TACLOBAN CITY—The release of some 4,000 sky lanterns to signal the end of the commemoration of Typhoon “Yolanda’s” second anniversary was marred by an hour-long delay due to air traffic congestion at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Sunday.
Guests from Manila, diplomats from other countries, and Taclobanons who were grieving for their dead were right on time and had taken their position to light the sky lanterns for the sundown memorial at Sangyawan grounds near the city hall.
The sundown memorial was scheduled at 9 p.m., when the last flight coming from Manila was expected to have already landed.
On Sunday night, however, the last flight hit a snag due to its late departure from Manila.
At 9:45 p.m., the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines gave the clearance for the sky lanterns to fill up the skies by the Cancabato Bay.
The announcement on the CAAP clearance prompted Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez to quip: “See, it’s not only the airplanes that had to negotiate with the air traffic. The sky lanterns, too.”
Romualdez was referring to his “scariest flight yet” last Oct. 19 when his airplane was forced to battle Typhoon “Lando” and hover over the dangerous Sierra Madre mountains for an hour at the height of the storm.
CAAP spokesman Eric Apolonio had admitted there was horrible air traffic congestion because the Ninoy Aquino International Airport can only accommodate 40 flights—20 takeoffs, 20 touchdowns—per hour.
The participants would not have minded the delay except the schedules for the past two days had been strictly observed and were consistently followed rain or shine starting as early as 5:30 a.m.
Romualdez, a senatorial candidate, Mayor Alfred Romualdez and his wife Cristina, United Nationalist Alliance standard bearer Vice President Jejomar Binay, UNA senatorial candidates Alma Moreno, Jacel Kiram and Rey Langit, independent senatorial candidate Francis Tolentino, vice presidential candidates Senators Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Gregorio Honasan joined the hour-long commemorative walk from the city hall to the Astrodome Memorial Ground.
At 7 a.m., a Holy Mass was held and a short program, led by the Madrigal Singers, followed before the unveiling of the marker.
At 2 p.m., the Romualdezes led the unveiling of commemorative Papal Mass Marker at the airport followed by a Holy Mass at the Holy Cross Memorial Park and the blessing of the graves of Yolanda victims at 3 p.m.
After the mass, a simultaneous lighting of 50,000 candles along the 32-kilometer stretch on the highway streets in Tolosa, Tanauan, Palo and Tacloban City was held at 5:30 p.m.
Accompanied by his mother Julliette, Rep. Romualdez assisted the priest in blessing the candles from Tolosa until they arrived at the Sangyawan Grounds at exactly 9 p.m.