‘Malayo Pa Pero Malayo Na”
There was a time when a simple meal of rice and dried fish, or bulad was enough. For many families in Northern Samar, that was not just a choice it was all they could afford. Canned sardines were seen as classy and fast food was something only seen in commercials or heard of from relatives in the city. Back then, the dream of eating in Jollibee or McDonald’s felt as far away as Manila itself.
But walk through Catarman today and you will see something different. There are long lines of students and workers buying fries and sundaes at McDonald’s. Young families are dining in Jollibee after church. Supermarkets like Gaisano Grand Mall and Savemore are now part of everyday life. These signs of economic change may seem simple, but they reflect a deeper transformation, one that has touched the lives of thousands of Nortehanons.
Not long ago, Northern Samar ranked among the poorest provinces in the country. In 2015, over 61 percent of the population lived below the poverty line. By 2018, poverty incidence among families was still at 27.4 percent. But through consistent efforts by the provincial leadership, local governments, and development partners, the numbers began to shift.
In 2021, poverty incidence among families dropped to 19.3 percent. Even with rising prices and challenges brought by disasters, it remained relatively low at 21.8 percent in 2023. According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, Northern Samar now has the lowest poverty incidence among the three Samar provinces. More than 78 percent of families can now afford their basic food and non-food needs. It is a quiet but powerful sign that people are starting to live with dignity and more opportunity.
Behind these numbers are the stories of people who found work and stability. The Provincial Public Employment Service Office (PESO) reports that of over 10,000 jobseekers assisted from 2022 to 2024, nearly 8,000 have been successfully placed in employment. That is a placement rate of over 78 percent. The 2022 PSA Labor Force Survey also recorded a 95.7 percent employment rate in Northern Samar, one of the highest in the region. Unemployment stood at only 4.3 percent. Job fairs, local recruitment activities, and youth career guidance programs helped thousands of Nortehanons find opportunities without leaving their province.
While jobs in the services and retail sectors are growing, agriculture remains at the heart of many communities. Over 3,000 farmers have benefited from projects in vegetable farming, cassava, jackfruit, swine, and fish production. Many of them now enjoy increased harvests and better income.
Local road development, improved port facilities, and irrigation systems are also transforming daily life for farmers, students, and small businesses. What used to be hours of difficult travel is now more accessible.
The rise of new supermarkets and fast-food chains is more than just about convenience. The opening of Gaisano Grand Mall and Savemore in Catarman has brought jobs, boosted local retail, and given residents access to more affordable and varied goods. The arrival of global fast-food brands like Jollibee, McDonald’s, and KFC reflects growing investor confidence in Northern Samar’s economy.
Where once there were only carinderias and sari-sari stores, now stand restaurants, cafes, and franchise businesses that attract both locals and visitors. The province’s small and medium enterprises are also thriving through support from trade fairs like Bahandi, where local products have gained national attention and exceeded sales targets.
The services sector is now the biggest contributor to the province’s economy, accounting for over 58 percent of the provincial GDP. With a of P66,888, Northern Samar is no longer seen as left behind.
Tourism is slowly becoming a livelihood source. With cascading waterfalls, pristine beaches, and rich cultural heritage, more visitors are discovering what locals have long known the beauty and warmth of Northern Samar. The provincial government continues to invest in local tourism sites and capacities, ensuring that communities benefit directly from tourism.
The journey is far from over. There are still communities facing hardship, areas needing better infrastructure, and families striving for stability. But today, Northern Samar is stronger, more connected, and more hopeful than it has been in decades! While we can recognize what needs to be done, we can also be inspired of what we have achieved.
Malayo Pa, Pero Malayo Na Rin ang Narating.
From meals of bulad to family dinners in fast-food chains, from footpaths to concrete roads, from joblessness to job fairs, Northern Samar is rising slowly, steadily, and surely.
This is not just a story of progress. It is a story of people reclaiming their dignity, of a province once written off, now rewriting its future.
(JHON ALLEN BERBON, Provincial Economic Development and Investment Promotions Office HEAD)
Let’s be insistent in our prayers
WHEN the disciples asked Christ to teach them how to pray, they were not only given what is now known as the Lord’s Prayer, or the Our Father, but also were egged to be insistent in their prayers. (cfr. Lk 11,1-13)
“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you,” Christ told them. “For every one that asks, receives; and he that seeks, finds; and to him that knocks, it shall be opened,” he reassured them. (Lk 11,9-10)
Doubling down on that assurance, Christ told them, “Which of you, if he asks his father bread, will he give him a stone? Or a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask for an egg, will he reach him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father from heaven give the good Spirit to them that ask him?” (Lk 11,11-13)
We will always have problems and difficulties in this life. But they should not be a reason for us to fall into despair. Rather, in these instances of the hard predicaments, when we seem to be at a loss as to what to do, we should just see at what God does, after we have done all things possible to solve our problems.
We need to trust in God’s providence and mercy. We have to learn to live a spirit of abandonment in the hands of God. Yes, if we have faith in God, in his wisdom and mercy, in his unfailing love for us, we know that everything will always work out for the good. If we are with God, we can always dominate whatever suffering can come our way in the same manner that Christ absorbed all his passion and death on the cross.
Let’s always remember that God, in his ineffable ways, can also talk to us through these crosses. In fact, he can convey precious messages and lessons through them. It would be good that we have a theological attitude toward them, and be wary of our tendency to react to them in a purely human way, based only on our senses and feelings and on some worldly standards and criteria.
We have to be quick to discern what God is telling us through them. Let’s be quick to see in these problems golden opportunities to receive more graces and other blessings from God. These graces and blessings can deepen our love for God and neighbor, enrich our understanding of things, occasion the birth and development of virtues. They can truly do us a lot of good.
There’s really no reason to be too worried and anxious when we encounter some difficulty in our life. In fact, we have every reason to be confident and at peace, focused on what we are supposed to do. And that’s because we are always in God’s hands.
Whatever situation we may be in, we can be sure that God will always provide for what is truly needed by us, and it may not be what we want. We just have to trust him completely for he knows better than we do, and what we want may not be what we need. It may not even be what is good for us.
We should just insist on praying, asking for God’s help, irrespective of how things go. Nothing is wasted and everything is actually a gain when we pray.