MAPPING OUT ZAMBOANGA

I encountered a multitude of questions and comments when I mentioned an upcoming trip to Zamboanga and the nearby City of Isabela in Basilan across the channel that separates them; mostly emphatic: "Why are you going?" "Is it safe?" "How exciting!"

- LISA ONGPIN PERIQUET

It's likely some of these anxious comments were inspired by the damaging effects of a three-week episode in 2013 known as the Siege of Zamboanga, wherein Muslim rebels associated with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), in a repeat violation of the peace in the city, attempted to establish an independent republic within the coastal communities of the city, battling with the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Despite this negative security image, I was curious to see for myself what Zamboanga City was like, noting its reputation as a culturally interesting spot alongside its somewhat cowboy qualities.

My recent visit to the area was done in the good company of the Philippine Map Collectors' Society (PHIMCOS), of which I am a member; to attend the launch of an exhibition on Zamboanga history curated by a PHIMCOS trustee, Dr. Felice Noelle Rodriguez.

Most sources for the origin of the name "Zamboanga" seem to settle on the Spanish adaptation of the word samboangan, which is derived from a local term for a wooden pole used to moor boats in shallow waters.

Zamboanga is often referred to as a "crossroads" or melting pot of different cultures, which underlines its strategic role as a gateway to southern Philippines and beyond. It was already a trading port in the centuries before the country's Spanish colonizers founded the city as a military outpost in 1635, recognizing its strategic location.