Guiuan Airport

Airport? Does Guiuan have an airport? Well, if you asked me yesterday, I would have told you “not really an airport – but runway there is. All that is different now and I have better update my lowly memory. There is an airport! I just found about it on my way to Calicoan and Sulangan. And OMG was I surprised.

Let’s talk a bit of history first. We are/were not from Guiuan but my family had many friends there. So the few times that they brought me along, I have known that there was this big runway where we kids were allowed to bike around (motorbikes) and the bigger kids were allowed to drive around (cars). All of us were then under the allowable age limit of whatever it was we were driving hehe! Mi abuela would usually tell us then, that that runway was historic in that it was one of the first in this country; that it was part of MacArthur’s big (biggest at that time) US Naval Base in the Pacific; that the plane that bombed Hiroshima took off from the same runway – then all the itokos would squirm and quiver! Am not sure if Lola was not exaggerating when she would tell us that even JFK (a soldier then) also lived in that big naval base and that the base had so many soldiers more than the total population of the whole of Samar during that time. Anyway…

The reason why I asked the driver to pass by the runway was just for a bit of nostalgia, so I could see again how the old runway was. But I was in for a big surprise…

First I noticed that the way to the airport was on very nice newly paved road. I just thought a the town must have expanded and that there were already many residents in the runway area. But there were few that we passed. On a final turn which was at the end of the runway, I noticed that there was already some kind of perimeter fence. Hmm. And driver went straight into what looked like two houses with a concrete parking lot. I asked where we were and he said “the airport”. Gosh! I jumped out to see it of course.

Oh yes, its an airport! The two buildings seem to indicate they are passenger and cargo terminals! But there was no one in any of the buildings and the chicken-wire gate was open. I went in. Oh my… even the Tarmac pavement is new and has guide markings. As I walked about the ramp area, driver came with the vehicle following me. So I hopped in and we had a joy-ride the entire length of the runway and back. Yey! As we did so, I pointed the areas (plural) where I crashed in a motorbike, even showing him the scars in my leg and arms hehe!

Back at the buildings, both were open so we took a cursory look at just abut everything we could. The passenger terminal is a fine but empty building. I couldn’t help compare why Guiuan had this airport without scheduled flights while Cebu Pacific in Ozamis checks their passengers in under a big tarpaulin for a roof! Driver told me that the facility has just recently been inaugurated and that they hear an airline will soon have scheduled flights to Guiuan. Really?!

Well, let’s hope this Guiuan Airport does not become another Borongan. Gosh! At least Guiuan has Calicoan, Homonhon, Tubabao, etc., while Borongan has… whatever!