“Will you marry me?”

That was the question on the banner waiting at the end of the 1 kilometer zip line in Salvador Benedicto, Negros Occidental, for a 26-year old Bacoleña Saturday as she and he boyfriend of almost 5 years glided to a stop.

Architect Abemar “Mar” Gegantoni 31, of Talisay City on Saturday took his architecture graduate girlfriend, Rodilene May Hofileña, of Bacolod City to Salvador Benedicto saying he had a client meeting at 8:30 a.m. Saturday.

Rodilene said Mar’s friend Jether Miravalles, also an architect, told her he was going along because he had to visit an on-going project in Murcia town, while another friend Jun Mark de la Cruz wanted to experience the Everest Zipline in Salvador Benedicto.

“Mar asked me to tag along since the meeting would not be that long so we could ride the zip line, too,” she said.

On their way to Salvador Benedicto, she said, they made a stop and she saw Mar talking on the phone, which she found out later was a fake call.

“He told me that his meeting was moved to 10 a.m. so we decided to go to the Everest Zipline first before meeting with his client,” she said.

They arrived at 9 a.m. and were the first four customers, she said.

Jether and Jun Mark were the first two to glide down the zip line and she could hear some personnel talking on the radio to delay her take off with Mar, but she had no clue why.

Little did she know that Mar’s two friends who glided down ahead of them were busy preparing a surprise .

The 1-kilometer Everest Zipline that is attracting tourists to Salvador Benedicto town is said to be the longest and highest zip line in the Philippines.

It is more than 1,000 feet high and it takes one about a minute and 20 seconds on the average for one to take off from Brgy. Igmayaan and land in Brgy. Tuburan.

Rodilene said that when she and Mar began their zip line ride he held her hand and she enjoyed the view as they glided down.

Then she saw his friend Jether holding a camera and waving at them.

When they landed Jether handed Mar a small box and as she looked up she saw Jun Mark holding tarpaulin with the words "Will you marry me?" written on it, Rodilene said.

Rodilene said it was only then that she realized that Saturday was no just an ordinary adventure day, Mar had meticulously planned their trip to propose to her.

“I started crying after I saw the tarpaulin and Mar was looking at me.

“I felt my knees weaken, I couldn't stand properly from the superman position after the zip line personnel released me from the harness. I was crying like a baby and laughing at the same time,” she said.

After they got down from the landing stand, she said Mar got down on his knees and asked her if she would be his wife, Rodilene said.

And as she said yes, she heard the zip line personnel at the landing point breaking over the radio "1, 2, 1, 2 naka propose na."

They were all apparently in on the plan, as Mar and his friends had surveyed the landing point of the zip line three days earlier and had left the tarpaulin with one of the residents at the end of the line, she said.

“What I experienced on that Everest Zipline had the sweetest twist, we got engaged,” Rodilene said.

Rodilene and Mar plan to get married next year.*CPG

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