Robbie in and around Tacloban

INTRODUCTION  I drive from Dulag to Tacloban City at least twice a week and pass through the Municipality of Palo. I am familiar with some of the tourist attractions which I will name later but not all. The feeling I have over the years living in the area is Palo is quite a thriving community. Also I find foreigners I meet tend to stay in around Tacloban City and will maybe visit MacArthur Landing Memorial Park which is in Palo but nothing else. Every town and city in this world has a story to tell. I believe people who promote the Tacloban area could concentrate more on the history of the surrounding areas. I agree there are tourists who may not be interested in local history but there are also many who would. This is by no means criticism just advice from my personal thoughts. The more I research history from Dulag to Tacloban I become very interested and amazed The municipality of Palo is located on the north eastern side of the island of Leyte. The distance from Taclo...

DULAG A SIGNIFICANT TOWN IN LEYTE AND PHILIPPINE HISTORY Introduction As a foreigner I have been living in a Dulag Barangay (village) now for a number of years. If you visit Dulag one would think it is just another provincial rural town. These were my thoughts as well until I started to conduct research. I was amazed at what I discovered and would like to share. The article is a summary but links are supplied if readers are interested in additional information. Dulag boundaries  Dulag covers just over 11,000 hectares of land on the eastern side Leyte fronting the Leyte Gulf. If you visit Dulag it is approximately 36 km (22 miles) from Tacloban via the Maharlika Highway. Travel time depending on traffic is around 45 minutes. The town is bounded 12 kilometers to the north by the municipality of Tolosa, to the west seven kilometers to the Municipality of Julita and seven kilometers to the south to the Municipality of Mayorga. Location map from Tacloban Population of Du...

Madonna of Japan Tacloban Leyte Philippines Introduction Madonna of Japan can be described as a Memorial Park located on Kanhuraw Hill that is not too far from Tacloban City Hall. After World War 2 there was hatred between Filipinos and Japanese but the two nations eventually reconciled. The Japanese Government erected a monument of Maria Kannon in this area. This became known as The Madonna of Japan Memorial Park. Link to location map   It is a symbol of friendship between the Filipino and Japanese people after World War 2. What I find odd is this area where the park has been erected was the camping ground for Japanese troops during occupation! MADONNA OF JAPAN MEMORIAL PARK   First let’s look at the history to understand the significance of the Madonna of Japan Memorial Park. One has to remember there was significant civilian loss of life during invasion, occupation and liberation. History It is part of history the Japanese invaded and occupied the Philippi...

The liberation of the Philippines started   with the battle of Leyte. When people visit the Tacloban the concentration of people visit MacArthur Memorial Park which is very significant. When you read the history there are many stories that stand out. This is one of them.   A heroic act by a young man There is another significant hero during these times. His name is Valeriano Abello. From what I have read Valeriano Abello was a boy scout. Before landing by liberation forces in this area one could imagine there would be a large concentration of artillery bombardment on Japanese positions. Valeriano Abello along with friends Antero Zunia and Vicente Tiston paddle out to sea from the beach towards the nearest allied ship. They used white cloth as flags to signal the message that there are civilians around the beach area. They offered to help allied ships in re directing shelling to enemy onshore positions. This most definitely would have reduced the extent of civil...