by admin | Mar 12, 2017 | Headlines, Local News / Bohol Balita
By JUNE S. BLANCO
GUSO crackers, anyone? How about some guso noodles?
Rep. Erico Aristotle Aumentado’s (Bohol, 2nd District) said many products from guso or the edible carrageenan-rich seaweeds abundant in the shallow waters of northern Bohol towns are waiting to be developed.
On top of supporting the planting itself as his constituents’ livelihood, the solon said he will also support those who will venture into processing the seaweeds harvest into crackers and noodles.
Aumentado vowed to bring the technology to his district.
He said the idea was well-received by his constituents when he first broached it to them.
On the “how” part, the solon said he will bring in the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) for more training on planting and securing the planting materials.
He will bring in the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) to cover questions on the processing part, the actual cooking and packaging, and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for the marketing side.
He wants the new products to be marketed not only in Bohol but to other provinces and even outside of the country in light of the ASEAN economic integration.
The novel and exotic products, he said, will bolster Bohol’s position in the tourism map. He expressed confidence that soon, buyers from all over the world will be looking for the items on the shelves.
In effect, he explained, the convergence of BFAR, DOST and DTI in his first attempt at branding Bohol will up the province’s eco-tourism attractions.
When the project goes full blast, Aumentado said Bohol’s eco-tourism will sell not only for the tarsier, the Chocolate Hills and white sand beaches but because of the guso crackers and noodles as well.
by admin | Mar 12, 2017 | Headlines, Kita ug ang Gobernador, Photo Story
CLERGY SUPPORTS CRIME WAR. Seriously taking on issues on Bohol’s peace and security situation, members of the Special Action Committee (SAC), which is under the umbrella of the Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC), meet with Gov. Edgar M. Chatto and Bishops Alberto Uy and Patrick Parcon, of the Dioceses of Tagbilaran and
by admin | Mar 11, 2017 | Headlines, Kita ug ang Gobernador, Local News / Bohol Balita
FEBRUARY IS NOT only the Love Month but it also is the time of year when Filipinos can have their fill of our rich culture and feast their eyes on colorful events and activities.
This is because the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) has chosen February as the country’s National Arts Month (NAM).
NCCA is the country’s prime agency for arts and culture and is leading the whole nation in celebrating artistry, creativity and a whole lot of imagination, led by National Artist Virgilio Almario as Chair, and OIC-Executive Director Marichu G. Tellano.
The NAM had its opening salvo last February 5 at the Rizal Park, followed by a month-long celebration with an impressive line-up of activities and events all over the country.
NCCA’s Sub-Commission on the Arts (SCA) led by Teddy Co has come up with this year’s theme as “Malikhain. Mapagbago. Filipino.”
The SCA comprises the national committees on architecture, cinema, dance, literature, music, theater and the visual arts.
Here in Bohol, the Provincial Government led by Gov. Edgar M. Chatto celebrated the NAM with a string of activities like an exhibit on industrial design and visual arts, a theater festival, drama workshops, an art fair, printmaking workshop, a film screening and forum, and a musical tertulla.
The opening celebration at the Bohol Cultural Center last February 7 was followed by a “Drama Explosion of Creative Transformative Filipinos,” “Visual Arts and Literary Explosion of Creative Transformative Art Works,” “Cinema Explosion of Creative Transformative Filipino Films,” and eventually, the culmination and closing program, an expo/explosion of Boholano creativity, innovation and transformation.
The closing program consequently also became the blessing and re-launching of the enhanced Abatan River Amphitheater Space at the Abatan River Main Village Center in Cortes.
Gov. Chatto graced the occasion with his lady, Balilihan Mayor and Abatan River Development Management Council (ARDMC) Chair Pureza Veloso-Chatto; together with other local chief executives of the Abatan River Life Tour municipalities of Maribojoc, Antequera, Catigbian and the host-town of Cortes led by Mayor Lynn Iven Lim.
The musical and culture-rich evening began with an afternoon of sights, sounds and magic right after the blessing of the Abatan River Theater Space, which incidentally became a live backdrop of green mangroves and a rainbow of colors too beautiful to behold.
As always, the world-famous Loboc Children’s Choir and the HNU Chorale wowed the crowd with their usual world-class singing prowess.
Romulo Tagaan of the Center for Culture and the Arts (CCAD) of the Provincial Government gave the event’s statement of purpose, followed immediately by PROCESS Bohol Executive Director Emmie Roslinda.
Other true-blooded Boholano talents worthy of praise and applause who shared their God-given talents with the audience were the Lingcud Maribojoc Cultural Collectives, the WinArts Dance Company, HNU Diwanag Dance Theater, Rodolfo Mercado, Noel Tuazon, Paul Joseph Vistal, Kasing Sining Blue Way Dance Ensemble, Tagbilaran City Balitaw Champions, Kasing Sining Teatro Bol-anon Ensemble, and the Bohol Singing Champions, who have given additional laurels to Bohol by having won in different singing competitions.
Bernan Joseph Cruz of the NCCA Plan/Policy Formulation and Programming Division could not contain his excitement due to all the excellent and explosive performances he has witnessed and admitted that “as of this moment, I am already thinking of a thousand ways of how to make use of all these Boholano talents and promote Bohol, not only in the local, but also in the global market as well.”
Given the theatrical ambience, organizers deemed it apt to have the oath taking of the officers of the Bohol Film Commission at the culmination program with Gov. Chatto swearing them all in to subsequently officially assume their posts.
An excerpt of the musical drama “Dagon sa Hoyohoy” got an explosive encore from the audience, especially when its Masters of Ceremonies Lutgardo L. Labad and Marianito Luspo mentioned that First Lady Pureza Chatto was part of the original cast as Dagohoy’s wife.
For that wonderful evening of lights, sounds, dances, songs and world-class talents, Gov. Chatto had this to say: “Let’s keep the tradition of excellence going. We won’t settle for anything less. Behold the beautiful music! BEHOLD BOHOL!”
And this is more than the Muses could hope for. (JLV/PGBh/EDCom)
by admin | Mar 11, 2017 | Kontra Droga, Kontra Terorismo, Major Events, Police Reports
TAGBILARAN CITY, March 11, (PIA)—So what’s with a woman in the elite police force?
There must have something that toughened this frail girl in a brood of four from a remote barangay in Buenavista, Bohol to let her squeeze through hardships as they fall one by one the moment she wears the bulletproof vest of prayer and determination.
The name Arlene Manatad is just like any ordinary Boholano name.
At 27, and a single parent to an 8 year old girl, this innocent looking face and disarming smile is a woman’s taser. But her normal build masks a core toughness that makes Arlene Manatad a name whispered among the elites of Bohol police force.
She has just crossed over the fence of the frail woman image to be honored as the first and only woman member of the elite police Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team in Bohol.
Said to be the toughest test of physical fitness and agility, mental and spiritual strength among elite police officer’s trainings, SWAT commissioning have been notoriously called the most physically rigorous and mentally straining activity for 77 days of police life.
But for Police Officer 2 Manatad, the pain and the strain are just hurdles towards her determined goal to bring the woman earn its rightful equal footing, with the men.
Born on June 4, 1989 as the youngest in a brood of four, three of them boys, Arlene traces her playgrounds in remote barangay in Lusong, Buenavista town. Their father works as the barangay captian and sallies back and forth with works at the National Grid Corporation while her mother does the child rearing and the housework.
For her, being alone to fend off for herself is never new: she has to walk from her barangay to the nearby elementary school in Lubang, and to stay in a boarding house in Getafe for her secondary schools. By the time she was ripe for college, she opted to sail across to Cebu and studied Bachelor of Science major in Criminology at the University of Cebu. Alone.
A class mate in college, whom she would have to be forced to marry, got her pregnant. Four days after her marriage, her husband left them and would show up again later in her life.
When ladies of less temper would have surrendered to the bad fate, she continued her school while nursing the baby and keeping them eating square meals in economically challenging Cebu.
By December 1, 2010, she was accepted in the police force after passing the board, at that time, her estranged husband showed up to seek favors, but having survived after he abandoned them, she has had enough.
Her first assignment was at the Cebu Provincial Police Office, but desk work bores her that she decided to barge into the world of men in the police force: the Regional Public Safety Battalion.
There she showed what a woman can do in a world dominated by testosterone: become intelligence chief among Alpha ones.
To prove she still has a fight left in her, she jumped into the chance to train into the anti-insurgency police force: the PNP Scouts.
Along with 2000 at the trainings, Arlene was said to be the youngest but was the source of inspiration among women in the training camp.
“I was the youngest but I hand to be the mother taking care of the women who feel too tired to go on,” she beamed.
For that, she said she felt lucky to be among the 264 police officers accepted.
And that plus her precise operational skills endeared her to the elder SWAT: she was often borrowed to infiltrate anti-drug and anti- crime ring operations.
After completing years of meritorious service for Cebu, PO2 Arlene requested for transfer, where the SWAT and RPSB take turns using her skill and intelligence gathering skills in operations, enough to push her to finally officially join the SWAT training in Bohol.
Of the 4 women in the 72 who started training in November, PO2 Manatad flew through the hurdles, grimacing but the pain paid off when she finished among the top ten in a graduating class of 64.
“The training was hard but what was harder was when my father left us and my mother for another woman in 2012,” she bared.
But, if it had to happen, it should, she finally hinted.
Already whetted by the abrasive stones of trails, the acid test of endurance in trainings and the firm resolve to fight it out; nails and teeth, when life hands a dirty deal, living as a woman, mother and a crime-buster for PO2 Arlene Manatad has always been a multi-tasking feat.
“Of course, life is tough, she hints, but with the playing fields now expanding for women to get on the arena, all one needs is to commit to the tasks at hand and never give up,” she advised.
“As women, we should never be afraid to stand for our rights,” she stressed.
We are not alone. We have agencies that are there to help us, she capped.
That statement etched an image in our minds, “fix eyes to the target, breathe, relax, aim and shoot.”
It could have been PO2 Manatad’s unspoken motto.
She is an undisputed sharpshooter, co SWAT graduates proudly told us. (rac/PIA-7/Bohol)
Fixing the eyes to the crosshairs, breathe, relax, aim, squeeze and shoot. PO2 Arlene Manatad shares what being a woman is in a world brimming with testosterone. (rac/PIA-7/Bohol)
by admin | Mar 11, 2017 | DTI Updates, Edukasyon Updates, Headlines, Internet Service Provider, Tech Talk
TAGBILARAN CITY, March 7 (PIA)–The day after President Rodrigo Duterte approved the Philippine national Broadband Plan to effect a faster and more reliable communications in the country, Holy Name University in Bohol also partners with Smart Telecommunications for a wireless fidelity (wifi) internet access for its students.
And for that, Smart Communications incorporated allocated 100 megabyte per second (mbps) internet bandwidth to the catholic university, giving students some 30 minutes free internet service daily.
Holy Name University President Fr. Francisco Estepa SVD, pointed out that the provision of SmartWifi in the campus is the third among HNU and Smart partnerships.
He told the modest crowd gathered at the covered shed beside the campus Bates Building that HNU also got Smart suite.
Smart Learning Suite is a facility that combines lesson delivery, assessment, student collaboration and game-based learning software via the Smart Notebook, Smart Lab, Smart Response and Smart Amps.
He also said HNU partnered with Smart on Smart Sports.
This time, Smart Communications incorporated again partnered with HNU on the SmartWifi in the campus.
“Our partnership with Smart has been very beneficial to the school, we do hope that we had mutual benefits with Smart,” Fr. Estepa said.
The partnership allows the HNU community to get 30 minutes free wifi access daily, also gets them free infrastructure in cables, access points, 100 MBPS of internet bandwidth, free facility operation and maintenance, while earning a co-branded set service identification (ssid) and leading page, courtesy of Smart.
For partnering with Smart, HNU also commits to shoulder costs of power used by the facility, provide adequate space for the infrastructure, allows the tapping of the facility to HNU emergency power supply, provides security to the facility and its components, as well as allowing the telecommunications company to advertise its services to students.
For students who want more access time, all they need to do is buy access cards from the school canteen to continue using the service after the free provisions, Smart said.
Signing the agreements were Wifi Team Smart Communications head Regina Pineda, and HNU President Fr. Estepa.
Also witnessing the ceremonies were Smart Area Development Manager Lailane Husain, Fr. Vicente Uy SVD and school professors, students and employees.
Other than HNU, Smart has also put up a fast and reliable wifi connection at the Tagbilaran City Airport, and had been asked to provide the same huge bandwidth at the Tagbilaran City Port, Tagbilaran City Hall, the nw Provincial Capitol and some identified public places. (rac/PIA-7/Bohol)
