Artist overboard: A tale of survival

MANILA, Philippines - Meo Remalante’s plans for his retirement had been simple: to renovate his home in Bacoor, Cavite and spend his days sketching and painting in his makeshift studio. But a harrowing experience at sea off the Babuyan Islands changed all that and gave him a mission. Everything started on the morning of April 23, 2009. On this day, the 61-year-old former executive art director of one of the leading multinational advertising firms in the country found himself sitting on a bus on his way to Aparri. He was accompanying a team of teachers and students on a mission to the island of Camiguin, in the Babuyan Islands off the tip of Northern Luzon. It was Fr. Joemar Sibug, O.P., the man behind the mission, who asked Meo to come along for the trip. Their mission was to photograph life on the island and to take images of the children looking for scholarship sponsors. Other members of the team include teachers Wen Reyes-Capulong, who brought her husband, Paul, and 14-year old son, Pocholo; Eleanor Agulto; Rizalino Pinlac; Kristian Barcelon; and Rebecca Lusterio, a communications senior in Colegio de San Juan de Letran. The sleepy 12-hour bus trip to Aparri breezed by and soon they found themselves settling in Lyceum de Aparri, getting ready for the four-hour trip to the island via M/B Brent Josephine commandeered by Harlie Aguinaldo. The team packed their belongings in plastic bags and readied their life jackets for the ride as the waters of the Babuyan Channel are notorious for being turbulent and unpredictable. Optimism reigned during the boat ride. They traveled through the blue, glassy waters of the sea, marveling at the unspoiled beauty of the place. Fun banter quickly ensued and amidst their conversations, Meo brought out his Canon Mark III, an expensive professional camera he had borrowed for the mission, and took shots of the happy group. As he took his seat on the boat again, Meo couldn’t help but think how lucky he was to be spending his time doing this kind of work. Deep thoughts Meo immersed himself with deep thoughts. He realized that soon after retiring, he had found himself with a lot of time on his hands but without inspiration to draw or paint. The dried colors on his brushes waited to be cleaned and his easel sat in a dark corner of a room, unused and lonely-looking. He was searching for something else to do and like many of his peers, was looking for some way to share his talents. So when an offer to teach digital photography and visual arts at the University of Santo Tomas’ College of Advertising came, he jumped at the chance to finally give back. As an educator, he was exposed to a new environment, very different from the corporate world he had tired of. The creative discourse in the classroom energized him and renewed his interest in photography and art. He also immersed himself in the work of the Dominican priests in bringing Filipino children from far-flung provinces to school, documenting communities for them, and designing presentations for advocacy campaigns. Suddenly, he had living subjects he could bring to life once more. Touchdown Meo was jolted from his daydreaming by Fr. Joemar’s voice saying they were nearing the island. True enough, Meo saw the faint outlines of the mountains that have become the landmark of Camiguin. After a few minutes they reached the shores of a rocky beach. The group struggled to stay on their feet as they disembarked from the boat as small, forceful waves rocked them. The group was greeted by the sight of the chapel of St. Vincent Ferrer and the Lyceum de Camiguin - quaint, charming structures still bearing the marks of the past December typhoon. They settled into their living quarters and soon set about exploring the island. Meo took his camera and started taking photographs of locals going about their daily work. He followed children around as they played by the school and on the dirt roads. He took shots of farmers laying their grains under the sun and as the day came to an end, he marveled at the majestic view of the sunset and the spectacular shades of color it reflected on the sea. The place was very picturesque but it was also lacking in basic services. There is no public hospital and no means of transportation save for horses, bikes, and the occasional tricycles. There is no electricity and the people are only able to enjoy cold drinks at six o’clock in the evening when some households turn on their generators. The place is quiet after eight o’clock with only the cicadas and the fireflies singing and dancing to the night breeze. During the three days that they were there, Meo and the rest of the team went about their work of training the eight teachers on the island. Fr. Sibug and the other professors helped the school formulate their guiding principles and mission-vision statements. They also discussed the needs of the students there and how to get much-needed support to the island. They gave little thought to the long journey home that awaited them. The night before they were scheduled to go back, Fr. Joemar Sibug told them that the boatman, Harlie, would go to the Coast Guard to ask for clearance to travel the next day. “If he gets the clearance, he will knock on your door tomorrow at around four in the morning to wake you up for the trip," Meo recalls Fr. Joemar’s words. At around 4:15 a.m. on April 26, Meo heard Harlie’s faint knock and proceeded to wake up the rest of his companions for their journey. They walked half an hour to the boat where Harlie and two other boatmen were preparing for their departure. Their cargo was loaded onto the boat, including Meo’s camera equipment which he placed in sealed plastic bags and put into a blue bag. Then Meo and the others slipped into their life vests. As he sat on the wooden plank on the boat, he looked out to the sea and looked forward to the ride ahead. Just as everyone was preparing to leave, two men caught up to the boat and asked to be brought to Aparri with the rest of the group. As theirs was the only boat leaving for Aparri that day, and it is common custom on the island to accommodate everyone you can, the boatmen agreed to bring the two men with them. Bad luck Meo realized that that brought the total number of passengers to thirteen, a thought that brought a momentary fear to his mind. “Thirteen is bad luck," he thought. But not one to be overly superstitious, he quickly dismissed it and chatted up his companions instead. Fifteen to thirty minutes into the ride, the group was delighted by dolphins frolicking in the sea. There were shouts of glee and enjoyment and Meo regretted not having been able to take pictures of the creatures that surprised them. Minutes later, the dolphins disappeared and Meo noticed a cloud of gray looming on the horizon. Not long after, waves started to rock their boat violently, causing them to sway from side to side. At this point, the boatman was trying to maneuver their boat in a different direction to avoid the collision of strong waves. Tension and fear on the boat started to build. An image of the Virgin Mary tucked into the ceiling of the boat fell on the foot of one of Meo’s companions who picked it up and remarked nervously, “Uy, may magliligtas sa atin (Hey, there’s someone who’ll protect us)." Almost at the same time, a big wave hit them and threw their boat to the side. Just as the boatman was trying to steer the boat away from that spot, Meo saw what was easily the biggest wall of seawater he ever saw in his life. He estimates it to be as high as 60 feet, around three or four times higher than the faculty room where he teaches. He recalls seeing it as if it was in slow motion and when it hit their boat, “it was like being covered by a huge tent, and everything went dark," he recalls. As he struggled underwater, he doesn’t remember how he managed to surface. He only recalls coming up for air and finding debris of the boat scattered in the churning waters. He realized then that his other companions were shouting at him. They were hanging on to a detached bamboo pole from the boat and were beckoning for him to join them. Five others were hanging on to the upturned hull of the boat. He frantically swam to where they were and struggled to compose his thoughts and emotions as his colleague, Wen, roll-called all the passengers. As everyone was accounted for, some degree of calmness pervaded the survivors. Staying alive Amidst the howling of the wind and the spray of water on his face, Meo took deep breaths and tried to release some of the tension and anxiety. Strangely, as he drifted in the sea, still unsure of his fate, he thought of the camera he borrowed and how he would manage to pay for it if he ever got out the sea alive. He voiced this out to his companions who quickly told him, “You should feel fortunate. You’re alive. That’s just a camera." But the thought continued to gnaw at him. In the haze, the group could make out the silhouette of land. A couple of hours later, while awaiting rescue or any boat to pass, Meo realized they couldn’t just wait there. So he suggested that they direct the bamboo pole towards the land they saw and distribute themselves evenly on the sides of it. As they swam as a team, they came across a drowned pig floating in the sea. It was bloated and the skin was starting to peel off. One of them joked, “Ganyan pala hitsura natin ‘pag na-recover na tayo (So that’s how we’ll look when they recover our bodies.)." They laughed nervously and swam away from what seemed like a bad omen. As they neared the shore, Meo and his companions dragged and heaved their bodies to the sand, relieved and thankful to be alive. Around twenty minutes later, their other companions who held on to the boat came ashore as well. As they rested on the shore, Meo tried to wrap his head around what happened. Just then, a blue bag washed up and he quickly checked to see whose it was. Meo couldn’t believe his eyes. His camera, together with its two lenses, were in the bag. He realized that the lenses were soaked and destroyed but the body of the camera seemed to be working. It dawned on him that the images might well be intact inside. Meo later checked the memory card on the camera and was beyond himself with relief when the images were well-preserved, each and every one. Survivors The group then approached a nipa hut by the sea. They later found out that this was the property of a police captain in Brgy. Paloc, in the town of Ballesteros. The caretaker of the hut called Capt. Erik Gumarang on her cell phone to relate the story of the group and he quickly sent officers to attend to Meo and his companions who were shivering and famished, having been in the water for over four hours. After changing into dry clothes and getting food into their bodies, they were brought to the Lyceum de Aparri where they were able to call their families. Meo talked to his wife who calmly received the news and assured him that she would send him cash for his needs and food for the trip home. At this point, nobody in the group wanted to go near water, having been traumatized from their near-death experience. Meo thought he could only go near water once he reached home and he was certain that he could put the horrifying accident behind him. But Meo recounts that his aversion to the sea was only temporary. As two months have passed since the accident, his desire to go back to that island returned, along with some lessons he has learned from the experience. Meo believes there is a reason why no one died from the experience and an even deeper reason why his images from the place survived. “If my going there is to help let the advocacy be known and to let people be aware of the situation of the school children in Camiguin, then I guess, I must live through it," he said. - GMANews.TV