Diatagon

Diatagon

Have you ever heard about "Diatagon"? What a strange name isn't it? But this name, strange as it sounds, is among the sweetest word I can ever hear. The mere mention of such a word opens the flood gates of my happiest, saddest, sweetest and most of all deepest sentiments of memories.

Diatagon is the name of a barangay located in the northeast part of Mindanao in the province of Surigao del sur. It lies within a bay called Lianga Bay and it faces the Pacific Ocean, possessing the thickest virgin forest that can ever be found in the Philippines or maybe in the world.

Before World War II, Diatagon is an inaccessible jungle. Its forest infested with rare wild animals such as the Philippine Monkey-Eating-Eagle, phytons with bodies as large as Coconut trees large wild pigs and deers. It can only be accessed by ships at that time.

In 1954, An American company was granted concession to log an area of about 59,000 hectares of virgin forest. The forest was so abundant of trees like lawaan, yakal, molave, narra, apitong and magkuno, said to be the hardest wood in the world. The vast forest resources was inexhaustible and indepletible, or so it seems.

In 1956, the Americans started to set up their operations in Barangay Diatagon and Barangay St. Christine. They build a power plant, water system, an airstrip along the beach for its airplanes, logging roads toward the deepest part of the forest, village for its officers and key employees, log pond, seaport, veneer and plywood manufacturing plant, motor pool, a private hospital, a big gym, tennis courts, basketball courts and many other facilities. The company also help and assisted in setting up the schools within its vicinity. Suddenly, Diatagon became a state of the art community complete with facilities and utilities. An ideal place to live and grow old.

From early 1960s up to early 1980s, Diatagon had become the most prosperous barangay in the entire province of Surigao del sur. The company, Lianga Bay Logging Company Inc. had employed at least 800 workers. They paid compensation comparable to the best and most generous companies in the country.

The workers then set up a cooperative. They build a big store where all their basic needs can be bought. Every worker has his own "credit card" payable through salary deduction. It allows workers him to shop without cash. From groceries, rtw, wet market, bakery products and even luxury item you can get them all from that store. It was so big that it was recorded as among the most biggest and most successful cooperative in the Philippine cooperative history.