Under the silvery moon glow, we took the road less travelled, literally, for the 3rd time on our way back home after the spectacular “Night Glow” and pyrotechnics events at the New Clark City Stadium which wrapped up the first day of the 24th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fest.
The annual event of “Everything that Flies” has its new home at the NCC, more than 20 kilometers away from its former home, the Clark Freeport Zone. Under the auspices of former Tourism Secretary Mina Gabor, the first iterations and the succeeding ones had been held inside the then Clark Special Economic Zone, the name given to the former US-run facility, after it was converted into productive civilian use.
We were there during its inception, and during its first few years. Drag racing, go-kart racing, sky jumping and hot air balloons have graced the Philippine shores for the first time, right in Clark, which created some spectacle for Kapampangans who just had enough of the double whammy that attended them – first, the cataclysmic eruptions of Mount Pinatubo volcano and secondly, the departure of US airmen in the former Clark Air Base.
The whole Clark Air Base had been blanketed with thick volcanic ash, a desolate landscape of color gray all over in varying gradations. G.I Joe has left the Kapampangans all by themselves just two days before the Big Bang. And the rest is history.
By the silvery moon, we can only surmised what would had happened if Mount Pinatubo did not erupt? Perhaps, the Americans are still in Clark or maybe not because no new treaty had extended their stay in the country.
After 24 years and counting, Captain Joy Roa, event director of the Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fest, is still at it promoting the love for flying. “We want to share the joy of flying,” Roa told scribes who attended the press launch on February 15, 2024 at the New Clark City Stadium.
For all the brickbats thrown at Roa in the past, I believe that he was the great promoter of Clark – from the Clark Special Economic Zone up to the Clark Freeport Zone. No other person had singlehandedly created excitement after the listless catastrophic events of Mount Pinatubo than Roa, who invited foreign pilots to fly their balloons right in our doorsteps.
At the press launch, conspicuously absent were the executives of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) who should had supported Roa in the marketing of the event. It’s not even in the BCDA website aside from the Press Release that Roa met with BCDA Chairman Joshua Bingcang and Tarlac Governor Susan Yap during the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement for the holding of the event at the NCC.
The BCDA oversees development of NCC and its encompassing communities all the way to the Clark Freeport and Subic Bay Freeport Zone. From what we saw during the first day, the NCC is the best area for the event and PIHABF has given tooth and meaning to the promotions of the area which is being eyed as site of sustainable metropolises.
On our way back to Clark via the Clark-NCC Access Road, the silvery moon shone on us and gave us a glimpse of a lovely winding landscape in silence. It was a rare sight for the eyes, as if a lover’s moon had descended on us.
Kudos to Mr. Roa! Thank you for sharing the love for flying.