BORONGAN, Eastern Samar ? We say enough! No more excuses. Repair and rehabilitate our roads now.
So said a letter signed by over 1,000 people in Eastern Samar, disgusted by the worsening condition of highways in the province.
?We, the long-suffering people of Eastern Samar, seek and demand the urgent and immediate repair and rehabilitation of our badly damaged roads that have caused us unfathomable hardships and kept us deeply mired in poverty and misery,? it said.
The petition circulated in campuses, hospitals, malls and the Internet where almost all the 23 municipalities of Eastern Samar have websites. During a Church-sponsored seminar early this month at the Borongan Cathedral, almost 1,000 participants from all sectors signed the document.
?Major calamity?
The national highway and its sorry state of disrepair have long been a burden of the people. In 2008, when floods swept the whole province, the provincial government declared the road network a ?major calamity? because of untended potholes and craters.
Coconut trees and banana plants were even planted in the middle of the highway by frustrated residents.
Text and online messages read: ?Off road competition and extreme sport showdown, venue-Eastern Samar highway,? ?Come travel and plant rice in our highway,? ?If you want to see a carabao-friendly highway, visit Eastern Samar,? ?Big waves and rough seas are not only in the Pacific but in Eastern Samar highways as well.?
Some of the messages were addressed to President Macapagal-Arroyo, asking her where the people?s taxes were going.
Church stand
?It?s about time we voiced our righteous anger. Congressman, you cannot just be saying sorry for the inconvenience. We deserve much better than this. Governor, we may be dumb but we are not stupid,? US-based Fr. Ven Amidar wrote on the Internet.
The bishop and clergy of the Diocese of Borongan have come up with two statements on the issue early this year.
?It is good to note that our people are already involved. And now, this is their own voice and they have owned the cause. Even if this is surely a long advocacy, at least it is a good development because it means that the faith of our people is maturing,? Borongan Bishop Crispin B. Varquez said.
Several judges and lawyers initiated the petition when they gathered in Bohol last year for a seminar and had an audience with former Borongan Bishop Leonardo Y. Medroso.
?This is an offshoot of our discussion with Bishop Medroso about the urgent issues affecting the people of Eastern Samar, especially our road network. It?s high time we young professionals also tried our role for the benefit of our people,? said Municipal Trial Court Judge Rowena Tan of Balangiga, who drafted the letter.
Congressman vs gov
Tan said her advocacy had even angered a top politician, whom she did not name.
?I could not believe where the interests of some of our government leaders lie. This is not the response expected from local officials. This is not even an attack on anyone but an appeal, a cry for help. It's sad to note that instead of looking after the welfare of their constituents, they try to claim this as attack on their position,? she said.
?The hell roads of Eastern Samar are an eloquent testimony of the selfishness, callousness, and insensitivity of our local and national officials,? she added.
?It?s a shame that both our congressman and governor proclaim that GMA cares, [with their pictures] in roadside ads, and action to rehabilitate our roads will come soon. Yet for months now, nothing has happened. Please stop fooling us,? said Fr. Dongdong Solidon, parish priest of Dolores.
Thus, the blame inevitably shifts to Eastern Samar?s top officials who, however, claim they are doing their best to address the situation.
Rep. Teodulo Coquilla said he had lobbied for appropriations and constantly monitored and reminded the concerned agency and the contractor.
Gov. Ben Evardone admitted that the repair of the national road was not his legal responsibility, but he said he had a moral obligation to do so. He said the province had initially allocated P10 million for the repair and even offered the use of the province?s heavy equipment, but this was turned down.
The provincial engineering team can only do some road patching, he said.
Coquilla has repeatedly said that the province should stick to provincial roads since the national highway was the concern of the Department of Public Works and Highways, and the repair project has already been awarded to a contractor.
Both GMA allies
Both Coquilla and Evardone are close to the First Family. The President was the special guest of Evardone during his birthday celebration last year and her son, Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel ?Mikey? Arroyo, was the guest of honor during Coquilla?s birthday.
The rift between the two leaders is no secret. Ms Arroyo has even asked the Samar bishops to help reconcile them.
In a peace and development forum last year, Bishop Crispin Varquez urged Coquilla and Evardone to put politics aside in the interest of their constituents. Both obliged and shook hands in front of the delegates and the media.
Still, repairs have been very slow in coming.
In another forum, San Julian-Sulat MTC Judge Reynaldo Alconaba lamented the inability of the DPWH and the contractor to rehabilitate the road network and their laxity in meeting targets.
?This is an insult to the intelligence of our people. We are all taxpayers, we deserve better services. Don?t use the weather as an excuse because it does not rain every day,? Alconaba said.
DPWH role
Public works regional director Angelito Twańo explained that his people could only do so much because of the rains. Only temporary patching could be done because it was always washed away after a day or two, he said.
Twańo disclosed that during a meeting with the President, Department of Budget and Management, other concerned agencies and Evardone, he was able to ask for P560 million for Eastern Samar?s road network this year on top of the P477-million surplus last year. He said the repair project would start in April.
Rehabilitating the entire road network will cost P1.5 billion and if the proposed circumferential road from Maydolong to Basey is included, the two projects may cost P2.4 billion.
In the meantime, the people will have to bear with the highway, often dubbed a ?thousand lakes,? ?hellish roads,? and, lately, according to Bishop Varquez, ?luxurious roads? derived from ?palukso-lukso? (hopping).
