Scary flight to Lake Lanao RAINS, STRONG WIND, DARK CLOUDS MARK ROUGH RIDE TO LAKE LANAO

By Manny Piñol

Modesty aside, I consider myself a bit bold compared to the average person who would always take the side of caution.

As a young man, I loved staring at danger and death straight in the eye. The risks I faced gave me the adrenalin rush.

When I was Mayor of my hometown, M’lang, I joined military operations against Kidnap for Ransom Groups reaching the periphery of the Liguasan Marsh and even witnessed actual gunfights with rebels.

I became bolder when I became Governor of North Cotabato as I traveled through critical areas in the middle of the nigh and dared to cross a highway which was closed and guarded by a rebel group.

As Governor, I defied the demands of the New People’s Army (NPA) to pay the Permit to Campaign Fee and campaigned in areas which they controlled.

All these years, I really thought that nothing could scare me.

That changed yesterday. when I took a rough helicopter ride from Kidapawan City to Ditsaan-Ramain, a town next to Marawi City for the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources-led activity which gave out fiberglass fishing boats and financial assistance to fisher folk families affected by Typhoon Vinta and the recent Marawi Conflict.

It was supposed to be a one-hour easy flight and we, my chief aide, Bong who is also my brother, and executive assistant Mayette Tudlas, were supposed to take off at 9 a.m. to be in Lake Lanao by 10.

But there was a continuous drizzle and the clouds were dark early yesterday and so the departure was delayed until about 10:45 a.m.

Piloted by former Air Force Officer Butch Israel who was aided by mechanic Reynald Rafael, the helicopter took off from Kidapawan City under a slight drizzle.

I did not bring along with me a security officer because the helicopter could only accommodate five people.

As we were flying over the thick forests south of Lanao del Sur, I started to feel like it was not going to be an easy ride.

The sound of the helicopter’s blades was different than in my previous rides. It was literally flapping and I knew the wind was strong because the helicopter appeared to be stalling at times.

Capt. Israel navigated through dark clouds looking for openings in the horizon and I thought I saw him shaking his head several times.

I looked down and I saw dense forest covering the mountains and that was when I felt fear creeping in.

It was not death that scared me actually but the thought of how difficult would it be to get out of the forests.

“How would we get out of this forest if the chopper fell? How could we find our way to the nearest village? Are there no ISIS remnants from the Marawi City hiding in the forests?” were the questions which I asked myself.

After what seemed like eternity, we finally got out of the dark clouds and saw the beautiful Lake Lanao right in front of us.

When we landed in Ditsaan-Ramain, I refused to ride the van which met us at the landing sight and decided to just walk the distance of about 500 meters to the venue of the forum with farmers and fisher folks.

I wanted some time to stretch my legs which I felt stiffened during the scary flight.

While walking with Undersecretary Ed Gongona of BFAR and local officials, I said a little prayer to the Lord.

I thanked God for reminding me once again that I am not Superman and I am just a human being after all who could be gripped by fear.

Now, I fully understand that there is nobody in this world who could claim to be so brave as not to fear anything or anybody.

There is a certain degree of fear in all of us.

What makes the difference is how we control and manage fear so that we will not end up being scared.

Alhamdulliah! God is Great!

#ThankGodNewLife! #GodIsGreat! #DuterteDelivers!