26/06/2025
An Open Letter to All Aspirants:
Dear Fellow PHinishers,
First of all, mabuhay and congratulations on beginning your journey through the rich, raw, and remarkable beauty of our 7,641 islands!
ProjectPH82 is more than a checklist. It’s more than pins on a map or stamps on your notebooks. It’s a lifelong adventure — a personal pilgrimage through the soul of the Philippines, one province at a time.
Let us gently remind ourselves: this is not a race.
There’s no trophy waiting at the finish line, no medals for the fastest itinerary, no scoreboard that defines who traveled “better.” What matters most is how deeply you felt the rhythm of each destination — the stories you heard from locals, the quiet moments on a mountaintop, the laughter in a remote barangay, the silence in an old church, or the taste of a home-cooked meal shared by some strangers who became family.
Take your time.
Let each province leave its mark on you.
Let your footprints tell stories — not just of where you’ve been, but of how you felt while being there.
Visit Abra not just for its views, but for its resilience.
Embrace Sulu not just for its seas, but for its soul.
See the beauty of Tawi-Tawi, not just with your eyes, but with your heart wide open.
Whether you’re at province number 3 or 79, remember: you are not behind. You are exactly where you’re meant to be.
So pause. Soak it all in. Celebrate slow travel. Celebrate intentional travel.
Let’s inspire each other not just to finish ProjectPH82 — but to feel it. To understand it. To grow with every tricycle ride, every sunrise hike, every goodbye that feels too soon.
Do not tally provinces as trophies. Tally friendships, lessons, and the moments when you felt this country echo in your bones. Because when the last province has been ticked and the map is finally full, the question will never be “How fast did you finish?” but “How fully did you live each kilometer of the journey?”
May your travels light new lanterns of curiosity for others to follow.
May your stories convince even one more Filipino to fall in love with the motherland.
And may we, together, rewrite the narrative of tourism—from a race to a reunion of hearts across 7,641 islands.
With hope, pride, and a backpack full of wonder,
In this journey across 82 provinces, may we not only discover the Philippines — but rediscover ourselves.
Kita-kits sa kalsada, at sama sama tayong .
Inyong ka PHinisher,
Jef