The new fare matrix is posted on the windshield of this tricycle in Borongan. The city council has approved a 15% increase on PUV fare through Ordinance No 90.

As early as 2002, cellular phones already allowed users to create messaging groups. The feature was not really popular because text messaging cost was at P1 per 160 characters sent.

But in 2005, Smart Communications introduced unlimited texting. A user paid for P50 to enjoy 10 days of unlimited texting.

This paved the way for the birth of the clans.

For a cause

According to a clan organizer who refused to be identified, clans are normally exclusive.

“We have a cause, like protecting the environment but membership is not open to all,” the organizer said.

So the individuals interested to become part of the clan have to submit an application form. For most clans, the membership is limited to those aged between 17 and 30.

“Then we interview them, ask them what they can contribute as an individual and as part of the group,” the organizer explained.

But the new member has to commit to send 15 GMs or group messages in a day. Otherwise, the newbie will be dropped.

Virtual friendship

“I meet new friends,” Martin (not his real name), a 17 year old male, says when asked why he enjoys being part of the clans.

Membership to the clan is done virtually because a member uses a code name and identifies himself or herself only through NSAL—this acronym stands for name, sex, age and location. A new member, when welcomed by other members of the clan is free to take on any personality.

Martin is a member of three clans and he admits sending out GMs takes up much of his time. Part of Martin’s routine is sending a GM in the morning when he wakes up to greet his clan, asking them what they had for lunch during noontime, and bidding them good night before he sleeps.

“Some of our leaders organize EBs, too.”

EBs or eyeballs are meet-ups done occasionally by clan members.

Under the influence?

The breakwater along Baybay Boulevard, referred to as “seawall,” in Borongan is a witness to the burgeoning population of the clans. Martin explains that being part of a clan also requires you to be part of a family—a smaller unit inside the clan. The family can also go out on excursions, and at times, drinking sprees.

What happens after the EBs “depends on you,” Martin says. He is quick to say that he does not want to step on dangerous territory.

Martin also refuses to describe what happens when the clan members prowl the streets at night under the influence of alcohol.

But Martin and his cousin think it is easier to meet girls though the clans. Martin has had three girlfriends from his clan and he is looking forward to meeting more.

Isaiah (not his real name), a clan organizer, says they normally get five to ten new members a day. Isaiah’s clan currently has more than 100 members and the number goes up by the hour.

Limitations in the offing

Globe Telecom has recently implemented a one gigabyte cap on the “downloading and streaming of media intensive” content for prepaid users of Globe Tattoo.

With the recent PLDT (who owns Smart) acquisition of Sun Cellular—the network that capitalizes on unlimited texting and calling, consumers fear they might have to say goodbye to “unli.”

“I think consumers will fight against that if it happens,” Isaiah said.

Consumer group TxtPower has warned against a potential monopoly because of the business deal.

But Isaiah says he is positive that even if a limit to unlimited texting looms the bridges they have built between clan members will not be that easy to burn. ###

The island, composed of eight barangays is not only popular for expert sea-farers and dried fish; it is also where the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, with his Spanish crew first landed on March 16, 1521. Magellan and his men were commissioned by the Spanish monarchs to find a route to the Spice Islands or Mollucas. After sailing through the largest ocean in the world, the Pacific, they landed on the island of Homonhon.

Magellan and his men knew Homonhon was not the Spice Islands so they thought of replenishing their supplies instead.

What happened after, as told in history books and how elders in Homonhon recount, is the beginning of a long history of hospitality.

According to local historians, Magellan and his crew received chickens, and other animals from the leaders of the different parts of the island. The explorer was also treated to feasts and drinking of coconut wine, locally called tuba. This showing of warmth and generosity some 490 years ago still happens in Homonhon island, not only during the commemoration of Magellan’s landing but every time tourists come to visit.

Feel at home

Because there are no hotels in Homonhon, residents open their homes to visitors.

Dadoy Orocay, a septuagenarian, shares that it is always his pleasure to take in guests.

Orocay hosted members of the Local Government Unit’s Tourism Office for over two weeks, providing not only roof over their heads but some food to warm their stomachs as well. At one point, when eight visitors asked if they could stay in Orocay’s house, his grandchildren had to sleep in another relative’s house. Before the visitors left, Orocay told them that they were welcome to stay in his house should they decide to come back.

Marilou Loyola and her husband own a two-storey house in barangay Pagbabangnan. According to one visitor who once stayed in the Loyola ancestral house, “The first time we stayed here, we were amazed at how they offered us a room with white linens that did not only smell good but felt starched, too.”

Freddie Gapate’s children are already used to vacating their room to accommodate visitors. Gapate’s wife juggles attending to visitors and managing their sari-sari store but according to one visitor, “she always manages to smile.”

Cruising

Hospitality in the island comes not only in the form of welcoming visitors to their houses; the locals also offer their motorized vehicles to transport visitors from one part of the island to the other.

Because the island is a long boat-ride from Guiuan, cars and other forms of motorized vehicles are scarce. Most vehicles belong to a mining company that mines Chromites.

In some cases, travelling in a boat is more preferred to waiting for the mining trucks to take you from point A to B.

Locals, have a sea ambulance to take sick people from Homonhon to mainland Guiuan. The sea ambulance transports patients in extreme medical conditions that the Homonhon Island Community Hospital can no longer handle.

It could also be necessity that forces even young men, as early as eight years old, to study the moods of the sea. Experienced sailors need only one look at the sea to tell whether it is safe to sail or not.

Manolo Loyola takes charge of the sea ambulance that he navigates through the sea at least once everyday.

Waves, as big as the sea ambulance itself no longer scare Loyola and his crew. Time and the numerous trips they have taken aboard the ship have mapped out the best route for them.

Loyola, and other sea-farers from the island of Homonhon always sport a smile and extend their hands to assist visitors even as they walk from the port to the boats.

Estehanons often think of Homonhon as a little island at the southernmost part of the province but it is far from small. The boat ride from Guiuan to Homonhon is said to be perilous but unknown to them is the expertise Homonhon sea-farers have when it comes to travelling in the deep blue waters.

Homonhon might be best remembered for the landing of Magellan and the beginning of Catholicism in the Philippines but the culture of hospitality and the warmth of the locals are what make it hard to forget.

- Sulat Eastern Samar Fiesta Celebration 2010
- Borongan Eastern Samar Fiesta Celebration 2010

Boronganons based in Metro Manila once again gathered together to celebrate the Borongan fiesta last September 8, 2010.

Interior of the Sacred Heart of Jesus church.

The celebration began with a mass at the Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Kamuning, Quezon City. From there, the people proceeded to the Shangrila Restaurant in West Avenue, Quezon City for lunch and ‘sarayaw’.

What’s a fiesta in Eastern Samar without ‘sarayaw’?

Click on ‘more’ for more photos and a video of the celebration.


The Sacred Heart of Jesus parish church.

NOBITCOMS (Natives of Borongan in Manila and Suburbs) president Max Aljibe leading the processing during the mass.

Fr. Bernie Bacsal led the celebration of the mass for Borongan’s patron saint, the Nativity of Our Lady.

Figurines of the Nativity of Our Lady that were given to the hermanos and hermanas of the celebration.

Fr. Pio Aclon was one of the four priests who celebrated the mass that day.

Some of the hermanos and hermanas for this year’s fiesta celebration.

Officers of the NOBITCOMS posing for the camera.

Video Highlights of the 2010 Borongan Fiesta Celebration

This is a long delayed post but here are the photos and a video of the Sulat fiesta celebration held in Quiapo Manila, last July 31, 2010.

The church of the Holy Face of Jesus was jampacked during that night.

Click on ‘more’ for more photos.

Here’s a Video of the Highlights of the Sulat Fiesta Celebration 2010

If I were to ask you to identify the church in the photo above, would you be able to recognize it? Probably not. That is until you see how it looks like today. Read on for the photo of the current church…

That’s right, it’s the Borongan Cathedral. I read from the forum where I picked up the photos that they were taken sometime around the early 20th century, just about the time when the Americans colonized the Philippines.

From a historical point of view, it’s quite sad to see that little of the old church has been preserved except for some of the belfry.

Here’s one of the lions that used to guard the church’s entrance, which is based on Chinese Fu lions:

And here it is now today in its current location, beside the stage at the town plaza:

Here’s also a photo of Santiago, which still stands today in the town plaza:

More Old Borongan Photos

It’s been more or less a century since the photos have been taken and it’s quite fascinating to see how much Borongan has changed since then. Take for example the old McGuire residence where the Borongan Metrobank now stands:

And another Borongan house during the American period:

How do you think these priests would react to see the new church:

Can anyone identify them?

Would they still recognize the church now that it looks grandiose in comparison to the old one? Take for example these details of the Borongan Cathedral:

Care to share your thoughts on these photos?

Old Borongan Photos Taken from this forum: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=43699158

Visit the Soundboard by clicking on this link.

There’s no better proof to that claim than the summer league that’s held in most of Eastern Samar’s towns. I was able to catch a game at the Borongan plaza one summer afternoon, and I’ve made a quick photo essay of it.

So if you’re a basketball fanatic as many Eastern Samarenos, then please follow the link below:

Eastern Samar Trip – A Basketball Diary

No surprises here. They are still the same faces, but in different positions. Some have just been replaced by their spouses, thus extending their power to three more years.

We can be bitter all we want. We can tell the others that we don’t like how the results turned out. We can bash our opponents.

And still there will be no surprises in the end.

If it doesn’t work, look for another way.

There’s this line from one marketing guru who said that we cannot change how people think, but we can change the circumstances they live in.

If a person believes that he has to vote for the person who gave him money or a job, you cannot change that belief. Either you accept that or kill him.

People will have their reasons in voting for a ‘bad’ candidate. But if there’s one major reason I think I see, that would be the lack of empowerment among the majority of the voters, once again, in the local scene.

The lack of empowerment makes it easy for people to vote for people not because of their qualifications but because they gave them several hundreds or thousands of pesos and/or a job. “Utang na loob” is a big deal among us and that would be almost impossible to remove from our psyche. Or the probability of being axed from your job because the powers that be don’t like you makes it also difficult to stand up for what you believe is right.

But if these people are empowered, if they earn enough to have a decent meal, to have decent clothes, to send their children to school, and if they know they have the power to change their destiny, then I believe that things will change for the better.

Armed with the confidence of knowing what they can do, it will be a lot more difficult to buy their votes. It’s a simplistic way of putting it, but I’m only trying to illustrate a point here.

Change their circumstance, change their lives.

And you don’t have to be a government official to do that. You can do a lot of things to change your community through your talents alone.

On the other hand, you also can’t do anything if you all you do is complain. Present solutions instead.

The elections are over, but that’s not the end of everything. Rather, it should be the start of another phase of being vigilant. Let’s take it three years at a time. Let’s try to improve things three years at a time. Things will eventually add up.

So stop complaining. Change your community in whatever way you can. And never forget to be vigilant.