The Eastern Samar Community Blog

I’m reposting here the entirety of Elbert B. Cainday’s piece entitled, ‘The Few and the Proud’ (with his explicit permission of course). It was written a little over a month ago, but it still is relevant. Read on.

Borongan City’s Vesper Night Grand Ball was an eye opener of the state of peace and development we have in Eastern Samar. It betrayed the spirit of camaraderie and the meaning of benevolence; it confirmed what our people perceive as corruption behind those publicity gimmicks that calls for peace and announcement of development. It was Vanitas Vanitatum!!

The people were mesmerized, stunned and outraged by the extravagant display of unexplained wealth that flew in the air, by the arrogant delight and approval of those in power as money poured down like rain in their heads. Boronganons could have been thankful for their generosity; after all, it was supposed to be a dance for a cause. Yet, it caused for alarm. For no responsible leader could throw so much money in vanity as our people line up in subsidized rice retailing store, as our children attend school hungry and famished, and as our parents die with prayers for a better provincial hospital.

We want to set an example, let it be for the good of our children. What happened at that night was a poisonous idea of what a public servant should be. We care not, and we cheer, if one of our Balikbayans or a successful entrepreneurs show off their success. But we rage when public purse is being used for personal interest for the sake of publicity and with utter disregard of the real needs of the people. It violates the good conduct of a public servant that requires him to be prudent and frugal in his private and official capacity, especially in the face of current economic crisis. It does not serve social justice and the common good. It only breeds political patronage that hinders our development as a people.

This is not what we are looking for in a leader. We want a leader who can command respect and cooperation not because of his being popular and generous in kuratza – popularity is a fruit, not an icing of one’s diligence; generosity is a gift of the Spirit, not an influence of a pint of spirits – but because of his resolute pursuance of programs that the public requires. The people demands concrete actions, they are no longer satisfied with lip services. A tarpaulin cannot shield school children from rain; a streamer cannot feed a hungry soul and a kuratza number cannot convince a communist rebel to surrender.

Mr. Wilmar Lucero, a former representative of one of the congressional districts of Northern Samar to the House of Congress, did not learn his lessons. He was once criticized by the Philippine Center for investigative Journalism, on their well-researched book “Of Perks and Pork,” for his extravagant “gala” in the background of extreme poverty of his constituents and lack of infrastructures in his district. He can hatch up any political ambitions here in the Eastern Samar; that is his right and privilege – as free as a locust seek the green. But, to teach our young while he is in public office how to carelessly spend money like there is no tomorrow is disturbing.

It is equally disturbing that Governor Ben Evardone could have cautioned him but he did not; after all Mr. Lucero is his friend and was one of his entourage at that night. Besides, it was to his advantage to have Mr. Lucero, Mayors Zacate and Alvarez of Sulat and Oras respectively and other disciples circling him round about to shower him of crisp paper bills. The master propagandist knows how to use people to his advantage. He knows when to talk and when to keep his mouth shut as in the case of the recent move to oust priest-turned-reluctant-candidate Governor “Among Ed” Panlilio. Governor Panlilio was the first to blow the whistle on the controversial “brown envelopes” stuffed with 500,000 pesos which Evardone handed out to Local executives in October 2007 meeting of Union of Local Authorities at the Palace.

The three provinces of Samar should be proud to have leaders that are national figures and close to the Palace. Gov. Evardone, particularly, always enjoys the limelight and can be seen being interviewed by the national press. But their rise to power is proportional to the drop of our people’s socio-economic status.

If we want initiate peace and development for our province, which our leaders trumpet as existent, it should start with the involvement of the people from planning to implementation of programs which they believe are sustainable and practicable to their actual needs. For clearly, personal political agendas, almost always collides and take precedents to our socio-economic needs.