I
t’s 6.35am and our plane
begins its descent into
Tagbilaran Airport.
I peek out the window,
half-expecting to see
a spider web of cracks
along the runway and
surrounding streets,
or a barren wasteland
where greenery once
flourished. On October
15 last year, at exactly
8.12am, an earthquake
with a magnitude of 7.2
hit the province of Bohol
and the surrounding
Central Visayas region.
The tremors could be felt
as far away as Mindanao.
Images of the devastation
quickly spread through
social media. Among the
worst-hit structures were
the centuries-old churches
that are a pillar of Bohol’s
once-robust tourism
trade. The bell tower of
the Baclayon Church, built
in 1595 and renovated in
1724, tumbled into a heap
of concrete blocks. It lost
one of its walls. Barely
a month later, Typhoon
Haiyan delivered another
crushing blow.
But as the sunrise
begins to paint the sky
in soft pinks and warm
yellows, I’m greeted by a
scene that’s remarkably
similar to the one I saw
four years ago, when I first
visited Bohol on a family
vacation. We’d enjoyed
four glorious days in this
picturesque paradise and
were lucky enough to have
art historian and former
MetropolitanMuseum
director InoManalo as our
personal tour guide.
Years before, Ino had
fallen in love with Bohol’s
richness and made it his
second home. A heritage
conservationist and
crusader, he settled into
one of Bohol’s many
restored and refurbished
old houses. Back then, Ino
had referred to Bohol as
the next “it” destination
Back then, Ino had
referred to Bohol as the
next “it” destination
53
Clockwise: Cool down with this
yummy treat; outside Baclayon
Church; dried sea urchins in
Pamilacan; rafts on the Loboc
River; weaving at the Bohol Bee
Farm. Facing page: on the deck of
Ocean Suites Hotel
PHOTOS
PAOLO PINEDA; LESTER LEDESMA; JOREM CATILO; TATA MAPA
ON MODEL
CAFTAN BY REGATTA;
(OPPOSITE PAGE) STRIPED BUTTON-DOWN SHIRT BY REGATTA; DENIM SHORTS, MODEL'S OWN
