Man completes travel to all of Philippines' 1,634 cities, towns

A man has completed his travel to all of the Philippines' 1,634 municipalities and cities with his recent trip to Pag-asa Island in Palawan's Kalayaan Island Group.

According to Raffy Tima’s “24 Oras” report on Friday, Marco Puzon started traveling to the different towns and municipalities of the country in 2013 after he lost his job.

He said he signed in the log book of the town or city he visited to officially mark his trip.

“Hindi lahat nakaka log pero most of them naman, pumupunta talaga ako sa munisipyo, nagpi-picture ako doon,” he said.

(Some places don't have official logs, but I was able to log in in most of them. I go to the city or town hall to have my picture taken.)

Puzon became emotional after he completed his trip to the Kalayaan Islands through the “Great Kalayaan Expedition.”

"Ten years. Natapos ko na ang Pilipinas, all 1,634 municipalities, ten years!” Puzon said.

(Ten years. I have finished the Philippines, all 1,634 municipalities, in ten years!)

Filipino soldiers were strictly monitoring and guarding the island due to the presence of the Chinese forces.

"When I wrote to them back in 2019, kailangan daw ng clearance sa local government unit, Department of the Interior and Local Government, and then military so parang anlabo talaga niya. May time na sige, tanggap ko na kung hindi ko mapupuntahan ang Kalayaan,” he said.

(When I wrote to them back in 2019, they said I needed clearance from the local government unit, Department of the Interior and Local Government, and then the military, so it seemed like I would be unable to go there. I had accepted that I might be unable to go to Kalayaan.)

Even though the Kalayaan Islands was so far the most difficult place to reach, he does not compare it to other towns he visited.

"Whenever I go to a place, I empty my mind and see what is there, I’ll try to see anong meron doon na common sa lahat or sabihin nating different sa lahat and I treat it as special,” he said.

As the first Filipino to reach all towns and cities in the country, Puzon said he planned to write a book about his journey and experiences.

“It’s actually challenging people. Na nabisita niyo ba ang inyong home province? Baka isa lang na town, dalawang town. So maganda siya to start in in your home province,” he said,

(It is my challenge to everyone. Have you visited your home province? Maybe just one town, two towns. So it is good to start in your home province.) — Richa Allyssa Noriega/DVM, GMA Integrated News