By Ben R. Rosario
Balangay, a wooden watercraft used by pre-colonial Filipinos and the origin of the word barangay which is the smallest political unit in the country, has been recommended to be the national boat of the Philippines.
The House Committee on Basic Education and Culture has unanimously endorsed the enactment of House Bill 986 that proposes balangay, otherwise known as the Butuan boat, to be declared the national boat.
Agusan del Norte Rep. Lawrence Lemuel H. Fortun, the bill’s principal author, lauded the committee decision even as he urged his colleagues to support the swift plenary approval of the measure.
“The balangay was the first ever wooden watercraft to be excavated in Southeast Asia demonstrating early Filipino boat-building genius and seamanship expertise during pre-colonial times,” Fortun said.
According to Fortun, the boat was used by Filipinos to maintain trade relations with neighboring islands around the country and empires around Southeast Asia as early as the 10th and 11th centuries.
“The technology used in building this boat is unique to the balangay. The vessel is a plank boat adjoined by carved-out planks edged through pins and dowels,” explained the bill’s author.
He added: “As demonstrated by our ancestors, building a balangay and sailing it in the high seas entail solidarity and harmony among boat builders and seafarers.”