At around 0800 hrs, last April 9, 2005, I was part of a group that set out on a motorized banca from Pio Duran, Albay, in order to view the fabled “butanding” that frolics in the waters off the Bicol region. In that group, which was celebrating the end of a fruitful school-year, and accompanied by about six boatmen, were myself, a cousin-in-law, some eight teachers, as well as the principal and the school administrator of San Lorenzo Academy, (SLA), of Pio Duran, Albay, along with a child, aged around three years, a couple of educators from De La Salle University, and my father, in his capacity as President of SLA. The day started quite happily, with the usual banter and laughter that accompanies day-trips at sea. Our excitement was further piqued when we were able to spot a couple of six-foot long butandings in the waters between Pio Duran and Donsol, Sorsogon. This was around 0940 hrs already, and by this time, ours was not the only banca around. There must have been around a dozen similarly sized bancas around the area— many of them carrying tourists, including a smattering of Caucasian-looking ones.
The incident started at around 1000 hrs, when, whilst circling the waters in search of further butandings, we were hailed by a passing blue colored banca, marked “Buenviaje”, purportedly originating from Donsol, Sorsogon, and whose passengers and crew looked, in what appeared to be the standard practice, as if they were pointing us to butandings nearby. Innocently enough, we stopped to take a look. This was when we were accosted; and this was also where our boatmen were given a “talking-to” by three people who claimed to be enforcing a Philippine Tourism Authority, (PTA), regulation. Seeing how our boatmen, and then our School Administrator seemed to be getting nowhere in dialoguing with them, I decided to confer with the supposed officials. After I had introduced myself as a lawyer, I then asked what the problem was. In return, all I got was a terse reply to the effect that:
1.) We had violated either a PTA regulation and/or a Donsol municipal ordinance by watching the butanding without registering at Donsol; and,
2.) We had best go with them to Donsol in order to “discuss” our violation.
Initially, we tried to explain that we had no idea that we were in violation of the alleged regulation and/or ordinance. Be that as it may, we offered to write up an apology, sign it, and leave the waters of Donsol, where they alleged we were “butanding-spotting” without proper authority. After some hemming and hawing, they then said that they had no paper, and thus would have no record of this having transpired. One of our teachers was resourceful enough to produce a piece of paper. The School Administrator then wrote a very remorseful apology, affixed our names and handed it over to the PTA/Donsol “official”. Unfortunately, in his haste to hand over the letter and “get out of Dodge”, the honorific “Attorney” was affixed to someone else’s name and not mine. The said official then hollered in Tagalog that we were not in good faith, that we misrepresented ourselves, and that as a consequence we now had to go to Donsol. My explanations of the stress of the moment having caused the mistake failed to placate him, and he quite menacingly insisted that we proceed to Donsol proper. At this point, my sensibilities as a lawyer were offended, knowing fully well that we cannot be detained by just anyone off the street, much less in municipal waters.
We asked for identification- names, ranks, etc. We were refused an answer save for the standard reply that all will be settled in Donsol. I then asked if we were being officially “detained”- again we were answered in the negative. (Note that none of these alleged officials were in uniform. Too, let us recall that their banca was bereft of any official markings whatsoever.) My father then came over, crossed over to the “Buenviaje”, showed his ID, acknowledged my legitimate filiation, (thank heavens for that,) and vouched for my being a member of the bar. Still they insisted we follow them “voluntarily” despite our not being officially “detained” and or “arrested.” Naturally, I made the call not to. I told them that if they had any problems with us, they could follow us to Pio Duran if they wanted, and make the appropriate representations there.
When my father re-boarded our banca, we made the decision to leave the area post-haste, being that the impasse had all the makings of a shakedown. My father and I had just settled onto our seats when we heard a loud crack. Looking at the source of the sound, we saw that one of the “officials” was now brandishing a pistol, and pointing it in our direction. One of our female teachers was near tears and pleaded: “Sir, may baril po… Sumama na po kaya tayo kahit sandali sa Donsol...” We stood our ground however. The situation was now tense enough for us to realize that following them to where they wanted us to go, would just expose our entire party to further harm. Who knows what awaited us on land? Again, with one of them still brandishing a pistol, they admonished us to follow them back. Still we refused even more vigorously, although quite shaken by now. Thankfully, after about five minutes of racing towards Pio Duran proper, they broke off the chase. Only then did one of the male teachers tell us that the gunman had him fixed in his sights.
As I write to you today, I can only shake my head in dismay and anger. THIS IS NOT THE WAY TO PROMOTE TOURISM IN DONSOL OR ANYWHERE IN THE PHILIPPINES! And people wonder why our tourist dollars have not kept up with the collections in neighboring Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong? Well, there’s your main answer. Our peace and order situation is not assured. In our case, we were not certain whether we were dealing with law enforcers or extortionists. I shudder to think that if these were truly law enforcers, they probably fancied themselves “secret agents” who need not disclose even their names or their ranks. Thank God we were able to arrive in Pio Duran distraught, but safe and sound.
I understand that in a few days or weeks, the Municipality of Donsol will be holding a “Butanding Festival.” For their sake, and the sake of all tourists, local or foreign, I hope that incidents like these will not be repeated. It is bad enough to be faced with the deprivation of liberty while innocently enjoying the sights and sounds that are the bounty of nature. It was even worse to be facing the business end of a pistol. If these were truly municipal or PTA officials that we faced, then, at the very least, they should be relieved of their duties right now. And to all those brave enough to make the trip to Donsol, beware the “Buenviaje” and her crew.
Full Version: My Donsol Nightmare
Salsa Caballero, that was one scary experience!
It is truly sad that such an incident occured in a place that the Department of Tourism is promoting heavily as one of the country's top destinations. Even more lamentable is the fact that those people were willing to cause serious injury or even take lives just to impose a law. And the law wasn't even that clearly explained. Tsk. Tsk.
It is great to have you home safe and sound. *hugs*
It is truly sad that such an incident occured in a place that the Department of Tourism is promoting heavily as one of the country's top destinations. Even more lamentable is the fact that those people were willing to cause serious injury or even take lives just to impose a law. And the law wasn't even that clearly explained. Tsk. Tsk.
It is great to have you home safe and sound. *hugs*
Thanks AB.
As it turns out, reports that reached us last night had it that ALL boats in the area returned to their places of embarkation after the shot was fired. Apparently, the caucasian horde (American? Euro?) was sufficiently freaked out by the shot to ask to be taken home. Even the boatmen/fishermen were reportedly frightened enough to camper to safety.
Want to see the DLSU version of the incident? Check out the blog at http://chimp.blogdrive.com
As it turns out, reports that reached us last night had it that ALL boats in the area returned to their places of embarkation after the shot was fired. Apparently, the caucasian horde (American? Euro?) was sufficiently freaked out by the shot to ask to be taken home. Even the boatmen/fishermen were reportedly frightened enough to camper to safety.
Want to see the DLSU version of the incident? Check out the blog at http://chimp.blogdrive.com
Sana kinuha mo mga pangalan. That way pwede nating resbakan. Alam mo naman sa karagatan, andaming pwedeng mangyaring sakuna. Lalo na sa mga bayan-bayan sa probinsiya. Tama lang ang ginawa ninyo pare, iwas pusoy 'ika nga. Pero sa susunod, kumuha ka ng pangalan. Dapat ni-report niyo sa PTA kagad, or at least you should have used your media or whatever connections para remedyuhan ang mga bacteria na 'yon. Don't worry, hindi naman sa lahat ng oras sila lang ang may baril...
thank God you're back safe. may araw din ang mga yan, mga utak pulbura nga naman!
Salamat pare. Up to now, medyo napapa-iling ako sa gigil na nangyari. "Every dog has his day" though. Masisante sana ang hiayupak na yun.
Joe,
ayaw rin kasi talaga magbigay ng kahit sino sa kanila ng pangalan. Kaya ako nag-flip nung paputukan pa kami. Anathema to constitutional and procedural law, as well as jurisprudence. Sabi nga lang ni erpat, minsan, ang batas nasa may hawak ng baril.
Joe,
ayaw rin kasi talaga magbigay ng kahit sino sa kanila ng pangalan. Kaya ako nag-flip nung paputukan pa kami. Anathema to constitutional and procedural law, as well as jurisprudence. Sabi nga lang ni erpat, minsan, ang batas nasa may hawak ng baril.
Caught a feature on Donsol the other night. Such a sad thing to hear about your experience. Even if they want to limit the number of boats/tourists so as not to disturb the natural rhythm of the whale sharks, there should be a semblance of order in law enforcement. Sounds like martial law days all over again (secret marshals and all). 
QUOTE(Salsa Caballero @ Apr 11 2005, 09:59 AM)
At around 0800 hrs, last April 9, 2005, I was part of a group that set out on a motorized banca from Pio Duran, Albay, in order to view the fabled “butanding” that frolics in the waters off the Bicol region. In that group, which was celebrating the end of a fruitful school-year, and accompanied by about six boatmen, were myself, a cousin-in-law, some eight teachers, as well as the principal and the school administrator of San Lorenzo Academy, (SLA), of Pio Duran, Albay, along with a child, aged around three years, a couple of educators from De La Salle University, and my father, in his capacity as President of SLA. The day started quite happily, with the usual banter and laughter that accompanies day-trips at sea. Our excitement was further piqued when we were able to spot a couple of six-foot long butandings in the waters between Pio Duran and Donsol, Sorsogon. This was around 0940 hrs already, and by this time, ours was not the only banca around. There must have been around a dozen similarly sized bancas around the area— many of them carrying tourists, including a smattering of Caucasian-looking ones.
The incident started at around 1000 hrs, when, whilst circling the waters in search of further butandings, we were hailed by a passing blue colored banca, marked “Buenviaje”, purportedly originating from Donsol, Sorsogon, and whose passengers and crew looked, in what appeared to be the standard practice, as if they were pointing us to butandings nearby. Innocently enough, we stopped to take a look. This was when we were accosted; and this was also where our boatmen were given a “talking-to” by three people who claimed to be enforcing a Philippine Tourism Authority, (PTA), regulation. Seeing how our boatmen, and then our School Administrator seemed to be getting nowhere in dialoguing with them, I decided to confer with the supposed officials. After I had introduced myself as a lawyer, I then asked what the problem was. In return, all I got was a terse reply to the effect that:
1.) We had violated either a PTA regulation and/or a Donsol municipal ordinance by watching the butanding without registering at Donsol; and,
2.) We had best go with them to Donsol in order to “discuss” our violation.
Initially, we tried to explain that we had no idea that we were in violation of the alleged regulation and/or ordinance. Be that as it may, we offered to write up an apology, sign it, and leave the waters of Donsol, where they alleged we were “butanding-spotting” without proper authority. After some hemming and hawing, they then said that they had no paper, and thus would have no record of this having transpired. One of our teachers was resourceful enough to produce a piece of paper. The School Administrator then wrote a very remorseful apology, affixed our names and handed it over to the PTA/Donsol “official”. Unfortunately, in his haste to hand over the letter and “get out of Dodge”, the honorific “Attorney” was affixed to someone else’s name and not mine. The said official then hollered in Tagalog that we were not in good faith, that we misrepresented ourselves, and that as a consequence we now had to go to Donsol. My explanations of the stress of the moment having caused the mistake failed to placate him, and he quite menacingly insisted that we proceed to Donsol proper. At this point, my sensibilities as a lawyer were offended, knowing fully well that we cannot be detained by just anyone off the street, much less in municipal waters.
We asked for identification- names, ranks, etc. We were refused an answer save for the standard reply that all will be settled in Donsol. I then asked if we were being officially “detained”- again we were answered in the negative. (Note that none of these alleged officials were in uniform. Too, let us recall that their banca was bereft of any official markings whatsoever.) My father then came over, crossed over to the “Buenviaje”, showed his ID, acknowledged my legitimate filiation, (thank heavens for that,) and vouched for my being a member of the bar. Still they insisted we follow them “voluntarily” despite our not being officially “detained” and or “arrested.” Naturally, I made the call not to. I told them that if they had any problems with us, they could follow us to Pio Duran if they wanted, and make the appropriate representations there.
When my father re-boarded our banca, we made the decision to leave the area post-haste, being that the impasse had all the makings of a shakedown. My father and I had just settled onto our seats when we heard a loud crack. Looking at the source of the sound, we saw that one of the “officials” was now brandishing a pistol, and pointing it in our direction. One of our female teachers was near tears and pleaded: “Sir, may baril po… Sumama na po kaya tayo kahit sandali sa Donsol...” We stood our ground however. The situation was now tense enough for us to realize that following them to where they wanted us to go, would just expose our entire party to further harm. Who knows what awaited us on land? Again, with one of them still brandishing a pistol, they admonished us to follow them back. Still we refused even more vigorously, although quite shaken by now. Thankfully, after about five minutes of racing towards Pio Duran proper, they broke off the chase. Only then did one of the male teachers tell us that the gunman had him fixed in his sights.
As I write to you today, I can only shake my head in dismay and anger. THIS IS NOT THE WAY TO PROMOTE TOURISM IN DONSOL OR ANYWHERE IN THE PHILIPPINES! And people wonder why our tourist dollars have not kept up with the collections in neighboring Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong? Well, there’s your main answer. Our peace and order situation is not assured. In our case, we were not certain whether we were dealing with law enforcers or extortionists. I shudder to think that if these were truly law enforcers, they probably fancied themselves “secret agents” who need not disclose even their names or their ranks. Thank God we were able to arrive in Pio Duran distraught, but safe and sound.
I understand that in a few days or weeks, the Municipality of Donsol will be holding a “Butanding Festival.” For their sake, and the sake of all tourists, local or foreign, I hope that incidents like these will not be repeated. It is bad enough to be faced with the deprivation of liberty while innocently enjoying the sights and sounds that are the bounty of nature. It was even worse to be facing the business end of a pistol. If these were truly municipal or PTA officials that we faced, then, at the very least, they should be relieved of their duties right now. And to all those brave enough to make the trip to Donsol, beware the “Buenviaje” and her crew.
The incident started at around 1000 hrs, when, whilst circling the waters in search of further butandings, we were hailed by a passing blue colored banca, marked “Buenviaje”, purportedly originating from Donsol, Sorsogon, and whose passengers and crew looked, in what appeared to be the standard practice, as if they were pointing us to butandings nearby. Innocently enough, we stopped to take a look. This was when we were accosted; and this was also where our boatmen were given a “talking-to” by three people who claimed to be enforcing a Philippine Tourism Authority, (PTA), regulation. Seeing how our boatmen, and then our School Administrator seemed to be getting nowhere in dialoguing with them, I decided to confer with the supposed officials. After I had introduced myself as a lawyer, I then asked what the problem was. In return, all I got was a terse reply to the effect that:
1.) We had violated either a PTA regulation and/or a Donsol municipal ordinance by watching the butanding without registering at Donsol; and,
2.) We had best go with them to Donsol in order to “discuss” our violation.
Initially, we tried to explain that we had no idea that we were in violation of the alleged regulation and/or ordinance. Be that as it may, we offered to write up an apology, sign it, and leave the waters of Donsol, where they alleged we were “butanding-spotting” without proper authority. After some hemming and hawing, they then said that they had no paper, and thus would have no record of this having transpired. One of our teachers was resourceful enough to produce a piece of paper. The School Administrator then wrote a very remorseful apology, affixed our names and handed it over to the PTA/Donsol “official”. Unfortunately, in his haste to hand over the letter and “get out of Dodge”, the honorific “Attorney” was affixed to someone else’s name and not mine. The said official then hollered in Tagalog that we were not in good faith, that we misrepresented ourselves, and that as a consequence we now had to go to Donsol. My explanations of the stress of the moment having caused the mistake failed to placate him, and he quite menacingly insisted that we proceed to Donsol proper. At this point, my sensibilities as a lawyer were offended, knowing fully well that we cannot be detained by just anyone off the street, much less in municipal waters.
We asked for identification- names, ranks, etc. We were refused an answer save for the standard reply that all will be settled in Donsol. I then asked if we were being officially “detained”- again we were answered in the negative. (Note that none of these alleged officials were in uniform. Too, let us recall that their banca was bereft of any official markings whatsoever.) My father then came over, crossed over to the “Buenviaje”, showed his ID, acknowledged my legitimate filiation, (thank heavens for that,) and vouched for my being a member of the bar. Still they insisted we follow them “voluntarily” despite our not being officially “detained” and or “arrested.” Naturally, I made the call not to. I told them that if they had any problems with us, they could follow us to Pio Duran if they wanted, and make the appropriate representations there.
When my father re-boarded our banca, we made the decision to leave the area post-haste, being that the impasse had all the makings of a shakedown. My father and I had just settled onto our seats when we heard a loud crack. Looking at the source of the sound, we saw that one of the “officials” was now brandishing a pistol, and pointing it in our direction. One of our female teachers was near tears and pleaded: “Sir, may baril po… Sumama na po kaya tayo kahit sandali sa Donsol...” We stood our ground however. The situation was now tense enough for us to realize that following them to where they wanted us to go, would just expose our entire party to further harm. Who knows what awaited us on land? Again, with one of them still brandishing a pistol, they admonished us to follow them back. Still we refused even more vigorously, although quite shaken by now. Thankfully, after about five minutes of racing towards Pio Duran proper, they broke off the chase. Only then did one of the male teachers tell us that the gunman had him fixed in his sights.
As I write to you today, I can only shake my head in dismay and anger. THIS IS NOT THE WAY TO PROMOTE TOURISM IN DONSOL OR ANYWHERE IN THE PHILIPPINES! And people wonder why our tourist dollars have not kept up with the collections in neighboring Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong? Well, there’s your main answer. Our peace and order situation is not assured. In our case, we were not certain whether we were dealing with law enforcers or extortionists. I shudder to think that if these were truly law enforcers, they probably fancied themselves “secret agents” who need not disclose even their names or their ranks. Thank God we were able to arrive in Pio Duran distraught, but safe and sound.
I understand that in a few days or weeks, the Municipality of Donsol will be holding a “Butanding Festival.” For their sake, and the sake of all tourists, local or foreign, I hope that incidents like these will not be repeated. It is bad enough to be faced with the deprivation of liberty while innocently enjoying the sights and sounds that are the bounty of nature. It was even worse to be facing the business end of a pistol. If these were truly municipal or PTA officials that we faced, then, at the very least, they should be relieved of their duties right now. And to all those brave enough to make the trip to Donsol, beware the “Buenviaje” and her crew.
Ano ng nangyari dito Salsa?
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