After living in New York, London, and Manila, the former TV producer and now LGBT advocate Queenmelo Esguerra has resettled in Siargao, which has evolved from remote provincial backwater to a trendy, cosmopolitan surfing hot spot.
Queenmelo, or Melo for short, tells Howie Severino what makes Siargao magical: the combination of natural beauty and an egalitarian vibe where rich and poor, native and foreign can freely play and socialize together.
“When surfers go to the water, everyone is equal. It’s just you and your relationship with nature,” she says while dressed in her typical flowing kaftan and flamboyant shades. “They carry that attitude when they’re on the ground.”
Queenmelo asserts that Siargao is one of the most open places in the country for the LGBT community. But she says the Philippines still has a long way to go in gender equality, citing the sleeping status of the SOGIE bill.
Shortly after she moved to Siargao in 2021, Typhoon Odette struck. Queenmelo and a friend survived by taking shelter in a fire station. The next day, she swung into action, mobilizing friends to set up a relief kitchen that prepared hot meals for beleaguered islanders. Queenmelo has also helped rebuild homes and start community food gardens.
Siargao people’s response to their plight demonstrated their community spirit and further deepened their roots in their adopted home. As they rebuild, they have a chance to create a model for the rest of the country — in sustainable tourism and in socially just ways of relating to each other.
Queenmelo, or Melo for short, tells Howie Severino what makes Siargao magical: the combination of natural beauty and an egalitarian vibe where rich and poor, native and foreign can freely play and socialize together.
“When surfers go to the water, everyone is equal. It’s just you and your relationship with nature,” she says while dressed in her typical flowing kaftan and flamboyant shades. “They carry that attitude when they’re on the ground.”
Queenmelo asserts that Siargao is one of the most open places in the country for the LGBT community. But she says the Philippines still has a long way to go in gender equality, citing the sleeping status of the SOGIE bill.
Shortly after she moved to Siargao in 2021, Typhoon Odette struck. Queenmelo and a friend survived by taking shelter in a fire station. The next day, she swung into action, mobilizing friends to set up a relief kitchen that prepared hot meals for beleaguered islanders. Queenmelo has also helped rebuild homes and start community food gardens.
Siargao people’s response to their plight demonstrated their community spirit and further deepened their roots in their adopted home. As they rebuild, they have a chance to create a model for the rest of the country — in sustainable tourism and in socially just ways of relating to each other.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Good day, Melo!
00:02 Good afternoon, Howie. Welcome to San Mateo, here in Siargao.
00:07 Very few people have really come here. It's a little off-grid from the main destinations of Siargao.
00:14 Oh, yes. Because if you think about it, Siargao is surfing, it's the tourism belt, but it's actually a very small part of Siargao.
00:22 Siargao is a big island.
00:23 The whole island is huge and it has been known about surfing, but there's so much more about the island.
00:32 But you've lived in big cities around the world, right? You've lived in New York, you've lived in London, aside from Manila, of course, and you grew up in a city as well.
00:44 What brought you to Siargao?
00:48 What brought me to Siargao? I came back here during the pandemic because we brought the vaccines here together with my doctor friend.
00:57 So you came here not as a tourist?
00:59 Not as a tourist. I was just here to assist a medical team who were bringing the vaccines here.
01:05 They had an available seat and I could have just been here for a weekend.
01:10 And then every day was a revelation and every day there was an unfolding and there was a calling for me to stay.
01:22 And I did stay longer. The pandemic in Manila was quite constricting.
01:28 I didn't realize that.
01:31 Like everyone else, of course.
01:32 But I didn't realize that until I was here.
01:35 You felt freer.
01:37 Yeah, when I came to Siargao, everybody was so free.
01:41 Very few people were wearing masks and they were in the beach and they were living life like normally.
01:49 And I felt like I miss this.
01:53 But you had been coming to Siargao for a long time.
01:56 I've been coming here.
01:57 You grew up in Mindanao.
01:58 I'm a Mindanaoan. I grew up in Cagayan de Oro.
02:01 I've been coming here in the 90s and I even covered one of the first international surfing competitions here when I was already with GMA.
02:10 As a producer.
02:11 As a producer, as a writer.
02:13 And yeah, things were a lot simpler then.
02:16 But Siargao has always had this magic to attract people from all parts of the globe, even then.
02:22 So tell me about this magic. I mean, what makes it special?
02:26 I think maybe because I'm Mindanaoan, so I feel deeply grounded and connected in the island.
02:34 I speak the language of the people.
02:36 So I don't feel like a stranger here.
02:39 Yeah.
02:40 And without words, the beauty of the island is just you see it everywhere.
02:49 And there's always a surprise element.
02:53 There's always something among the top tourist destinations in the country.
02:59 It's this here in Siargao that I feel that people are treated equal.
03:05 And there's really no wide gap between the resort owners or the wealthy set to the working set.
03:16 I think this equality, this sense of equality that I feel strongly is partly because of the surfing culture
03:24 that has really been the foundation of people visiting here.
03:30 So it has created a subculture within the island.
03:34 I'm not a surfer, but I can see that when surfers go up, go to the waters, everybody's an equal.
03:41 No one is rich, no one is poor, no one is beautiful, no one is ugly.
03:46 They don't discriminate on any level.
03:50 So it's you and your relationship with nature.
03:53 And they carry that when they're on the ground.
03:56 So even in the nightlife, you can socialize.
03:59 Oh yes. Here in Siargao, everybody communes together.
04:03 Everybody parties together, whether you're a farmer, a resort owner, a waiter, a help.
04:11 Everybody shares that collective camaraderie, fun together.
04:17 And that's what other people here say.
04:22 There are many people from outside Siargao who have decided to live here and plant roots and start businesses here.
04:29 That's what they always say. It's really a special place because of that.
04:33 Not just because of nature, but because of the way people treat each other.
04:37 And maybe that's why there's also a huge response when the Typhoon Odette happened.
04:42 For sure.
04:43 So where were you during Typhoon Odette?
04:46 I was here. I was in the island.
04:49 When I learned about it days before the landfall, I knew how big it was based on the app.
04:56 You can see how big the island was, so small.
05:02 I wanted to leave the island, but for some reason, I decided to stay.
05:07 And looking back now, I'm glad that I stayed because I am now even more grounded to the island.
05:19 It was probably the most traumatic, terrifying experience I've ever had.
05:25 So where were you when it happened? You were at home.
05:29 I evacuated my place because I live by the beach.
05:35 Two days before the typhoon, I evacuated.
05:38 I decided to be closer to the inland, so I went to my friend on the back road.
05:44 And then I keep on asking friends for what else to do, right?
05:50 Because in uncertainty, you want more information.
05:55 And some of my friends who are experts with the wind because they're surfers,
06:00 they told me to leave the place where I was staying at the back road.
06:06 But I don't know where to go on the day of the typhoon, the day of the landfall,
06:11 because I had no car. I don't know where to drive.
06:14 So I just decided I want to go to where the rescuers are.
06:18 And the firemen, they're part of the rescuing team.
06:22 So I decided to go to the fire station.
06:24 And true enough, it was one of the safest places.
06:27 And it wasn't listed as an evacuation center, so there was no crowd.
06:32 But we were the first to go there and probably the only one, me and my friends.
06:37 At 6 a.m., we were already there.
06:39 And people started only coming around.
06:42 The firemen were just pulling the other people who were on the road
06:47 because it was too dangerous for them to be by the road.
06:50 That's why they went to the fire station.
06:52 And I felt so safe there.
06:55 And what did you see?
06:58 The fire station, you can see, because it's not locked.
07:03 So it's like we're watching what's actually happening.
07:07 So that's when I saw coconut trees bending
07:12 and the iron roofs of the schools and evacuation centers, you can see them flying.
07:21 And my friend's house, I can see it from the fire station,
07:25 they were inside because they were trapped because they had lunch there.
07:31 And I can see them doing their flashlights like that, asking for help.
07:37 But the firemen said, "No, not at the height of the line."
07:41 It was too dangerous for them to even rescue at the time.
07:45 The gate collapsed, the glass windows were broken.
07:52 And we can see it from where we were.
07:55 I was just praying for the safety of the people who were inside the house.
07:59 That was only one house.
08:01 Can you imagine the entire island?
08:03 A lot of us had near-death experiences.
08:08 Siargao was also able to get up because of the help of many people.
08:12 Many volunteered, helped here.
08:15 You're one of them.
08:16 Immediately, the response of the people was to help.
08:21 One of my closest friends in the island, he owns Siargao Town Center.
08:26 Mr. Ken Shaw, he immediately thought that we need to do something.
08:33 So on the second day, he bought all the perishable goods in pure gold
08:40 because he has access to that because it's on his land.
08:43 They're renting on his land.
08:45 So he bought all the perishable goods, the canned goods.
08:48 So we were the first two, and he asked me to put together the kitchen.
08:55 Because of my experience in Manila during the time we were doing Kawa Pilipinas,
09:01 I knew what to do in putting it together.
09:03 So we were the first to distribute hot meals the day after the typhoon.
09:08 A day after the typhoon?
09:09 A day after the typhoon.
09:11 But you had to mobilize people to help.
09:16 Yes, and the good thing, we were so lucky, the island was so lucky that there was no storm surge.
09:22 So with the devastation of the entire island, there was no smell of death.
09:27 You wouldn't feel it compared to other natural disasters,
09:33 that it was way more tragic in that manner, that there were many deaths.
09:39 Here, no. But the following day, it was so sunny.
09:43 So many trees fell, so many houses were destroyed.
09:48 But you see everybody you know, and you start crying.
09:52 You just feel that you're thankful to be alive.
09:57 I asked myself, do I need help or am I capable of helping?
10:03 So when the answer is you're capable of helping, you do what you can do to help people.
10:07 So there was a spirit of "you're going to feed us, because that's what we need."
10:11 It was relief. But then there's the rebuilding stage.
10:15 Yeah, so after that, the LGU asked us to stop our kitchen,
10:23 because they wanted other places to benefit from that hot meal.
10:29 So that also became a signal for me to get out of the island.
10:35 It wasn't just the most uncomfortable, but also not the safest time to be on the island.
10:43 There was no water, there was no clean water, no electricity.
10:48 It was so difficult.
10:51 So when the kitchen was stopped, I decided to get out of the island.
10:55 But I knew that I'm coming back.
10:57 Because it's Christmas soon.
10:59 Exactly. So I spent Christmas with my family in Cangyandioro.
11:04 And I talked to my brother, and I told my entire family that I really want to come back and do something to help.
11:12 So I came back with a truckload of construction materials.
11:19 I wanted to initially just help 10 people, 10 families, so that I could be part of a community rebuilding.
11:30 So we started with one, two, and then a lot of people helped.
11:34 Eventually we were able to rebuild around 60 homes for 60 families.
11:40 And one of those persons that we helped is from here, from San Mateo.
11:47 So my process of selecting the beneficiaries was very similar to how we were doing it in Wishko Lang before.
11:56 The show.
11:57 The show, yeah, which I was an executive producer. I started that show.
12:01 So I was picking, I was selecting inspiring stories, or selecting people who are most vulnerable.
12:11 And one of the most inspiring stories we came across with is the story of a hero from San Mateo.
12:19 So his name is Riman.
12:21 And we looked for him. We came here and looked for him, and his house was really devastated.
12:27 Why was he a hero?
12:28 He was a hero because he was at the height of the landfall. There was zero visibility in the area.
12:34 The school that most of the families and the children evacuated collapsed.
12:40 So he tied himself to a pole and braved on to get all the kids one by one from the area that collapsed the school
12:54 and brought them to a safer place. That's the only concrete area here at the time.
12:59 So when we learned about his story, his heroic deeds, so we came here to help him rebuild his house.
13:06 And it was also in this barangay that I felt people were so positive.
13:11 We've helped other people in other barangays in the island.
13:15 It was here that I felt that people were really helping each other.
13:19 So I thought if there's another layer of a project that we can initiate that's more sustainable, I want to do it here.
13:30 So when I got together with some of my friends, some of the guys that I met during the rebuilding of the homes here
13:38 in the two months from January to February, I met some people who also wanted to help in San Mateo.
13:47 So we all just decided to start something here that's sustainable.
13:56 So we thought of the community farm.
13:58 And what is the situation of Siagauas now? Do you think it's bounced back?
14:03 If you look at tourism, yes. But there are still many that are dependent on the dole outs.
14:13 The island needs more sustainable initiatives, I think.
14:24 And like here in San Mateo, they're far from the tourism area, so employment is difficult for them.
14:39 And in terms of becoming surf instructors, they're also not by the beach.
14:45 So it's good that they're farming now because it can really help them not just address food shortage for their homes
14:57 but eventually become entrepreneurs and earn from their farm.
15:02 So what do you see as the future of tourism here in Siaga? What kind of tourism should it have?
15:11 Because it's come later than other tourism destinations in the Philippines.
15:17 Yes, which has its own advantage. Because of the fact that it's not as accessible as other top tourism destinations,
15:27 it's very slow in its progress. And if you look around, there aren't many big resorts.
15:34 So most of the accommodations here are boutique accommodations or homestays,
15:39 which has a very personal approach to hospitality.
15:44 The structure is not very corporate. And I like that.
15:48 That's why the relationships of the visitors and those who are entertaining them has also personal value to it.
15:56 So a lot of these visitors come back. They feel at home coming back.
16:01 Now I can see there's going to be more buildings and bigger resorts eventually.
16:12 You cannot stop that. But I just hope and wish that people who will invest in the island,
16:19 especially in the tourism industry, will be more mindful, especially in preserving the natural state of the island.
16:30 It can be the most challenging, Howie, because waste management here is not yet there.
16:40 So with a small number of visitors coming in, the waste is not yet managed.
16:48 How much more if more people will come and there's more waste? It's difficult.
16:56 So I hope with the growth of the tourism industry in the island, there is more mindfulness with waste management,
17:06 with more personal kind of entertaining and welcoming the tourists.
17:17 And I hope the culture of the surfers continues, that they're very mindful with nature.
17:24 Nature is, they live with the water. And with that, they're so attuned with the wind, with the sun.
17:33 So I hope the visitors who will come here will adapt. They don't need to surf.
17:39 But if they become more familiar with how surfers live, they live simply, they're one with nature.
17:47 So I hope the visitors who will come here will be like that.
17:52 Much of your career, you've spent in Manila, then you went to London, New York.
17:59 You've been associated mainly with television, television personalities.
18:04 Yeah, you're a television producer.
18:05 I was a producer for a long time.
18:07 For a long time, yeah, exactly. That's where I met you.
18:10 And then you moved to Siargao, which is the province.
18:14 It's considered a small place, although it's also known for tourism.
18:19 But isn't it a big adjustment for you?
18:22 Now being in the center of action, the center of entertainment and politics,
18:26 the biggest television station, and you're hanging around with these big-name celebrity friends, etc.
18:34 And then now you're in Siargao, which is, you know, it's a backwater, even though it's a well-known place.
18:40 I never thought of it that way.
18:42 I'm the type of person who, I thrive where I am doing what I'm most passionate about.
18:50 But I've always loved the island life.
18:56 Growing up in Cagayan de Oro, we were very near Camiguin.
18:59 And even when I was living in Manila, I was very close to people who had projects in Bohol, in Palawan.
19:07 But never did I re-thought that Siargao will become my home.
19:13 But I've always loved the provincial life.
19:19 I'm not shocked even if I've lived in big cities.
19:24 I enjoy much of it, whether I'm in a big city or in Siargao.
19:31 Even in Siargao, I don't even see it as very provincial.
19:34 It's very simple. The life here is simple.
19:37 But it's also very cosmopolitan, and I love that.
19:40 When you were working in GMA Network, you were starting pioneering shows.
19:49 You were part of Wishko Lang.
19:51 And even more pioneering was Show Out, which didn't last very long because it was considered controversial.
20:02 But nevertheless, you were supported by the network for this experiment.
20:09 It was an innovation in television at the time.
20:14 Tell us about that experience, the Out.
20:18 Out was so ahead of its time.
20:22 Well, I have to mention Nessa Valdeleon being head of the new programs for public affairs at the time.
20:30 To be pushing for content that's out of the box, but also very meaningful for the audience.
20:38 Gender empowerment was the whole concept of that show.
20:47 It was the first LGBT-focused program, a magazine show that was discussing in-depth issues about LGBT people.
20:58 Nothing was like it.
20:59 So it was ahead of its time, and that's also probably another reason why a lot of the people were not prepared for it.
21:06 The stigma was so strong against the LGBT community.
21:11 But at the same time, it had an audience.
21:13 But it really had an audience, a strong following.
21:18 It had a very good rating at the time.
21:21 And true enough, more than a decade later, I encountered people who had been watching that program.
21:32 And them realizing while they were watching the show that they were not alone.
21:38 So it empowered them to know themselves better.
21:42 And now they are in the positions of influence to fight for LGBT rights and push for diversity and inclusion in the workspaces.
21:52 And when they go up to me and express their gratitude that that show was around, it makes me feel so like, "Wow, I did the right thing."
22:05 So it was called "Out," no?
22:07 So was part of its mission encouraging people to come out?
22:11 It was definitely.
22:14 It encouraged people to not be ashamed about being part of the LGBT community.
22:21 And coming out is an act of pride.
22:25 Nothing to be ashamed of, nothing to be afraid of.
22:29 Just express who you are.
22:31 So that was "Out."
22:33 So, almost 20 years ago, this show did not last long.
22:40 It didn't.
22:41 But the impact has been intense.
22:45 At that short limit of time, I can still meet people who haven't forgotten it.
22:52 Why didn't it last long?
22:54 Well, at that time, the advertisers, the business people, they were scared about what the religious institutions might think about it.
23:08 What's the impact on their children?
23:11 So there was fear coming from so many conservative people, which I still see up to today.
23:23 As we continue to fight for the SOGIE equality bill to pass into law, there are still many who are scared.
23:31 They see LGBT, being homosexual, being lesbian, as a mistake, a sin, something that needs to be corrected.
23:45 And the sad part is that they anchor that belief on a spiritual foundation, which to me is not a mistake.
24:00 It's not wrong to be gay or to be LGBT.
24:06 There's nothing wrong with being LGBT.
24:09 But up to now, after more than 20 years, we're still fighting for the SOGIE bill to become a law.
24:15 They speak so much of what society in the Philippines, how they see us as a community.
24:22 But do you see progress at all?
24:24 There's a lot of progress with technology.
24:27 Vice Ganda is one of the most influential, powerful entertainment personalities in television.
24:34 And she's part of the community.
24:37 Drag Race Philippines is one of the strongest shows with a very strong following.
24:44 These are unheard of 20 years ago.
24:50 I've seen drag shows on the street in Quezon City.
24:54 They're set up temporary stages and my shows.
24:58 And then they attract followings, audiences.
25:02 And yet the drag performances has been around in the Philippines decades before that.
25:08 So there's definitely progress.
25:13 But the problem of no acceptance is still there.
25:20 The stigma is still there.
25:22 To me, I mean, this is my belief.
25:25 People whose decisions are based on religion alone could never get out of that mindset
25:36 that men and that human being is created only as man and woman.
25:42 So they cannot go non-binary.
25:44 To them, there's no science to being non-binary.
25:47 So that's difficult.
25:49 Is Siargao any different when it comes to that, the respect for LGBT?
25:55 I mean, how do you feel?
25:57 Do you feel comfortable here with your identity, with your advocacy?
26:01 Or is it like the rest of the Philippines, the rest of the world?
26:04 I am not the best example for if whether an environment is accepting or not
26:10 because I am a very bold, brave individual.
26:14 And because of my experience, I can express who I am anywhere.
26:19 But I can observe that in Siargao, LGBT people are very, very comfortable
26:27 in expressing their true identities and their true selves.
26:31 So a lot of trans people in Siargao, they own resorts, gay couples own businesses here.
26:40 They're empowered.
26:42 And I like that.
26:44 And I don't think there is a strong stigma against the LGBT community in the island.
26:52 Siargao is so open.
26:55 It's one of the most liberal mindsets I have seen in the Philippines
27:03 when it comes to gender equality, when it comes to individuality.
27:11 So Siargao is ahead.
27:13 All right. On that note, we want to thank you for your service to the community of Siargao
27:19 but also your advocacy and your service to the larger community.
27:22 Maraming maraming salamat.
27:24 Queen Melo, Esguerra, Siargao resident.
27:27 Thank you, Howie.
27:28 But I thank Siargao for making me the happiest.
27:31 Hi, I'm Howie Severino.
27:35 Check out the Howie Severino Podcast.
27:37 New episodes will stream every Thursday.
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