VINCE Socco, the perennial pillar of Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP), writes to say about his recent trip to Cebu, gushing over his “three lechon-filled” meals during his new-found “freedom!” Here:
“WITH the recent relaxation of COVID health protocols, it seems that travel is back on the table. This is good news for the tourism and hospitality industry that was among the most badly hit by the pandemic.
“I had the opportunity to travel to Cebu recently, taking advantage of the Labor Day and Eid al-Fitr holidays. It was such a welcome opportunity to go places again after an extended spell of being grounded.
“Local travel has, indeed, opened up. The lines at the NAIA Terminal 3 seemed to go on and on and on, from Gate 1 all the way to Gate 5. This was at 05:30 in the morning for my 8:00 a.m. flight. Times like this, I relish my senior citizen status because—with all due respect to all those waiting patiently—I was accorded the privilege of the Senior Citizen access lane. In short time, I was off to the check-in counter. My wait in line—in the Senior lane, naturally—was infinitely longer than the time it took for the Cebu Pacific staff to check me in. But these are the travails of travel.
“Boarding and the flight itself were uneventful. Compared to a previous trip I took to Cebu while health protocols were still in place, the key differences were the discarding of the health declaration form, the return of the in-flight games and the doing away with the social-distancing disembarkation procedure. Like I said, back to normal.
“The first thing that struck me upon leaving the Mactan airport were the lingering signs of the devastation of Typhoon Odette. Five months on and still the devastation to property—fallen trees, bent utility posts, blown-away roofs—remains evident. That also explained why we landed in the international terminal of the Mactan airport; apparently repairs in the domestic terminal are still ongoing. Nothing truly drives home the pain of a calamity than seeing the damage up close.
“But notwithstanding the remaining signs of Odette’s wrath, Cebu seems to have come alive. Tourists are back, resorts are re-opened and restaurants are filled-up. Of course, what would a trip to Cebu be without feasting on their famed lechon? One of our three lunches and two of three dinners were lechon-filled—Rico’s (spicy for the win!), Shangri-La Resort and Leslie’s (featured on Netflix), in that order. Oh, we had our fill!
“The Shangri-La Mactan Resort was up and running. It remains my go-to whenever I am in Cebu. Clearly it was not spared by Odette but I was glad to see that it was, for the main part, not hugely impacted. I think they are having to restore the aquatic reserve that took years to develop. The fish are teeming again. I was really glad to see the resort busy with both local and foreign visitors.
“The trip back was as normal as normal could be. On the way home, I was already planning my next sortie. Freedom!”
I wish I could join you in your next trip? Say, to faraway Zamboanga en route to Alavar to feast on its famed curacha on board a Veloz?
That will be the day.
Toyota thrillers
SPEAKING of Toyota, here is Mary Edzelynne “Sunshine” Cabrera on TMP’s May thrillers, led by a Vios giveaway deal of P7,518 per month instalment on its 1.3 XE CVT variant with 60 months to pay after a 50-percent down payment. The G, E and XLE models come at a warranty coverage of five years or 150,000km, whichever comes first.
The Wigo is pegged at P6,023, Raize at P9,351 and Veloz at P12,789 a month.
Any Rush variant offers a P10k discount and Innova P45k.
All models offer free maintenance services of up to 20,000 km, including Corolla Altis, Avanza, Fortuner, Hilux, and Hiace.
Sunshine also tells me that a P30k rebate awaits anyone trading his Vios for a Raize, and P20k for Avanza to Veloz.
“A free one-year insurance also awaits customers,” Sunshine says of the promos lasting up to May 31.
Check toyota.com.ph/promos/TimeToExplore for more details.
PEE STOP Noboru Murakami has replaced Hajime Koso, Isuzu PHL Corporation’s longest serving president at seven years. Welcome to the Philippines, Murakami-san. I’m sure you will also enjoy the Filipinos’ world-famed hospitality.