The Eastern Samar Community Blog

The first-ever meeting of Borongan Bishop Crispin Varquez with Eastern Samarenos based in Metro Manila was held yesterday afternoon at the CBCP‘s Media Center. The meeting’s purpose was to introduce the bishop to Eastern Samarenos, according to Msgr. Pepe Quitorio, who served as the meeting’s emcee.

There was only a week’s notice before the meeting was held which is why no announcements were made on this blog. But despite that, around 50 people were able to attend the meeting representing different Eastern Samar towns and organizations (the list below shows the represented towns and organizations).

Jokes and Serious Matters

During his talk, Varquez said that he called for the meeting because he felt, “the need to extend [his] pastoral care… to the people who are from Eastern Samar.”

He also related his experiences in his 1 1/2 years a the bishop of the province like how he likes ‘pako‘ — a type of fern usually cooked in coconut milk, and why he only rides vans for hire when going to Tacloban. He said that it is to save on gas and maintenance for taking the vehicle on a long trip along the province’s ‘luxurious’ roads.

Why luxurious when everyone is aware of the condition of Eastern Samar’s roads? “Kay naglulukso-lukso man (because the vehicles get jumpy),” because of the potholes cover most of the province’s highway. It was in fact, ‘lukso-rious‘, not luxurious.

The jokes didn’t stop there. He also said that the reason he asked to meet the Eastern Samarenos in Metro Manila is, “para makita niyo an bag-o ngan gwapo nga obispo (so you can see the new and good-looking bishop),” a remark which also elicted a round of laughter.

After his talk, the remaining time was spent on “Other Matters” as indicated on the programme. Varquez said that the province is currently faced with several issues that range from the environment (mining activities in Manicani, Homonhon and Salcedo) to the condition of roads in the province.

When asked what the Church is doing to address the road problem, Varquez said that he organized forums in the province and in the Samar region to talk government officials, non-government organizations and the officers of the concerned government offices.

There was an attendee who replied that meetings are useless because no concrete action is made to address the problems being discussed in these forums and meetings.

Varquez said that corruption is already a part of the country’s political system so change must begin within the people.

He also said that there should also be transparency when it comes to financial matters. According to him, trust is good but is not enough when dealing with money.

Finally, he said that whatever changes anyone makes, it should be productive and not destructive. “Respond to concerns in a positive manner,” the bishop said.

‘One Step at a Time’

As questions on political issues mounted, Msgr. Quitorio said that everyone should take everything one step at a time. He reminded everyone that the point of the meeting was just to introduce the bishop to Metro Manila-based Eastern Samarenos.

Quitorio also mentioned the projects that Varquez has for the province including the construction of a retirement home for priests in Campesao, Borongan near the Seminario de Jesus Nazareno. He said that the bishop’s projects are not only social in scope but spiritual as well.

The meeting had to end at past 4pm because the bishop still had to return to a meeting he was having with other Filipino bishops at the UN Avenue in Manila. But before that, Quitorio said that there will be another forum scheduled on July 2009 when the bishop returns. He said that it will be sponsored by the organization Concerned Citizens of Eastern Samar (ConCESa).

Represented Towns:

Balangiga, Borongan, Can-Avid, Dolores, Guiuan, San Julian, Gen. MacArthur, Maslog, Oras, Quinapondan, Salcedo, Sulat

Represented Organizations:

An Balangiga, Can-Avid-Manila Residents Association, Concerned Citizens of Eastern Samar (ConCESa), Dolores-Manila Residents Association (DoMaRA), Natives of Borongan in the City of Manila and Suburbs (NOBITCOMS), and An Orasnon (Note: There may be other organizations I failed to mention. My apologies if I missed any. – Ced)

Pictures of the Participants: