3 Things That Let You Know You’ve Arrived in SOCCSKSARGEN

I only just came back to Manila yesterday, and already, I miss home. I recall the very first things I saw when I arrived at the place, and I realize how very peculiar they would have been if it were my first time being there.

My parents have always kept a routine every time they pick me and my brother up at the General Santos City airport. First, we drive from Tambler to the city proper, maybe do a little shopping at KCC Mall, then we eat at Durian Farm and when we’re full, we carry on with our hour-long drive home.

After six months in Manila, a long weekend in Marbel felt like an oddly new experience. It was as if I was rediscovering an old familiar place with bright new eyes. Nothing much has changed, yet as my father drove and my mother talked and I stared out the window half-listening, I can’t help but notice three very exceptional things that never failed to remind me of home. You’d find yourself distinctly in SOCCSKSARGEN if you experience these too.

1. Your diet has changed and you’re suddenly eating 500 grams of grilled tuna belly and a slice of durian pie.

General Santos City, together with the Sarangani Province, has been popular for its fresh catch of huge tuna. Tuna restaurants and grilled tuna houses abound the metro selling a variety of dishes out of this locally grown fish for almost half the price as they would have cost in an average Manila restaurant.

Durian is also abundant not just in my hometown Marbel, but in the whole of Region 12 itself. There are people who don’t like this exotic fruit because of its smell, but exactly because of its pungent odor and even more tangy taste, my family has been a huge fan of durian since I was a kid.

A little local tip: Durian’s peak season is from September to November. Tuna, on the other hand, is available all year round. Better to be an early riser so you can head to the docks of the General Santos Fish Port at dawn. Live and freshly caught tuna can be grilled and served up your plate by the local fishermen themselves.

2. You’re driving on a stretch surrounded by a sea of pineapples.

Unbeknownst to many, South Cotabato is home to packaged fruit juice giant Dole Philippines. Its processed fruit mixes, canned juices and concentrated chunks of peaches and pineapples can be found at supermarkets in the Philippines and abroad.

Whenever my father drives home from GenSan or vice versa, we never fail to pass by Polomolok, a small town which takes pride in its hectares upon hectares of pure pineapple. The spiky little things stretch from both sides of the highway up until the foot of Mt. Matutum and other nearby mountains.

3. Manny Pacquiao is everywhere!

From business advertisements to his more recent campaign posters, Manny Pacquiao’s face is literally plastered all over General Santos City.

Just as he uses his endorsement for his own PacMan Convenience Store and PacMan H2O Water Refilling Station, multi-national corporations also use him for their own brands. Just look at his collectible Nike t-shirt or the many, many Pacquiao trinkets available at the Team Pacquiao Store in Robinsons Galleria GenSan.

Even his house in GenSan has become a tourist attraction. Fans and foreign holidaymakers alike take their pictures at his front gate!

(SOCCSKSARGEN is an abbreviation for South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani Province and General Santos City.)