Marag Valley

By Danilo P. Padua, PhD

During the early part of this month, I had the opportunity to visit the famous, (or infamous?) Marag Valley in Luna, Apayao. I was with a BSU team that evaluated the researches of Apayao State College in their RDE In-house review.
We had the good chance to have as guide Dr. Zacarias “Jun” Baluscang, a college professor and a former president of Apayao State College who happens to have been born in the Valley. Much thanks to him.
Before proceeding there, we first visited the 7.5 ha area in barangay Panayan, donated by the Apayao provincial government to ASC. It was a rainforest conservation area. Although we did not roam the whole property, it was a real treat for me.
Just a few meters inside, we already saw a species that is known to the locals as having a sour fruit that is perfect for “sinigang”. Our guide said that it is not found in other areas. Another few meters ahead, we observed another small tree with a small ripe red fruit clinging to the trunk like a lanzones. It can not be identified even by another guide, a nursery man. That area alone is already an excellent place to study biodiversity. Fittingly, ASC established a tree nursery there to grow seedlings of locally thriving forest tree species like tindalo, an excellent hardwood which is considered a substitute for narra. It is the same kind of tree used to make the Magellan’s cross that is still existing in Cebu.
Since the area’s entrance is beside a well-paved road, the school put up the Apayao Complementary Food Processing Center. Somehow, this serves as a protection of the reservation’s entrance. We also visited this. The Center is assisted by PLGU Apayao, DOST, and CHED. It is not yet fully completed but is now partially operating, churning out products like the delicious and nutritious NutriCurls made out of rice and mongo. Some CHED officials are strongly encouraging the school to make the Center really good by saying that when it is fully operational, it can rival that of the BSU Food Processing Center. Incidentally, personnel from the Good Shepherd Processing Center in Baguio City trained at the BSU FPC before they hit it big and became popular as they are today.
After that short but enriching experience, we proceeded to Marag Valley. The first thing that one can observe is the newly-built concrete road from the town proper to the Valley. It was a far cry from the sticky or dusty one that prevailed when I attempted to go there about 4 or 5 years ago. The place had become an important tourist destination in the whole of Apayao province. I have heard a lot about this place in the 80s and early 90s. The chaotic type of information.
Dr. Jun filled us with a lot of information about it as we were cruising along and when we were already in the place. He was a very good “historian” to us. Well, he was born there when it was not yet a hotbed of rebellion.
When we reached the place, I was a bit surprised because the valley has mountains, in addition to the usual plains blanketed with lush green rice plants. It has a clear, pristine body of water, the Marag river, described by others as mighty. It has good forest cover, that is restful to the eyes, unlike La Trinidad which is almost totally denuded already of forest trees. It has also caves, and man-made tunnels dug earlier by NPA rebels. Because of the tunnels, it was sometimes called the Vietnam of the Philippines.
A quick check of the internet describes Marag Valley as a vast forest land extending from the foot of Mt. Siamsanderie (the highest peak there) in Luna, Apayao to the Malababie Valley in Pamplona, Cagayan. It is home to Ilocano migrants, Isnegs, and Aggays. Prior to 1984, or before hostilities between government forces and NPA rebels started, Marag Valley had a complete elementary school.
The Valley according to Dr. Baluscang, was declared as the first capital of communism in the Philippines, complete with laws, armed force and attendant subjects that were either willing or unwilling. Sometime in 1982, it was declared as a no man’s land. It was therefore like being sealed from outside and anyone who came close enough to the place did so at great risk to their lives. Being declared so, however, did not mean there were no people there. It simply meant that people from within can not get out and in. They were really trapped inside. Any outsider that tried to get in was shot without any question. This situation brought untold miseries to the inhabitants there that time. Formal schooling was stopped, thus, home schooling was the order of the day.
According to some residents, the Valley was then the training ground of rebels in Northern Luzon. The rebels really held sway there. Because of this, the military conducted the biggest military operation, strafing and destroying houses and killing a lot of civilians, during the last quarter of 1990. A lot of rebels also died. For their part, the army lost a battalion to regain the place from the stranglehold of the rebels, as per our guide. In June, 1993, the rebels surrendered, and rebuilding started slowly.
In our visit, we saw a long, hanging bridge over a river. But according to some account, it was not a river before. It was a battle ground between government forces and NPA rebels. Afterwards, the river suddenly rerouted in the area. About a hundred meters from the bridge were three “floating restaurants” which we were not able to experience.
The Valley hosts the 1,000 hectares given to ASC by the Apayao LGU. The school is now developing a botanical garden for diptherocarps. It is a very rich area for biodiversity studies. Since it is not yet scientifically studied, it therefore offers great opportunities for in-depth researches on various aspects, revolving on its flora and fauna.
From its bloody history, Marag Valley is now a compelling tourist destination for foreign and local tourists alike. It has the Dupag rock formation, which was recently featured in a Jessica Soho episode. For lack of time, we only had a glancing view of the now famous rock formation from a distance. It’s a pity. Long stretches of the road going there are lined with the similar black rock found there. The Manacota underground river and its twin cave are also increasingly attracting tourists from far and wide. Unlucky for us, we only saw the road leading to them. The main road going to those attractions are now well-paved, so travelling will be quite comfortable.
I heard Marag Valley is now being applied for as a UNESCO Biosphere Heritage Reserve. ASC is helping to make the push turn into a reality. There are only 3 such reserves in the Philippines at present: Puerto Galera, Palawan, and Albay. The Biosphere Heritage reserves are established to promote and demonstrate the balanced relationship between man and the biosphere. They harmonize conservation of biological and cultural diversity, and economic and social development, through partnerships between people and nature.
Am looking forward to revisiting Marag Valley to better appreciate the beautiful, natural attractions that it offers.**