“THE HISTORIC NASIPIT BAY AND THE UNIQUE PORT OF NASIPIT”
Nasipit is a unique place. It was a flourishing fishing town with a very strategic and unique trading port during the pre-colonial period. All throughout our known recent history, Nasipit Bay and its very own seaport have played very important roles in the development and history not just the town itself but the country as a whole. Nasipit Bay and Nasipit Port saw the beginnings of WW2 in the country when Japanese warplanes chased, strafed, bombed and sank SS Mayon, a modern passenger vessel entering the cove (21 February 1942). The bay and the seaport paved the way and signaled the beginning of the end of the Japanese occupation in the country when it played a pivotal role in tending to the US submarine USS Narwhal when it brought in vital supplies from Australia to provide for the war effort staged by anti-Japanese resistance forces in 1943. The bay (and the seaport) was the staging point whereby hiding American evacuees were succesfully repatriated.
Nasipit Bay and our very own SEAPORT is very unique in itself. Other than its significance and the role it played throughout our history, it is unique due to its topography and strategic location. The bay itself makes the Port of Nasipit THE MOST PROTECTED and one of the SAFEST seaports in the country. It took over Butuan and Lumbocon ports as a major hub for the entire province when they lost that status in the 70s when ships no longer came because of the danger that the strong currents and shallow basin that the Agusan River poses. It also was home to Philippine Wallboard Corp’s Nasipit Lumber Company.
Currently, the Port of Nasipit is the major seaport or base port in the whole of Agusan del Norte. The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) had assigned PMO Nasipit as an INTERNATIONAL BASE PORT. With this designation, this port is a MAJOR HUB! This port should already be a gateway in the exchange and trading of goods, people and materials in and out of the province. This would have catered in more businesses and various industries ushering further industrial and economic growth and development.
So again, let’s ask the question of HOW ON EARTH DID A TOWN GIFTED WITH SUCH A GEM STILL BE A THIRD CLASS MUNICIPALITY? One can just go to the internet and search for ‘Nasipit’ and you’ll get:
“Nasipit, officially the Municipality of Nasipit, is a 3RD CLASS municipality in the province of Agusan del Norte, Philippines.”
Frankly speaking, IT’S AN EMBARRASSMENT!
I remember being a high school student in Manila in the 80s where I used to PROUDLY share and talk about my hometown to my classmates and teacher during Social Studies class. Despite my strong Bisaya accent then, I used to tell them how strong the lawanit and plywood manufacturing industry was because of NALCO, where many townspeople specially the men work. And next to NALCO, many men and women worked as port employees in NIASSI. Their children bring their parents’ lunch food to those places of work. How we prefer travelling to Cebu, Manila and elsewhere by boat from our own port! How we enjoyed watching huge passenger ships, RO-RO ferries and foreign cargo ships pass through Nasipit inlet. We even used to go fishing there! And as a history buff from a young age, I also tell them how important the port was during WW2 (from stories told by our grandparents). Sadly, those are now just stories of the past that I could tell me children.
This gem of a landmark SHOULD BE a source of PRIDE for EVERYONE who loves, lives in, and most importantly…, the NATIVES of Nasipit! We were VERY PROUD OF IT THEN. Let’s rebuild and create REASONS to AGAIN be PROUD OF IT NOW.
For those who don’t know…, SOMEONE GAVE HIS LIFE for this port and many more sacrificed a lot for this unique place.
DO NOT EVER PUT THAT TO WASTE!
Read:
~ https://psssonline.wordpress.com/2017/10/09/the-unique-nasipit-port-and-bay/amp/
https://ppp.gov.ph/in_the_news/historical-tourism/
Ctto
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