10 Tribes of Davao City - Tagabawa part (7-10)

This is the 7th part of the list of 10 tribes in Davao.

Tagabawa

The Tagabawas inhabit the areas from Toril in Davao City, Santa Cruz, Digos, and Bansalan in Davao del Sur, to parts of Makilala and Kidapawan in Cotabato. The Spaniards identified Sibulan in Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur as the "more important capital" of the Bagobos.

At the Davao Poblacion site, Bagobo territory is bounded by the Davao River, beyond which live Giangans and Atas. The Spanish priests estimated Bagobo population at 12,000 in the 1880s. But it may be difficult to determine their exact number as many of them have been assimilated into the majority Bisayan culture.

The name Bagobo used here is restricted to mean the Tagabawa, which means "from the south". It does not include the other tribes found in Davao City such as the Obo and the Giangan. At present, the name Bagobo is loosely used to include the tribes, sometimes to include the Matigsalugs in the Marilog area.

However, the original Bagobo, as used by the Spaniards, refer only to the native inhabitants centered around Santa Cruz and nearby areas, that is, the Tagabawa,

In 1888, Fr. Juan Doyle described the Bagobos as the most advanced and intelligent of all natives in the Philippines archipelago.

Tagabawa people occupy the districts of Marilog, Baguio, Calinan, Tugbok and Toril, where majority of them dwell.

Click here to see the rest of the Davao tribes.

Passig Islet Agro-Eco Park - Barangay Bato Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur

During my vacation we happened to visit some great places here in Davao, one would be the D'Leonor Hotel Inland Resort which I would be telling you in the next post. Today I'm gonna show you a place where you can have fun at the beach at a cheaper price. 

The place I'm telling is the Passig Islet Agro Eco Park. This man-made islet is located at Barangay Bato, Sta. Cruz, Davao Del Sur. From Davao City you can take a bus going to Digos City, you can tell the driver to drop you off at Barangay Bato, (so before you get on the bus, better ask the driver first if he knows where the place is)it would take about 45 minutes if you ride the bus.

Upon reaching Barangay Bato, the driver would drop you off in Bato Gym (its an open court basketball gym) you make walk about 2 minutes to reach the entrance gate of Passig Islet. Then you would take a short walk on their Foot bridge surrounded by Mangrove trees before reaching the pump boat that would take you the the Islet.

Foot Bridge Leading to the Pump Boats

The view of Passig Islet from the Dock

From the dock you can already see the view of the Passig Islet, the pump boat that you will be riding has a capacity of 6-8 persons (6 persons for me is best suited for this tiny pump boat) the fare would be 20-25 pesos per head, but the fare you'll be paying is already good for back and fourth, but take note guys you better take the pump boats driver cellphone number so you can contact him in case you already want to go back so he can fetch you. 

Once you arrive at Passig Islet you can choose from 3 different cottages there, ranging from 150 (small), 250 (medium) and 500 (large) there is also a function hall that would cost 5,500 pesos plus free generator for electric needs (Yes the place has no electric lines, and electric generators are used for electricity). 

Function Hall - 5,500 pesos

Large Cottage - 500 pesos

Medium Cottage - 250 pesos

Small Cottage - 150 pesos

The place for me is nice, it's clean, I love the fresh breeze of air during my time there. At the time of our visit there were plenty of people, but still it was not crowded, the function hall was even used by a school party. The islet is a white sand although not as fine maybe as beaches from Boracay, but since the price you pay for being in the place is cheaper maybe compared to going to some expensive resort, and that for me was a big plus.

Here are more photos of Passig Islet:

Nearby Floating Cottage

Tourist enjoying the beach