Caballo Island eyed for Ebola quarantine

[Registrar]

Caballo Island eyed for Ebola quarantine

By Alexis Romero (The Philippine Star) | Updated November 7, 2014 - 12:00am

Image from the 503d PRCT Heritage Battalion’s Corregidor forum site (corregidor.proboards.com) shows an aerial view of Caballo Island, located 2.6 miles from Corregidor. The island, which was a US defense fortification before World War II, is now used by the Philippine Navy.



MANILA, Philippines - An island hosting a Philippine Navy installation at the mouth of Manila Bay will serve as home for three weeks for 112 Filipino peacekeepers returning from Ebola-stricken Liberia.

The members of the Philippine contingent will be quarantined on Caballo Island, located 2.6 miles east of Corregidor, when they return to the country on Nov. 11.

According to the website corregidorisland.com, Caballo has an area of 75 acres and appears as a wedge of rock jutting out from the sea. It is also known as the Navy’s Fort Hughes.

“The peacekeepers will enjoy their stay in that island,” Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) public affairs chief Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc told reporters at Camp Aguinaldo yesterday.

He said the soldiers can go fishing and nature tripping. If they choose to stay indoors, the peacekeepers can surf the Internet or watch their favorite cable channel.

Cabunoc said the island stay is a fitting reward for the Filipino troops who risked their lives to maintain peace in Liberia.

“They risked their lives. They were at risk of being shot or stabbed by conflicting groups. They were sent there to keep the peace, risking their lives and limbs,” he said. “When they return, let’s reward them. We will follow the quarantine procedures while making our soldiers happy.”

Sources said security officials including Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, Navy chief Vice Adm. Jesus Millan, Air Force chief Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Delgado, Office of Civil Defense administrator Alexander Pama and Joint Task Group Liberia chief Capt. Luzviminda Camacho inspected the quarantine site yesterday.

They were accompanied by representatives of the Department of Health (DOH) and AFP Medical Center.

Officials, however, declined to confirm the information.

Cabunoc said measures are being done to ensure the safety of residents in the island. He urged the public not to be afraid of the peacekeepers, noting that they are not considered “high-risk personnel.”

“The high-risk personnel include health personnel or doctors treating Ebola patients, people who bathe those who died of Ebola and those who kiss patients. They (peacekeepers) are not part of the category,” he said.

Health officials said AFP doctors will be attending to the peacekeepers, but the DOH is ready to send additional physicians trained on Ebola prevention if needed.

The military originally planned to quarantine the peacekeepers at the Armed Forces Peacekeeping Operations Center in Capas, Tarlac. The plan was dropped amid protests from local officials who are worried about its effect on the town’s health and tourism.

The Philippines pulled out its peacekeepers in Liberia following the outbreak of the Ebola virus, which has killed about 4,900 people.

Meanwhile, the provincial board of Pampanga urged AFP chief Lt. Gen. Gregorio Catapang Jr. to quarantine the returning peacekeepers in a secluded health facility outside Central Luzon.

Earlier reports said the AFP was considering military facilities at Clark Air Base in Pampanga and Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija to quarantine the soldiers for 21 days.

[Registrar]

The following is an EDITED reprint of an email that came my way today. Having visited Caballo, which Alexis Romero apparently has not, I would assess Caballo's facilities and recreational amenity - if you are not interested in Coast Artillery & WWII Military Archaeology - as somewhat south of the legendary accommodations of Bagne de Cayenne, in French Guiana.*

Oh boy!!! - "great" news for Corregidor area -- the Public Affairs Chief of the Armed Forces Philippines, Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc has made front page of STAR with news that 112 Filipino peace keepers from Ebola-stricken Liberia will be quarantined for three weeks on Caballo island...!!!!

The report says they can go "fishing and nature tripping" ..Or if they prefer to stay indoors they can "surf the Internet or watch their favorite cable TV"...!!?? (Corregidor does not have reliable internet nor cable TV to my knowledge? - So what is this utopia they speak of on nearby Caballo!??)

There was a relatively recent scare about some disposal of unexplored armaments on Caballo I think - and that set up some negatives as to anyone going to Corregidor --- so this news of Ebola quarantined soldiers will cap it again for sure!?

And - does Caballo and the Navy station there have all the necessary support to deal with any actual Ebola outbreak - should it occur? Hospital, clinics, hazmat gear, trained doctors, nurses --- and will they "discard" the boat used to effect any transfers to be sure Ebola virus not lurking in the boats upholstery, curtains, surfaces???

The mind boggles .....!

Of course, were they to offer a week's accommodation for six on Caballo as the prize in a raffle marketed to Coast Artillery and WWII Buffs, I think that we could sell maybe a thousand tickets in a week. 

*  (a.k.a. Devil's Island). 

[batteryboy]

Just saw it in the news. Caballo Island will be a quarantine area for Filipino peacekeepers from Liberia.

[Registrar]

Caballo's only virtue is that what occurs on it lacks transparency. Transparency is not good for governing. Welcome to "Ebola Island."

[batteryboy]

Corregidor.org credited as source of photos in ANC. Just saw it. I got a lot of calls asking me about the place. The island will also be ready with Wi-Fi so that the personnel under quarantine can Skype and connect with their families.

[Registrar]

Is there enough electricity for air-con, karaoke, a large refrigerator and an ice-maker? Say, here's an idea! Why don't we have a "WRITE-IN" as follows:

THREE THINGS I WANT TO TAKE TO EBOLA ISLAND (CABALLO) FOR MY QUARANTINE

• refrigerator full of Cerveza Negra, San Mig, Gilbeys Vodka & Pepsi Max
• ice machine with bucket
• Li-Lo Leisure Siesta Lounger deck chair. 
  
  

[The Phantom]

The Ebola Virus changed life here in Dallas for everyone it seemed, for a time.
This was where they learned what NOT to do, and what needed to be done.
There were rushes at grocery stores to be able to live in your home for weeks at a time, as the disease spread here.

The nurses who had treated the patient here who died from Ebola, were allowed to travel as they wished by the ineffective and confused C.D.C.
One nurse even got on a cruise ship with 4,000 other passengers and 1,400 crew.
The country of Beliz would not let the ship dock and it returned to Galveston, Texas.
A military helicopter met the ship hours off shore, before it was to dock, to get a blood sample to see if the nurse was infected before she landed.
She wasn't.

Those who have faced this disease should be protected and cared for as best possible.
Hopefully housing etc. will be provided for these brave folks on that tiny Island so close to Corregidor by banka...........
But the general population must be protected above all.

Then there was the nurse in Maine, U.S.A. who returned from the infected area of Africa and refused to be quarantined, it violated her civil rights, she said.

[Registrar]

Phantom,

I don't think you had made it to Caballo. I have, twice (officially). So I will tell you what I saw in the way of decent accommodations, utilities, and health facilities.

Nothing.

These people will be lucky if they have military tents. The prospects that these tents will be air-conditioned. Well, waddya think?

If they are lucky, there'll be bottled water. Other than that, what do you suppose the best water available will be?

There's only island power, provided by a generator.

My guess is that because these people are soldiers, they will be treated like cattle.

My next guess is that Corregidor will suffer from its proximity to Ebola Island.


I posit that the island was chosen because what happens there can be kept TOP SECRET. One hears all sorts of scurrilous and outlandish rumors about prior uses of the island. (That's where Marcos planned to incarcerate his political enemies during Martial Law...it's where they stuff ballot boxes for elections...there were Libyans assisting the Philippines to develop a missile capability...this is where bodies go to disappear...)

The fishermen know to keep away, because they know that they can get shot at if they approach too close.

The government can have their Devil's Island cells there, and nobody would ever get to find out.

They can stash their soldiers there, and no one will ever know what's really happening there. Soldiers can be ordered not to talk.

What's even worse, is the possibility that there will be personnel who may visit or transit via Corregidor which is a tourist resort. Col. Matibag must be hitting the roof! Coming on top of the loss of revenue from the downtime of the Sound & Light Show, and the island having been hit directly by a major strength typhoon, one might well think that the Gods are not smiling upon Corregidor.

[Registrar]

Notice all the media, officials, and hangers-on. I bet they went back to Manila, and went home like it had been just another day. So much for Quarantine!

[Registrar]

Will someone send Col. Matibag a tape measure please. The CFI press release announces that the quarantine area on Caballo is "about six (6) kilometers away" from Corregidor. 

From South Dock to Caballo dock, it's 3.9k. 

Seriously, though, Corregidor is safe and will remain safe, and no-one need be discouraged from enjoying it as a tourist destination and a war memorial national shrine.