MATUGUINAO, SAMAR – From being a terrorism lair to promoting tourism, the Municipality of Matuguinao in Samar aims to be declared insurgency-free by December.
Mayor Aran Boller, now in his third term, shared that to meet their target, they have institutionalized their local peace engagement. “We have located at least six active NPA members who originated from Matuguinao but are not operating here. We have coordinated with their families so that they can return to the folds of the law, work, and live peacefully,” he said.
The mayor maintained that Matuguinao is already peaceful with no known existence of any active NPA group. All 20 villages were once influenced by the New People’s Army (NPA). Currently, all communities are free from NPA control, although four villages are being monitored for possible rebel recovery attempts.
Due to their aggressive tourism program, Municipal Tourism Officer Alexis Ogacho shared that from 2021 to 2024, they logged 66,320 tourist arrivals in Matugnaw Spring and Maslog Cold Spring.
They also aim to develop more tourist sites including caves and waterfalls to provide more income for the residents and the local government. Moreover, the local chief executive appealed for the construction of roads connecting Northern Samar, saying, “This will greatly benefit Matuguinaonons for easy transport of their goods. We will be the closest route to Northern Samar via Las Navas or Silvino Lubos. Time will come that Matuguinao will be the center of the economy.”
He added that travel time will be reduced by an hour from Northern Samar if the road project is realized, adding, “The biggest help that the national government can provide to help address insurgency is to build roads in these areas that used to be NPA encampments. We need these roads for Matuguinao to attain lasting peace.” (By Marie Tonette Marticio / EV Mail JUNE 16-22, 2025 issue)
