THE view from the plane seat was breathtaking.
All hues of green deceptively covered what remains of the illegal logging activities in the province of Leyte– the birthplace of Imelda Marcos, the dead dictator Ferdinand’s wife.
The mountains were welcoming from above. Leyte was the paradise that welcomed the country’s American masters to boot out its temporary Japanese lords.
That was a long time ago. The people there are as modern as we are in the metro, only that they breathe fresh air and eat better food. That’s those who reside near the sea, the same victims of Yolanda– the super typhoon of the recent past that had killed more than 6,000 of them.
Yolanda came in 2013, decades after the 1991 flash flood that took more than 5,000 lives in Ormoc. They were the victims of the rampant illegal logging activities there. It took years before their families’ wounds healed.
Shades of the corrupt past remain there, though. The presence of “colorum” taxis and trike drivers that overcharge fares hark back to the Manila International Airport of the 1980s.
Leyte’s people are generally good, though.
That was until we reached its fabled Kalanggaman Island. Many Leyte folks swore to have yet been there and called us fortunate to have seen it. We were, if not for a certain police officer who tried to commandeer our boat so that it could ferry his big group of guests back to the town of Palompon.
Two families of five each paid premium for that boat. We both wanted safety and privacy, besides the Covid threat remains and we did not want exposure to large crowds. That’s the reason why we chose to visit Kalanggaman Island in its low season.
The policeman, back by his fellow officers, insisted that we leave the boat. He mentioned that it was an order from a certain “undersecretary” from Malacanang.
Pressed for the name of the alleged official, he said it was former Executive Secretary Vic Rodriguez who was relieved on that same week of my Kalanggaman visit.
This rubbernecker sensed the bluff quickly. The cop, apparently assigned to guard the island, was power-tripping and overboard his functions and duties.
The two families that rented the boat ordered the ship captain to leave. He then blamed the “tourism office” for allowing that mess.
Once in the main port, I asked the cops manning the outpost for the name of their fellow but they kept mum.
We also asked the Palompon tourism office if they did allow the cop to bump us off our rented boat. Its staff said no.
There was no way we could have talked to Palompon Mayor Ramon Oñate as we and the other family with us in the boat had flights to catch.
Oñate should not allow his cops and tourism officials to besmirch his programs. It was a terrible experience for two families and we doubted if this was the first time his visitors have been turned off by such practices of his men.
Leyte 4th District Representative Richard Gomez was apologetic when I relayed this story to him. He has a different function from Oñate, though.
He could only say sorry.
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