Thursday, June 30, 2011

Some notes on Samar

I haven't been to this part of the country so when the opportunity to come to Region 8 came by, it was difficult to pass it up. Leyte and Samar were attractive to me because of the history associated with these islands. For one, Samar and Leyte were witnesses to many brutal events during the Filipino-American War in the early 1900's that were claimed to be justified because it was considered an insurrection back then. Of course, this part of history was eventually corrected to show the perspective not of the enemy (and victor) but those who were oppressed and invaded at the time when imperialism seemed to be still the flavor of the west. In fact, there are still many injustices that are remembered today as many incidents have not been addressed including the infamous Balangiga massacre that until now cannot be forgotten because of the brutality and partly for the church bells that have been hauled off to the US as souvenirs of the unit that "pacified" Samar. This was the same province that is now remembered in history books as being the first to be transformed into a "howling wilderness" by a barbaric general who thought so less about a people he didn't care about.

Then there is of course the events towards the conclusion of the Second World War when many famous battles were fought on the Pacific theater. The largest naval battle was fought off Leyte Gulf where the US Navy faced and defeated the Japanese Imperial Navy. This was the last time battleships like the Iowa, New Jersey, Musashi and Yamato faced each other in an epic battle that was to cripple the Japanese Navy once and for all. Leyte, too, was witness to the liberation of the Philippine islands from Japanese occupation including Gen. Douglas McArthur's landing when he reportedly uttered the words "I have returned," to fulfill a promise made in 1942 when he forcibly left Bataan as the Japanese pushed on despite being held by heroic defenses of USAFFE.

I will try to write about what I have seen in Samar apart from the roads that we were evaluating. I am particularly saddened by the conditions and situations of people along our project road. Their poverty is so appalling to me considering the resources and the opportunities that the government and their leaders could have extended. It is so disappointing that it makes one wonder if indeed there is a bright future to a whole lot of people in that province. It also makes one reflect on his/her own well-being and situation in life. And it also makes one ask questions about fairness and justice in this day and age, and where inequality and inequity should be associated with decency and respect to the basic needs of man.

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