feedback 4...

Subject:   Calbiga to Calbayog Road
Name:    Adelbert Batica
Address:    Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Email:
Date:   13 Sept 2003

Tom –

Hi Addi Batica ini!  It akon bati, baga may naman kuno mga fondos para hin major road construction, nga matitikangan na.  Kundi, asya gihapon iton - kinahanglan gud hin "transparency" kay sayud naman kita, baga damo liwat maghilig kumurib-kutib hit mga fondos publicos.  Bisan pa usa ka barko nga kuwarta iton i-alotar para ha Samar, ngada hiton katapos hit highway - dako na iton pagkupos hiton original nga fondo.

Asya man ngani iton nga may ada Caravan tikang ha Calbiga ngadto ha Calbayog, pagpukaw hit mga taga-Samar, kay basi gud mabantayan hin maupay ini nga pagtaga-calzada. Total, iton highway ngan mga tulay - iton lomolopyo man it tag-iya hiton, diri iton mga contratista ngan mga politico. Kay "public property" man iton mga highway, angay la iton nga iton mga tawo ha Samar, bulig liwat kay basi na gud matuhay. Kay pastilan, maiha na gud man ini, bis ano nga proyecto, bis ano nga construction - pirme gud may nakurib-kutib. Kinahanglan nga aada it mga tawo mabantay, kay basi umukoy na ini pagkinabat hit iba.

Kon iton physical specifications hiton highway nasering nga 12 inches thick, karuyag sidngon - nga doce pulgadas it kadakmol hit concreto nga ibubuhos, diri 6 pulgadas. It makairinit pa, kon imbes nga "concrete surface" iton specifications, igo nala tatabunan hin bato ngan baras. Diri iton asya it pagsunod hit blueprint. Kay diri man natutuhay kon diri babantayan, ada - it solusyon hini, it lomolopyo it himoon nga capataz.

Subject:   Calbiga to Calbayog National Road
Name:   Tomas N. Marcial, Jr.
Email:   tmarcial@comcast.net
Date:   7 Sept 2006

If the contract is awarded, we demand transparency on how much is the budget so that the people will know; How much they spend for the road. They should place a billboard on how much is the budget for this project. Remember the people are watching, not only from Samar but internationally. Please love our country just get what is just for your company and workers. Politicians, please don't steal the peoples money. Or maybe a loan from other country. Again love our country. Remember we are watching.

Subject:   May lubak at panget na daan ng Samar
Name:   Jobert
Address:   Quezon City
Email:   gehhe@yahoo.com
Date:   3 Sep 2006

Nag-ikot po kami ng Samar at Leyte nong May. Nakakalungkot po isipin n may magagandang tanawin subalit sira sira lahat ang daan sa Samar. Especially from Allen to Catbalogan.....sana ayusin agad ang mga kalsada sa Samar dahil may budget ang pamahalaan para dyan.. wag ibulsa ng mga kurakot at pamansamantalang alkalde ng Samar..

Subject:   Solar energy Samar Development
Name:   Tomas N. Marcial, Jr.
Email:   tmarcial@comcast.net
Date:   31 Aug 2006

Another energy which is in need to be studied and introduce to Samar is Solar energy. Puede ka magbotang bisan diin ka sa Samar ug Leyte. But the only problem is our people. We are not thinking of how we can solve the problem that we have. We are the problem, the people. We don't do anything to change, we are afraid to change and experiment. Let us start by not taking a suhol during election. Ayaw kita pag karawat san kuwarta nga ira ig hahatag kitaan ta daw kon dire sira mangawat. Damo an mahihimo kon kita tangkod. Pero kon buwaon kita, waray kita mahihimo. Bulig guihapon ako san iyo hingyap an kaupayan san bungto.

Subject:   On Lafayette Mines
Name:      Carlyle
Address:   Brisbane, Australia
Email:     dlittle42@optusnet.com.au
Date:   Aug 28, 2006

Greenpeace spokespersons continually repeating lies does not turn the lies into facts. Like the previous claims by Greenpeace regarding Lafayette Mining, this latest is a fraud. The contamination they claim occurred during Lafayette’s testing programme is a long standing problem caused by two previous mining companies that excavated a tunnel without putting in place proper drainage & treatment. Far from being the cause of the problem, Lafayette is putting in place a system to direct the seepage from these old workings into their new settlement ponds to be treated & neutralised.

Greenpeace is a danger to the people of the Philippines. They are anti development & pro anarchy.  Much better to listen to decent & honest groups like The World Wildlife Fund.

Subject:   I Love my Samar Island
Name:   Loida King
Address:   Catbalogan, Samar
Email:  ms_shy143(at yahoo)
Date:   23 Aug 2006

My name is Loida King I am married to an American and he is a publisher. I am currently traveling the entire Philippines by car with my husband. He is the driver and I am the map reader. We made a lot of Photos in every places we been through from tip to tip of the Philippines.

I Love my Samar and expecting that someday there will be a change on it. I observed a lot of things in every places I been through from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao only in Samar that looks like still in world war II especially the road just like somebody bomb it.

Samar province is one of the richest in natural resources and third largest province in the Philippines but nothing is doing nice for the development of our province. Samar is still the poorest province. I heard somebody talking when I was in a one department store in Tacloban City the man asked to a one guy a road going to the ferry and the guy told him the direction and said “Be careful because road is pretty rough in Samar it might cause an accident, it is really shamed to heard such words.

What happened to the money from the government for the road maintenance? Who is accountable The mayor, Brgy. Captain, Congressman, Governor or everybody? We the people of Samar would like to know about it because we care for the future of the province until to the next generation.

Subject:   Catarman, Northern Samar
Name:   Ronnie Lucas
Address:   Brgy Bay Bay, Catarman, N. Samar
Email:  rgllucas@hotmail.com
Date:   09 Aug 2006

Don't get wrong you have a great news site. But report more of what is goin on in Northern Samar.

Subject:   Villareal, Samar - 750,000.00 kan mayor nakarawat
Name:    Vx Gazz
Address:   Cebu City
Email:  ankamatuuran_villa@yahoo.com
Date:   July 19, 2006

Maupay nga adlaw mga Samarnon... labi na gud hit Samar news! - Mr. Ray Gaspay Karuyag ko la unta maklaro na it ngatanan mahitungod hine nga waray katapusan nga anomalya dida ha sakob hit administrasyon hit mayor han Villareal, Samar.. tungod hit akon dako nga paghigugma hit Villa, ako na aghat pagsurat ha iyo para umaro hin iyo bulig para ma imbesigahan ngan ma audit it munisipyo hit Villa.. masakit huna-hunaon nga hasta ngada yana it am bungto puro la pangurakot tikang pa dida han una nga panahon... kan ex-mayor Carlo Lattore ngada na liwat yana... pati it Bayanihan guin hihimo na nga gatasan...waray proper accounting.

Dida han 2005, an Provincial government naghatag hin salapi ayuda para ha Villa, nga angay kita-on, bukaykayun hit ngatanan kon ine sumulod dida han kaban han munisipyo? Kay mismo an ira treasurer "Ally Bacsal nagsiring "kuno" nga waray gud sumulod ine nga salapi ha kaban han munisipyo. Amo ine an mga cheke:

1. Check No. 460467 - P100,000.00 December 21, 2005 "FOR PEACE & ORDER ACTIVITIES"

2. Check No. 460508 - P50,000.00 December 21, 2005 "FOR UPLIFTMENT OF THE QUALITY EDUCATION"

3. Check No. 460561 - P350,000.00 December 21, 2005 "For LIVELIHOOD PROGRAM OF DIFFERENT BRGYS."

4. Check No. 459398 - P250,000.00 November 8, 2005 "Financial Assistance for the FOOD FOR WORK IN CONNECTION W/ REPAIR & REHAB OF THE 9 KM VILLAREAL-CASANG-AN FEEDER ROAD"

Hina-ut unta iyo liwat kami mabuligan pag bukaykay, pag aro hin kaklaruhan dida ha COA rovincial...unta it anomalya mapuypuy na... buligi kami niyo.. buligi it mga pobre!!! Please forward this information to also agencies concern... thank you and more power... I'm waiting for your action as soon as possible.. please email me: ankamatuuran_vill@yahoo.com

Thank you and more power!!

Subject:   A very good site
Name:   Manny Versoza
Address:   Zumarrraga, Samar / Filinvest 2 Quezon City
Email:     manny_versoza@yahoo.com
Date:  July 10, 2006

Maupay nga adlaw, usa gihapon ako nga taga Samar, I am from Zumarraga, now staying in Manila. Nalilipay ako nga may ada sugad hine nga virtual and interactive venue para ha aton mga Samarnon nga karuyag maki-update hit mga balita ha ton lugar. Yana ko la ine ka-diskubre and its very informative and updated. Damo nga salamat hadton mga nag organisa ngan nagdevelop hine, u make every Samarnon closer and proud.

By the way, part of the website that interest me so much is the news. Everytime I go online, I always make it a point that I get some news about Samar (interesting places, people and events). Of course not to mention my favorite hometown Zumarraga Samar, I always wanted to find info about this place.

Just some friendly observations, I noticed that it took me time to browse the news of last months/weeks. For the info, I got your domain name from Yahoo after a search about zumarraga. I was real excited when samarnews.com came out as a result of my search, with Ms. Julie Anne Donaire from my hometown who won a sort of Miss Mutya ng Catbalogan in the news. I tried to get into details by excitedly browsing samarnews.com and I was so pleased that it offers a wide range of information, all about the province. At last! I already found this website after quite some time of searching and researching. If I may humbly suggest, I think it would be a good idea if there is an archive news categorically arranged or chronologically arranged by months for a quick and organized access of information. I got this idea because most of the site that I visited, they are using this kind of browsing method and it’s actually effective and direct. But generally, this site, our site, is really great and useful!

In addition to the comment posted by Alyne Jurada of Dumaguete, dated 26 Feb 2006 with subject "The Road Sucks!" I agree with her. Please.... government officials do something. I had similar experience with Alyne only this June 2006, grabe it aton kalsada, labi na tikadto Calbayog ngan Calbiga. Nakakabadtrip talaga. Paano naton i-propromote it turismo ha Samar kun ha kalsada pala badtrip na it aton mga turista! Deri mabalik-balik kamato-uran la. We need a place to be proud of, lugar nga pwede naton ig-estorya ngan iparayaw bisan diin kita kumadto. But look, is this the way we promote tourism? facade palang nakakabadtrip na! Please local government officials do for us, do for Samar. Cong. Figueroa, Gov. Mila Tan, and SolGen Nachura, we believe in you, make us proud for Samar.

Meanwhile, in case you may need info about Zumarraga, you may try surfing this site www.zumarraga.faithweb.com

Many thanks! God Bless!

Subject:   Samar National Park
Name:   Tomas N. Marcial, Jr.
Email:     tmarcial@comcast.net
Date:   July 8, 2006

Our national leaders like Enrile and Defensor or any other leader, who love the logs very much. I wonder if they can sponsor our forest to become a Samar National Park. Can you imagine, we need to fight for our protection in Congress to save our forest. How ironic that the one who wants to destroy Samar are elected officials. If there is somebody who should cut our logs regulated by DENR, it should be the Samareños. We know how to process our own logs, to make furnitures and other products, necessary for Samar Development.

Tinatanong ninyo kung bakit kami lumulabas? Kasi you don't help us develop, instead you inslave us. Instead of making laws to protect your people, not only you steal from them, you are destroying us. When will you stop, greed has no limit, but remember life has a limit. So, please help Samar don't exploit Samar. If you become rich from taking advantage of your position, the future generation will curse you, and anywhere you go they will find you and tell your grandchildren of what you did. With the advent of cyberspace communication the whole world will know what you did, and how you did it. But if you help Samar, we will love you and be our heroes. Now, if you destroy our Future National Park, the people of Samar all around the world will never forget what you did to us. Love us, and we will love you.

Subject:   Projects of the Provincial and Local Government
Name:   Tomas Marcial Jr.
Email:  tmarcial@comcast.net
Date:  28 June 2006

I am innocent on this matter, I don't know if it is true, I heard that the national government take 30% from the projects that they are making, so if it is a 10 inches cement rd, it will become 7 inches, now if the provincial government take another 20% it will become 5 inches, if the local government take 10% it will become 4 inches. What will happen to the road? When big trucks and big buses from the South passes on our highway, they are gone.

In other countries the thickness of the asphalt sometimes reaches almost two feet. Before they finished the road, they let the vehicles pass all the sides of the road; after that, they finished it. The maintenance is easy the next time they fix it. The engineers are hands on, they don't set in the office with a woman on their lap. You want a good road, remove the illegal tariff that the government is imposing from the projects, if it is true. It’s about time we do something for the better. How can foreign and local capitalist invest if the product that you have cannot be transported?

If only our politicians and government officials will give their time and heart to really do something good. But if it is true, that this is how we conduct our projects, no development can survive no matter how good the project is lunch in our province, because the project is already destroyed, before it is even started. If this is true, that our projects that we borrowed from foreign countries, International Monetary Fund, Asian Development Bank, and other similar institution our government have a cut, the way it was told by people in the government itself, then again it is a disaster.

You do not need to be technocrat, a genius to find out how strong and good a project is. Is there an inspector in every project that we made? Who make a report for this kind of projects? Was it love of country? Was it love for our people? Is it for our advantage? Will it help our future generations? I don't know. I want to help, and offer my little extra saving from gasoline allowance.

Subject:   List of Developments of Samar
Name:   Tomas Marcial Jr.
Address:   905 Clifton Drive
Email:   tmarcial@comcast.net
Telephone:   856-875-8168
Date:   25 June 2006

I want to know from the people discussing on this pages and the government officials. How many projects and developments we have in Samar? from Barangay level to provincial level, from the past to the present. And can there be a list of all the projects? And also who is responsible for that projects. If it is finished or not? If not, why? Are this projects help the people of Samar? Have we tried to see the development and laws for our people? Is that development and laws help our people? If not, what shall we do to correct that development and why should we follow that law? why not make laws that help the Samarnon or the Filipino People?

These are all questions, that is bothering my mind. I need your help, I am not a technocrats, I am just a lowly clerk. I wonder why people can be bought, why Bar topnochers and the Board topnotchers of our country cannot help, our beloved country or Samar for that matter. Do we have good soldier to protect our people? The most of the Waray have nothing but there rights and freedom? How much money did we borrow from foreign government to help us? I don't know? did it help? I read that corruption in our country on purchases and services alone is P21 billion a year; that is a great profit. for a corrupt government, yet we blame the voters who receive P500 pesos just to survive and enjoy it for a day. Do we have an educational system that really explain what we need to do, to be successful? Is our government officials have morale values? But who can tell us what morale values if there is a lot of preachers who needs guidance too.

Now I am confused can anybody help me I am drowning of hopelessness. But even if I felt hopeless and deceive by my government, I know deep inside that there is a lot of good people in the government who wants to change for the better. Our beloved Samar, need jobs, needs industry to sustain our basic needs. Who wants to put up a boat industry, passenger train, fishing industry; export and import of products from our raw materials.

Subject:    Mark Sanchez' Analysis: Bereft of Merits
Name:     Antonio Morales
Date:   June 20, 2006

I hope that your simplistic analysis of a cadre's decision to fight the government should be tempered with empathy---one that would take you to see things in their perspective. I cannot personally comprehend why these people continue to sacrifice their life, liberty, and property for a cause they only knew. It is the same token that I cannot understand why people would allow themselves to become human bombs in Iraq. Analyzing their actions using "our" own standards would lead us nowhere. It is like over-simplifying a very complex problem.

Your analysis, however articulate you have become, is still just a scratch on the surface of the problem. You have not dissected the issues so well and has not experienced the experiences of those loyal NPA cadres supporting the ideological beliefs of their founder Joma Sison who is enjoying a life of luxury in the Netherlands. Sometimes, I think that Osama Bin Laden is a better leader than Joma Sison as the former continues to fight with his people side by side in the mountain ranges of Afghanistan than the latter who has abandoned his comrades in the hinterlands of Sorsogon, Mindoro, Samar, and Leyte. But why do NPA followers and sympathizers avidly support the cause Joma planted in their minds---only they could answer.

The government's response to use "lex talionis" or "an-eye-for-an-eye" strategy would not solve the problem. It would only escalate the tension and would even result to more problems causing troubles to the most vulnerable sectors in our society. How can we solve a problem like the insurgency in Samar? Well, let's try to identify the reasons why these people flock to the fold of the NPA abandoning the serene life of an ordinary citizen. Did Mark Sanchez conduct a thorough search for that problem? Did he ask that question to an NPA guerrila? Declaring a total war against the NPAs, just like what GMA has recently done, will not solve the problem. You can kill the person but you can never pacify an idea that's being transmitted from one person to another.

Subject:    Riko An Pilipinas Pero Nagkukuri an Samarnon!
Name:   Mark Sanchez
Address:   Tacloban City
Email:    ambull2006@gmail.com
Date:   June 8, 2006

The CPP-NPA-NDF people espouses the villainous line that "Insurgency was borne out of Poverty".

After 36th sorrowful years that the Filipino people have suffered from the barbaric acts of the Communist Terrorists in guise of “revolution of the masses”, it is time to think seriously what have transpired during those forgettable years.

While poverty arouses discontent, it may not at all end up having people bear arms and to kill without someone insinuating him to do so. In plain and simple language, along the way of the communist indoctrination, an “Agitator” that teaches them that killing is but part and parcel of their struggle!

“Riko an Pilipinas pero Nagkukuri an Katawhang Pilipino! These infamous remarks have drawn many into the jungles, leaving their families and dislocated their normal lives. As an initial statement during the initial stage of communist recruitment, it is proven effective in conditioning the mind of the people to bear arms and kill.

What are the ill-effects of the Communist Terrorism? One need not to be a graduate of political science, nor economics, in any universities to understand the whole picture of having tolerated the ideology long eradicated by the very first nations who were fascinated with the fertile promises of communism only to wake up in regretful.

Economic aspect. This simple illustration will make you realize why we should get rid of communist terrorist once and for all. Imagine a family of five (Father, Mother and three children). This is a typical Filipino family living in the hinterlands. The place where we get our supply of agricultural products we eat and made the most of the economy of our agricultural nation. A normal farmer-couple earns as much as enough to feed, dress, and educate their offspring.  Imagine the couple is farming 5 hectares of land with rice. With that size of lot, they managed to harvest 400 sacks of palay every production cycle. With that, they have enough money to feed, dress and send their three children to school.

Let’s now look at the point where an CPP-NPA-NDF armed propagandists approached their community. Of course they will enter a community on two-fold purpose; to recruit potential members and to organize their mass base. What if the father of the family that we mentioned above was recruited by the armed propagandist of joining their ranks? (To serve the masses, To fight the oppressors, the bait to lure our poor peasants). What will happen now to his family? Given the fact the father, as a new recruit, will be assigned to other place far from his residence and that he will receive neither salary nor allowances from the CPP-NPA-NDF. All he will receive are indoctrinations and firearms to kill.

Will his family become rich? Will they live a life of prosperity? Will the children be able to finish their education? Will the mother be able to till the five hectares of land as productive as they are doing it as

a couple? Will the economy improved after losing the productivity of the five hectares of land? What if we have 1,000 fathers recruited and left their farm lots to bear arms and kill?

Your guess is as good as mine.

I am neither an academic achiever nor a scholar during my school days. I am just using the very fundamental sense of my personality, my ‘common sense’.

And so I can safely say that;

Poverty is not the root cause of Insurgency, but rather, INSURGENCY IS THE ROOT CAUSE OF POVERTY!

There are a lot of families fleeing from their homes in the mountains because of military operations- That’s the news as designed by the propagandist of the CPP-NPA-NDF.

Imagine, the military operations consisting of Medical, Dental, Livelihood opportunities made these people evacuated from their homes?

Again, use your common sense.

If Communist Terrorist will leave the bountiful island of Samar where they long been using in the furtherance of their personal agenda (of course, they also dream of becoming governors, congressmen and mayors of this province if they succeed), maybe we will be able to see the way to make the lives of every Samarnon prosper.

What do you think?

Subject:   Position Paper Aimed at Ushering Samar to Progress
Name:   Antonio "Noynie" Casurao
Address:  United Arab Emirates
Email:  casantone@gmail.com

I have posted in the message board my concerns on why Samar is being tagged by others as the poor province, with many poor people, and even tagged as the origin of criminals.

Basically, this is so because it is evident by what the people can see in its environment, i.e., nipa hut houses along the highway, lack of infrastructures, and one in the message board even commented that a hospital in Catbalogan lacks its facilities.  And the string of signs of impoverished living condition of the people.

I have not gone back to Samar for more than 7 years now.  These are just confirmation from the different people who went to Samar and when they came back, they have similar comments. One example is my friend from NBI who went to Guiuan (to conduct raid or inspect on something I am not privy of).  He was so dismayed seeing the condition of Samar.  Another, my former faculty member who went there for a research, when she came back, knowing that I came from Samar, she told me various stories of misfortunes of the people.

Maybe it is about time that we should not just depend on what the incumbents can do to the place, but we shall initiate moves that will help them in doing their part exactly as what has been mandated of them by the law as well as by the electorate will of the people.

And in doing this, we should be able to come up with a concrete position to be used in drawing the blue print on how we can help improve the condition of this beloved province.

I believe that no amount of money can match with good ideas and have them implemented the right way and with political will.

Therefore, may I invite you, especially those who are living there, and even those are who are not living there but are privy to what is happening in Samar, to please join this forum and contribute your ideas.

We need to do the following:

To begin with, we shall be dealing with the step number one.  To scan the situation.

Those who will be joining in coming up with this position paper, please write the problems that you perceived in bullet form, enumerated, brief, precise and direct to the point.

Please avoid hitting at a particular person especially in the politics.  Please avoid being partisan.

Sample format:

And then we will come up with a summary of these problems.  And once we have come up with the summary of the problems, we will go to the next task, to identify the roots or the causes of each of the problem; and so on.

This is a long process, but it is rewarding, I do believe.

Thanks in advance for joining.

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