Got no money for the fare to the island destination of your dreams? Easy! Just swim across the sea! Well, we don’t recommend that, but it seemed to be the action plan of a tourist who was recently rescued after trying to swim towards Maripipi Island in Biliran.
The guy, whose name was withheld by the authorities for privacy reasons, is said to be 31 years old and is from Ormoc City, Leyte.
He’s quite lucky to be spotted and rescued by members of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office and the Kawayan PNP of Biliran province before something unfortunate happened.
The man appeared to be fully prepared for the swim as he had an inflatable ‘salbabida’ (life preserver or flotation device).
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| Screenshot from the rescue video, courtesy of Kawayan PNP. |
He told the rescuers that he had traveled all the way from Ormoc City, wishing to reach Maripipi Island. However, he no longer had money for fare, so he thought he could simply swim across the sea to reach the island.
The municipality of Kawayan is approximately 105 kilometers from Ormoc, with a travel time of about 3 to 3.5 hours. Meanwhile, the island is about 15 kilometers by sea from Kawayan, with motorized boat trips taking about 1 hour and costing less than Php100.
This tourist must have done research well because Kawayan offers the most direct and fastest, direct sea route to Maripipi Island. He must have believed that he could swim across the waters because it was the nearest point between the islands.
Footage of his rescue went viral, with some netizens joking that because of his efforts, he also deserves to receive Php 80,000, alluding to the money received by the person who was recently spotted crawling out of a drainage system in Makati. Many even joked he deserved the money better.
“Parang mas dasurb pa nito yung 80k. Bigyang ng 80k worth of pangkabuhayan showcase yan!!!!!” one netizen commented.
“Mas delikado to. X2 bigyan ng 160k,” another commented jokingly.
Some are skeptical about the man’s supposed reasons for swimming across the waters, commenting that the boat fare is less than Php100 yet this kind of tire tube costs around Php300. Others defended the guy, explaining that swim tubes like this are popularly rented for around Php50. Some also joked that he probably planned to take the tube for ‘unli rides’ across the islands.
Here’s a video of his rescue:
Lalaking gustong magbakasyon pero walang pamasahe, lumangoy papuntang isla sa Biliran | ABS-CBN NewsNa-rescue ng mga kinatawan ng Kawayan PNP at mga kasapi ng Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office ang isang lalaki na nagpalutang-lutang gamit ang salbabida at lumangoy papuntang Maripipi Island sa Biliran nitong Huwebes, May 29. Pumunta umano siya sa bayan ng Kawayan pero wala nang pamasahe papuntang Maripipi Island kaya naisipan na lang niya itong languyin.
Posted by ABS-CBN News on Thursday, May 29, 2025
— Joy Adalia, The Summit Express
