A DAY IN PALO, LEYTE
Our
textbooks made mention of a certain municipality in Leyte standing witness to
the world history. It was in 1944 when
General Douglas MacArthur landed at the Red Beach to liberate the Philippines
from the Japanese Occupation. To commemorate
the said event, the MacArthur Landing
Memorial National Park was built.
The
said National Park has been the main attraction of Palo, Leyte. I have been passing by the said memorial
since my childhood but it appears ordinary for me. As time passes by, I begin to appreciate how
rich in history my home province is.
But
there is more in Palo, Leyte to discover.
On one afternoon, together with my travel buddy and two highschool
classmates now based in Japan and Singapore, respectively, we were joined by
another classmate who lives in Palo, Leyte.
It was a coincidence that we were gathered without plans.
Palo,
Leyte is home to the offices of the ecclesiastical government of the
Archdiocese of Palo. Last January 2015,
Pope Francis visited the town as part of his papal visit to the Philippines to
meet the surviving victims of the super typhoon Yolanda at the Palo Cathedral.
The Palo Metropolitan Cathedral has
been severely damaged during the typhoon but is now fully restored. In so many years, it was the first time I
visited the cathedral though I grew up in Tacloban City.
Outside
the Cathedral is a Mass Grave Memorial
for Typhoon Yolanda victims. A
number of residents of the town died during the super typhoon. I personally knew some who died during the
said catastrophe. And the memorial is just one of the many built in the
province to let them know that they will always be remembered.
Palo,
Leyte is likewise home to old traditional houses with windows adorned by capiz shells. But after the super typhoon majority of those
were completely destroyed and never restored.
Enroute
to the MacArthur Landing Memorial National Park, we passed by the Araw Memorial Park. The Araw Memorial Park located at Brgy.
Candahug, Palo, Leyte was constructed by South Korea Military Joint Support
Group symbolizing how they helped the people of Leyte and as a remembrance of
the Korean-Filipino solidarity in times of war and disaster.
And
our final destination for the day is the vicinity of the McArthur Landing
Memorial. Since my friends missed fresh coconut water (buko juice), we stayed
at the side street stalls, catch up and people watch while drinking buko juice.
It
felt good being home once again.
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