The Province of Zamboanga Sibugay is the youngest of the three Zamboanga provinces, established in 2001 following a referendum where the people voted to carve out from Zamboanga del Sur the territory of what used to be its third congressional district. Considered as the middle part of the Zamboanga Peninsula, it is situated below Zamboanga del Norte and in between Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga City, hence geographically separating the highly urbanized city to what is considered its mother province.

So we were there, in what could be considered as one of the youngest provinces of the Philippines. It did not take 10 minutes since we left the Ipil Rotunda Obelisk until we reached our next stop in Zamboanga Sibugay. As is typical when having a road trip, stopping at a welcome arch is hard-and-fast mandatory. The place and timing was perfect, as we were on a road not as busy during the early hours of the morning.

The eye-catching welcome arch of Zamboanga Sibugay.

As if ritualistic, we posed with the arch as our aesthetically pleasing background.

Proof of actual presence.

After taking photos by the arch, we proceeded with the short drive to our next quick stop, the Provincial Capitol of Zamboanga Sibugay.

The capitol building is coordinated with the welcome arches leading to the province in terms of architectural design, color palette and geometric patterns, which sends a signal of strong thematic unity. Such unity of the Sibugaynon has already been established after all, when they decided to chart their own destiny as a separate province. Standing on a hilly part of Ipil, the capitol is hence not just a symbol of the seat of power, but a symbol of oneness of its people.

Details of the capitol building leading to its entrance.

Unlike with the welcome arch, we were not able to get our photos taken when we were in the capitol, as if mirroring the fact that it was a fleeting visit. We were just literally breezing through Zamboanga Sibugay, passing through the province as we transit going to the northern part of the Zamboanga Peninsula. That was in no way intended to mean that it was not worth stopping by and visiting in its own right. Young as the province could be, the culture, heritage and history of Zamboanga Sibugay is closely knitted with that of the entire peninsula after all, and hence shares with what makes Zamboanga the rich pot of history, heritage and culture that it is known for.