Bringing rays of learning in a season of rain

Potipot Island is roughly a kilometer from the mainland shore of Uacon, Candelaria, Zambales. Uacon is about 240 km from Manila.

Working for a newspaper doesn’t have to take all 365 days of the year. For two days recently, 10 employees got to hie off to two islands in Zambales—San Salvador and Potipot—far from the hustle and bustle of the flooded cities to deliver 10 desktop computers, books and clothes to elementary and high school kids.

Toyota Motor Philippines volunteered its two diesel-powered Toyota Hilux pickups—one a top-of-the-line 4X4 with a 3-liter engine on automatic transmission, the other a 4X2, 2.5-liter on manual transmission—for our group to get there.

The humans were in the spacious cabs, of course. All the rest—the donated goods, computers and beach gear—were safely packed in, covered with tarps, and tied down on the pickup beds.

Why the computers, books and used clothes for a beach trip? This wasn’t just an ordinary beach expedition. This trip smelled of outreach, and the scent was leading us up north—all the way to San Salvador Elementary School (situated on an island barangay under the jurisdiction of the municipality of Masinloc, Zambales), and later on to Potipot Island.

Sun, sand and PCs: ideal ingredients for a ‘surfing’ experience. Diesel-powered pumpboats take 20-minutes to reach Potipot from the mainland.

Despite what could have been a jarring ride on pickups, both Hilux variants proved easy on the body.

I was the lady in the super-red 4X4 pickup for the entire trip. Under the hood was the advanced Variable Nozzle Turbocharger Technology with intercooler (improving fuel efficiency and producing additional engine power by 40 percent, and increasing torque by 30 percent).

Suffice to say, that red pickup was our home for a good five hours as our two vehicles cruised our way from the Inquirer offices in Makati to Masinloc in Zambales (where we were warmly welcomed by Mayor Desiree Edora and her staff in her beachfront office).

AT HOME IN THE MOUNTAINS The 4X2 Hilux won’t be left behind in the rolling hills.

The acceleration and handling of both the 3-liter and 2.5-liter Hilux came in handy during the winding roads of Zambales and along the province’s tricycle-riddled towns. The 4WD capabilities of the red pickup would also later come in handy when the vehicle had to dig in near the shoreline overlooking Potipot Island.

The 3-liter Hilux’s newly installed audio system with Navi global positioning system (GPS) offers the most POIs (points of interest) in the Philippines. The GPS comes standard with a 6.5-inch Digital LCD with touch screen function, built-in DVD Player, FM/AM Tuner, iPod control and video (compatible with iPhone 3GS/4G and iPod), Bluetooth capability, 50W X 4 output amplifier, with additional plug-in options for a music player via the AUX or USB ports.

Unfortunately, though, Toyota seemed to put more importance on the safety aspect of driving rather than the entertainment side of things. The built-in DVD player stopped playing an otherwise entertaining Jackie Chan movie while the vehicle was in motion, and a warning sign appeared on the screen. The movie resumed only when the vehicle was in Park and my foot was off the accelerator pedal. So, even if we were stuck in traffic, the DVD player was of no use.

Inquirer employees transfer the donated goods from the pickup to a waiting outrigger pumpboat.

Otherwise, the Hilux was admirable on all counts. I appreciated the grip bar on the driver’s side that made going in and out easier for a petite driver. I also appreciated the seats not being made of leather, thus not absorbing all that heat from the scorching sun.

WATERING HOLE FOR BEASTS A carabao and man-made beasts stand alongside what locals call Pader Ilog, so-called because the way to the place entails going up a steep wall-like hill.

Cupholders abound. They are on all four doors; also near the driver’s and front passenger’s sides, attached near the aircon, as well as on the center console. The back passengers have extra cupholders as well near the center console.

The seat adjustments—pushed and pulled—weren’t that smooth yet, perhaps because the units were fairly new at just 5,000 kilometers in the odometer reading. I also had a hard time adjusting the seatbelt height.

But these small inconveniences were really just that, minor inconveniences. The big two days ahead of us were all that mattered. Two islands were waiting. One waited for us to rest our weary bodies in its fine sand and calm waters, while another waited for us to help lift the spirits of its own human inhabitants.