Landmark river in west coast of Maguindanao
TOURISM • 06:15 AM Tue Dec 21, 2021
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By:
John M. Unson
The scenic stretches of the Matuber River. (From BARMM Parliament Member Romy Saliga)
DATU BLAH SINSUAT, Maguindanao --- The mighty Matuber River is a landmark in this coastal municipality.
It has picturesque stretches close to one spot in the coastline of the seaside Datu Blah Sinsuat town, most known by its acronym DBS, in Maguindanao province.
DBS, a peaceful town, is now touted as the new fishing capital of Maguindanao.
Its local government unit and 13 constituent-barangay governments are together protecting its territorial seas from illegal fishing --- use of dynamites, fine-meshed nets and cyanide --- to easily catch marine species in large volumes.
The inter-agency, multi-sector municipal peace and order council, led by Mayor Marshall Sinsuat, is in the forefront of the environment protection effort.
The Matuber River springs from hinterlands in Upi town, also in Maguindanao, and flows downstream to Barangay Matuber in DBS and drains into the sea --- the Illana Bay.
The 13 barangays in DBS originally belonged to the much older Upi municipality prior to its creation more than a decade ago by the now defunct Regional Assembly of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
The now 30-month Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao that replaced ARMM in early 2019 has also been helping develop DBS to hasten its socio-economic growth.
BARMM, through its local government ministry, has awarded DBS with a police station building and a municipal hall from where the municipal government can serve the local communities. (John Unson)