ACCESS ROAD FOR FASTER TRAVEL. The newly-built road leading to Mataguinao, Samar. From a four-hour boat trip from the highway in Gandara town, Matuguinao can now be reached in just 30 minutes from Samar Island’s main road. (File photo)
MATUGUINAO, Samar -- The local government here is upbeat to develop this conflict-stricken town following the completion of a road project connecting it to the national highway.
After the completion of the access road, it has been common to see visitors in their town, Mayor Aran Boller said in an interview Thursday.
From a four-hour boat trip from the highway in Gandara town, Matuguinao can now be reached in only 30 minutes from Samar Island’s main road.
Started in 2014 and completed last year, the 21-km. Gandara-Matuguinao Road opening and concreting was funded through a PHP720 million fund from the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process’ Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (PAMANA) program.
“The road completion has created a lot of opportunities in our town. Boat operators sold their boats and acquired motorcycles to cater to the land transport needs of the people. It’s a lot easier to bring products here,” Boller said.
Even with the new road network, some of the town’s upland villages continue to be threatened by the presence of the New People’s Army (NPA).
Of the 20 villages, five have sightings of insurgents, Boller said, identifying these villages as Inubod, San Roque, Ligaya, Carolina, and Del Rosario.
“Unlike in the past, NPA members no longer recruit residents but are only using the villages for safe passage to other parts of Samar Island. In just an hour, reports of their presence are forwarded to government troops. In the past, it took a week or a month before the intelligence report reaches the military,” Boller said.
Insurgency problem has been minimized significantly following the surrender of 15 NPA members who provided information on the identity of supporters, the location of NPA lairs, and operation areas.
Within the first 100 days of his term, Boller said the local government declared the communist group as “persona non grata”. The declaration convinced hundreds of NPA supporters to abandon the communist ideology.
“My plan in my three-year term is to improve the security and peace and order situation of our town, provide a livelihood to the people, and to give quality education and services,” he added.
He noted that for the first time, the town hosted the district-wide sports competition of the Department of Education, a small feat that boosted the pride of locals.
While working to improve the security condition in his town, Boller said the local government has been working to revive abaca farming destroyed by pest infestation.
To revive the industry, the local government unit distributed free saplings to farmers.
“To motivate them to make sure that the abaca will grow, the LGU gives them PHP20 per growing abaca sapling as an incentive,” Boller said.
With this initiative, the town mayor expressed hope that soon, their abaca industry would be revived to end poverty and make them less vulnerable to the communist group’s recruitment.
Matuguinao is a fifth-class town in Samar province with a population of 7,288 people. The town is 105 km. from Tacloban City, the regional capital.
About 60 percent of the population is living in poverty, based on the 2015 survey of the Philippine Statistics Authority. (PNA)
