Like a siren stranded at low tide in the Biliran Sea, Calubian calls. Her wail of helplessness echoes from the hills and plains of the land and back to the sea. Her cry for help permeates the consciousness night and day. Yet, she is barely heeded even as the mud of neglect has started to swallow her body and freeze over her heart and soul.
Calubian is small, tucked in the northernmost part of LeyteProvince. She is bounded by the Biliran Sea in the east and the Camotes Sea in the west. She is, thus, blessed with the beauty of the two seas. Her fertile land of rolling hills and plains gifts her with a multitudes of sustenance for her children. She is anointed with oil from the Tree of Life (coconut) that covers most of her land and for which bounty she has been named after, “Calubian” – a place where “lubi”, visayan word for the Tree of Life, abounds. Yet, Calubian remains stunted like a runt. Small, tucked in a corner of Leyte Province, away from the core of things, she has been largely ignored and untended, becoming stuck in the quagmire of neglect and underdevelopment for many years.
Calubian is beautiful all over her almost 14,000 hectares of land. But it is not an easy ride to get to most of them, with only 6 kilometers of cemented road all found in her central part. Despite the bounty of her land and sea, most of her children live insufficiently, stuck in inadequate knowledge and know how in making their person and lives productive and better. Most of her households are literally in the dark at night, guided only by lamp and candle light. Many are also made vulnerable to sickness and diseases by their sources of water – open, shallow, and deep wells. As it is asleep at night, Calubian remains sleepy by day. Lethargic and anemic, she has remained in the lower rung of the development ladder together with other 4th class municipalities in the country.
Then and now many Calubianons have left her wanting condition, running away from untenable situations and seeking to better themselves and their life elsewhere. I was one of them three decades ago. I thirsted for knowledge . . . for new things . . . new people . . . new places. . . and a different life. I sought for them in other parts of the Philippines and eventually, in other parts of the world. Through belief in myself, perseverance, patience, determination and a balancing act between work and studies, my thirst for knowledge and skills was quenched through academic scholarships in foreign institutions of learning, acquiring some mastery in the field of childhood development and education. Decades of international exposure has opened my eyes, mind and heart to the many and various issues and hindrances to person and social development.
They have given me a lot of experiences in various fields and have provided me with a wider view and perspective of situations, people and life in general. Most importantly, it has given me a whole new take on Calubian during my almost yearly homing trips to her bosom. Always, I barely saw her moving. Always, she has remained small. Always, she was weighed down with concerns. Always, she cowered before traditional barriers to her growth and development. I have decided. After so much thought and prodding by local Calubianons in the past couple of years, I am now decided.
I am heeding Calubian’s call . . . . . responding to her wail . . . . answering her cry. For through the years, they have penetrated my mind, my heart, and my soul despite the oceans and time that have separated me and Calubian. A true blue Calubianon, born and bred by heart. . . that is who and what I am and always will be. This very fact gives me heart to dare, challenge and break down the traditional barriers that perpetuate Calubian’s sorry state. I have decided, I am taking part in the changing of the guard in 2010.
But let me be honest and clear. I am not a super person. Like Calubian, I need help. I need assistance to respond effectively to Calubian’s call. It is now my turn to call on others especially my fellow Calubianons – at near or far away from home – to help me prepare and meet what are needed. I need help in crafting a coherently responsive program of governance – what with so many issues to address and an equally multitude of ideas running in me and other colleague’s head. I need help to set up a system and a center of action that will enable us to move efficiently and effectively. I need help in getting other people to help. And certainly not the least, I need help in the area of logistics – supplies, volunteers, other materials, and most of all, monetary supplementation – that will prepare and strengthen me to meet the many challenges of traditional brickbats and resistance to meaningful change. Calubian is calling. The time is now to respond and extract her from the mire of indifference and neglect. I invite you to come dare with me and the others who equally believe in the breaking down of traditional barriers. Help us unstuck beloved Calubian and empower Calubianons to lead her toward real, pro-resources, pro-people development and progress.
If you want to close ranks with me and others who believe and dare, please do contact us. This is our website for change in Calubian . . . yours and mine . . . . Calubianons and non-Calubianons alike. Welcome and Mabuhay!
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