‘It’s more fun on Caballo Island’

A 10-day sports fest for peacekeepers quarantined on Caballo Island was launched on Tuesday, Nov. 18, to keep themselves busy and be physically and mentally fit. PHOTO FROM AFP

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — Filipino peacekeepers from Ebola-ravaged Liberia kept for a three-week quarantine on Caballo Island will never run out of things to do throughout their stay there.

A 10-day sports fest aimed to maintain physical and mental fitness and promote camaraderie among them kicked off on Tuesday.

There would be indoor and outdoor activities — such as chess, scrabble, darts, volleyball, basketball and fishing.

Armed Forces chief General Gregorio Catapang Jr. also had other activities in mind for the peacekeepers.

“I told them I want a contest on writing autobiography, Best Essay, Best Poem and Best Photograph parang ‘It’s more fun in Caballo Island’,” he told reporters.

Catapang’s visit on the island with acting Health Secretary Janette Garin last Sunday earned criticisms for supposedly breaching protocol on Ebola. Both said the visit was to show that the country remains Ebola-free and that the peacekeepers were safe.

The peacekeepers, who arrived in the country last week, passed the mandatory Ebola screening conducted by the United Nations before their repatriation.

Caballo Island is a naval detachment located at the entrance of Manila Bay.

A 10-day sports fest for peacekeepers quarantined on Caballo Island was launched on Tuesday, Nov. 18, to keep themselves busy and be physically and mentally fit. PHOTO FROM AFP

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