bobby,
welcome to the forum.
i wish the other lurkers who are also based in mindanao will join us here.
for the benefit of all here is a simple road map of mindanao.
when i was still with the government, i took several trips from zamboanga to iligan via public bus. travel time was over 14 hours.
general tip for blade hunting: maranao and maguindanao pieces are found starting from iligan city going to the east. tausug, samal, and yakan pieces are found in areas west of iligan city, starting in the city of pagadian going south.
carlo