San Juanico Bridge
Leyte Seawall
MV Eva Jocelyn
Balangiga Bells
Stopping in the middle of the longest bridge
Well, technically, it's not the longest anymore. But it is still very long. And it is not allowed to stop in the middle of it just for photos. But that's what I did. It was my first time crossing the San Juanico Bridge and setting foot on Samar Island. San Juanico Bridge was once the longest bridge in the Philippines. It connected the big islands of Leyte and Samar. I didn't want to miss the opportunity to have my picture taken at the famous bridge.
We had to be quick. We stopped on the side of the road once our car entered the bridge. My girlfriend and I dashed outside, and I did a few poses while she took photos of me. We exchanged places, and I took photos of her. And then we were done. We ran towards the car. And our friend continued driving as if nothing had happened.
It was a harmless stunt. We didn't cause any traffic. And we were done in a matter of seconds. So I'd say it was in good taste.
An extreme seawall after thousands of people died
I was in Tacloban City, Leyte, with my girlfriend and her friends in July this year. On the last day of our trip, we stopped by a Buko Juice stall in the city. Across the stall was a small paved road which was part of an extremely long seawall. Our friend who lives in the city told us that the seawall extended from Tacloban City all the way to the town of Dulag. That's around 43 km of seawall. I was amazed but not really surprised. In 2013, almost 7,000 people died from a super typhoon that hit the country, and most of those who died were from Tacloban after a great storm surge pummeled through the city and its nearby towns.
I understood the reasoning behind the billion-peso seawall project. It's a bit extreme, but I think it's in good taste.
A tourist attraction from the ship that killed several families
Continuing with our tour in Tacloban City, our friend brought us to a strange tourist spot. It was a bow of a ship named MV Eva Jocelyn. I later learned that during the onslaught of the super typhoon in 2013, the ship plowed through several houses and killed many people. And for some questionable reasons, the city decided to make a memorial out of the ship. It didn't sit well with me why they would do that. I know I am in no position to speak for the remaining families of those who died because of the ship, but it was an uncomfortable feeling being up there. Our friend told us to pose at top of the bow, and I didn't want to seem rude, so I agreed.
The tourist attraction reminds me of a scene from Thor: Love and Thunder where they showed an ice cream shop with the name Infinity Conez. In front of the store was a giant Infinity Gauntlet holding an ice cream. It was weird to see something that caused so much death to be made light of and, in a way, celebrated.
Anyway, my girlfriend and I posed on top of the ship that's become a tourist attraction after killing a bunch of people. I'd say it's in bad taste.
The return of the Bells of Massacre
Before reaching Tacloban City, our friend brought us to see the infamous Balangiga Bells in Balangiga, Samar. There is so much dark history surrounding these bells. I call them the Bells of Massacre. They are witnesses to one of the worst American atrocities in the Philippines during their occupation of the country. I won't go into the very details of what happened, but the gist is that in 1901, Americans massacred a lot of Filipino civilians in Balangiga as a reprisal after their unit was ambushed by Filipino militants. The killings done by the American soldiers were so widespread that it was considered the worst for the entire duration of the Filipino-American war. Three bells from a church in Balangiga were taken by the Americans as spoils of war. The bells were said to have been rung as warning before the attack of the Americans. Only recently, the bells made their way back home after years of recovery attempts by the Philippines Government. source
When I saw the bells, I thought they were nothing special, just plain church bells. But I was glad that they were back to where they should be. It was the least that could be done for the people of Balangiga who went through hell.
Displaying the Bells of Massacre and having photos taken with them, I'd say that's in good taste. Only because they are where they should be.