Tacloban City: The View from Above
Disorienting.
Even for a native Taclobanon, viewing Tacloban City above for the first time as you fly low in circles around the city on a photoshoot can be a bit disorienting. You take stock of your bearings by locating a landmark and from there establish your position as your mind shifts to high gear resolving the issue between what you’re seeing with your eyes and what the road map in your mind tells you to see.
The whole experience, no doubt, is exhilarating. 
Tacloban City viewed from the east with the Sto. Niño Church at the center foreground and the San Juanico Bridge in the far horizon to the right of center (click to enlarge).
Tacloban City Hall area with Mt. Danglay looming at the back.
Coca-Cola rotunda
Port of Tacloban City with the Leyte Capitol Building in the upper right
Tacloban Port showing Tacloban Public Market at the foreground, MacDo and the Tacloban Shopping Center
Real St with Sto. Niño Church off center
St. Paul’s Hospital at the foreground with a portion of downtown area and Anibong district
The former Divine Word University-Tacloban
St. Paul’s Hospital
Tacloban downtown area showing the Tacloban Pier
Justice Romualdez St.
Downtown Tacloban
View more aerial photos of Tacloban and its newest landmark, the Tacloban Convention Center (Astrodome).
our native hometown, Tacloban City.
Awesome shots! Good angle, getting the bridge and the city.
Great shots, Gerry! I’m seeing these angles of the hometown for the very first time. There is a unique beauty to the layout of the city.
Thank you, guys! Glad you like them
Nice pics – enjoyed seeing them and thank you for sharing
Hi Gerry,
Thank you Gerry you are the man.. Cheers!!! 
Once again great pictures man.. makes me prouder.:).. Just a thought how about picture of or from Victor’s Peak ??.. it’s this distinctive mountain you would see in front of you when you are coming from USA ( Utap-Sampaguita-Apitong) going to diversion road.. Just to inform you for its relevance is that this mountain is said to be the training ground or sometimes “warm-up mountain” for climbers before going to a major climb… I also had climbed on this mountain a couple of times before & im so anxious to see how the city looks like now from above there or from that angle at least.
the nicest pic for me here is the coca-cola rotunda. it looks nice… parang ‘di sa tacloban. ^^,
Thanks for sharing your photos, Gerry. I see Tacloban has changed a lot since I left…
“Santo Niño bendisyuni an am minahal nga bungto!” Made me wanna sing this song when I saw these photos. Tacloban is just so picturesque!
Kudos to the photographer!
once again, a very impressive aerial shots of my old hometown.. sireng pa man.. “MAKARIT NGA KODAKER!!”… how about some aerial shots of the sorrounding baranggays.. esp. the diff. “villages”..like V&G subd., Kassel, Imelda(??) Village..etc.. balitaw.. napa mingaw man ine nga imo mga litrato..
mabuhay ka!! ka gerry..
I have several other aerial shots of what you mentioned (subdivisions, barangays, etc.) The problem I’ve encountered is that they are hard to identify and difficult to present to the viewer, especially when the photo covers only a small area of, say, a big subdivision or barangay – unless there is a clear landmark shown (e.g., a church, busy intersection or a known, large building). It poses a problem to the viewer as the photos can be truly disorienting. A case of being too close to the trees one can no longer see the forest.
makaru-ruyag nga kirita-un. thanks a lot for the update of the development and the present look of Tacloban City. more power to you, nice job Sir Gerry,,,
Hi, Louie & Jean! Great to see you here! Thanks for the visit
wow!!! it seems the city looks like one of the cities in the U.S.. so clean… but, in 2005 when i was strolling in front of the old DWU building the street was so dirty – garbage on the sides … i hope to see the city where i had lots of memories next month and it is as clean as in these photos … very nice pictures …good job!!!
Love your photos! Bring back childhood memories in a pleasent way. Never realized Tacloban looks so nice now from above. We see tremendous progress, thanks to Mayor Alfred Romualdez. Thank you for sharing and more power to you, Mr. Ruiz.
Very much welcome, Toring. Thanks for visiting.
whatever happen to dwu – nag-reopen na ba ito? by the way i’m from cagayan de oro but i spent a year of my college at dwu. i was really upset when it closed due to labor problems…
Hi miyuh. DWU has reopened but under a different name – the Liceo Del Verbo Divino. I am not updated though on what courses they are currently offering. What I’ve heard was they initially started with elementary grade levels and maybe high school come June. I have no idea if they already offer college courses.
DWU was very nice. My Dad graduated from there!
got a picture of the big she at the park? coz we have one here in surigao with the same design/structure
jose karlo, you floored me there – what is the “big she at the park”?
Gerry,
How’s it going? Sorry to bug you but am sure you could help me out on my query. I am planning to visit Tacloban by next year 2009 & am just wondering if there is a flight from Tacloban to Boracay without stopping Manila. Please give me a hint on what’s the best way to do. I want to see the great scenery in Boracay; I have a couple of friends who went to visit this place. I’m from Ohio, USA. Thanks.
Hi Victor, thanks for dropping by.
Going to Boracay from Tacloban is like crossing the Visayas regions of the Philippines from the east (Tacloban) to the west (Panay Island) passing thru Central Visayas which is Cebu. There is no skipping Cebu as there are no direct trips from Tacloban to Boracay.
By plane, one takes the Air Phil flight from Tacloban to Cebu. You then take a flight from Cebu to Caticlan – which is the jump-off point for the 15-min banca ride to Boracay Island. There are now 2 or more airlines servicing the Cebu-Caticlan route – Air Philipinnes, Asian Spirit and perhaps Cebu Pacific. Hopefully by the time you come next year, more flights would be made available.
By land & sea route, it is a tiring and exhausting experience, but of course much cheaper. One takes the van from Tacloban to Ormoc. Then a choice of either taking the fastcraft (SuperCat or Weesam) or the slow, big boat from Ormoc to Cebu. Your next objective is to get to Negros & Panay Islands. At this point I suggest you take the Trans-Asia boat from Cebu to Iloilo. There are buses from Cebu going to Iloilo and onwards but I have not tried that bus route. When you reach Iloilo, you then take the van going to Caticlan, which is a 4-hr trip.
Good luck!
If you need further assistance, don’t hesitate to contact/email leytegulf-at-callezaragosa-dot-com or call (63)(53) 523-7966 or 321-7966.
Updated Nov. 01, 2008: PAL Express now serves the Tacloban-Cebu route; also Cebu-Caticlan.
I feel really great to see the town I grew up in changed the way it is now. Coca Cola rotunda used to be our hang-out when I was growing up, it did not look like it is now but it sure brings a lot of good memories. I feel really happy to see these pictures of the precious city where I grew up. Thank you so much, Gerry for sharing your pictures with all of us from Tacloban City.
Thank you so much for sharing these pictures. I was born and raised at Torres Street (near the Supermarket) in Tacloban City. I graduated from the elementary school at DWU. It is nice to see how beautiful this city has evolved into. I look forward to going back home sometime soon. More power to you.
Thanks for the pictures and wealth of information about sweet home, TACLOBAN. I love your artistry, and I commend your kindness for sharing your pictures and talent. You are truly gifted – I thank the Lord for people like you. KEEP GOING!!!
i was looking at the images again when I noticed that the “GRAND HOTEL” of the Maceda family is still an unfinished hulk of concrete. I guess my old DWU engineering college classmate (”Engr. Tingay”) never got to finish it. It was an unfinished eyesore in 1986 when I left for the US, and still an eyesore the last time I was home in 1992.. and now in Gerry’s latest images.. it is still an eyesore in the port area of the city.. I also noticed that the old historic MARITIMA building is still around but looks about ready to fall apart.
Nice photo’s. Good photography. Great job! It sure brings back memories. I enjoyed browsing through your takes and couldn’t help feel a bit homesick. Hope to see more in the future. Thank you!
i admit tacloban is now blooming compared to 10yrs ago… keep up the good work… USWAG TACLOBAN!!!
keep up the good work!! i’m impressed but na bitin me hahaha… just a joke. hope australia is closerrrrrr! thanks, gerry, hope we meet one day!
A lot of changes from the aerial view that you’ve shared with us, Gerry. I remember Coca-Cola Plant at a time when my mother & I happened to stop by waiting for a jeepney bound for Tac proper. I was a little boy then and I was amazed by the moving bottles being filled with coke! Wow… coke… coke… coke… TY again, Gerry. Wish you all the luck. God bless, bro.
wow! a nice place to go….
Thank you so much for posting those pics, brought back a lot of memories. Graduated from DWU (medicine) and loved it there. The people were exceptional, I’ve never been prouder. Great shots of the Hospital too. I learned so much.
Any idea on how to get our transcripts now? I know they reopened but who has all the records? Thank you in advance.
Nice pics, it’s nice to see an aerial view of DWU. I’ve just been to Tacloban last December. It is a good feeling to see a photo of DWU where my girlfriend and I strolled by just weeks ago.
nice view, i’m home sick, trying to retire soon
GERRY RUIZ! Are you a God-sent angel? I am so happy to see these pictures. I am hoping to visit Tacloban after 11 years. =( Nice to see that it is so packed with houses and businesses. BTW, I used to live at 60 J. Romualdez St. Once again thank you so much for posting pictures of my home town. I will make sure my parents see this.
What a big difference from 1964 when I worked there. It is more beautiful than ever. What a treat to see these pictures .
It would be great to hear from old friends who are still there.
gerry, good job. nice pictures, it reminds me of the good old days while i was studying in tacloban. lots of memories and experiences to remember.
Very nice pictures indeed. Keep up the good work and hoping to have more pictures of Tacloban. Cheers