by cathytej | Aug 8, 2008 | Features, Local News / Bohol Balita
COASTAL law enforcement patrols in District 1 are tugging heavy operational cost problems, making efforts to drive illegal fishers off the municipal waters – sluggish.
This was the general statement of a key environment management officer at the Capitol who wished more coastal law enforcement performance, when pressed to assess illegal fishing campaign in Bohol seas.
Capitol’s Bohol Environment Management Office (BEMO) head, during a radio interview early this week publicly wished the district’s Coastal Law Enforcement Council (CLEC1) could step up its campaign like their counterparts in other districts.
Villaber explained that CLEC 1 has three clusters, one based in Panggangan Island of Calape town, with the seas of Tubigon to Loon as its area of responsibility. The two others are in Cortes and whose area of enforcement includes Maribojoc Bay and the third cluster is based in Baclayon, which patrols the seas off Panglao island until Alburquerque .
BEMO could not see any more problems in the CLEC 1 clusters 1 and 2, but cited the concern in Baclayon, Dauis and Panglao seas, including the one facing Maribojoc Bay.
In the past week, Boholanos noted a wounded dolphin stranding in Basac-Moalong in Loon, which was treated and released while a dead dolphin with wounds washed ashore in Taguihon Baclayon.
Many believed the stranding of wounded dolphins were caused by illegal fishing in District 1 area.
The incident also alarmed authorities as the same areas happen to be developed for eco-tourism projects, one of which showcases the bio-diversity of the seas and its marine life in dolphin and whale watching tours.
Years back, Bohol’s won a prestigious accolade in the country for its innovative CLEC which groups towns and multiple government enforcement agencies into one apprehending team to make it effectively apolitical while stretching every available resource in a common pool.
Asked what are the current problems CLEC is facing, Villaber said it could be operational costs. He cited that a team would need at least 50-100 liters of fuel per patrol operations.
But he added that the memorandum signed by the mayors on the CLEC call for contribution [for the operational costs], which has not been as implemented, causing the operations to stagger.
“If only local government units could put more attention in the operations,” he said while citing that areas like Tubigon to Loon is generally doing well with the local government support present.
This as the Visayas Ombudsman has recently directed mayors to implement coastal laws or face suits, reports said. (rachiu/PIA)
by cathytej | Aug 8, 2008 | Local News / Bohol Balita
GOVERNOR Erico Aumentado vowed Thursday to send a memorandum to all local executives in an attempt to unify all municipal ordinances to the newly passed Bohol Anti-Rabies Ordinance.
Aumentado’s action came as the Bohol Rabies Prevention and Eradication Council (BRPEC) met at the Mansion to resolve issues that hinder the province-wide implementation of anti-rabies prevention and eradication program.
BRPEC has initially sought the governor’s help to resolve the issue non-uniformity of applicable laws in the dog registration and vaccination in the towns.
The program calls for massive dog registration and vaccination, dog-population control, elimination after impounding, bite management, public education as well as putting up local mechanisms to bring the campaign to the communities with barangay workers as front-liners.
With different enforceable local laws legislated in the towns, the council members has asked the governor for help to guide local program implementers as to which law would assure sustainability to the program which aims to make the province rabies free by 2010.
Sustainability can be assured if barangays are allowed to get shares in the implementation as well as in the collection of dog registration and vaccination fees.
The fees would assure a revolving fund for vaccine and dog-tag acquisition as proof of vaccination.
The provincial ordinance mandates that dog registration would be P50 for a female and P100 for a male dog. It also states that 50% of the money collected goes to the provincial government as anti-rabies program revolving fund while 30% goes to the frontline barangay government while the remaining 20% goes to the municipal government.
The registration also goes with a subsequent vaccination and dog-tagging.
Some towns however collect minimal amounts for dog-registration and do not require dog-tagging, further complicating possible rabies infection and dog population control.
The governor’s action seeks to declare ultra vires all local ordinances that would run counter to the provisions of the provincial ordinance.
“On matters of issues between a provincial and a municipal ordinance, it is the provincial ordinance that prevails,” the governor who is also a lawyer explained. (rachiu/PIA)
by cathytej | Aug 7, 2008 | Local News / Bohol Balita, Major Events
ROBBERS took more than P66, 832.50 from collectors of a single lending firm from at least 7 highway robberies in the first 7 months of this year, police reports said.
The unabated incidents of robberies falling upon collectors of Taytay sa Kauswagan Incorporated (TSKI) has prompted members of the Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) to call the firm Tulis Sa Kadalanan Inc.
The unabated robberies hitting TSKI was despite an early Bohol police instruction for the firm to devise a plan so as not to present an opportunity for the crime to happen. But TSKI still sends its men to remote areas collecting cash from their borrowers all over Bohol.
According to briefing notes read by Bohol police chief Ssupt. Edgardo Ingking, during the recent PPOC meeting at Cantaongon in Loon town, the most recent incident involving TSKI was July 1, at Getafe town, and involving P13,117.00.
A call to Getafe police bared that on July 1, at about 11:35 am. two unidentified men in improvised masks blocked the team of Amy Omandam and her motorcycle driver between barangays Campao Oriental and Buyog of Getafe town.
Using short firearms of undetermined caliber, robbers took the money from Omandam and then fled towards Buyog, said SPO1 Meliflo Paca of Getafe police station.
TSKI fell victim to similar road robberies including P9,000 cash and 5210 mobile phone and the collector’s Honda Wave motorcycle which robbers took on January 23 in Sta. Cruz Sagbayan. Police later recovered the motorcycle abandoned in barangay Cantuyoc, of Clarin town, SPO2 Senon Añora of Sagbayan police station said.
Less than a month later, on February 15, TSKI lost P9,317.25 in barangay Katarungan of Ubay town.
The firm also undetermined cash to robbers armed with .45 caliber and knife four days later in Badian of Inabanga town, PSSupt Ingking reported.
On April 21, TSKI collector was hit in Tamong, Danao and was divested of P12,000 in cash collections.
TSKI’s biggest loss in the seven month span was in Talibon, where P23,081 was lost to robbers in Talibon town on June 5.
Five days later, the lending firm again lost P9,317.25 in nearby Ubay town.
Newly assumed Kauswagan Bank Branch Manager Lealyn Alcala, a sister firm of TSKI pointed to a movement of officers in the firm creating a vacuum where they could not yet fully coordinate their plans for men in the field.
She added that upon the Bohol police suggestions, instead of collectors going to remote areas in Clarin, the lendees now remit their money to Sagbayan town where a TSKI satellite base is set.
She also admitted that they used to instruct their collectors to go on convoys, but she did not know if these were still done now. (rachiu/PIA)
by cathytej | Aug 7, 2008 | Local News / Bohol Balita
HELP came at a time when the Bohol Rabies Prevention and Eradication Council (BRPEC) desperately needs a partner who can bankroll the staggering costs of implementing a pilot anti-rabies drive province-wide.
The new partner intends to document the collaborative effort to come up with a template for future support program in their disease elimination campaign in other countries, Dr. Stella Marie Lapiz said.
The partner, a Scottish non-government organization has agreed to partner with Bohol to pilot a province-wide anti-rabies campaign, said the provincial veterinarian during a meeting held Thursday at the Governor’s Mansion.
Dr. Lapiz said Alliance for Rabies Control (ARC), a registered Scottish international but United Kingdom-based non-government organization has told local authorities about their intent to bankroll about P7M for the Bohol anti-rabies program.
The Provincial Government on the other hand would also complement the fund source through its financial equity and manpower in a collaborative effort to sustain the provincial drive in the next 4 years, Lapiz appraised the council members during the recent meeting.
“We are very happy about the development in as much as a rabies free Bohol would boost our dream of becoming the country’s top tourism destination,” she stressed.
The good news also came at a time when spearheading authorities see the provincial rabies prevention and eradication program fall short of its targets due to coordination snags.
Months ago here, anti-rabies rabies authorities raised the alarm over reports that Bohol has topped Central Visayas as it records the most number of animal and human rabies cases.
With the implementation of the programs, BRPEC has reported a major score when reported bite cases in the first quarter of 2008 dipped to 80% compared to data from last year.
This however is not worth celebrating, Dr. Lapiz said, as she points to a general aim of totally eliminating canine and human rabies in Bohol by 2010.
Groundwork has been set up to prepare the structures for a community-based program implementation, while on-going dog population control and massive elimination is saturated province-wide, a status program report bared.
Meanwhile, corollary to the program is a massive public education, which attempts to put an early rabies awareness in the school curriculum.
All of these while private and government sector partner in putting up animal bite and treatment centers to cope with the possible contamination. (rachiu/PIA)
by cathytej | Aug 4, 2008 | National News
TWO Mondays have been declared holidays this August.
By virtue of Presidential Proclamation No 1463, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has declared August 18 a special non-working holiday and the following Monday as regular holiday.
The proclamation was signed February 18, 2008.
An earlier law, Republic Act 9492 provides that holidays, except those, which are religious in nature, are moved to the nearest Monday.
August 18th is the nearest Monday to the 21st, the day the country celebrates Ninoy Aquino Day. But, by operation of law, the celebration is moved to the 18th, which in turn becomes a holiday this year.
And since the day is a special working holiday, the law mandates that workers who serve in the day get 30% of more of their daily rate. Working in excess of 8 hours, they can get 30% of the hourly rate of the day.
Meanwhile, by the same law, National Heroes Day, which ordinarily a celebrated every last Sunday of the month has been moved to August 25.
August 25 is the last Monday of August.
A labor law says workers who go to work on this day are paid 200% of their daily salaries and another 30% of their hourly rate if the service rendered is more than 8 hours. (rachiu/PIA)
