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Last Sept. 26, 2007, five men lost their lives and five were wounded
in two violent incidents in Motiong, Samar. First, Barangay Caranas
Councilor Ernesto General was assassinated. A few hours later,
Barangay Caranas Chairman Vedasto Dacatimban, SK Chairman Jonathan
Dacutanan and two others were killed in an ambush. Five were
wounded. The military blamed the NPA for the two attacks, while the
NPA blamed the military.
The Office of the President extended
financial assistance to the families of the victims, and I was
privileged to be tasked to personally hand over the checks. The trip
was nearly cancelled due to the continuous rain and flooded roads.
At least five sections of Maharlika Highway from Tacloban City to
Calbiga had caved in or were about to cave in.
Francisco Langi Sr., a native of Loboc,
Bohol , and a former 3-term mayor, had been installed as mayor of
Motiong only a week earlier. Langi’s opponent, incumbent mayor
Constancio Pacanan Jr., had been proclaimed winner last May 2007
with a 3-vote margin. The recount, however, gave Langi a lead by six
votes. I, too, am an ambush victim, Mayor Langi told me. On Feb. 6,
2007, Langi, then vice mayor, and his wife were ambushed. The driver
of their motorcycle was killed. Langi was hit by seven bullets and
left for dead. He couldn’t campaign for the rest of the campaign
period. Five suspects, including a brother of former Mayor Pacanan,
are detained at the provincial jail. Fortunately, the assumption of
Mayor Langi has been peaceful.
So there I was, together with officials
from the Presidential Management Staff, local media, and soldiers
from the nearby battalion, in a town that is no stranger to
hardship, neglect and violence. One can only wonder what drives
people to commit political murder in such a place. The population is
about 15,000. The annual internal revenue allotment is P25 million
while the town generates about P1.3 million in local revenues. Most
residents are farmers. Common crops are gabi, corn, abaca and
banana. Last December, an outbreak of scabies was reported in four
barangays, but little has been done to address or contain the
outbreak. Remoteness of the affected areas and lack of medicines
hamper the delivery of basic health services.
While the town has a new legislative
building, the town hall is in a pitiful state with even the name of
the town needing a repainting. The rural health unit is housed in a
building that dates back to the Marcos era. The fact is that things
haven’t changed much in the last 40 years, a municipal councilor
told me. Since no road connects the barangays, trucks and
motorcycles are the only means of transportation to the town proper.
Farmers usually bring their produce on foot or on horseback to the
trail where it is picked up by a truck.
Media have moved on to other news since
Sept. 26. Even the victims’ families themselves have moved on
because the daily struggle for survival so demands. Some Brgy.
Caranas residents remain suspicious and distrustful of the military
because at the time of the ambush, the army detachment in the next
barangay was the only armed group known to be in the area. However,
the NPA is reportedly asking food and cash from residents in some
remote areas of Motiong. An old man lost a son in the ambush, while
another was wounded and reportedly now resides in Manila because he
fears for his life. One mother lost two sons - aged 21 and 17 - in
the ambush. She is now a barangay councilor. One widow had just
given birth.
The rain that had fallen for almost two
weeks stopped for a couple of hours, only to fall hard again as
Mayor Langi, leaning on his cane, sent off my companions and me. The
highway connecting Motiong to the rest of the world is currently
undergoing major rehabilitation. This means long stretches of road
without any cement or asphalt. The road repair is expected to be
completed by December 2009. The hinterlands of Motiong and other NPA-infested
towns have never seen a cemented road. With the additional repair
work needed on the newly damaged portions of the highway, these
communities might have to wait longer to be connected to the outside
world. Hopefully they won’t have to wait another 40 years.
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