SURIGAO CITY (MindaNews/06 April) — Triathlete-lawyer Ingemar P. Macarine will attempt another first in swimming history on Sunday: cross a 17-kilometer channel in the Visayas on Sunday.
The Filipino “Aquaman” said he will swim from Santa Fe town in Bantayan Island and end in San Remegio town in northern Cebu.
Macarine, 38, currently president of Surigao Runners Club, felt confident he can achieve the feat of being the first person to cross the channel.
“I am ready for this swim and I wish I can do it,” he told MindaNews over the phone Monday.
The Surigao-born and raised former varsity swimmer of Silliman University said he will end his tapper training on Friday.
Like his previous feats, Macarine’s swim on Sunday is part of his lifetime advocacy for clean seas, environmental tourism, and climate change awareness.
He said the Santa Fe-San Remegio swim also serves as a prelude to his swim in Sarangani Bay next month and two swim marathons in the US.
An environmental lawyer by profession, Macarine is the first person to swim nonstop the 12.8-km Surigao Channel from Hikdop Island to Surigao City, the 7-km Babuyan Channel in Cagayan Valley in Northern Luzon, and the 10.5-km Hinatuan Passage in Claver, Surigao del Norte.
He is also the first person to cross the 13.4-km stretch from Balicasag Island to Panglao Island in Bohol, and the first Filipino to swim the 2.8-km channel from Alcatraz Island Penitentiary to San Francisco City in the US.
He attempted to swim from San Ricardo, Southern Leyte to Surigao City in May last year but had to stop after 23 km due to strong currents that made it difficult for him to stay on course. (Roel N. Catoto/MindaNews)