Marilaque: We abuse it, we lose it
Do we want Marilaque to be a heavily policed road?
I still remember the first time I drove on Marilaque: that was almost two decades ago in 2006 with a Mitsubishi shoot for C! Magazine with the L200 Strada, Eclipse V6, and Lancer Evo IX.
Marilaque in 2009 with the MX-5 PRHT (NC)
Marilaque was nothing but beautiful green grass or trees on either side, and sometimes a breathtaking view on the other. Heck, the only place there to stop and eat was the Sierra Madre; the food was mediocre at best. We didn’t even call it Marilaque or Marcos Highway or Marikina-Infanta. We called it the Playground for its long straights and cambered blind corners.
There really was nothing there, which is why it was our favorite place to shoot. From 2006 to 2015, the Playground really was ours. The shots we got were incredible whether we were doing car-to-car tracking or panning from the side. There was so little traffic that we could position a car on the road, take a few shots, and be on our way. It looked like Europe, if you frame it right.
Vince driving the 2017 Ferrari 488 GTB
Today Marilaque is different. Much like how Tagaytay, Baguio and Boracay became extremely commercialized, so too did the Playground. More riders, drivers, and cyclists started frequenting the road, eager to get a quick escape from the craziness of the city. The one hotel and restaurant wasn’t enough, and soon others started popping up. Before we knew it, Tanay/Marilaque on a Saturday or Sunday morning was starting to look like BGC on the night before. At least instead of beer and bar snacks, it was breakfast and coffee.
With the volume of riders and drivers, Marilaque started to have a spectator gallery. People would gather by the side of the road to watch as motorcycles, cars, and bicycles whizzed by. Actually, a lot of photographers also went up there, snapping away and posting on social media groups so you can buy a photo of you driving/riding/cycling for a small fee.
Spectator Gallery - January 2025
The problem here is the tendency of people to show off when cameras are recording or snapping. It’s only natural; we all want to look cool on camera. Drivers would step on the throttle more and corner harder; some would even drift like in Initial D. Some cyclists would ride without holding the handlebars or celebrate triumphantly like they just crossed the finish line at the Tour de France. Riders would pop wheelies or even do the knee-out “banking” they would see on MotoGP.
The tendency to show off has resulted in a lot of incidents, and social media is replete with many Marilaque accidents, many of which are just caused by plain recklessness. There are many who take a racing line but end up wandering onto the opposite lane. There are some who overshoot; generally overestimating the capability of their car or motorcycle, or even their own skill. The result -if they’re lucky- is just a fender bender or a scratched up bike. If they’re not so lucky, then expect injuries of various kinds. If their number is up -like if they were planking on the seat like the Man of Steel- then the possible result is the ultimate prize: the Death of Superman. That was exactly what happened just a few weeks ago.
The Devil's Corner
A few years ago when Marilaque was starting to really become crowded and a haven for show off riding and driving, I asked an HPG officer why they weren’t so active in enforcing proper driving on that road. The answer was simple: we don’t want to have to police it all the time.
While that may sound like someone trying to not do their job, there is sense here: none of us -including the police- want roads like Marilaque to become extremely policed and overly surveilled. The biggest reason is that takes significant manpower, and a natiowide force of about 230,000 does not have enough hours in a day to dedicate to a provincial road without sacrificing other services to 117 million people across 7000 islands.
PNP-HPG Marilaque Checkpoint - February 2025
Now they have to do it. The uproar over the last tragic incident was the last straw, and the PNP are out in force at Marilaque. During our drive up there last Friday, permanent 30 km/h signs started popping up, replacing the previous 50 km/h limit that was put up after a series of incidents years ago. There are now checkpoints in place on top of the usual COMELEC checkpoints. There was even a black-clad SWAT team observing the proceedings on one of the corners headed up the road. And then there’s also talk of setting up CCTVs on that road… a lot of CCTVs.
There is one country that does that: China. Whenever we visit Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and many other places across the PRC, what we see is an oversaturation of CCTV cameras. Visit any of the popular tourist sites there, chances are you’ll see a police officer standing on a box, with anywhere between 10 and 20 CCTV cameras above, capturing various angles. Even on the highways of China, you’ll experience a flash every kilometer or so; that’s a CCTV taking a photograph of the vehicle, and it’s a normal occurrence there.
Marilaque in 2017 with the Civic Type R (FK8)
While the CCTV madness does act as a very effective deterrent against bad behavior in China, is that what we want here in Marilaque? Is that what we need on every beautiful and fun road just to get people to drive and ride within safe and reasonable limits? Will we behave responsibly only after a crackdown or are we just going to do it by ourselves on our own initiative because it’s the right thing to do?
Marilaque with the FK8 (and gloves!)
We don’t want checkpoints, CCTV cameras, and ridiculously slow limits all the time across Marilaque. Why? Because it’s where we go to be free, even for an hour or two. The problem is that some of us have ruined it for the rest of us. It’s not an us and them. It’s just us. And just like a stern parent, the rule is simple: you abuse it, you lose it.
That’s a lesson any naughty kid learned growing up. And looks like we’re going to have to learn it again.
