Celebration held on January 31, 2010 at Tia Anita's, Catbalogan City, Samar
The celebration was a success. More than 300 people attended the celebration. We are currently organizing a series of activities starting March 26, 2010 to coincide with the official campaign period, until the last day. At the series of activities, we are expecting to have a ground swell support of Samarenos to attend, combining a multi-sectoral alliance of political organizations and new political leaders of Samar that will lead the island to a progressive and modern regional economy. The time for New Politics has arrived.
As Guest Speaker at 74th Recognition Day of Samar State University, March 23, 2009
Excerpts of the Speech
President of this University, Dr.Simon P. Babalcon, Jr., Engr. Ma. Lourdes Amante, President of SSU Personnel Association, Engr. Felisa Gomba, Vice-President, Research Division, distinquished members of the Board of Regents, distinquished members of the faculty, my formers teachers, beloved parents, and to the achievers of this year's Recognition day.
Good afternoon.
First of all, I would like to thank you for inviting me here in this great opportunity to speak before you regarding my personal journey, our country, our island, our graduates, and students of my Alma Mater.
I have been invited here to speak before you as a testimony of a long and drawn out struggle of a lifetime, of achievements and goals that still has to be accomplished.
My Personal Journey
I started from this school in 1977 and graduated in 1981, learning many ways about the world we live in. I learned more when I entered college at UP Diliman, the premier university of this country. As you all know, we entered a tumultuous time when civil strife was at its highest that same year. The assasination of Senator Benigno Aquino created the conditions for a new order.
After graduation in 1985, all doors opened for me to seek work in the private and public sector. I was first unemployed for almost a year and pursued Master of Arts in Political Science. Later on, I gained a position as a part-time Lecturer at UP Diliman and De La Salle University. In 1987, when a new government was established, I was recruited to work as a researcher and speech writer for then Senator Joseph Estrada, who became our President in 1988.
Working at the academe and the government gave me an insight in the difference between theory and practice. While working as a Lecturer at the university, I studied and explored the ideals and philosophies of individualism, civil society and the State. But working for the government, especially for a politician, I discovered the excesses of individualism, practical politics and the bureaucracy. I was enmeshed in both worlds, sometimes conflicting at each other. Caught in the middle of the real world, I struggled to get out. At this time, I was having difficult time resolving the differences. Eventually I bailed out. I asked myself: Where I belong? The theoretical or the real world?
The age of ideals was dying at that time. I see my former colleagues in activism slowly swallowed by the system. In 1990, I left for Toronto, Canada to speak before the International Congress of Asian and North African Studies, working on the problems of urbanization in the Philippines, and the studies relevant to urban blight. After that I left for New York to study at the New School University on a scholarship. Unfortunately, I was not able to finish my studies as the craving to earn money came. Reality set in. I have to survive at that time. So I sacrificed my scholarship and worked from an adult care center to investment banking.
I learned a lot in New York and America as a whole. From the ordinary citizens, I have made friends and interacted with, from working with Wall Street companies, a former billionaire and oil trader, and travelling between the East and West coast, and the south.
I left America in 1997 bringing with me a diverse knowledge of humanity, culture , financial and social linkages. I also anticipated that America will lose its financial dominance after few years as the debt has surmounted what was being earned.
I told myself nowadays when I left for abroad. I have few dollars in my pocket, and a bag full of ideas. But when I came back, still I had few dollars in my pocket but a sack full of ideas.
The Present System
They say old ways die hard. In fact it is. I came back after seven years of absence. Tall buildings were being constructed. In 1997 the Asian currency slowed down the emerging economies. Old dogmas still persisted. Government priorities were not attuned to the needs of the many. Corruption is still rampant. You do not need to look around. It was disappointing. I travelled again. This time to Europe, first was Germany, then Russia and Spain, France, Holland and Switzerland. I studied the cultures of the great cities of these countries. And having an organized system of governance, they have turned themselves into great cities of the world.
I am always reminded by my father that old values: honesty, hard work, and dedication to public service, and the preservation of a civil society that works for the common good and its over all well being as the number one priority of every civil servant. From the old society to the new one, the time-honored principles of a just and equitable society are universal, be it the Left or Right, or a mixed of both.
What is the future that lies ahead?
I visited one town, and I saw its potentials as a modern town. It has unbelievable resource that have yet to appreciate its importance. They are tied up with old ideas, and the system they had created. They wanted to move forward but they could not. They believe in environmental protectionism as a way of life. I call them tree huggers but no trees to hug. Instead they point their fingers to the destruction of their livelihood from one source- pollution from mining where there is presently none. The spectre of destructive mining is ingrained in their minds and yet the people they serve live in wanton poverty and hunger. I am appalled by their ignorance. After several consultations, I decided to rationalize the approach from an intellectual point of view. I came to visit your University and met one of your distinquished engineers, Dr. Felisa Gomba to give me insights why the town has not moved beyond its predicament. I found out why. So many interests has been staked in that site, and for years, no one has been able to offer this town what it should have received and gained which is equitable distribution of resources using modern methods in mining and refining technology. Here is where the University should come in. Eudcating the ignorant and debunking old myths that modernization should finally come to this town. Of course, we need to balance the ecological and environmental aspects of the project. Not unlike others who would come and destroy the environment and extract the non-renewable resource which is actually predatory.
In contrary, I visited a small barangay in the middle of the hinterlands of Samar, and started a project in renewable resource- the coconut tree. Unbelievably, the people in this barangay has a different attitude. The are adapative to the changing times and wanted more opportunities that can be offered to them. But they lack the marketing skills and network. So we took over the old and decaying machine, rehabilitated it, and run it to decorticate the coconut husk to make them into cocofiber. And currently, we are producing approximately 500 kilos a day of coconut fiber and cocopeat. It took us a lot of effort and resources to mobilize the cooperative who owns the machine and the people of the barangay who supplied us with the coconut husk. I am happy to say that this barangay is moving towards a positive direction. We are also helping them to provide additional income for the families.
From these two areas I gained an important insight: First, that if given an opportunity to work on a limited resource the people would think twice if it will be helpful for them. The poor who have no idea what they have, wanted a quick fix. The learned while fearing the environmental effects of mining, is also afraid that it will destroy them. Second, that if a renewable resource can be harnessed, people would immediately work together specially when financial support is given to them.
At this juncture, I therefore invite everyone to be enlightened. That Samar has resources that can be managed for the benefit of the majority of the people who lives here, not the few, and not anyone else. We should stop thinking only what we need for the short-term. We must think of the longer view, the bigger perspective.
The University plays an important role in the modernization of Samar, as repository of knowledge and harbinger of technological change and scientific studies.
I challenge this year's graduates and topnotch students to go out and take your role as messengers and practitioners for change. For it is the only the educated and the enlightened that Samar will be once and for all, an island of prosperity comparable to the great city-island of the world.
I remember my father, an accomplished engineer himself, and alumnus of this university, once said to me, "We must build a good road for the people to reach the Church every Sunday with Sunday clothes, and pray to God". For it is by praying that we can change ourselves in time.
He was also a bridge builder. He believed that building bridges, people can interact, and therefore more opportunities are provided to the people who want to improve themselves. We must change our attitudes first and foremost. For as future leaders we must be selfless in serving the people.
For the alumni, being one myself, it is now time to come back and help assist the Samarenos to develop itself as a region to be envied by others. We must share our ideas and whatever we have learned from our professions and other cultures of the world.
In line with this, I am therefore pleased to submit to this great University a short paper I wrote for a group of investors entitled, "Strategies for Industrialization of Samar", from steel-making to agro-industrial production, that we can offer to this island.
We should all unite to achieve this lofty goal so that the generations to come will be proud that their fathers had done their part to contribute to the development of this great island.
God bless us all!
Congratulations to everyone!
President of this University, Dr.Simon P. Babalcon, Jr., Engr. Ma. Lourdes Amante, President of SSU Personnel Association, Engr. Felisa Gomba, Vice-President, Research Division, distinquished members of the Board of Regents, distinquished members of the faculty, my formers teachers, beloved parents, and to the achievers of this year's Recognition day.
Good afternoon.
First of all, I would like to thank you for inviting me here in this great opportunity to speak before you regarding my personal journey, our country, our island, our graduates, and students of my Alma Mater.
I have been invited here to speak before you as a testimony of a long and drawn out struggle of a lifetime, of achievements and goals that still has to be accomplished.
My Personal Journey
I started from this school in 1977 and graduated in 1981, learning many ways about the world we live in. I learned more when I entered college at UP Diliman, the premier university of this country. As you all know, we entered a tumultuous time when civil strife was at its highest that same year. The assasination of Senator Benigno Aquino created the conditions for a new order.
After graduation in 1985, all doors opened for me to seek work in the private and public sector. I was first unemployed for almost a year and pursued Master of Arts in Political Science. Later on, I gained a position as a part-time Lecturer at UP Diliman and De La Salle University. In 1987, when a new government was established, I was recruited to work as a researcher and speech writer for then Senator Joseph Estrada, who became our President in 1988.
Working at the academe and the government gave me an insight in the difference between theory and practice. While working as a Lecturer at the university, I studied and explored the ideals and philosophies of individualism, civil society and the State. But working for the government, especially for a politician, I discovered the excesses of individualism, practical politics and the bureaucracy. I was enmeshed in both worlds, sometimes conflicting at each other. Caught in the middle of the real world, I struggled to get out. At this time, I was having difficult time resolving the differences. Eventually I bailed out. I asked myself: Where I belong? The theoretical or the real world?
The age of ideals was dying at that time. I see my former colleagues in activism slowly swallowed by the system. In 1990, I left for Toronto, Canada to speak before the International Congress of Asian and North African Studies, working on the problems of urbanization in the Philippines, and the studies relevant to urban blight. After that I left for New York to study at the New School University on a scholarship. Unfortunately, I was not able to finish my studies as the craving to earn money came. Reality set in. I have to survive at that time. So I sacrificed my scholarship and worked from an adult care center to investment banking.
I learned a lot in New York and America as a whole. From the ordinary citizens, I have made friends and interacted with, from working with Wall Street companies, a former billionaire and oil trader, and travelling between the East and West coast, and the south.
I left America in 1997 bringing with me a diverse knowledge of humanity, culture , financial and social linkages. I also anticipated that America will lose its financial dominance after few years as the debt has surmounted what was being earned.
I told myself nowadays when I left for abroad. I have few dollars in my pocket, and a bag full of ideas. But when I came back, still I had few dollars in my pocket but a sack full of ideas.
The Present System
They say old ways die hard. In fact it is. I came back after seven years of absence. Tall buildings were being constructed. In 1997 the Asian currency slowed down the emerging economies. Old dogmas still persisted. Government priorities were not attuned to the needs of the many. Corruption is still rampant. You do not need to look around. It was disappointing. I travelled again. This time to Europe, first was Germany, then Russia and Spain, France, Holland and Switzerland. I studied the cultures of the great cities of these countries. And having an organized system of governance, they have turned themselves into great cities of the world.
I am always reminded by my father that old values: honesty, hard work, and dedication to public service, and the preservation of a civil society that works for the common good and its over all well being as the number one priority of every civil servant. From the old society to the new one, the time-honored principles of a just and equitable society are universal, be it the Left or Right, or a mixed of both.
What is the future that lies ahead?
I visited one town, and I saw its potentials as a modern town. It has unbelievable resource that have yet to appreciate its importance. They are tied up with old ideas, and the system they had created. They wanted to move forward but they could not. They believe in environmental protectionism as a way of life. I call them tree huggers but no trees to hug. Instead they point their fingers to the destruction of their livelihood from one source- pollution from mining where there is presently none. The spectre of destructive mining is ingrained in their minds and yet the people they serve live in wanton poverty and hunger. I am appalled by their ignorance. After several consultations, I decided to rationalize the approach from an intellectual point of view. I came to visit your University and met one of your distinquished engineers, Dr. Felisa Gomba to give me insights why the town has not moved beyond its predicament. I found out why. So many interests has been staked in that site, and for years, no one has been able to offer this town what it should have received and gained which is equitable distribution of resources using modern methods in mining and refining technology. Here is where the University should come in. Eudcating the ignorant and debunking old myths that modernization should finally come to this town. Of course, we need to balance the ecological and environmental aspects of the project. Not unlike others who would come and destroy the environment and extract the non-renewable resource which is actually predatory.
In contrary, I visited a small barangay in the middle of the hinterlands of Samar, and started a project in renewable resource- the coconut tree. Unbelievably, the people in this barangay has a different attitude. The are adapative to the changing times and wanted more opportunities that can be offered to them. But they lack the marketing skills and network. So we took over the old and decaying machine, rehabilitated it, and run it to decorticate the coconut husk to make them into cocofiber. And currently, we are producing approximately 500 kilos a day of coconut fiber and cocopeat. It took us a lot of effort and resources to mobilize the cooperative who owns the machine and the people of the barangay who supplied us with the coconut husk. I am happy to say that this barangay is moving towards a positive direction. We are also helping them to provide additional income for the families.
From these two areas I gained an important insight: First, that if given an opportunity to work on a limited resource the people would think twice if it will be helpful for them. The poor who have no idea what they have, wanted a quick fix. The learned while fearing the environmental effects of mining, is also afraid that it will destroy them. Second, that if a renewable resource can be harnessed, people would immediately work together specially when financial support is given to them.
At this juncture, I therefore invite everyone to be enlightened. That Samar has resources that can be managed for the benefit of the majority of the people who lives here, not the few, and not anyone else. We should stop thinking only what we need for the short-term. We must think of the longer view, the bigger perspective.
The University plays an important role in the modernization of Samar, as repository of knowledge and harbinger of technological change and scientific studies.
I challenge this year's graduates and topnotch students to go out and take your role as messengers and practitioners for change. For it is the only the educated and the enlightened that Samar will be once and for all, an island of prosperity comparable to the great city-island of the world.
I remember my father, an accomplished engineer himself, and alumnus of this university, once said to me, "We must build a good road for the people to reach the Church every Sunday with Sunday clothes, and pray to God". For it is by praying that we can change ourselves in time.
He was also a bridge builder. He believed that building bridges, people can interact, and therefore more opportunities are provided to the people who want to improve themselves. We must change our attitudes first and foremost. For as future leaders we must be selfless in serving the people.
For the alumni, being one myself, it is now time to come back and help assist the Samarenos to develop itself as a region to be envied by others. We must share our ideas and whatever we have learned from our professions and other cultures of the world.
In line with this, I am therefore pleased to submit to this great University a short paper I wrote for a group of investors entitled, "Strategies for Industrialization of Samar", from steel-making to agro-industrial production, that we can offer to this island.
We should all unite to achieve this lofty goal so that the generations to come will be proud that their fathers had done their part to contribute to the development of this great island.
God bless us all!
Congratulations to everyone!
Cocofiber and Cocopeat plant in Bgy Casandig, Paranas, Samar
We started this project on January 2009 having selected different areas in Western Samar. We found an abandoned coco defibering machine owned by a Multi-purpose cooperative in Bgy. Casandig, Paranas, Samar. We rehabilitated it and operated the small plant which has a small production of around 20 Metric Tons every 2 months or roughly 10 MT every month. The demand for cocofiber is high at this time for the Chinese market utilized in production of bed mattresses as liners. Cocopeat demand is also high for the Korean market. Our target is to increase production by investing in modern machines.
Fishing Grounds in Maqueda Bay
There are many areas in Maqueda Bay that can be utilized for fish farming. The methods can be different. Below is an example of a traditional method using a floating bamboo house with underwater nets to grow the fish. Fish farming can also be developed using controlled conditions such as tank farms. Our economic program will support the creation of tank farming as well as fish farming in selected areas where polllution is minimal. The case of the decline of mussels farms in Jiabong should be studied and an alternative method should be undertaken in order to save the industry and the people of Jiabong.
