by anyajulia | Aug 3, 2009 | Headlines, National News
The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) will continue to assist micro-businesses, as the yearly budget for the Small Entrepreneurs and Technology Upgrading Program (SETUP)keeps on growing. This is to encourage SMEs upgrade their equipments, acquire new technologies and expand their businesses.
DOST can lend under SETUP an amount of interest-free loan to individuals or group provided the borrower has the capacity to repay it in three years.
Aside from technology transfer and provision of equipment, clients of SETUP can also be assisted in terms of product design, packaging and labelling. (PIA)
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by anyajulia | Aug 3, 2009 | Headlines, Local News / Bohol Balita
SANDUGO festival’s throbbing drums, borrowed calypso beat and trumpet fanfare sounded in a cacophony of pulsating beat a few moments after the last of the dancing contingents bowed out from their ground ritual demonstration: to announce this year’s street dancing grand champions
Proving they could be second to none, last year’s street dancing festival runner ups, Maribojoc came out big and strong to beat eight other contenders to the honors as Bohol’s Sandugo mardigras champions this year.
Moving as a singular sea of gold, blue and green in front of magnificent mountain backdrop, Maribojoc dancers performed their routines in near perfection while brilliantly using the props to maximize on special effects to elicit loud applause from the crowd of thousands witnessing the competition.
Romping away this year with the Grand Champion trophy and P200T, and reaping more with the Best Street Dancing, Choreography and Costume, Maribojoc went home clearly savouring a total of at least P260T cash award they had relentlessly pursued festivals back.
Also coming as strong second is Katigbawan Festival grand champion Immaculate Mary Academy of Catigbian town.
Exploring the tradition of carabao pageants in the town and using a tricky combination of colors pink and blue for their costume and an impeccable detail on choreographed movements, IMA Catigbian impressed the judges with their over-all performance to award them P150T as this year’s runner up.
Trinidad, with the unmistakable use of the Pintados identity and a creative use of indigenous costume accents coupled with pulsating action lent them the contingent the third place.
Running home with P100T cash prize and trophy, Trinidad contingent explored on the homegrown festival of the Caromata.
Meanwhile, Baclayon contingent went home with the Best in Music award for an infinite exploration of local music to accompany their street-dancers.
Other participating contingents who gave the winning contingents a run for their money were Inabanga, Balilihan, Corella, Tubigon, Catigbian through its National High School and Tagbilaran City as represented by Dr. Cecilio Putong National High School.
Non-winning contingents each received P10T cash awards and plaques of appreciation from the Bohol Sandugo Foundation, event organizers. (PIA)
BEFORE its majestic mountain, Maribojoc street dancing contingent redefined near perfection performance to grab the grand award in this year’s Sandugo Street Dancing festival. Runners up were Katigbawan Festival’s Immaculate Mary Academy of Catigbian and Caromata Festivals LGU Trinidad. (PIA)
by anyajulia | Aug 3, 2009 | Headlines, Local News / Bohol Balita
COUNTDOWN starts before the crackdown on loose firearms begins in November.
Government authorities dangle the final gun registration amnesty in October, before police bringing down the full force of the law on transgressors immediately after that.
By Executive Order 617 or the National Firearms Control Program, which President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed recently, the country has put up a national policy on loose firearms, PSSupt Edgardo Ingking said.
The new policy mandates a final amnesty on gun registration to finally beckon unlicensed gun-owners to have their guns accounted for and obtaining a license for it.
At the recent Kapihan sa PIA, Bohol top-cop explained that accounting loose firearms becomes a government policy to cut down on crimes involving the use of firearms, and the potential abuse of such in the coming elections.
Showing police statistics, Ingking pointed out that from 2004 to 2008, about 97.8% of gun related crimes involve the use of loose firearms across the country.
In Bohol, the Philippine National Police (PNP) estimates around 4,232 loose firearms including 2,567 guns with expired licenses.
Threat groups like local rebels and criminal elements possess the rest of the unaccounted weapons, PSSupt Ingking said.
According to Ingking, an individual who avails of the final amnesty from October 1-31 would exempt owners from penalties and surcharges relative to the expired licenses. He enjoys the much-streamlined licensing process and only pays the license fee from the nearest Land Bank branch.
He said aside from the aggressive interdiction operations that police operatives are mandated in pursuance to the corresponding letter of instruction to the executive order, a parallel legislative agenda is pursued to lobby for an amendment to existing laws and imposing stiffer penalties for illegal possession.
For those availing of the gun registration and licensing amnesty, processing of papers start August 1-31 at the Police FEASAGS Division of Camp Dagohoy in Tagbilaran City.
Gun owners availing of the amnesty however need to initially secure a permit to transport the weapon for licensing to be freed from any culpability should he be flagged down while on his way to register.
In getting the permit at Camp Dagohoy, owners need to take the firearms serial numbers and present it to Camp Dagohoy, said PO3 Jesus Daplin of the PNP FEASAGS. (PIA)
WITH A STIFFER PENALTY for gun possession in the pipelines, PSSUPT Edgardo Ingking urges gun-owners to register and get licenses for their guns in time for the final amnesty in October. Processing of gun documents start this month. (PIA)
by anyajulia | Aug 1, 2009 | Headlines, Local News / Bohol Balita
PROVIDING a common training ground for home grown talents to hone their skills worked well for Catigbian, whose annual Katigbawan Festival lent the town the luxury of putting up two quality performances during the recently concluded Sandugo Festival Sunday, July 26.
In fact, Immaculate Mary Academy (IMA) Katigbawan 09 grand champion brough home the honors for the town by placing second to grand champion Maribojoc in the province-wide streetdancing and ritual performances at the CPG Sports Complex.
Mayor Roberto Salinas, in an interview could not contain his excitement with his contingents’ performances seeing them “now at par with the best of Bohol’s famed street dancing contingents”.
“All of the credits must go where they are due,” Salinas said, adding that the two secondary school dancing contingents of his town should be accorded the praises.
Catigbian sent Immaculate Mary Academy and Catigbian National High School dancers who vied for the annual Katigbawan Festival street dancing competition last month. Now throwing in their hats for the province-wide competitions last week, both contingents carried Catigbian as their official entry name.
“The honor should go to the school administration of both schools, their trainors, the students and their parents who believe that the town could put up a good fight and give other dancing contingents a good sweat,” the mayor who heads the mayors’ league here commented.
“The town’s support may not be as big for the two dancing contingents but with the people”s growing desire to excel even in the local competitions has proven to be a huge motivation for these dancers to be in their best at the Sandugo.” he admitted.
Asked about the town’s future plans, Salinas said with the town’s snagging a Sandugo award, “it should motivate us to double our efforts and support and extend to them the right atmosphere for the students and their contingents to perfect their routines”.
Now also bracing for a program in tourism and cultural renaissance, Catigbian has eyed the development of the town’s signature attractions, Salinas revealed.
“It’s still a long way to go”, the mayor, who is still into his second term of office, said.
But making the people confident about what they have, what they can do and how they fare against the best is the first step, everything else should happen in time, he summed. (PIA)
TWO IN ONE. Catigbian’s trick during the recent Sandugo streetdancing festival was a rare feat for a town putting up two competing contingents. IMA and CNHS contingents both wowed the crowd and pleased the judges for their world-class performances. Of the two, IMA Catigbian, Katigbawan Festival 09 grand champion picked third among nine participating contingents. (PIA)
by anyajulia | Aug 1, 2009 | Headlines, Local News / Bohol Balita
BOHOL Governor Erico Aumentado successfully goaded the Regional Development Council (RDC7) to prop up the move for the government’s public works department to endorse another mega project here, during the recent full council meeting of the regional development body.
Aumentado, who has been so convinced about the feasibility of a multi-access friendship bridge that would cross the shallow channels of Bohol to Cebu has initially sought for grants for its feasibility study.
As soon as the feasibility study is done, a Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) endorsesent for international funding would allow funding agencies to pore into the project.
Finally succeeding in getting a $3M grant from the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF) of South Korea, Aumentado then took the privilege of seeking the RDC support to push the DPWH to endorse the project for funding.
Despite its non-inclusion from the prepared meeting agenda, Aumentado who sits as the host province’s main representatve reported that the project has already gained a grant for its feasibility study.
Rising to the occasion, and to the mutual benefits both provinces can economically get from the proposal, RDC Chair and Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia steered the council to yield in to the Aumentado request.
The plan, according to the Bohol governor is to put up a bridge which would connect Tugas Point in Getafe Bohol to the islets within the Danajon reefs and then off to Olango and then in Cordova Cebu.
Proposed to be a multi-access friendship bridge, the facility would be a conduit for three major development projects: an open transportation access for Cebu and Bohol land trips; a common channel for the fiber optic connection that would tap Bohol into the digital information superhighway and for further developments, a possible infrastructure conduit for sharing potable water for the requirements of highly urbanized Cebu City and its nearby areas.
Reporting further, Aumentado said he was already set to meet the South Korean Ambassador to thresh out the details of the project and for possible funding by the Korean International Cooperation Agency.
A staunch administration ally, Aumentado has been aggressively seeking the realization of high impact infrastructure projects wants this final act as an Administration legacy and a clear econmic investment of the people (PIA)
