General Description
Lake Sebu is natural lake located in the Lake Sebu Municipality in South Cotabato, about one and a half hour travel from General Santos and 4 hours ride from Davao. It is mainly inhabited by the T'boli (tee-boh-lee) tribe and some other settlers from the low lands. Lake Sebu is the largest of the three lakes located in the municipality, more than 300 hectares. Within the lake are various resorts and the best, that is most pride in the area is the Punta Isla Lake Resort. It is owned and managed by the Mayor of the Municipality of Surallah, the town prior to Lake Sebu.
We came in late about eight in the evening because we got lost. We got the wrong turn and it was dripping all over South Cotabato. When we came in, the staff greeted us with a warm welcome despite the cold night. They run off to us and offered us umbrella so that we won’t get wet. My sisters and I were greeted by the front desk clerk who was very well-trained to speak English, tagalong, bisaya, ilonggo and t’boli and enunciate the different accents of most their guests. She gave us the room key and informed us that there is going to be a cultural night which we delightfully watched prior to going to our room.
Accommodations, Facilities and Services
Apart from the lake, the land area of the resort is not very big but it simply has breath taking views and good accommodation. There are other services are available also.
The resort has a floating restaurant which accommodates about 20-40people including the waiters. You can reach it by riding an improvised Bangka. It is situated near the fish pens of the resort were you can see the workers fish the tilapia using their canoes. You can also see most of the lake in the floating restaurant.
The Lake
The lake is as rich as the other lakes. The difference is that the lake has not been exploited and is well preserved. The people have respected well what the lake has to offer. The clear waters became greenish due to the presence of algae and the reflection of the trees surrounding it. Water lilies and water hyacinth were found floating around the lake. Birds were sited resting on it while men were found fishing around.
On the banks of Punta Isla, the depth of the water is 15 ft while the deepest is about 2,000 ft. Luckily, Lake Sebu is not crocodile infested thus you can tour around the area safely.
There are islets were found inside Lake Sebu. Among the largest is the Crocodile Island so named because it’s shaped like a crocodile’s back. A few lived in the island and most of them T’bolis. Another Island we saw was privately owned by the Valenzuela family which is now for sale (Php 2.2 million, about four hectares land area). Near the island of the Valenzuela’s is another privately-owned island (Chua Family). According to our T’boli tour guide Jasmine, it was previously the T’boli’s burial ground.
The 45 minute-tour around the lake cost Php 500. It has about 20-person capacity complete with life jackets. A T’boli tour guide, fluently speaking English, Tagalog, T’boli, Visayan and Ilonggo will accompany you. Jasmine, the tour guide, answers our questions promptly and has a very pleasant voice with superb jokes.
The People and their Culture
The people of the lake are called T’boli (the tribe is also found elsewhere in the area of South Cotabato). Although there are other settlers in the municipality, the rich culture of the T’boli is still very visible. As any other tribe in Mindanao, the T’boli, especially the women, have very colorful tribal dresses. Red is the primary color, in adjunct to colors yellow, black, white and others.
On the cultural night, we saw their different instruments and dances. Before and after each dance, they step on one of the drum ornaments. This is a sign of respect to the spirits of the instruments. We saw their courtship, flirtation and monkey dance. The monkey dance is made because they believe that the monkey is their ancestors.
The men of T’boli are fishermen, farmers and those with artistic talents play musical instruments and do brass casting. Women help men in farming, they also do all the house chores, weaving, dancing and brass casting.
In the previous times, marriages were arranged. The marriage can be set when they are still very young or when they are of right age. Marriage can also occur when a man pursue the woman he wants and He is able to pay the dowry to the women’s family. The Datu or the royalties of their tribe can marry as many as he wants. One of the Datu living near the lake had married at one time 12 wives. The wives of the datu will live under one roof along with their children. They will do all the housework including the tending of the farm or fishing owned by the datu. When he wants to have marital intercourse with any of his wives, the datu will place his hat on the window of one of them.The T’boli tribe has divorce in their culture like the Maranao, Maguindanaon’s and other tribes. If the woman wants to divorce his husband because she loved another man, she must pay the dowry her husband gave to her family however it must be two times the amount. If the husband wanted the divorce, no amount is paid.
The T’boli also has a sacred burial ground. Before modernization came to their place, the Island owned by the Chua family was their burial ground. They don’t bury their dead because according them some of those who were dead became alive again. Thus they leave their dead hanged or laid on the ground.
Verdict
The overall experience in Punta Isla is great. I can't forget the kindness of the people apart from the picturesque view. I will definitely go back soon.
Side trips
Fare from the highway to the zipline area is Php 25. Entrance fee for adults is Php 20, student with ID Php 10 and the fees for children have their own rates. There are different packages for the zipline rides. We took the Php 300 package with two zipline rides. Photos were Php 100/ 2 photos.
On the highway of Marbel, there are several food stalls that serve buko halu-halu. It costs about Php 60.00. It’s a yummy side trip along the way. I am rating it 4 spoons.
