Boston, Davao Oriental – To those unfamiliar with the Bisaya language, the title of this post simply means: “People are staring at a lake right in front of them but they thirst.”
This is a Visayan idiom on the irony of life in many rural areas of the country where the vast resources which could have changed the lives of people remain unaccessed and unutilized.
It was already 7:30 p.m. when I reached the town of Boston from Mati City after a brief stop from the clean and beautiful town of Tarragona where I met Mayor Nestor Uy.
Boston is the last town of Davao Oriental before I crossed over to Surigao del Sur Province where my team was set to spend the night in Tandag City.
Vice Mayor Eleuterio Manaytay, who incidentally is also the Tribal Chieftain of the town, was in the small town hall to receive us.
It was just supposed to be a short “meet and greet” but Vice Mayor Manaytay, a Mandaya-Manobo, engaged me in a talk about his plans for the tribal people of Davao Oriental.
Then, he warned us that we should partake of the roasted native pig that he prepared because he would be offended if we leave without having a little bite.
As we embarked on the remaining stretch of the journey to Tandag City, I realized that Davao Oriental is blessed with leaders who truly care for their people.
All that they need is help and support from the national government to quench the thirst of their people for a better life.
There are rivers whose water could supply the needs of the people but the national government awarded the “water rights” to outside groups.
They are facing the “Tuna Highway” in the Pacific Ocean but it is the fishermen from other areas who are mainly benefitting from it because there are no fish landing port and storage facilities.
These are really minor problems but these could only be addressed at the national level.
Sadly, many of our policy makers just do not see the real picture on the ground neither do they hear the faint voices of people like tribal leader Eleuterio Manaytay.
Before we retired for the night, I gave instructions to my staff, Director Olie Degala to identify foreign funds which we could tap to provide post harvest facilities for the fishing industry and for the water needs of the province.
I promised the leaders of Davao Oriental that I will be back in December with answers to some of their concerns.
(Photos by Mayette Tudlas, MinDA OC.)
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