August 29-September 20, 2013
I love going to Zamboanga every now and then because I consider it my home, and I have family there to visit. This time, my mother asked me to come home because my father was sick. I was thinking about staying for good, as I had been out of work in Manila for a while, but something happened that made me seriously consider going back.
September 9—which happened to be my birthday—turned out to be the most traumatic day of my life. The MNLF attacked Zamboanga City and took hostages. As early as 5:00 AM, a neighbor shouted my sister's name to wake us up, telling us that the city was under attack! We could see smoke rising from nearby Barangay Sta. Catalina, the ground zero. Our location was Barangay Tetuan, which is adjacent to Sta. Catalina, and we could hear heavy exchanges of gunfire. That very day, I could barely breathe—it felt like those movie scenes where people have severe anxiety attacks. It’s hard to describe just how terrifying it was. From morning until 5:00 PM, we were practically crawling around the house, staying close to the concrete walls for safety.
The entire city was on lockdown. The airport, seaport, and bus terminals were all closed, meaning no one could enter or leave. When commercial airlines scheduled special flights on September 19, I immediately booked my return to Manila—which was originally supposed to be on September 11.
Before all of this happened, I had taken photos around the city intending to write a blog post promoting Zamboanga, but now isn't the right time for that. Instead, I am sharing a few moments of "me time" at Paseo del Mar, spending time with my father at Fort Pilar, and my visit to R.T. Lim, Zamboanga Sibugay.
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| Paseo del Mar, Zamboanga City |
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| With my Tatay at Fort Pilar, Zamboanga City |
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| Arka sa RT Lim, RT Lim, Zamboanga Sibugay |
