A friend was once on the white beach of Calanggaman Island, the sun kissing the horizon at noon, when a foreigner approached him and asked why there was not much infrastructure in this gem. He shrugged, half-irritated, half-embarrassed, because the foreigner was correct. We are sitting on top of a treasure chest of natural wonders, yet we still behave as if we have lost the key.

Our province—Eastern Visayas—is not unfamiliar with grandeur. We have Kalanggaman’s fantasy sandbar, Sohoton’s legendary caves, Limasawa’s historical coastlines, Lake Danao’s mountain embrace, and Canigao’s tranquil charm, all laid out like sacred lines in a forgotten hymn. But while these places bristle with raw, untamed beauty, they lie idle, unexplored, and undermarketed. What we can offer, we don’t have in tow. And that is the tragedy: not that we don’t have it; we don’t seriously take what we have.

I’ve seen it myself. Sun-kissed Cuatro Islas boatmen with the palms of their hands calloused to the bone act as tour guides, mechanics, and lifeguards for a day’s pay of a few hundred pesos. There are no accredited tour programs, no new comfort rooms, and no trained lifeguards or certified cultural guides. Visitors manage on their own, sometimes with the result of disillusionment. We invite visitors to visit, but when they arrive, we’re not prepared to offer them a world-class experience. It’s as though we invite guests to a banquet, then serve them reheated leftovers on broken plates.

We don’t need cement sidewalks or quaint signs. We need vision. A leadership that goes beyond just barangay clean-up efforts or mere beauty pageants. A leadership that can release what we already possess—our islands, our people, our histories—and present them to the world with pride, not with added-on cosmetics. We need to stop waiting for that miracle investor to drop from heaven. We start by educating our young to be narrators of our tradition, by extending sterling and genuine hospitality, and by putting investments in small but enduring systems of sustainability. This is not a race for pursuing Western standards—it’s an exercise of making our standards seen and recognized.

The irony is that we already have the blueprint. See what the other provinces have done—Camiguin, Siargao, Bohol. These are not great wealth areas, but they had vision and persistent drive. Eastern Visayas has been running continuously in feast-or-famine tourism mode: all din fiestas and all quiet the rest of the year. We mix design with promotion and infrastructure with development. We construct roads to the beaches, but do not construct structures to safeguard them. We illuminate boardwalks but permit mangroves to wither in their footsteps. It is nature and faith in decay.

If we don’t intervene, the price is not just losing tourists, but losing ourselves. We educate our offspring on Samar’s caves and Leyte’s history, yet what is the value of learning these if we can’t save and enhance them? Why say pride when we won’t even give a decent toilet within the vicinity of our most-accessed waterfalls? This’s not lost economic opportunity; this’s lost opportunity for dignity. The neglect’s not only material—it’s moral, spiritual, and social.

And no, this is not only the Department of Tourism’s responsibility. It’s in the hands of those who make their budgets in LGUs, in schools that mold young minds, and in the media that decide what to highlight. It’s in our customs—how we greet guests, how we treat garbage, how we respect the sanctity of our domains. The world is watching. But most importantly, we are watching ourselves. All that plastic wrap along the beach, all that wild touring, all that lost comfort rooms are small, quiet concessions that we believe our paradise is not worth fighting for.

If we do need to start somewhere, let it be with respect—not the formal sort that resides in opening benedictions and ribbon cuttings, but the sort that appears in the unglamorous, no-frills effort of tending, staying current, and loving our own. We do not have to be another Boracay or Palawan—we just have to be the best Eastern Visayas has to give. The world will imitate if we first learn to value the beauty that already lies at our feet.

Building a stronger team is crucial for the success of any business. By following key strategies, a business owner can foster a collaborative and supportive environment where team members can thrive. Clearly defining roles and responsibilities, hiring the right people, and promoting open communication are essential. Providing opportunities for growth, fostering a positive work culture, and encouraging collaboration are also vital.

Setting clear goals, providing regular feedback, and encouraging innovation further contribute to team strength. Leading by example is crucial in inspiring and motivating team members. By implementing these strategies, a business owner can build a strong team that drives the growth and success of the business.

Building a stronger team for a business involves several key steps. Here are some strategies that a business owner can implement to build a stronger team:

1. Clearly define roles and responsibilities: Clearly define the roles and responsibilities of each team member to avoid confusion and ensure everyone knows what is expected of them. This will help in setting clear goals and objectives.

2. Hire the right people: Take the time to hire the right people who have the necessary skills, experience, and cultural fit for the team. Look for candidates who not only have the required technical skills but also possess good communication and teamwork abilities.

3. Foster open communication: Encourage open communication among team members to promote collaboration and idea sharing. Create a supportive environment where everyone feels comfortable expressing their thoughts, opinions, and concerns.

4. Provide opportunities for growth and development: Invest in the professional development of your team members by providing training, workshops, and opportunities for skill enhancement. This will not only help them grow personally but also contribute to the growth of the business.

5. Foster a positive work culture: Create a positive work culture that promotes teamwork, respect, and recognition. Recognize and appreciate the efforts and achievements of team members to boost morale and motivation.

6. Encourage collaboration and teamwork: Encourage collaboration and teamwork by assigning projects that require the collective effort of team members. Foster a sense of unity and shared goals to enhance team cohesion.

7. Set clear goals and objectives: Set clear goals and objectives for the team and ensure that everyone understands them. This will provide a sense of direction and purpose, aligning the efforts of team members towards a common goal.

8. Provide regular feedback: Provide regular feedback to team members to help them understand their strengths and areas for improvement. This feedback should be constructive and aimed at helping them grow and develop professionally.

9. Encourage innovation and creativity: Create an environment that encourages innovation and creativity. Encourage team members to think outside the box and come up with new ideas and solutions to challenges.

10. Lead by example: As a business owner, you should lead by example and demonstrate the qualities and values you expect from your team members. Show dedication, professionalism, and a strong work ethic to inspire and motivate your team.

Remember, building a stronger team is an ongoing process that requires continuous effort and investment. By implementing these strategies, a business owner can create a positive and productive team environment that contributes to the success of the business.

THIS is the unmistakable mark of true love, one that channels the very love of God of whom we are his image and likeness, meant to share in his very life and nature. Irrespective of how things go in our life, whether they are going up or down in human terms, as long as we have that true love, the taste of love will always be sweet.

And the basis for this assertion is the truth of our faith that defines true love not only in human terms but also and most especially in spiritual and supernatural terms. True love is not only natural, subject only to the laws of nature which cannot help, given our wounded condition due to our sin, to bear the baggage of the infranatural.

This spiritual and supernatural love can transcend whatever temporal condition we might be in. As St. Paul once said, this kind of love “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1 Cor 13,7) And given the current conditions in the world, we truly need this love to survive all the trials and challenges in our life.

The challenge we have here is how to have this kind of love and how to keep it going all day and all the time. For this, we should always find ways of how to keep going our relationship with God who is the very essence, source and power of love.

Let’s remember that when God created man, he entered into a personal relationship with us precisely because we have been created by him to be his image and likeness, to be a person, and not just a thing, a plant or animal, with whom we can share his very life and nature.

As we often hear, we, among God’s creatures, are not just something. We are a someone, a person, with intelligence and will. It is with us, together with the angels, that God establishes a personal relationship. We have to learn how to do our part in corresponding to this God-initiated relationship.

For our part, we should just find ways of how we can keep that relationship alive and vibrant, able to feel the reassuring will and ways of God. Only then can we manage the sweetness of love despite the varying conditions and situations of our life here on earth.
We should come up with the appropriate strategy to deal with this condition of our life, some kind of structure or system that can guide us irrespective of the changing circumstances of our daily life. This structure or system should be made up of some practices of piety that would keep our spiritual and supernatural bearing intact as we navigate the seas and oceans of our life.

These practices of piety should be the basic ones like a time for prayer, recourse to the sacraments especially the holy eucharist and confession, some devotions like the praying of the holy rosary, visits to the Blessed Sacrament, and other practices like regular examinations of conscience, presence of God all throughout the day making use of human devices, etc.,

Everyday, we have to tweak this system to adapt it to the peculiar conditions of the day. In this regard, it is also good to consider our concrete physical, emotional and mental conditions, so we would somehow know what to do when their strong and weak points would impact on the different events of the day. Not all days are the same. There are what we call ‘good’ days and ‘bad’ days.