Lumbia on my mind

A. Paulita Roa .

WHEN the old Lumbia Airport was closed for good, many of us, Kagay-anon, went to the process of going through an emotional closure of this decades old airport that we simply call “Lumbia.” It has been part of our lives and of the city for decades.

Many asked me when this airport first begun its operations. Some guessed that it was in the early ’50s. But I came upon a written account of the World War II exploits of Col. Fidencio Laplap, liberator of Cagayan, who said that after he and his guerrilla group were successful in attacking the Japanese who fully occupied Camp Evangelista in Patag, they then proceeded to Lumbia airport where they conducted a lightning raid, destroyed several planes and other facilities. The enemy ran and joined their comrades in the poblacion and took their final stand in town where the final Battle of Cagayan happened that day of January 1945.

This airport could have existed before the onset of World War II but other sources say that it was the Japanese Imperial Army that built it.There is a small Japanese altar for the dead that was set up on the small park near the main gate leading to the terminal building. It was placed there by the kin of the soldiers who died in this area in that last war. I do not know if this park and that memorial altar will remain since the airport is closed and it is now occupied by the Philippine Air Force.

As a child, I loved to go with my family on a ride to the Lumbia airport to meet relatives or my father who used to travel a lot. Those rides were always a visual treat to many of us. We saw the utter beauty of the  surrounding hills, and from afar were the majestic mountains of Bukidnon. To the north is the Macajalar Bay. On a clear day, you can see the outline of the mountains of Camiguin Island. There were lots of greenery and wide open spaces everywhere. Now, there are billboards and houses along the way. These are ugly and disrupt the otherwise lovely natural scenery that is so much part of our city.

My early recollection of Lumbia airport is that of a gray one-story wooden building with a tall tower beside it. The gates for the arrival and departure areas were simple corridors that were not fully walled that it allowed the breeze from Mt. Balungkot in. Between the three corridors were small open air gardens each had colorful bougainvillea flowering plants. The gardens were enclosed with a thick hedge of greenery that bore violet flowers that we loved to pick and sip its sweet nectar. There were wooden high backed benches for both the passengers and their well wishers, usually a group consisting of family members and friends to sit. There was no pre-departure area then. When a plane landed or departed, the engines would scream and be so revved up with such force that those sitting on the corridors would turn their faces to the wall with their hair in disarray. The ladies would hold tightly to their skirts fearing that it might be raised up and exposed their undies.

In those days, Philippine Airlines ruled the skies. I was told that a plane ticket to Manila on a DC-3 cost P15.00. Later, there was a night flight to Manilla via a Fokker plane and it cost P99.00 – a princely sum then. The first Kagay-anon flight attendant is the charming Sylvia Cecilio. Her sisters, Joy and Kim, soon followed her footsteps. Other local beauties became PAL F. as we called them: Sandra Wilson, Mariles Lopez, the Fontanosa sisters, Angie Denosta, the Sontillano sisters and many more.

The only airport canteen was ran by Mrs. Chaves. It had starched white tablecloths and loud swinging doors. Governors, mayors and other VIPs ate and spent time waiting for their plane to arrive. I remember seeing the British rock group the Zombies who sat there as they waited for their connecting flight to Davao. They were very polite though they looked weird to us for they had long shaggy hair which was then a novelty to us.

The porters in Lumbia were so in demand because at that time the luggages were heavy and the big boxes that the passengers brought in had no trolleys like the one that we have now. These men were heavy set and strong. But what made them stay in their jobs for long was because they were unfailingly honest and polite. So, it was common for families that often travelled to have their own porter who was their suki. They relied on their porter even when it was just shipping some packages to Manila or Cebu for this was before the advent of the LBC and the like.

Lumbia was the scene of grand welcomes for our Presidents — the first one to arrive there by plane was Ramon Magsaysay. His predecessors usually took the presidential yatch when they visited Cagayan.

The airport was also the scene of many victorious, joyful and at times sad events. I remember that memorable welcome the city gave to the new Vice President of the country, Cagayan’s own Emmanuel “Maning” Pelaez. Many hoped that soon, he will be the first President to come from Mindanao. Years later, he failed to clinch the party nomination for President — it went to Ferdinand E. Marcos. But the people welcomed him with placards that spoke of what was in their hearts: Bisag unsaon, Maning gihapon! This later became his political battle cry and he went on to continue his political career with their full support.

Then, there is the story of an irate father who drove his jeep at full speed in the runway chasing in vain the plane that carried his daughter who eloped with her boyfriend to Davao.

But old hands in the airport still talked about Jun, a college student from Xavier University, who bravely ran in the middle to the runway, with a bouquet of roses in hand, trying to stop a plane that was about to take off in the runway. It was a daring deed all in the name of love. The plane stopped and many airport officials ran towards Jun who was pleading with the pilot to open the door so he can say goodbye to his Australian girlfriend. She was leaving the country for good.The officials, in trying to calm him down, pleaded to the pilot on behalf of Jun. The plane door opened, the blonde girlfriend came down. Smiles, hugs, kisses and tears as she received the roses from her lover. Then Jun was escorted back to the airport where he stood transfixed, watching the plane fly till it was a small dot in the sky. Then, he left.

Like Jun, it was hard to say goodbye to Lumbia airport for it holds so much memories for us. It was once a part of our city’s history. But we never even thought about the true value of this iconic landmark till it was officially closed on June 2013.