by admin | Oct 21, 2015 | Headlines, National News
MANILA October 20, (PIA)—Lessening the tension of fishing and opening up alternatives to fish-bank and reduce pressure on the overburdened sea is a direction the Provincial Government picked as moves to highlight in fish conservation ripple across the province.
Overfishing and the recent spate of calamities hitting Bohol’s crucial fishing communities delivered the coup de grace for fisheries which has been allegedly burdened by diminishing catch, unsustainable harvest fishing and environmentally destructive methods, according to fishery stakeholders as shared by EcoFISH project through Aniceta Gulayan.
And to this, fishery sector chief of the office of the Provincial Agriculture Remedios Regacho said the earthquake of 2103 and the series of typhoons hitting coastal communities in Bohol triggered the flow of government assistance for communities.
For Bohol fisheries and the goal to lessen fishing pressure, the earthquake rehabilitation assistance project as well as the Yolanda, Queenie, Ruby and Seniang, the government looked at the issue of fish conservation as opening up alternatives.
Regacho shared that the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources funded in Bohol the restoration of ruined seaweeds farms which the three last quarter storms ravished.
She reasoned out that the OPA believes if people have seaweed farms to tend, we urge people to farm than fish.
About 64 people’s organizations received seaweed planting materials as well as technical support for the rehabilitation of ruined farms, she narrated.
Moreover, in areas in Talibon, Loon, Tagbilaran, Candijay, Dauis and Panglao, the government handed in 50 fish cages while it also supported the fish supply of bangus fry for the cages, she said.
Even then, the fishery sector chief revealed that BFAR also handed tilapia and bangus fingerlings even as BFAR Bohol officer-in-Charge Leo Bongalos said they also hands in certificates of awards to cross-matched Department of Social Welfare and Development to Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program beneficiaries.
All we need to have are these fishermen 4Ps beneficiaries registering in the national fisheries registration so we could get the assistance going their way, Bongalos explained at Kapihan s PIA on fish conservation last week.
For generations, our idea of fisheries is still that of a hunter, who may end up after a day with nothing for the table, this idea of fish farming and fish production elevates us from the crude time to a more organized human community, BFAR said. (rac/PIA-7/Bohol)
by admin | Oct 19, 2015 | Headlines, National News
MANILA, October 19, (PIA)—If you think somebody’s family is not on the Listahanan and should be there, you can actually get them in.
All you need to do is see the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) area supervisor who will be accepting information updates and inclusion or exclusion complaints ten days after the list is publicly posted in barangay halls, says DSWD.
This as the government agency is currently validatingListahanan, an information management system that would largely be the basis for upcoming government assistance to the country’s identified poor.
Compiled by its enumerators who have to personally see for themselves the conditions in reference to poverty to get the family into the list, Listahanan is the common name for the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR), which the DSWD updated recently, according to information officer KerwinMacopia at the Kapihansa PIA.
After ten days when the list gets posted at the barangay halls, DSWD area supervisors would be visiting the area and would be accepting complaints, he explained.
The DSWD is looking at helping 232,000 families with the Listahanan giving a face to poverty.
Complaints however may be inclusion or exclusion errors, which still could happen especially in urban areas where the surveys are largely concentrated in areas where there are noticeable pockets of poverty, he candidly admits.
When the area supervisors come, they bring with them forms which they will fill based on the data from those information.
This form would be the basis for the Local Verification Committee to decide who gets in and who gets stripped off the list, according to the DSWD.
The Local Verification Committee consisting of the City or Municipal Mayor, Planning officer, social welfare officer and two representatives of local groups, will finalize the list before any help group can get to their target help beneficiaries. (rac/PIA-7/Bohol)
by admin | Oct 13, 2015 | Headlines, Local News / Bohol Balita
TAGBILARAN CITY, October 12 (PIA)–The first local government pushed mountain trail bike (MTB) trail in Bohol is now in the offing, thanks to the vision of Alicia Mayor Marnilou Ayuban and local authorities, who see that beyond the town’s grassy hills are interconnecting opportunities for sports and wellness.
Short of easy to develop tourism spots despite a trove of potentials, the rolling hills and the different high this can give to those who indulge are a better bet against the town’s almost inaccessible caves.
Alicia’s stunning rolling hills and trails leading to sauntering peaks are easy giveaways to trail bikes, shared Godelia Lumugdang, town tourism and information officer during a test run on their 8.6 kilometer circuit Saturday, October 10.
She said Alicia wants to hitch into the tourism bandwagon and its hills also caught the fancy of a tourism product development officer at the Bohol Tourism Office.
Last Saturday, a team of 21 mountain bikers from Antequera, Alicia and Duero took over two hours of rough single trail conquering ridges through nearly impossible ascents and downhill trails of the rolling hills in Camba-ol, the town’s identified mountain-bike showcase.
“It is a challenge of how one can keep up with the big rings in seemingly endless climb and then the downhill is just wicked,” a biker from Antequera admit. “Dropper seat post is recommended,” he added.
The bike course starts at the Cambaol barangay hall, just below the police camp and follows a barangay road that graduates into an eroded crude carabao cart trail.
Then it builds up on elevation, fording creeks, footbridges and then across tricky sandy loam farm tracks, open country roads and open field cattle pasture grounds to the sauntering three peaks one has to hurdle to complete the circuit.
“When Japan International Cooperation Agency asked us about what the town can offer, we submitted the hills and then we realized the possibility of a dirt bike ride to the ridges,” Lumugdang said.
But owing to the nature of the experience, mountain bike trail was the hands down choice it being environment friendly and impacts less to the community, the tourism officer added.
“This is what we can offer to the Boholano and foreign trail mountain bike enthusiasts,” she said promising to integrate all the comments and suggestion from the 21 trail bikers who went thru the whole circuit.
Alicia intends to open the trail for competition in January, when they celebrate their foundation day. (rac/PIA-7/Bohol)
by admin | Oct 10, 2015 | Headlines, Tech Talk
The Department of Trade and Industry – Bohol Province held the first Bohol Idea to Contextualized Innovation (BHLi2i) Competition held at the Bohol Cultural Center last October 5-6, 2015. Ten (10) out of the thirty two (32) teams who registered were selected to proceed to the 2nd phase of the competition.
The participants, organizers and guests at the first Bohol Ideas to Contextualized Innovation Boot Camp.
These teams represent the different schools, colleges and universities in the province. The following ideas that qualified for the 2nd phase (prototyping stage) are: Bus Monitoring System (BMS), Bantay Palay “Grain Saver”, ACCRE, eGO, Heat Laptop Charger, e-Gen Light, PleteE, Drainage Inspection Machine (DIM), Rapid Testing Device (RTD), and Cocobot.
In the next stage, DTI will support the teams in the development of their ideas into actual prototypes using the facilities of the Bohol Fabrication Laboratory (FabLab), the first of its kind in the country. This will start on the 3rd week of October until the last week of November. Teams will learn 3D or 2D data preparation and undergo training on the use of digital fabrication equipment available at the Bohol FabLab such as the 3D Printer, Laser Cutter, Large and Small Format CNC Milling Machines, media printers and embroidery machine.
Prior to the pitching of ideas, all 150 individual participants were fortunate enough to be assisted by different mentors during the ideation process. Mentors included Carlo Calimon (CEO of MobKard); Dave del Rosario of Ideaspace Foundation; Prim Paypon of Dream Project PH; Andy Rapista (Founder of Watson Institute Philippines), Raphael Mijeno of SALT; and Artie Lopez (BrainSparks Philippines).
All prototypes developed will again undergo selection process in November. Qualified teams will proceed to the next phase, the co creation stage, wherein teams will have the chance to work on their prototypes with Japanese counterparts.
The BHL i2i Competition, the first of its kind in the province, is a program that promotes innovation and start-ups through digital fabrication. It aims to support the participants in developing technology-based solutions to local problems. This competition is organized by the Department of Trade and Industry – Bohol together with its local partners: Bohol ICT Council, Provincial Government of Bohol, City Government of Tagbilaran, Bohol Island State University and the Japan Internation Cooperation Agency.
by admin | Oct 5, 2015 | Headlines, Local News / Bohol Balita
The end of the road from Cantuyoc to Canjulao apparently as the 3 meter dop caused by a land movement renders the road impassable to wheeled traffic. The landslide, which has eroded the road and over a hectare of land over 20 meters in some areas, is overly burdened limestone saturated by rain and large trees. No casualty was reported here. (rac/PIA-7/Bohol)
CANTUYOC, Jagna October 3 (PIA)–A barangay road descending to Canjulao from Barangay Cantuyoc in Jagna town disappears three meters below making the Cantuyoc-Canjulao access impassable to wheeled traffic.
Access is only through foot trail and that is hardly an easy one.
The cut barangay road link, makes travel to Cantuyok circuitous as the only road link open is through Tubod Monte, then to Malbog before skirting again to Cantuyoc, explains Barangay Chairman Geronimo Daguplo.
The new route is about twice longer than the usual over 3 kilometers using the broken barangay road to Canjulao and then to Pagina and Poblacion Jagna.
Last week, Jagna Mayor Fortunato Abrenilla shared the report to local papers, when the landslide pushed down some 3 feet of the road. The consequent report had the mayor telling that the depression has sunk further down to 6 feet.
Continuous rains which fell during the ending days of September has caused the already burdened portion of the barangay road which has a culvert draining into it.
Landslides however is nothing new in Jagna, which had towering cliffs and tall limestone mountains burdened by overgrown trees which also contributes to the strain the already saturated land is carrying.
Years back, a major landslide in Barangay Mayana buried houses, dislocated a basketball court and chapel bringing them across a national road and moving ricefields meters away.
In Sitio Taytay, Cantuyoc, the landslide appears to be a contiguous hectare of land chopped off the hills, but instead of toppling down, it moved sideways as the base gritted under the sheer weight of the chunk chipping off.
The slid portion starts right from where a culvert crosses the road and dumps water from the canals in this rain soaked and soggy soil drenched by springs and forest run-off water.
“We used to have another landslide near the area,” barangay chairman Daguplo pointed out. It accordingly involved cemented roads which buckled when the soil sub base of the road gave in to the loosened dirt road.
Municipal authorities have already been informed about this, Daguplo also added.
This was also confirmed by Municipal authorities who has the Barangay Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Council put up the necessary warning signs to keep people off the danger areas.
The Office of the Civil Defense and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Mines and GeoScience Bureau have been notified so proper assessment could be given and community residents be appraised
Residents who have been earlier advised to seek safer shelter at night go back to their homes hear the slide areas which have dislocated an electric post about 20 meters and had toppled hardwood and endemic trees which were aplenty in the area.
The BDRRM is now securing the landslide area if only to keep people off while rains started to pour again Sunday. (rac/PIA-7/Bohol)
by admin | Oct 1, 2015 | Headlines, Local News / Bohol Balita
Certainly, Bohol local government officials move in making Bohol a tough place for drug dealers is making headway.
If there is a single most stunning imagery that the two years long crusade against drugs which police colonel Dennis Agustin is leading, it is a train that is heading places.
We once believed the contention is nothing but a sniff of bad air. Air. Nothing substantial.
But that there is somebody high up the government ladder tinkering with the tracks shifting the campaign train to wherever directions they want, is now a railroading truth.
We have seen the folly of all these claims of victories against drugs. Quixotic because, like the man who fought windmills, fighting drugs in Bohol has not been as kind to the police director as its is as foolish fighting a lost cause.
By all indications, the number of sniffing advocates and the peddlers now languishing or were given a the time at the slammers, could be numerous.
At the Provincial Peace and Order Council reports of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, if one does not notice something regularly laughable, then that one is getting calloused.
In over 358 cases filed against drug personalities since January to July of this year, we have heard of only 2 people convicted and sentenced. And 12 are acquitted. 33 are dismissed.
No. not funny. Not at all.
The problem could be this serious: cops are damned they could only pound flimsy cases.
And the prosecution, seeing how risky it really is for the police to hand the time to drug criminals, also smell fear when walking out of the courtroom after a hearing.
So, perhaps they convict on grounds beyond reasonable doubt. which the police could not really pile up.
Here, figures the allegations of Capitol-high-up spreading a shroud of influence on drugs.
And if Capitol, out of its overflowing benevolence gives monthly allowances to the Judiciary, that influence peddling matters gravely.
So when the NBI swooped to Bohol to perform raids and getting over P5 million worth of drugs, we hear complaints of non-coordination.
Why, was it because the culprits were not notified by the usual intelligence grapevine about the raid? For if there really was no coordination and they netted that huge haul nevertheless, it is as honorable. Criticizing using the usual no-coordination script is just plain wicked.
Here, we reiterate: it is not Capitol complaining of no-coordination. It is a groaner-whiner close to Capitol.
And that no-Capitol groaner is not whining about why Capitol is apparently sitting on the findings of the packets of shabu recovered at the government hub.
And this no-Capitol whiner is not complaining why it took the Provincial Legal Office over two, nearing three months to reveal its findings publicly when investigating it uses public funds.
Or why not one employee at the Capitol has been presented when local officials have admitted some personnel working at the Capitol have tested positive for drugs.
So here, certainly, Bohol local government officials move in making Bohol a tough place for drug dealers is making headway. And it’s a train barreling straight to perdition.
What is bad is that, it has us on that same train.
These and the emboldening bulk of drugs confiscated from the streets can only be because truly, somebody is fooling Bohol and that somebody wields the strings to make us puppets.
