Like a farm in the city

St. Antoninus House, our mission residence in Gen. Santos City is situated on a property that is just a little more than a hectare located at Purok Matatag in Barangay San Isidro. It is about 5 kilometers away from the center of the city. Our residence is a modest house situated right in the middle of the property. It has three small bedrooms, a living room, a dining area and a small kitchen. A small octagonal shaped chapel named after Our Lady of Manaoag stands in front of the house, facing the road. I wake up at 5:30 a.m. every day to the cool morning breeze and the sounds of the birds chirping and the cocks’ crowing, as the first rays of sunlight peer through my bedroom window. There are plenty of trees all around the area and sometimes I do not feel like I live in a city in Mindanao, where a fifteen minute drive away is a handful of malls.

About half of the property is not yet developed. At the back is a basketball court and a big open area with plenty of trees, most of which are mahogany. Other trees that may be found within the area are mango, coconut, santol, avocado, jack fruit, guyabano, papaya and banana. This is probably the reason why there are so many birds in the area; they feed on the fruits of the various trees. There are even bats at night that probably feed on these fruits as well. These trees also provide shade during the day, when it gets very hot especially at midday. Gen. Santos City is situated near Sarangani Bay which must be the reason why the area is sandy and the atmosphere humid.

Towards the end of the day, as the sun slowly sets, the sounds of birds chirping slowly fades and the sounds of crickets gradually fill the surroundings. It signals that the day has finally come to an end and night time has begun. The cool breeze will once again be felt as the sun sets and darkness covers the place. Since it is not located along the main street or hi way, the noise coming from cars or any other sort of transportation is very minimal. Once in a while one can notice the sound of motorcycle from afar.

Since Gen. Santos City is still a typhoon free zone, at least up to this date, most of the houses outside the city center but still within the city limits, are built from light materials. Most of the houses in the sitios and barrios are built from a combination of galvanized iron roof and woven bamboo walls. It may be hot during the day, but it gets cool at night and the early morning, especially during the months of December and January.

What I especially like in Gensan is the fresh seafood, vegetables and fruits. Of course, most people know that Gensan is the tuna capital of the Philippines, but there are also a lot of other seafood aside from tuna. Fruits and vegetables are always fresh and cheap. In the nearby town of Polomolok is the Dole pineapple plantation, which produces pineapple chunks and juice in cans. Tupi, the town next to Polomolok, also produces a variety of fruits like papaya, durian, mangosteen, lanzones, marang and pineapple.