Sun, sea, sand & Paolo

Lahos! It was all I could say when I read in the papers about the most recent airline incident that happened at a local airport. Lahos in Tagalog means lumagpas or lampas. The airplane actually overshot the runway. Thank God, nobody was harmed.

When plane travel to and from Samar was yet scarce, poor Samareños like us would take the ship where quarters were cramped like sardines. Of course, there were first class and cabins, de luxe sections which we could not afford. These were almost an exclusive to wealthy town mates and Warays. Going to the Pier was an ordeal in itself. There was always a sea of people of all shapes and sizes trying to make way for the boat ride. It reminded me of the Ellis Island where immigrants from all over the world passed through a checkpoint before they were allowed into the US. But for the hardy Samareño, it was no big deal. After all, the Waray has been through the worst unos, baha, delubyo, and yet, he is still standing proud and hopeful. But aside from the travel by boat to Manila, one could also take the bus which took you almost a day through Bicol, Lucena, Matnog. It was like you joined a bad season of The Amazing Race.

Today, thank God, it is infinitely easier to travel back home.

I am not for The Amazing Race. I would surely fail. I am also not adventurous in my travels. My haywire schedule prevents me from taking long out-of-town trips. I’d hie off to Lipa for a much needed rest on Mondays since most of the days are spent working. My friends have been egging me on to visit Batanes, which was placed under the Unesco World Heritage sites, Palawan and its stalactite and stalagmite laden caves, and a hundred other places in the country. One time, a friend mentioned that travel to Europe would be a great adventure. I have been to Russia at the wrong time. It was so cold and drab. Moscow is an interesting city but I was there when life was hard and the political climate was uncertain.

Yes, I like the comfort of air travel. By Holy Week, I hope to be able to walk again in the beaches of Boracay, enjoy a whiff of fresh air, watch the sunset, and the sea as it kisses the blue skies. Boracay is one of my favorite places. I look forward to being in Boracay again.

One of the frequent flyers to Boracay is Paolo Bediones. Paolo was recently in Boracay for the shoot of Asian Spirit commercial Sabay Tayo. "It was a wonderful opportunity to rediscover Boracay. I’ve been to Boracay many times before and I never really got to enjoy it because I was always so pressed for time. But during the shoot, we went to a lot of different locations, met a lot of wonderful people and got to experience the beauty and charm of Boracay," he says.

Asian Spirit was established as the first local cooperative airline in the industry in September 1995 by the Airline Employees Cooperative (36 Filipino nationals, professionals and employees with varied airline disciplines). It started operations in March 1996 and its first routes were from Manila to the present-day towns of Boracay (Caticlan), San Jose, Virac, Baguio and Masbate. Towns and cities serviced by the airline are usually regarded as secondary and tertiary routes, otherwise known as missionary routes usually not serviced by major airlines.

Asian Spirit has the distinction of being the first airline to serve Boracay with the most flights daily, and for the last 11 years, Asian Spirit has been consistently the No. 1 passenger carrier to Boracay. Today, Asian Spirit operates 20 daily flights to Boracay using its BAe146 jet aircraft and 50-seater Dash 7 aircraft — the biggest, fastest aircraft that operates to and from Boracay (Caticlan). It operates regular flights from its hubs in Manila, Cebu and Davao to towns and cities throughout the Philippines and recently, to Palau.

Storywriting contest for kids

The Francis Padua Papica Foundation is inviting schools and its students to participate in the Second Mga Kwentong Pambata ng Papica Foundation National Short Storywriting Contest. This year’s theme is Bayani ng Bayan Ko! (The Hero of My Town). To join, contestants must be between nine and 12 years old at the time of the deadline.

Entries must be an original unpublished work of the author in essay form or a short story format about the life of the chosen hero. All entries should have a title and should have a maximum of 750 words, typewritten with font size 12, Arial or Times New Roman, double-spaced and printed out in letter size white bond paper (8.5" x 11"). All pages should contain the entry title with the page number at the upper right header of the paper.

Participants can use either English or Filipino. All entries must have a complete entry form. Participants can request for the entry form from their school administrators. They can also download the entry form at www.papicafoundation.com or request for one at [email protected]

All entries must be received by Aug. 1 at 11:59 p.m. Winners will be notified via letter, phone call and e-mail by Oct. 1. Enclose the entry in a short brown envelope together with the complete entry form and mail to: Mga Kwentong Pambata ng Papica Foundation, Backroom Inc., Unit 207 #116, CRM Bldg., Kamias Rd. cor. Kasing-Kasing St. QC, Philippines or submit an electronic copy of the story and the complete entry form via e-mail to [email protected].