I first set foot in this very rustic and sleepy yet idyllic East Coast town of Mati way back in early 2005 or thereabouts when I was fortunate to be part of the RMN DXDC Davao Team then spearheading the launching of our much-anticipated ‘Bancarace sa Pujada Bay’ in time with the holding of their City Founding Anniversary then.
There in the cold waters of Pujada Bay and in the beachfront of what is now this very popular Baywalk Park, mighty riders or ‘bankeros’ or watercraft riders from Davao City, Davao del Sur and from as far as General Santos, Sarangani and the nearby coastal region of Surigao came in with their delegations aboard their trucks bearing their prized motor bancas powered by Mitsubishi engines for the much – coveted cash pot and the adulation of being declared champion riders of the high seas in a two-day contest of superb navigational skills on water.
I remember clearly our first encounter with the very amiable and welcoming and hospitable officials of Mati headed by then City Mayor Michelle Rabat, ably assisted by the equally untiring idea man Sir Richard Villacorte, who was our resident tour guide and kind host from Day One till finish.
Evenings were dedicated to the very popular ‘Teban, Golyat and Gilly del Mar’ Live Variety Show where the Baywalk Park site was literally filled to the brim, virtually overflowing with eager Matinians and Oriental Dabawenyos who were drama addicts of the very popular Cebuano radio dramas of RMN DXDC Davao, which was the unsurpassed and superlative choice of radio listeners of dramang Binisaya originating from the airwaves of Davao radiating to the hinterlands of Davao del Norte, Compostela Valley (now renamed Davao de Oro) to the far reaches of Davao Oriental in the Eastern seaboard of the region.
I came back to Mati City last year when my wife tried her hand working in a fast-growing marketing company which was also providential since I was about to exit then from my broadcast career and was planning to relocate to a much simpler, more idealistic location where we both and our kids can stay for good in a place that we can truly call home.
When I look back at that day of reckoning, now I realized certain things why till now we have chosen this end part or ‘tumoy’ of Davao Region as our family abode.
It could be because of the majesty of the place itself: Coming across the giant welcome sign declaring that you’re now entering and cruising the opening portions of this City of Beautiful Bays, one could literally feel the calming breeze and the breath of fresh air from the high forests mingling with the rushing winds from the adjoining cliffs of these bay waters.
When one finally gets a first glance at the iconic Sleeping Dinosaur and the long and winding road, one knows you have now touched its serene, splendid soil.
Here you are home to a thriving and robust city bounded by endless greeneries, pristine forests and a locality sorrounded by the verdant Mati mountain ranges and comforting designs of nature.
Here you find trees lined across the city’s streets so very unlike many metropolitan areas in the country where nary a tree could be found right at the center of its poblacion, its cornerstone of trade and commerce.
Here nature blends with everyday life, or life mingling with the allure of green surroundings and environment.
Truly this place is blessed, an endowment long denied those cities which have been sadly ravaged by progress itself.
I truly wish its development planners will never lose sight of this intertwined characteristic or strength so that it will continue to flourish unlike major cities nowadays enveloped by concrete jungles, pollution, smog and other existential threats to human survival and existence.
Yes, I have learned to love Mati City’s simplistic beauty, its narrow roads made busy by bao bao motorcycles, its chief mode of transportation here within the city proper and its immediate environs.
I have learned to admire the people’s simple lifestyle, of workers making their rounds to work and office daily, of merchants and traders at the Madang Public Market as they go about their various selling businesses, of people rushing to and from ER Mall, J & F, Warehouse, the popular fast food chains, Mandarin, the newly-opened SM Savemore, among others.
How I wish that the day will ultimately come when giant shopping malls like SM, CitiMall and Robinsons will find a nesting place here in this part of Mindanao.
I dream that one day, this city will learn its lessons from more developed areas like Manila, Cebu, Davao and Gensan: This early, it will be good if they build much wider, more expanded road networks and an array of coastal, diversion roads in anticipation of the advent of modernism, traffic and the mad rush of what will be a bustling locale in the near future.
I love this place because of its solemn religiosity, of its Divine Mercy Parish, its quaint San Nicolas de Tolentino Cathedral, where people and parishioners from all walks of life congregate for their spiritual refreshing and nourishment.
Nestled nearby is its Baywalk Park aptly named after the city’s founding father Francisco ‘Paking’ Rabat: Here, after a busy day from work or after going to church, families can find a worthy place of respite where residents can stop briefly and take a leisurely stroll and respite from the noise of daily life right here by the bay, followed by a quick drop by at its version of Davao City’s Night Market for a chance to partake of its various kakanins, street food varieties, pastil, cold drinks or palamig and many other food fare.
This indeed is a veritable melting pot: While the very commonplace trikes rule the roads and its cost of living is still not that high, popular high-end SUVs, Raptors, D-Max, Expander Cross, Rangers, Navarras, Celibres and many more are visible signs that this Coconut Capital of Davao Region is also a very promising centre of trade and commerce.
I understand that the city’s aim is heightening its Highland to Ocean (H2O) thrust, what with its world class standard beaches the like of Dahican, Masao and many other recent tourist spots.
It is made more relevant by the LGU’s corresponding prioritization of its Agri Industrial Revolution (AIR), another key factor that will most certainly drive City of Mati’s push to the future.
Today this city boasts with the sweetest Menzi pomelos and the prize catch of marine products openly lodged at the Mati Fishport Complex, its trailblazing Kadiwa outlet, among others.
Indeed, home is where the heart is, where our cherished families may spend the best years of their life in this bastion of pristine simplicity made more memorable by shared joys and experiences in a place we can call home.
