BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT THE PROJECT SITE The target location is a Philippine island town classified as a third class municipality in the Philippine Province of Western Samar – also simply referred to as Samar Province. (More data about the project site, the project site and Samar Province are shown in a brief profile of the project host community. The project site belongs to the Eastern Visayas (Region VIII) Administrative Region and is one of twenty-four towns and cities in the Province of Samar. 
GEOGRAPHY AND DEMOGRAPHY SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROFILE OF THE PROJECT SITE
Geography. The project site in Samar Province is located at the coordinates: 11°38′ North 124° 47′ East. The town has a Total Land Area of 140.26 Square Kilometers (km2) or the equivalent of 54.15 Square Miles (sq mi).
The size of the project site is 0.8953 % of the Total Land Area of Western Samar Province (6,048.03 km²). In turn, Western Samar consists 47.07 % – nearly one-half of the size – of the entire Samar Island 12,849 km2 (4,961 sq mi)].
Out of the twenty four (24) constituent cities and towns of Samar Province, the project site is clustered along with the eleven other Western Samar Cities and Municipalities of Almagro, Basey, Calbiga, Catbalogan, Gandara, Santa Rita, Santo Niño, Tarangnan, Villareal, Wright, Zumarraga, Pinabacdao, Talalora, Hinabangan, Jiabong, Motiong, Marabut, Daram, San Sebastian, San Jose de Buan, Matuguinao to constitute the second Congressional district of Samar Province.
Demography. The project site comprises of fifty-eight (58) Barangays or Villages. As per the 2010 Census Survey, the project site has a Total Population of 41,322. The town has a Density ratio of 290/km2 (760/sq mi) showing it to be minimally populated in proportion to its land area. In reference to the 2010 census the population of the Project site is projected to be 65,020 in 2014 at the local population growth rate in the Province of 1.12% per year.
The total past and projected population figures of the project site exclude those that succumb to internal or out-of-country migration – a pattern that has been going on ever since the 1950s and even earlier. In 2010, the total population of Western Samar was 733,777. The total projected population of the Western Samar by the end of 2014 is 1,154,612.
In 2007, the size of the project site’s population compared to that of Western Samar is 5.5%. In 2010, the ratio was 5.6% and may still be projected to be the same for 2014, barring any factors that would radically alter demographics figures in the project site town and the Western Samar Province. The correspondence zip code of the project site is 6722 and its local phone Dialing prefix code is 55.
Inland areas of the site is mostly unpopulated. Of the current demographic, at least 99% percent live along the coasts of the island town.
The current local government of the project site chief executive, is Mayor Lucia Latorre Astorga who replaced her spouse Benito Astorga after the latter passed away following his re-election to office.
Economy. The major aquaculture products from the seas around the project site are seaweed, Galunggong, Alumahan, Tamban, Pompano, Bisugo (bream), Lapu-lapu, Rabbitfish, Slipmouth and assorted mussels, oysters, crabs and shells. Kelp seaweed is a major commodity of the project site and the product is exported worldwide.
The project site agriculture generates income mostly from coconut (the prime commodity of the island town and the entire Eastern Visayas), banana, corn and other crops such as sweet potato, cassava and legumes.
Aquaculture, poultry and swine products can be produced in the province. Marine products abound in the entire province. In the project site and other parts of the province, chicken and egg supply is still bought come from Cebu.
Economic Ranking. Particularly in the Marcos administration, Eastern Visayas was classified as first-ranked Philippine most depressed region – in a near tie in rankings with the Bicol Region – having the highest incidence of Kwashiorkor – a severe form of malnutrition, among many other signs of poverty.
The project site on its own may have maintained lower incidences of such evidence of ultra-poverty but it did not lag far behind the rest of Eastern Visayas during that period and up to some extent today.
Investments Track Record. The public sector and private enterprise invested in the following enterprise for livelihood purposes for the benefit of the citizens of the project site:
Other livelihood such as kelp seaweed production appear to be doing well as the site is one of the most prolific supplier of kelp seaweed in the country.
The Fish Cage livelihood program centered upon a cottage industry framework. It was initiated by the immediate past Mayor of the project site, the late Benito Astorga. It is however in need of augmentation and support today in terms of technology, financial resources as well as marketing. Support for agriculture and small cottage industries need a boost and there is a need to engage in more sustainable farming, enterprise and light-to-heavy industrial activity to elevate the status of the project site from its current category as third class.
Patterns of the project site’s Depopulation. The project site, like many other localities of Eastern Visayas, used to occupy the lead in the most populated towns and cities of the Philippines. Because of so many factors, the population has been decimated. At the present time, the site’s population is spread thinly over too many areas in the Philippines and around the globe and the remaining families in the project site are a fraction of the site’s people that joined the diaspora.
Comparative Demographics. All the past and present trends of the project site’s depopulation are the reasons why the site has a hypothetical 2014 population of 65,020. Whereas, a Metro Manila locality like Malabon City with 19.76 square kilometers land area, equivalent to only 14.08% of the land area of the site but it has a projected population size of 496,413 by 2013 – equivalent to 7.62 times more than the number of people in the site.
Valenzuela City with a land area of 47.02 km2 has a population of 605,379 as of 2013. The entire Valenzuela City population resides in a city that is one-third the size of the site but its population is ten times bigger.
Both Malabon City and Valenzuela City have large Visayan population components – some of them coming from the project site in Samar and from other nearby Samar towns and cities. Navotas City that was merely separated from the original Malabon City that has a total land area of 10.77 km2 that is 13 times smaller than that of the project site, has a projected 2013 population of 350,011 or 5.38 times larger than the project site’s.
A substantial part of the population of both Malabon City and Navotas City are engaged in fishing. Many of those that work in the fishery industry are from Samar and other parts of Eastern Visayas. Whole enclaves and communities in Malabon and Navotas speak the same specific language (Waray-Waray) that is spoken in the project site and other Eastern Visayas localities.
Eastern Visayas Migration Problems
. . .Leyte, for a very long time, has always been considered as the number three biggest voters’ source in the entire country
For some time in the distant past, Leyte was the biggest vote source in Philippine elections until it slid down to second and then third. At this time, Leyte and Samar combined shared a place in the top seven to eight largest populated provinces and regions in the country.
However, the record increase in the populations of Calabarzon (most populated region, 2014 demographics data), the National Capital Region (second most populated region), Central Luzon (third most populated region) and even other Visayas Regions including those of Mindanao, is indubitably connected to internal migration from Samar and Leyte to these areas.
DOTC Expansion of Services of Catbalogan City Airport September 2, 2014 GCPH Corporation
INFRASTRUCTURE. CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
Infrastructure. The project site offers limited urban amenities. The basic rural infrastructure exists to include water-borne transport, bountiful potable water supply available to the general public, power supply provided by the Samar Electric Cooperative (SAMELCO) II, mobile cellular phone transmission towers, cable television, minimum sports and recreational facilities as well as the most basic service establishments.
Entrepreneurs in the project site have yet to build decent-sized billeting facilities for tourists while there are a substantial number of spots and sights in the town that are worth visiting for both local and foreign guests.
The project site is not landlocked to the main Samar Island therefore obviously for its public land transport there is a visible constraint to engage heavily in travel over land.
With the only access to the main island of Samar being the sea, Maritime Transport is more predominant in the entire island of the project site as it is with many other island towns of Samar and the Philippines as a whole.
To initialize new business, expanded commercial and industrial activity in the area, will spur more employment, increase the size of formerly idle land converted into profit creation centers, invite more investments into the project site and improve the lives of the people.
Such activity will most logically give impetus to public sector to improve infrastructure, set off greater building activity in the town as well as in nearby communities. The rush of development helps to expand the service sector and the resulting job and wealth creation rises exponentially.
Education. Primary and secondary level education in the site is relatively adequate. However, for the tertiary level, facilities are limited with most of the residents taking up both secondary and higher education in Catbalogan, Tacloban, and Southern Leyte and as far as Cebu and Metro Manila.
For its primary education, the site has 58 primary schools with a total enrollment of 10,397 students. The number of secondary learning institutions is nearly the same in number but with only around half of the total enrollment for primary levels.
Due to their high demand, many Filipinos take up both technical and general education courses in the maritime discipline – thereafter being engaged by operators and servicing companies in the maritime industry all around the world.
Preferential hiring and treatment of Filipino crew has always been the practice in international maritime companies, among many other types of business organizations all over the globe.
RATIONALE FOR THE PROJECT
Investments, Education as Pump Primers for the Growth of the project site. As a third class municipality, the site has a relatively low priority for investors. The Third and Fourth World problem of lack of Access and Mobility plague the project site. The presence of infrastructure is bound to resolve this lack and will contribute to reducing the public sector’s high costs of undertaking development.
Given that the palpable decrease in Eastern Visayas demographic can be attributed to the severe lack of development in the area, the situation can be expected to change with the introduction of economic development initiatives.
Combining more than 500,000 hectares (has.) of idle public land in Eastern Visayas out of a total area of 2,156,290 has., approximately 1,400,000 to 1,500,000 has. of underutilized privately owned land in the region awaits to be developed. Multiple thousands of hectares of aquamarine ecosystems that still have to be exploited to produce commodities that fetch high revenues both in the local and international market.
Out of these at the very least parcels of land amounting to 1,000,000 hectares are best suited for conversion from agricultural land to commercial farming, aquaculture farming, industrial zones, among many other livelihood ventures. This makes up for a high of 1,500,000 hectares of land that is not properly used and that does not generate income.
In highly progressive cities and provinces, land of this size could be the source of income reaching trillions of currency. In the case of the site, out of the total of 14,026 hectares, conservatively estimating more than half or around 9,000 hectares of land is either entirely unproductive or else, underutilized.
It will seen from the satellite image shown below that the terrain of the project site is hilly and characterized by lightly forested, minimally cultivated land manifesting the people in the site still need to till and make productive use of much of the land in their island town.
With a minimum income of the equivalent of just United States Dollars 3.50 per square meter of land, the total earning of 9,000 hectares or 90,000,000 square meters is United States Dollars 313,953,488.00 for one particular revenue period.
In terms of local currency, this translates to Philippine Pesos 13,500,000,000 that as earlier stated is only for one specific revenue period and for one simple revenue source. For multiple sources or a mix of revenue generation activity, this income of USD313.9 million for one revenue instance could be enhanced several times over.
For this reason, there is a need to engage these dormant spaces for profitable ventures in the project site and achieve revenue-generating milestones that many of the residents in the town have been awaiting for a long time.
Productive agriculture, aquaculture, service sector ventures can be jumpstarted in The project site to engender raising of revenues for the people in the municipality. Agricultural land, other dormant real estate can be developed with decently sized capital to create economic zones.
PROJECT GOALS, OBJECTIVES
Project Philosophy. The basic principles governing the undertaking of these economic development projects for the site are essentially similar to any form of triggering the emergence of increased commercial and industrial activity.
By the end of this undertaking, the following intentions are supposed to have been achieved to satisfactory level:
1. Create a pr
oject culture combining the South Korean Community oriented spirit that for the purpose of this project is tentatively called the Ma-eul Jeongsin 마을 정신 (community spirit) to differentiate the concept with the 70s New Village Movement idea Saemaul Undong in South Korea on countryside / rural development activities.
2. With inspiration from South Korean models of community cooperation, to undertake revenue projects based on a very strong self-help, self-reliance, self-determination community-oriented spirit of the citizens in the project site.
3. Establish a more vigorous and vibrant economy for the project site and help spark growth in nearby towns in Western Samar and the neighboring two other Samar provinces and three provinces of Leyte.
4. Create a large cadre of entrepreneurs, highly technically skilled work force, service sector specialists and aesthetic artisans in the site.
5. Encourage the private sector, public sector and all other stakeholders to increase their level of cooperation.
6. Increase the positive and profitable interaction between the enhanced Project site economic enterprise and the rest of the country and the world.
DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES. TARGETS
Given sizable real estate, resource systems at their fingertips, the project site can accommodate economic zones – centers for income and wealth creation.
The project site can be primed in a manner similar to the one in Calbayog City in the same province, or Caticlan in Aklan Province, Nasugbu in Batangas Province and so on, where vigorous and dynamic business help the local economy and uplift the way of life of the people in the locality.
In a similar instance, developing the project site like Jeju Island in South Korea or similar progressive-well developed island cities and towns, will lead many local and foreign visitors not only those that want to see the sights but also those that will consider the project site as a choice spot for investments.
Jeju Island, Korea Development
While it is true that the platform for kick-starting development needs to be put in place, this can ultimately be accomplished by widening the base for cooperation among the stakeholders not only in the project site but in the entire province of Western Samar as well as the indigenous or natural and the elected individual leaders and groups in the region of Eastern Visayas among other regions in the Philippines or outside of the country.
Paired with investments that can capably be brought into the site by private sector partners from South Korea, even conservative kinds of projects can ensure returns on capital that will be employed to stimulate economic growth.
Priority Programs
1. Build strong spirit of community cooperation
2. Create profit centers for livelihood in the project site
3. Continuing capability development
4. Logistics for indigenous enterprise and other forms of revenue-generation activities
5. Developing long-term markets
Platform for Economic Development
1. Building Project-related short-range road net. utilities and vital installations
Improved interface with
1. public sector economic development initiatives
2. Increased Interface with other private sector development activities in Eastern Visayas, the Visayas, Philippines and neighboring countries
The following activities will be undertaken for the purpose of the project:
1. Creation of Profit centers
Engage in enterprise stimulus and expansion:
a. Aquaculture Production
b. Seaweed Production
c. Coconut Production
d. Coconut Multiple Product Processing
e. Poultry
f. Swine Farming
2. Capacity Building
a. Learning Institution
(1) School for Fisheries
(2) School for Oceanography Disciplines
(3) School for Nutrition and Natural Health Products
b. Training and Convention Center
(1) Hydrology
(2) Oceanography
(3) General and Specialized Marine, Aquaculture Disciplines
c. Research and Development Center
(1) Oceanographic Research
(2) Modern Aquamarine Tissue Culture Laboratory
(3) Nutrition and Natural Health Products Laboratory
(4) Swine and Poultry Tissue Culture Center
3. Provide Logistics for indigenous enterprise
a. Fish, Aquamarine Product Storage Complex
b. Coconut Processing Center
c. Food Processing and Canning Facility
d. Transport Motor Pool
e. Maritime (Fishing and Transport) Vessel Production
f. Maritime Vessel Repair-Maintenance Dockyard
4. Interface
a. Private Sector-Led Development with Public Sector Economic Development initiatives
b. Interfacing the project site Development with developments of Eastern Visayas, Visayas, the Philippines and Asia
PRIORITY ACTIVITIES
THE PROJECT SITE LIVELIHOOD CENTERS
Aquaculture Production. Aquamarine commodities that fetch a good price in the market like Kelp and other types of Seaweed shall be produced. This shall be done through the augmentation of existing fish cage operations (FCO).
At present, women fisherfolk organized by the public sector into groups are the dominant force in the production of kelp seaweed.
A more active role for both men and women fisherfolk will be enjoined under the project site economic development project. Families will be organized into work teams and work teams in turn will constitute the bigger team clusters. A minimum of ten clusters will form a group for FCO.
Fish cage operations are designed to augment regular fishing catch in the seas off the coast of the site. However, the conventional fishing activity will still be promoted and supported under the Site economic development project. As in fish cage operations fisherfolk shall also be constituted into expanded clusters and mobilized into the fish and other sea life-rich areas to harvest marine products. The existing fishing expeditions shall be supplemented with funds, equipment, vessels and fuel to increase their catch and improving the number of marine life species as well as the volume of their catch. In the areas all around Samar Island, a large cropping of the following sea life can be obtained:
| Table 2. Fish, Mollusks, Crustaceans and other Shellfish in Samar |
| Fish, varied types – species particularly Lapu-Lapu (Samar variety) |
| Alimasag – Crab Portunidae spp. (e.g. blue swimmer crab, Portunus pelagicus), coral crab (Charybdis feriatus) |
| Alimango – Mud Crab |
| Putian / bulik – Indo-Pacific Swamp Crab / Mangrove King Crab (Scylla serrata) |
| Pulahan – Orange Mud Crab (Scylla olivacea) |
| Alupihang-dagat – Mantis Shrimp |
| Banagan – Spiny Lobster (e.g. Panulirus ornatus) |
| Canoos / hibya – Cuttlefish |
| Curacha – Spanner Crab / Red Frog Crab (Ranina ranina) |
| Diwal – Pacific Angelwing Clam (Pholas orientalis) |
| Halaan – Clam (e.g. Manila clam / Japanese carpet shell, Ruditapes philippinarum) |
| Tulya – Asian Clam (Corbicula fluminea previously also known as Corbicula manilensis) |
| Hipon – Shrimp (e.g. whiteleg shrimp, Penaeus vannamei) |
| Swahe / suahe – Endeavor Prawn (e.g. red endeavor prawn / greasy back shrimp, Metapenaeus ensis) |
| Kuhol – Snail (Pila luzonica) |
| Pitik-pitik – Slipper Lobster (e.g. Thenus orientalis) |
| Pugita – Octopus |
| Pusit – Squid |
| Pusit Bisaya – smaller Pink-Speckled Squid (Indian Squid – Loligo duvauceli [?]) |
| Pusit lumot – Larger Dark-Speckled Squid (Bigfin Reef Squid – Sepioteuthis lessoniana [?]) |
| Sugpo – Prawn (e.g. Penaeus monodon) |
| Susô – Snail |
| Tahong – Mussel (e.g. Perna viridis) |
| Talaba – Oyster (e.g. Crassostrea iredalei) |
| Talangka – Shore Crab (Varuna litterata) |
| Tuyom – Sea Urchin |
| Ulang – Giant Freshwater Prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii), crayfish, lobster |
| Other Sea Creatures and Aquatic Species: |
| Arosep / lato – Sea Grape Seaweed (Caulerpa lentillifera, Caulerpa racemosa) |
| Balatan – Sea Cucumber |
| Bulate – Sea Worm |
| Dikya – Jellyfish |
| Guso – Seaweed (e.g. Eucheuma spp.) |
| Pagi – Ray |
| Pating – Shark |
Coconut Production and Processing. Similar to the harvesting of marine products, fund-assisted replanting and augmentation planting of coconut in the site, nearby towns and up to neighboring provinces shall be undertaken in order to maximize production by the coconut industry in the Philippines. Scientific findings specifically point to higher density of coconut trees planted on land yields more harvests than lower density plantations. Furthermore, since the 1970s – 1980s, the intercropping of cacao trees with coconuts, provides better symbiotic interaction between the cacao and the coconuts again resulting in much higher harvests.
Within the whole Samar Island, a large amount of land is devoted to coconut plantations. In the international market, with new technologies and faster, more cleaner dry and wet processing, the multiples of processed coconut products command a huge market. Philippines is one of the biggest providers of coconut oil and other coconut plant secondary products that have a tremendous number of buyers. On the other hand, economic studies reveal that coconut sugar commands a considerably higher income than coco oil particularly in the international market.
Livestock Farming. Poultry and Swine. Production will complement the aquaculture enterprises. Since much of the commercial breed chicken, eggs are sourced from Cebu, it is being justified herein that there is a real and pressing need to produce livestock right within the project site.
CAPACITY BUILDING
School for Fisheries and Oceanography. As part of the economic development activities, a learning center for fisheries and oceanography will be opened. There is a need to produce highly knowledgeable experts and managers, among others, in fisheries as well as in oceanography, hydro sciences considering that the site is suitably situated in a largely coastal area.
School for Nutrition and Natural Health Products. Due to the need to introduce vital concepts on nutrition to the people of Eastern Visayas and nearby areas, because of the past experience with Kwashiorkor and other signs of malnutrition in the entire Eastern Visayas Region, as well as to promote good diet – nurturance, nourishment, health and welfare of children or in patient care among many other reasons, one of the income generating capability development ventures is to establish an institution for Nutrition and Natural Health. The region of Eastern Visayas boasts of a bountiful supply of unique herbal and natural healing plants that could be promoted in the field of medicine or simply as dietary supplements.
Training and Convention Center for Hydrology, Oceanography, General and Specialized Marine, Aquaculture Disciplines. As part of capability building, a continuing learning institution or facility to hold short-term, medium-range seminars, trainings, conferences, symposia, especially on the studies about water, typhoon, tsunami, flooding, Antarctic ice melting, among other related subjects will be built and will be made open for use not only to local organizers, conventioneers or trainees but to all the prospective clientele from the rest of the world.
Research and Development Center. Laboratory facilities for Oceanographic Research, Modern Aquamarine Tissue Culture, Nutrition and Natural Health Products, Swine and Poultry Tissue Culture will also be constituted and made most useful to all kind of clientele – especially heavy users such as schools, professional and student marine ecologists, biologists, hospitals, medical professionals, among many others from the local and the international markets.
LOGISTICS FOR GROWTH.
Logistics for indigenous and new forms of enterprise. Logistics and most especially infrastructures for handling and transport of commodities is basic to this undertaking and following or alongside this, social development measures, economic solutions to address deeply entrenched problems that have to be taken cared of with dispatch.
Due to the enormous development in Eastern Samar, as well as the building of main national highways surrounding it, the Economic Development undertakings for the project site has outstanding available transport networks on all four corners. However, a considerable push could still be made to augment these existing transport connections. There is a need to increase the fleet of fishing vessels in the project site to supplement the present number of fishing vessels therein.
Fish, Aquamarine Product Storage Complex. Production, processing, marketing and transport logistics for the various indigenous and new enterprises that the project will engage in for revenue and to service the people of the project site or elsewhere, shall be put in place. One of these will be the aquamarine products storage warehouse facility. This will be both a wet and blast freeze storage.
Coconut, Vegetable and Fruit Processing Complex. Logistics shall be made available for agricultural commodities. Within the whole Samar Island where a large amount of land is devoted to coconut plantations the .
In the international market, with new technologies and faster, more cleaner dry and wet processing, the multiples of processed coconut products command a huge market. Philippines is one of the biggest providers of coconut oil and other coconut plant secondary products that have substantial numbers of volume buyers. The raw commodity does not need to come from the site alone since supply can be sourced from the neighboring towns, provinces and even nearby regions.
Food Processing and Canning Facility. As part of the new economic development business, food processing facility with capability for canning and vacuum packaging for longer-life storage of fish products as well as other kind of marine products can be constituted for marketing and distributing of value-added commodities available in the site including produce that can be obtained from other nearby towns.
Transport Motor Pool. To be able to undertake marketing to various points in Samar, Leyte and Biliran Provinces that share boundaries with the project site on the East, West, South and the North, a decently sized fleet of land and marine transport vehicles will need to be acquired and utilized for both operations in the venture and for the marketing of the commodities produced by the enterprise.
Maritime (Fishing and Transport) Vessel Production. As a certain profit making enterprise, as certain as South Korean conglomerate Hanjin based its ship and dockyard in Metro Subic, Zambales, Central Luzon Region, and Philippines.
Hanjin profits from production and servicing of maritime vessels in Subic, while Japanese company Tsuneishi Heavy Industries reaps profits from shipbuilding and servicing in Cebu, Central Visayas, and Philippines. In Metro Manila, a flourishing shipbuilding industry has been in existence and even with foreign players on the scene, still maintained a robust business.
Maritime (Fishing and Transport) Vessel Repair and Maintenance. A dry dock meant for repair can also be established in the project site for which ready markets are available.
Alongside all these activities, the project will develop a decently sized port in The site complete with other facilities for fishery purposes and as a staging base for fish cage operations among other purposes.
COMMERCE AND MARKETING POTENTIALS
Commodities that can be produced from the economic projects have immediate markets in the vicinity beginning with Catbalogan City, Calbayog City in the East and to the West is Biliran Province.
At the Northwest are Maripipi and other towns as well as Leyte. At the South is building industry has been in existence and even with foreign players on the scene, still maintains a robust business.
The prospective market base of the Project site economic projects is not only composed of the above-mentioned neighboring towns within Western, Eastern and Northern Samar but also Northern, Southern Leyte and Biliran. Marketing for the projects can reach up to both Central and Western Visayas, Luzon and Mindanao.
EMPLOYMENT CREATION
The Economic Projects for the project site can open a floodgate for employment creation in the site and neighboring localities. It has the capacity to provide jobs to no less than 20,000 to 30,000 in the site alone and at the very least 150,000 from both the production and service sectors outside of the site as far as other Samar Island provinces and the three Leyte provinces.
The proposed business is specifically designed to provide the people of the site who have knowledge about agriculture preferably those who are living within the adjacent area of the location of the proposed business with gainful livelihood. Project site residents will receive fair compensation according to their qualifications and performance. Salaries are based on the minimum wage set by the government.
The site and the Neighboring Municipalities – Cities. As shown below, there are numerous points of interaction that could take place if the Project site economic projects will be realized.
The opportunities for marketing, business development and forming other necessary types of economic relationships with neighboring localities are plenty and while there is a need to market and interact energetically with other more distant regions within the country.
From Eastern Visayas and Central Visayas Regions alone, substantial revenue is already ensured considering that the two regions combined have a projected sizable population of 19,744,853 or nearly 20 million by 2015 alone. Nearly 8 million or almost half of the combined East and Central Visayas population is projected for Eastern Visayas while 11,984,240 is projected for Central Visayas.
The entire Visayas group of Islands will have a projected population of 31,729,093 by 2015 using the Philippine growth rate for Visayas of 1.12. This potential for income is further augmented with the existence of a ready and captive market for kelp seaweed in farther regions in the Philippines and foreign countries as well.
PROJECT LOGISTICS BASE
Clearly, it is vital that adequate logistics be readily available to transport commodities that will be produced under the project and render to the project’s various clientele whatever needed services that can be adequately provided.
At the present, Samar Island has three airports, but there is very minimal aviation activity going on in the entire Samar Island’s three provinces. There is Borongan Community Class Airport in Northern Samar that began renovations a few years ago, a functioning Calbayog City Principal Class II Airport in Western Samar and the inactive Catbalogan City Community Class Airport.
THE CURRENT SITUATION OF THE PROJECT SITE
The images of the municipality shown above do not depict the present economic posture of the site. Shown below (Figure 61 to 66) are salient examples of the predominant actual state of human settlements of the people of the site.
HABITAT AND PROJECT OPERATIONS BASE
The first and foremost consideration of the economic projects is to attempt to develop at least part of the site’s 99% vegetated land although underutilized and dominantly uninhabited. The major portion of the island is not wholly exploited and fully put to profitable use. As shown in the sample images below, the communities of the site are concentrated along the coast and while this is the pattern of human settlements since thousands of years in the past, this is not the most practical.
Even the Philippine government or any other government is well enmeshed in the trap: the public sector money value (zonal assessment) for real estate property along the coast or beachfront property, has a higher price than those real estates going farther inland. This is not to include the factor of urbanization or commercial features of some real estates in the comparison.
Much of the site life and its economic activity are concentrated on the sea. Shown in the satellite imagery above, are communities located along the coast at the southern half of the site. The northern half shows the same pattern of human enclaves being built only nearest to or facing the sea. Thus, the citizens of the project site merely venture inland to undertake minimal agricultural activity such as to cultivate coconut plantations or produce other popular Project site primary commodities.
Seen behind the Project site coastal communities are large stretches of land. Most of these land are highly fertile although lacking forest cover anymore at present. In the past, they were logged over by enterprising but inconsiderate businesspersons.
Building and developing underutilized real estate, particularly at good distance away from the coast for many reasons is actually much more safe for being less prone to extreme hydrological-meterologic events such as typhoon, floods, storm surge, tidal wave and tsunami.
This is the mission of the project. A positive impact of this thrust of the proponents is to provide safe spaces for the population of the site during the occurrence of catastrophes that arise from the activity at sea.
As part of this thrust is to build capability to act in advance each time disasters are forecast to enter the Philippines in general and Eastern Visayas and nearby regions in particular.
Among the imperatives for all key management and staff of the project is always to stay prepared against disasters particularly during the second half of every year when typhoons and other similar disasters arrive in the Philippines.
Lack of preparedness caused serious tragedy suffered by the people of Eastern Visayas, Central Visayas, Western Visayas, parts of Mindanao during super typhoon Yolanda in November 8, 2013. The problem of logistics, coupled with deliberate suspended decisive action by national government are the most crucial factors that led to tremendous loss of life by the tens of thousands.
All those from public sector, the local private sector relief volunteers and relief workers from foreign countries felt the need for adequate logistics notwithstanding any other facets of the responsible key persons’ or organizations’ competence and willingness to handle the situation.
Shown below are the effects of powerful storm surge that caused untold devastation to Eastern Visayas Region and neighboring regions. Disaster Impact Avoidance.
Pursuing the positive direction of heightened disaster impact avoidance will be one of the key imitable aspects of the Project site economic projects. Hazard areas, and therefore no-build zones like catch basins will not be used as sites for land-based projects.
For coastal-based and water-borne projects, the rule is to put in place measures to be able to secure as much of the project facilities before a highly risky event arrives such as a storm or tornado and speedily move all human resources and supplies to safer areas. The administrators for the project shall have a functional interaction with providers of valuable information on climate management and change in weather and similar events.
Overall, it is vital for the project administrators and everyone involved in the project to be fully ready and prepared to confront natural and human-made catastrophes.
During the recent tragedy caused by super typhoon Yolanda, the problem of proximity to the sea became the cause of the tragedy where thousands of people perished within minutes of the incidence of a deadly storm surge.
Furthermore, no one expects such powerful tidal waves to hit residences made more forceful with stampeding heavy objects like vehicles or even ships, lumber and logs, concrete blocks, metallic items to come into one’s private space. There are very few structures that could withstand such natural catastrophe.
Resilient Design.
The building of resilient structures is one of the determinations of the project exponents. Construction of modernized structures cannot be enough. South Korea has gained recognition worldwide for creating milestones in undertaking Green Construction but also with the use of resilient designs.
As the most engineering-technically viable and yet highly aesthetic Green Technology design, one of South Korea’s model self-sustaining communities was internationally hailed.
Under this resolve, the project proposes the use of the dome design that is stronger, durable and more resistant to calamity that considerably abounds in the Philippines, Taiwan, China and Japan.
Aside from the dome architectural design, other new form of safe architecture will be used in the project.
This will be done to ensure that serious development resources that will be poured into the site to jump start economic development will not be laid to waste similar to many other investments in the past that went down the drain due to the destruction left behind by disasters.
Producing Growth.
From the 1990s, the Department of Trade, Tourism and National Economic Development Authority could not give positive forecasts for the site’s Region – Eastern Visayas. These forecasts predicted a significant increase for other parts of the Philippines but not for the site’s Region.
With the project, a significant change will be experienced in the project site. Increasing economic power, income stability, access and mobility will be felt by the people of the project site.
However, generating income, producing money and profits, is not the ultimate goal of the project all its own. For this reason, the people involved in working in the project will be enjoined to constitute quality and productivity circles. Within these small groupings, every individual can be properly recorded and evaluated with objectivity for any excellence in the performance of functions. Reward and incentive will be given to those that exert good efforts and make exemplary accomplishments.
Social Infrastructures.
Beyond economic progress, growing businesses, this project will also have an effect upon connecting more people with one another. With the project, bigger and better social infrastructures will be created.
Clusters of families will be linked by the project while individual residents of the project site will become part of working teams, bigger groups and through all the enterprise activities closer personal interactions will happen and increased personal exchanges could lead to positive growth of the emotional and psychosocial profile of the people of the project site.
Due to the enhancing of social networks, cooperation and coordination will become much easier and quality and productivity can be expected from the people in such a state of healthy interaction.
Local Resistance to Economic Development Projects at The Project Site
It is expected that there is hardly any resistance that will be experienced in the pursuit of the goals of this project.
In the case of contributing to solid and liquid waste or noise and air pollution to the environment, these will be taken cared of so that minimal and tolerable levels of treated waste will be released back into the environment from the project.
At this time, high pollution levels in the site are unheard of. With the economic projects for the site in place, high capacity for controlling pollution will ensure that this situation will not change.
Policies On Hiring
The project will announce job vacancies. The proposed project businesses will recruit and employ workers based on their work qualifications.
Referrals from trusted people will also be entertained. Qualified applicants will then submit all necessary requirements to the management through the human resources department such as the following common obligatory documentary requisites:
• Barangay, Police and NBI Clearance
• Copy of Birth Certificate
• High School/College Diploma/Form 137
• Medical Certificate
• Driver’s License
• Voter’s Identification or other valid identification
Legal Aspects of the Project
In establishing the project, registration of the business is necessary to have permits and license from the government office. These, along with taxes are then paid as the business operates. Taxes form part of the government revenues that help to support the needs of the public. In order for the business to operate legally, it must comply with the government requirements as follows:
• Mayor’s Permit, Business Permit, Other Municipal Licenses.
• Environmental Compliance Certificate
• SSS Registration
• Philhealth
• PAG-IBIG
• Bureau of Internal Revenue Registration
• Certificate of Non-Coverage of VAT (if applicable) from the BIR
Security Measures
The project will construct fence around the project areas to prevent unauthorized entrance and egress despite the safety of the location against possible threats.
Full coordination with the local law enforcement and peacekeeping forces will be undertaken with thorough effectiveness. Any and all appropriate security measures and countermeasures, particularly not only to safeguard against human-made incidents but also from natural occurrences, will be put in place.
Working Policies
- Employee Benefits. Employees will work six (6) days a week. Compensation will be on a monthly basis.
- All employees are entitled to one (1) rest day a week or on option, two (2) rest days a week.
- PhilHealth, PAG-IBIG, SSS and 13th month pay will be provided for all employees.
- Seminars/ Trainings. Seminars and trainings will be conducted for the project staff members to gain additional knowledge that will enhance their abilities and skills to become more productive and more efficient.
- Work Schedule. All employees are entitled to one (1) rest day. The project staff Project staff 1 will take his rest day on Saturday and the Project staff 2 will take his rest day on Sunday. The Technical Operations Manager will take his rest day every Friday. For alternate options, special arrangements can be made by the human resource division with the personnel.
- Quality and Productivity Work Groups. Quality Circles and Productivity Teams will be constituted for everyone including management. At the end of every evaluation period, reward and incentives will be given to all individuals for record level accomplishment. Reward and incentives may be shared between teams and clusters of teams for record level accomplishments
Quality Control
As mentioned above, quality and productivity circles will be formed to allow the staff not only to be able to give their best performance but also to constantly improve their knowledge and skill. At a certain point, as earlier mentioned their accomplishments will merit reward and incentive and provide them a feeling of ownership of the facilities of the project.
For the aqua and agricultural farming enterprise, the project will have a record of every commodity under production for monitoring and evaluation purposes. This will be done from the beginning dry period up to harvest day for the product and from day 1 of the commodity to market size, weight and other specification for all the products.
A parallel strict monitoring system will be formulated and engaged for the other undertakings – the education facility and the shipyard and dockyard complex.
Waste Treatment And Disposal
This facility shall undertake commercial farming that is environmentally friendly by minimizing odors from farm wastes. In addition, after wastewater treatment and biogas processing of effluent wastes, the resulting treated wastewater is discharged to irrigate the grass paddocks among others, within the farm premises.
The quality of each bird from poultry, each pig from the swine farm, each seaweed from the kelp growing cages, fish from the will be maintained through proper care and treatment. Control of microbe and other parasite such as bacteria, virus, and fungi should be taken into consideration as to avoid diseases.
The animal farm shall have a biogas facility that treats poultry, pig waste, and generate enough methane gas to be used for cooking at the farmhouse. This facility shall make the commercial farm environmentally friendly as it minimizes both chicken and swine in farm wastes. In addition, after biogas processing of effluent wastes, wastewater is discharged to irrigate paddocks within the farm premises.
Renewable Energy Facility
The power generation activities will be mixed. Aside from available electric power supply from the local power company, the project will endeavor to establish a renewable energy facility. The intention is to produce renewable energy and as a secondary product, not waste but recycled by-products from natural wastes, plastic packaging, other synthetic items, wet waste, all segregated and treated by category. Both solid and liquid wastes will be used to produce renewable energy such as a biogas facility where hog and chicken waste are treated to generate proportional methane gas to be used for cooking and other purposes.
Other forms of renewable energy production will be undertaken and all available resources in the project from surplus raw materials to waste by-products will be exhausted to generate electric power.
PROJECT REQUIREMENTS
Shown below are some of the highlight requirements of the various enterprises that will be organized under the project:
COCONUT PRODUCTION AND PROCESSING
Land & Building Administration Office Building for Resident Managers Office Spaces Shared Structures with other
Plantation Owners in Samar
Coconut Oil Milling Plant Processing Plant
Coco Secondary Products
(Coco Flour, Coir, Husk,
Filter Cartridge Production with
Activated Carbon from
Coconut Shell, Highly Aesthetic
World Class Handicrafts)
SHIPPING VESSEL MAKING-REPAIR FACILITIES
Land & Building Land Cost Administration Office Building for Resident Managers Ground Floor Office Spaces Toilets and Baths Areas for Corridors, Open Space Dry Dock Ship Assembly Yard Complex Ship Repair Yard Complex
SCHOOL AND INTERNSHIP FACILITIES
Land & Building Land Cost Building for Resident Managers Ground Floor Office Spaces Toilets and Bath Administration Building Areas for Corridors, Open Space Library Classrooms and Lecture Halls Laboratories Sports-Physical Training Complex Multipurpose Function Halls
SEA FARM AND AGRI PRODUCTION BUILDING AND FACILITIES
Land & Building Land Cost Building for Resident & Office Purposes Ground Floor Feed Store Toilet Block Admin Office Areas for Corridors, Open Space
SEAWEED FARMING
Land based Nursery Building Sporeling Cultivation Food Processing Facility Sea based Seedling Growth Cages Storage Building Tissue Culture Laboratory Solar Powered Drying Facility
POULTRY
Poultry House Building Ventilation System Hatchery Nursery Building Abbatoir Storage Room Insemination and Tissue Culture Laboratory Power Supply
HOG FARM
Dry Pen Building Farrowing and Nursery Pen Building Fattener Pen Building Holding Pen Abbatoir Storage Room Artificial Insemination Laboratory Farm House FINANCIALS FINANCIAL ASSUMPTIONS
- Gas and oil expense, promotion and advertisement, repair and maintenance are assumed to increase by 5% annually.
- Contingencies are 10% of net sales.
- Cash drawdowns represent 40% of net income.
- Other benefits like seminars and trainings are assumed to increase by 5% annually.
- udit fees, permits and licenses are assumed to increase by 5% annually.
- he initial capital requirement (cash in hand) is good for less than one year (6+ months) building materials, construction activities, primer and feed consumption for animal farm enterprise, among others.
Production for the poultry side will be maintained at the level of 2,000 birds leading to an eventual 10,000 heads of chicken per month in the next 5 years. Using the Pakistan model of controlled environment, chicken will be made available for marketing and delivery beginning on the 37th day instead of waiting for 45 days conventional maturation.
For the swine farm, production will be maintained at 1,000 leading to 5,000 or higher number of heads beginning on the first year up to the next 5 years.
On the school enterprise side, the institutions are determined to turn out no less than 300,000 graduates over a period of 8 to 10 years in various courses and disciplines.
For the ship making and repair, the enterprise will venture into building fishing and other types of shipping vessels from a low production of 15,000 vessels over a period of 10 years or 30,000 or considerably more vessels over a period of 20 years.
CONCLUSIONS
The increase in the Philippines’ and particularly in Eastern Visayas’ population will result in increase in demand for food, education, mobility that translates to the need to acquire transport vehicles. In the site, demand for more sea transport vessels will ultimately become more pronounced.
This means an increase in demand for products and services offered in the project in the site. With the continuous operation of the site project, the entire town will be helped in no small measure and the standard of their living will be greatly uplifted.
If undertaking the Project site Economic Development Projects for the site will be done today, it can be able to overtake any planned new developments also in the same area or even in farther areas within the Philippines or in neighboring states. Indonesia is planning to expand some of its small / medium-scale shipbuilding towards a larger-scale category.
Other nearby countries of Asia are presumed to be going in the same direction. The shipbuilding industry with a niche in Metro Manila – particularly in the Malabon City-Navotas City area will be able to shoot through towards expansion aspired for over the past years or even decades.
After studying the different aspects in establishing food production (animal farming), seaweed production, human capacity development and moreover, building elements of logistics that will make the project and its marketing component among other activities run smoother and in a more effective fashion, it is foreseen that this project can succeed on the ground and over sea.
The proponents submit that the project is both financially feasible and technically viable. The study shows the initial investment of the proposed business will be USD1,700,000,000 with a minimum payback period of 2.5 years and over the period of 5 years or just a few months slightly longer, the total revenue is projected to be USD5,300,900,000 or a return on investment ratio of +3 and an average annualized rate of return of 25.5% over a period of 5.00 years.
The issue of water, solid waste noise and air pollution to local residents is negligible because the project will undertake all measures to make any discharges of treated waste as safe as possible and the discharge points will be is far from the heart of the populated districts.
These measures and counter measures as are available will be undertaken by the project to reduce or minimize dangerous emissions that harm our ecology in the country, the planet and ensure the project does not contribute a considerable share to very costly global warming.
It is the concern here that if pursuing the Economic Development Projects for The site will not be done the present situation of the people of The site will not substantially improve. The alternative would be to wait until either the public sector and the private sector or both will infuse capital investment into The site and start more extensive developmental programs and projects in the area.
Without any major undertakings at the site, infrastructure will be long in coming being that the town will be placed at the lowest rank of priority areas for infra development. Lack of movement in the site’s economy will bring down instead of contribute to push the other efforts toward priming the regions for growth and development.
The proposed business that will be located at the project site in Samar Province is clearly in the correct perspective. More than half or at least 70% of its residents are engaged in aquaculture with a minimal portion of the population actively engaged in agriculture, taking advantage of the location of the area near the sea which best suits fisheries and seaweed production.
Drawing more people inland will provide alternate means of earning a living and during lean times for aquamarine based enterprise, the people will have a secure, stable and guaranteed source of income for their daily sustenance.
The project will increase rate of employment through providing job opportunities to those people who are unable to attain higher education through the institutions of learning that will be established in the project site.
The increase in pulsating business activity can contribute to increased citizen satisfaction and with good social formation, continuing values orientation, everyone will be encouraged to be more responsible to his or her village, town and the environment as a whole.
Weighing the interests of people of Eastern Visayas who have suffered long from many hardships, it is a blessing to undertake the Project site Economic Development Project at this time to enable the people to rise above their circumstances and enjoy the fruits of gainful enterprise.
The increase in the demand for food products such as chicken, chicken eggs, pork in the project site, Catbalogan City, Calbayog, Talalora, Zumarraga, Basey and other localities in Samar, as well as anywhere in the world today show that there is clearly a need for the proposed business. Therefore, the business is envisaged to be a profitable venture.
All market demand for kelp seaweed and similar marine products are most propitiously forecast to increase in the succeeding years. This goes true for the demand for vessels for the engaging in fishing and for transport purposes.
In the final reckoning, the project will be turn out to be a resounding success and will penultimately be beneficial to the people of the project site.
END NOTES:
Due to the 300-year (circa mid 1500s-1900s) Spanish Colonization Era policy of “divide and conquer,” through the conscription to the Spanish military and police of a large number of native male citizens of Samar and other provinces, many areas of Mindanao as well as other parts of the Philippines were populated by Spaniards with the original residents of the site and other towns of Samar Islands.
American Occupation Forces (circa 1900s up to the 20th century) also followed the example of Spain’s colonizers of recruiting male citizens of Samar to fight in Mindanao. Since many guerillas from Luzon fled to Samar, they were pursued by the Americans. With the intense fury of the American Occupation Forces against the guerillas, the Americans engaged in wholesale genocide in Samar and in one instance massacred the entire population of Balangiga, Samar.
By the post-American period, in the 1950s, the administration of President Diosdado Macapagal introduced the Homestead Policy. Many citizens of the project site, along with those from a considerable number of towns and emerging cities all over the central and northern half of the Philippine archipelago were encouraged to cultivate free land in Mindanao.
Under the administrations succeeding that of President Macapagal from that of President Ferdinand E. Marcos to the present, a series of waves of migrations took place that brought many of the local people of Samar to Manila and many other urbanized areas and fast-developing areas like Tacloban City.
Due to the incidence of poverty, many of the project site residents seek better fortunes in neighboring regions if not the farther north or southern regions. A large population of natives in the project site can be found engaged in gainful work in the provinces of Cebu, Agusan, Surigao, Cavite, Zambales, Pampanga, Metro Manila, and the Bicol Region among many others.
During the Marcos and Aquino regimes, the formerly international Communist and Socialist movement supported New People’s Army of the local Philippine communist party, made Samar one of their most favored headquarters.
A large number of armed communist fighters took up base in Samar and terrorized the entire Samar group of islands particularly from the 80s up to the 90s when the Philippine communists were using the urban insurrection policy and accelerating the taking in of new soldiers for their outlawed organization.
Many natives of Samar including those from the project site, until this time, are recruited members of the New People’s Army. However during the high critical phases of their stay in Samar, many innocent citizens of Samar were needlessly killed.
Residents of the project site by the thousands fled farther-off where they to be more safe from the armed conflict waged by communists and some so-called Lost Commands (criminal organizations paid by the government or actual criminals doing heinous acts on their own) that were out to protect massive illegal logging in Samar.
With the conflicts and even with the NPA recruiting from the female population of the site, the search-for-greener-pasture outmigration, the male population of the site was considerably reduced. References: Seaweed farming in Samar, Tacloban gets help from BFAR, Balita PH, official news gazette of the Department of Tourism, January 31, 2014. Samar town eyes to increase seaweed production, Sun Star Publishing Inc., Friday, January 27, 2012 (http://www.sunstar.com.ph),Poultry Farming Controlled Environment, Dr. Nasir Mahmood Nasir, R & D and Training Wing, Agriculture Finance Group, Head Office, Lahore, December 28, 2012.
E.B. Sonaiya, Department of Animal Science, Obafemi Awolowo University, lle-lfe, Nigeria and S.E.J. Swan, Village Poultry Consultant, Waimana, New Zealand, Small-scale poultry processing, Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome 2004.
C.F. Hamra, Thesis Paper – An Assessment of the Potential Profitability of Poultry Farms: A Broiler Farm Feasibility Case Study, The University of Tennessee at Martin, Agriculture and Natural Resources Systems Management, May 2010.
World Population Review. From the website: http://worldpopulationreview.com /countries/the-philippines-population/
Focus on fisheries and aquaculture, http://aquaculture-aquablog.blogspot.com, France 2013.
Prepared for the Project Proponents of Korea and Philippines by Greengold CyberparkHoldings Corporation October 08 2014
One Philippines Korea 