Camera on Hand – Intramuros

It was supposed to be just a normal trip to Intramuros, I needed to submit some papers requirements to Manila Cathedral for upcoming weddings.
I brought my camera with me because I wanted to take a walk around, maybe take a picture or two.

Along the way I take pics while stuck in traffic, jeeps and passengers are my usual subjects,
sometimes they mind, but usually they don’t.

After submitting my papers I went out of Manila Cathedral and wondered why there were so many people wearing red,
I also heard chanting of some sort at the plaza in front of the church. I thought it was part of the celebration of the Immaculate Conception… It was not.

They were actually supporters of Duterte, I later found out that he was in Comelec to formalize his candidacy. I was curious,
maybe I could get a nice photo of when he comes out.

I found a nice spot where I could have a good angle when he comes out, but after half an hour of waiting I got bored and walked around the scene instead.
Maybe I’ll find something interesting to pass the time.

Then comes this guy…

He was blaring through his megaphone words like “Candidacy” “Disqualification” and “He’ll run for presidency” and all those stuff.
He even said: “Magpapakamatay ako para sa bansa” (I’ll commit suicide for the country) to which the crowd quickly responded: “Wag naman” (Please don’t),
it was later when it came to me that committing suicide for your country is different from dying for your country.

He went at it for quite a long time, frankly I don’t know if this guy is all guts? or just plain nuts…
but the crowd was kind to him and started chanting “Ignacio! Ignacio!”. It was a funny scene, but deep inside I kinda felt bad for the guy.

People quickly forgot about him when the guards of the building opened the gates and the police started to clear the path from the building to Duterte’s car.
I too went back to the spot I was in a while ago, too bad it was already jam packed.

I was able to find another angle. The police lined up a barricade so the crowd is kept under control, but the mood was lighthearted the whole time.

The moment Duterte came out of the building the media went to him like metal to magnets, it was instant bedlam,
and on that moment I was thankful for my height and for somehow being able to shoot with the camera raised high in the air.

So from just a simple trip just to submit some papers to being able to see Duterte up close while boxing out with supporters and the media,
it has been an interesting trip to the walled city of Intramuros.