Butuan’s Balangay: ASEAN’s voyage of discovery
By Renelle L. Escuadro
During the Butuan Boat 2 excavation in 1977. (Original photo is credited to the National Museum of the Philippines/ Colorized photo courtesy of the Butuan Balangay International Conference 2025.)
Unearthed from a dried-up river channel in Barangay Libertad, Butuan City, in the 1970s, the 11 excavated ‘balangay’ boats were more than spectators of the old economic engagement with Southeast Asian countries. They are substantial pillars to the dawn and the making of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Carbon-dated individually from 689 to 988 Common Era, the balangay boats or ancient vessels recognized as among the oldest water transports ever discovered in Southeast Asia, served as tangible evidence that ancient maritime trade, economic ties, and cultural exchanges already existed a long time ago between the Philippines and the countries in Southeast Asia, even before the birth of ASEAN.
According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the discovery of the balangay boats within the same sites where the various ceramic wares were discovered further attests to the significance of the area to the Philippines and Southeast Asian maritime silk roads, an ancient network of sea routes that reached East Asia, India, the Middle East, East Africa, and Europe.
The balangay boats, more than carriers of trade products, also witnessed how the ancestors from distinct nations sailed and established interconnection, resilience and unity in diversity, marking the core and deeper truths of ASEAN, an international organization founded by five countries namely, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand on August 8, 1967, with a primary goal of developing Southeast Asia as a region.
Today, ASEAN comprises 11 member states: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam, with headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia. Papua New Guinea serves as an observer state.
This year, the country will host the 48th ASEAN Summit in Cebu City on May 6–8, convening Southeast Asian leaders to advance regional cooperation, economic resilience, and sustainability under the Philippine chairship, anchored on the theme: ‘Navigating Our Future, Together.’
At the heart of the ASEAN 2026 Philippines Chairship logo is the image of the ‘balangay,’ together with other key symbols: the rice stalk, the weave pattern, and the wave.
Inspired by the balangay, it conveyed the essence of ASEAN’s timeless journey – many nations, each with its own unique character, moving forward together aboard a single vessel.
Meanwhile, as balangay takes center stage in the ASEAN Philippines 2026, the city of Butuan, as the ‘home of the balangays,’ kicked off its celebration of the Balangay Festival on May 1 at the Butuan City Hall grounds.
The Balangay Festival is observed every May 19 in Butuan City, symbolizing the city’s rich seafaring and maritime history, as well as the origin of the term balangay. It also features a month-long series of celebrations on local history, culture, and heritage.
More than a festivity, it is a reminder of the present-day or the modern Butuanons who honor their roots, embrace progress, and are purpose-driven.
For Butuan City Mayor Lawrence Lemuel H. Fortun, despite the effects of global challenges, including tensions in the Middle East and extreme heat conditions, the city continues to celebrate the Balangay Festival in a more meaningful, purposeful, and profound way.
“Amid these challenges, we continue our celebration because its true meaning is not found in grandiosity, but in the essence and values that the balangay represents to us, Butuanons,” said Mayor Fortun. (RLE, PIA Dinagat Islands)
