The Cebu skate scene is teeming. Its pulse is alive with the heady mix of adrenaline and young blood. 

We found these kids perfecting the craft one fine Saturday afternoon shortly after leaving MV Logos Hope. They have taken over this back street at Plaza Independencia, right at the heart of downtown. 

Skating is a culture. A lifestyle. It's a summer-born passion that first thrived in the Dogtown area of Venice Beach, California that's reached our southern shores and has stayed for good. I have personally loved it from afar since circa Tony Hawk and up until today, it hasn't failed to amaze me. I just don't have enough guts to ride on a board myself. Can't blame the nurse. I know how fracture surgeries go. 

People who skate, they make it look so easy. They make it look flawless when the truth is anything but. It's no easy work to get that perfect ollie, that kickflip. It takes more than a few scrapes and bruises. The proverbial trip to the ER is a celebrated initiation into the inner circle.

While skating has a strong following, these kids still need better places to ride. Safer streets where they won't be competing with 16 wheelers. Bigger parks and open spaces where their boards won't be confiscated. Ramps, rails, the whole nine yards.

There is so much talent in the island. It's an untapped resource and I think it should be developed.