An Abstruse Peregrination in Isabela City

Pardon the title but my recent travel to Isabela City in Basilan has left me a little baffled. It seemed like a typical rustic City but its not. There are lots of photo-ops but for safety reasons, you cannot just flaunt your gears and shoot. The place seem quiet and peaceful enough to just wander and shoot but still, at the back of your mind, you know that this City has the highest crime rate in the country and shooting here is not usually done using a camera.


Sta. Isabel Church just at the city proper, for example, had its share of violence. This church which houses a mosaic altar was recently damaged by a bomb planted on its left side, just fronting the park.

Luckily, the mosaic altar survived the blast but the side walls including the church's office was heavily damaged. Now, that side of the church with street on it is off-limits to motorists and you can see police and military guarding its vicinity.

On the outside, Sta. Isabel Cathedral might pass as uninteresting visually but the interior of this Church specially the mosaic altar is something you really have to see. One thing also that amazed me in this Church are the pancake candles that church goers light when they pray. If Quiapo has color-coded candles and Cebu has their Sto. Nino-imaged ones, then Santiago City has their trademark of Pancake candles.

By the way, here is a little trivia. Basilan, as a whole, is part of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao but Isabela City is not part of this region. So, although Isabela City is the capital of Basilan, this City is not under administration of ARMM but is placed under the Zamboanga Peninsula region. Interesting, isn't it?

The City Plaza, the Church and the Provincial Capital are just walking distance within each other in the city proper where Jollibee and Chooks to go also sits. And because of recent acts of disturbance, the entire City is heavily manned by military.

Now, to continue... the last two photos are that of the Basilan Provincial Capitol which was constructed along elegant middle-eastern architectural lines reflecting the majority Muslim population of the Island Province. This is the former site of Fort Isabella Segunda.

Other worthy sites to check out in Isabela City include the Kaumpurnah Mosque that you will see once you cross the Isabela Channel, the Cabunbata Falls and also the handicrafts of the Yakan Tribe. There is also the annual Cocowayan Festival celebrated on April. These and more when you travel Isabela City.

Again, a word of caution thou, it is best to travel with someone who knows Basilan by heart and we were lucky that time that we have been accommodated by Dong Ho and his family. So if you want to travel to Isabela City, better look for Dong Ho :). Haha.

Peace Buddy!