An Waray Party list launches One Eastern Visayas drive

TACLOBAN CITY, Oct. 27 -- The An Waray Party list has launched the One Eastern Visayas campaign in a bid to help locals patronize the region’s agricultural products and unify efforts to promote tourism destinations.

An Waray Party list founder Florencio Noel on Friday said one of the features of the campaign is the creation of an online platform, in which the economic goods—products and services— that are available in every towns in six provinces are listed, explained, and made easily accessible for people.

The online platform is also designed to facilitate inquiry and contact with related agencies and persons when certain products and services are sought by people, Noel said. 

“I am confident that this process will be easy and efficient for most of us given that today,  people, especially the youth, can easily navigate the internet. In fact, Filipinos rank second in the world in terms of the number of hours spent online, and third in terms of the number of hours spent on social media,” Noel said.

The official explained that consistent with the goals of countryside development and interdependence, the platform will make it easy for people to procure goods and services from nearby places before resorting to sources outside the region.

“Hinged on the principles of unity and interdependence, One Eastern Visayas endeavors to link the region’s six provinces, its cities and towns, government agencies, non-government organizations, and other sectors bring more development and provide more jobs or livelihood opportunities,” Noel explained.

Senator Grace Poe, Senator Juan Edgardo Angara, mayors from different parts of the region, and key officials from regional line agencies came to the city’s astrodome to express support to the campaign.

One Eastern Visayas will operate in greater scale as the campaign’s linkage or bridging of sectors in the region will work through a system of sharing of natural and human resources available in various parts of the region, Noel said. 

“In this powerful system of sharing, we will be able to not only optimize the resources we already have and provide for the socio-economic needs of our neighboring provinces, but to also foster a greater and more palpable sense of solidarity, reciprocity, and belongingness in one Eastern Visayan community—a holistic prospect that responds to both our material and cultural needs,” Noel added.

The party list official noted that the region is characterized by a diverse topography conducive to agricultural production and various recreational activities. These two aspects—agriculture and tourism—are especially part of the campaign’s focus.

“The same goal of interdependence is echoed here in the sense that we don’t need to excessively import agricultural goods when we can produce our own. We don’t really have to go far for tourist destinations because we already have and can even further develop our own,” he added.

An Waray came up with the campaign 17 years after the regional party list was formed. Since 2004, the party list has been winning seats in the House of Representatives.

Noel recalled that An Waray started only with a very simple intention, which is to help. When a fire broke out in 2001 in the 5th district of Manila, a fraternity brother from the Aquila Legis asked for Noel’s help since 90 percent of the victims were from Eastern Visayas.

“Word travels really fast that more and more Waray-speaking people in the Metro learned of the group. That collaboration served as a springboard for the group, eventually giving An Waray five terms in Congress. Our intentions have since then gone beyond helping” Noel said.

Noel informed that during his first term as representative of An Waray in Congress, a colleague once asked him why there were so many Waray in the big cities of the country, mostly informal settlers.

“I think we all see one clear answer to this. We come from the easternmost part of the country which, facing the Pacific, has for so long been the typhoon belt, rendering us vulnerable to this natural hazard, among others like landslides and earthquakes. Because of this, many of our people migrate to the Metro to try their luck in what is thought to be a safer, albeit less familiar environment,” he added.

The party list launched the campaign during the 10th Oktubafest, the showcase of best local wine known as “tuba” (coconut wine). The festival is the local version of the German beer fiesta known as “Octoberfest.” 

Thousands of tuba producers, officials, and students gathered at the City’s Astrodome for the annual event organized by An Waray Party list. (LAAA/PNA)