The Eastern Samar Community Blog

Among the headline-grabbing events that occurred in the Eastern Samar region in the year that is to end:

(The lines quoted here are taken from the write-ups of Ced Solidon and Joey Gabieta to mention a few.)

1. Manicani mining operation
Sen. Loren Legarda pointed out the existence of mining operation in the island and asked these to be stopped as soon as possible.

2. Fatal natural calamities
Flooding generated either by a typhoon or non-stop rains had resulted to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of persons, killed more than 30 individuals and destroyed billons of pesos of properties and infrastructures in the region.

3. Poor Palay production
Eastern Samar ranks only 6th in palay production in the entire region. The province only produces 44,000 metric tons of palay annually which is dwarfed by the 582,840-metric-ton production by Leyte every year.

4. Free fall on the price of copra
Copra made a free-fall as its price saw soaring to unprecedented price only to go down to a level that impoverish further the more than 300,000 coconut farmers in the region.

5. PGMA’s trip
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo made her nth visit in the region as she went to Eastern Samar on February. By September, however, the President had to cancel her scheduled Cabinet meeting in Guiuan town, of the same province, due to typhoon, and presided an emergency meeting in Tacloban city.

6. Corruption
News broke out about former Eastern Samar representative Marcelino “Nonoy” Libanan’s alleged involvement in allowing 15 Indian nationals to illegally enter the Philippines in exchange for P15 million.

7. Political bickering
Rep. Teodulo Coquilla accused Gov. Ben Evardone on the alleged missing calamity funds of the province. In turn, the governor put the blame to Coquilla why the province’s bad roads continue largely unattended.

8. Cheating in National Aptitude Tests
The region’s track record of topping the national tests has been put into question, with some suspecting that the feat was achieved mainly by cheating.

9. Crime rate
The perpetrators of the highway robbery in Barangay Campidhan in San Julian, Eastern Samar took away under 20,000 pesos in cash, 5 mobile phones and the life of a college student.

10. Nullifying cityhood
The High Court in denying the cityhood of these towns claimed that they failed to meet the financial requirements. Mayors of these towns together with 10 others have appealed their case before the Supreme Court hoping for a reversal of their fortune.

11. Road problem
More than a year after he has written the Thousand Lakes article, Cyrain Cabuenas of Inquirer Visayas has seen no change in the condition of the roads in Eastern Samar.

12. Killings and Harassments
Katungod-Sinirangan Bisayas identified the fatalities as Jimmy Anday, Chito and Ronald Catubay who were said to be on their way to their farms in Sitio Bagong Barrio, Barangay Pinanag-an…

More or less 790 persons ran for their lives to General MacArthur poblacion, this province, last June 23 due to alleged military abuses within their upland neighborhood which are reachable through foot trails.

13. Tigil-Pasada
Tricycles today plying around the city came in trickles at least before noon as drivers staged a strike or “Tigil Pasada”, claiming they could no longer bring home enough amount for their family’s subsistence.

14. Armed conflict
Skirmishes between government troops and members of the New People’s Amy remain…