains in Manila. The task of spreading goodness almost always comes with difficulties.

The trip involved more than 15 hours of land, plus more than an hour on foot, including a short banca ride traversing the Apayao River. The trek was made more difficult by very muddy terrain that went up to mid-thigh high.

The first school the group visited was Malibang Elementary School. Then, the volunteers walked to Cacalagan Elementary School.

The Barangay hall was big anyway, and most of us also brought our tents.

We started with games, then turned over the gifts, and finally served dinner.

The short program we prepared for them followed traditional dances, which lasted until most of us were already so tired from the day's adventure. Some of the participants chose to cap the night by having a few drinks with the locals, while the rest just went inside their tents to get much-needed sleep.

The following day, after breakfast, we traveled to Lydia, which is located at the foot of Mt. Magpulto. We reached the site around lunchtime. Mayor Laoat met us there and he led the program, which was also a simple exchange of gifts and games.

The community also prepared our lunch. After enjoying the local dishes, Mayor Laoat led members of the community and the rest of the participants in an afternoon of traditional dances.

Great Rewards

The returns were certainly far greater than the effort.

Gratitude overflowed at every school we made donations to. There were endless thank you’s and other displays of appreciation made through their dances and songs. As a bonus, we also had a nice trip at a man-made lake near our site.