by admin | Feb 25, 2015 | Headlines, Local News / Bohol Balita
TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, February 24 (PIA) —The Panglao Airport or officially the New Bohol Airport Project in Panglao (NBAP) has not officially commenced its civil works, but the government has rolled out a bid for its operation and maintenance.
As early as December of 2014, when the Bidding and Awards Committee Chairman and Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) Undersecretary Jose Perpetuo Lotilla signed the Notice of Award to the winning bidder of the P7.1 billion Panglao airport, DOTC has rolled out some P116.2 billion bundled contracts for 6 airports, including Panglao.
The Philippine Star, a national daily broadsheet published last December 15, 2014 the bundled contract for a concessionaire to develop, operate and maintain (O and M) 6 provincial airports, for 30 years.
O and M or Panglao airport runs at P4.57 billion, according to DOTC.
“The DOTC said the 30-year concession contract would be awarded through a competitive bidding following the rules and procedures prescribed under the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Law, the published article stated.
Meanwhile, in his most recent State of the Province Address (SOPA) Bohol Governor Edgar Chatto earned a welcoming applause when he reported: So it’s definitely “All Systems Go” for the New Bohol Airport!
This too as he told Boholanos that the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)-funded New Bohol Airport Construction and Sustainable Environment Protection Project (NBACSEPP) is finally free to proceed without impediment!
Per the latest updates from JICA, the Notice of Award has been signed by the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) BAC Chairman Usec. Lotilla, and promptly air-mailed to the winning bidder, he said.
After this, and the release of the scheduled Advance Payment by JICA, we hope that by March 2015, the Notice to Proceed will be signed by DOTC Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya, Chatto updated Boholanos on the status of the ambitious airport that took about four governor and four presidents to realize.
Construction is expected to officially commence in April 2015, he said to another applause from the avid crowd gathered at the Bohol Cultural Center, February 20.
For those doubting Thomases who still refused to believe unless they see substantial developments, the governor added, “even before this contractual commencement, the winning bidder should have started temporary works, such as the construction of Employer’s, Engineer’s and Contractor’s offices, bunkhouses, erection of concrete and asphalt batching plants, starting next month.
Then, he showed through an electronic wall, pictures of the groundwork and clearing operations being undertaken at the project site.
He also showed the already-completed New Bohol Airport Resettlement Project in Tawala, Panglao, which was built for relocation of airport construction affected families.
He said the new houses were already turned over to the homeowners association last November 2014, and homeowners have subsequently formed an association, now registered with the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB). (RAC/PIABohol)
by admin | Feb 21, 2015 | Headlines
Lenovo announced on February 20, 2015 that it has released a fix for the serious vulnerability introduced by pre-installed Superfish software. Lenovo laptop users who bought units shipped between September 2014 and February 2015 should check for the presence of Superfish adware and ensure that they follow the uninstall instructions on http://support.lenovo.com/us/en/product_security/superfish_uninstall.
The affected laptops are E10-30, Flex2 14, Flex2 15, Flex2 14D, Flex2 15D, Flex2 14 (BTM), Flex2 15 (BTM), Flex 10, G410, G510, G40-70, G40-30, G40-45, G50-70, G50-30, G50-45, Miix2 – 8, Miix2 – 10, Miix2 – 11, S310, S410, S415; S415 Touch, S20-30, S20-30 Touch, S40-70, U330P, U430P, U330Touch, U430Touch, U540Touch, Y430P, Y40-70, Y50-70, Yoga2-11BTM, Yoga2-11HSW, Yoga2-13, Yoga2Pro-13, Z40-70, Z40-75, Z50-70 and Z50-75.
The Superfish adware included a self-signed or locally signed certificate which defeats the purpose of HTTPS encryption. The vulnerability allows malicious users to perform a “man-in-the-middle” attack wherein the SSL encryption is effectively defeated and supposedly secure data can be captured unencrypted.
Lenovo has been heavily criticized for pre-installing an adware software product which is considered by many users as obtrusive. It was supposed to “enhance the users’s shopping experience”. However, aside from being obtrusive, it also introduced a serious vulnerability.
Source: http://support.lenovo.com/us/en/product_security/superfish
by admin | Feb 15, 2015 | Headlines, Local News / Bohol Balita
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
EFFECTIVE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNICATIONS (Unit)
PROVINCE OF BOHOL
INVESTORS HOVER, READY TO SWARM BOHOL
THE CHATTO-LIM ADMINISTRATION’S indomitable reputation in making good things happen in Bohol not only has carved a name for itself. It has also attracted the attention of world-class investors who are always on the lookout, not only for profitable ventures, but also, for sound investments.
The past week alone witnessed the influx of very interested proponents for the Bohol Island Power Development Plan (BIPDP) where at the very least, twelve power companies each presented their proposals and talked big on how they could solve Bohol’s power problem.
However, providing “adequate” power supply for the province only spurred more questions in the minds of the Boholanos for indeed, how adequate is “adequate?”
With the people’s first-hand and not-so-pleasant experience in 2013 where the whole island was put under total darkness for two-and-a-half days after Typhoon Yolanda ravaged Leyte, Boholanos have learned their lesson the hard way.
Gov. Edgar M. Chatto and Vice-Gov. Concepcion Lim vowed to never again let the people go through a similar experience and henceforth did everything they could to hasten the province’s independent power source.
“If we want to be able to succeed and go forward, then, we should strive hard to possess that which we do not have,” the governor was quoted as saying.
Last Tuesday, the Provincial Government hosted a Power Investment Forum spearheaded by the governor as the Chairman of the Bohol Energy Development Advisory Group or BEDAG.
The BEDAG is a multi-sectoral group composed of various representatives from the local government unit (LGU), private sector, academia, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, (NGCP), and the three local Distribution Utilities (DUs) BOHECO I, BOHECO II and the Bohol Light Company, Inc. (BLCI).
It is an institutional mechanism for planning, implementing, and monitoring of Bohol’s power development initiatives and is responsible for preparing the BIPDP.
The twelve proponents who were each given ten minutes to present their proposals were: Visayas Wind Energy Corporation, Global Business Power Corporation, CENERTFC Philippines, Inc., SUN Electric Philippines, Siquijor Power Corporation (SIPCOR), WestMin Energy and Development Company, Inc. JETPRO Technology, Inc., FREY-FIL Corporation, Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), SPC Power Corporation, SPC Island Power Corporation, Sta. Clara International Corporation, and Visayan Electric Company.
What struck as significant during the forum was the fact that several, if not all, of those who did the presentations were the very top executives of the proponent companies.
Majority of the proposals favorably endorsed coal as their power source due to its eco-friendliness, high incidence of efficiency and easy management.
Other proposed power sources though included biogas, waste heat recovery, biomass, mini-hydro and uranium.
One of the presentations which caught the eye of BEDAG due to its uniqueness and versatility was the use of the different kinds of wind turbines and its various applications.
The City of Tagbilaran is recognized as an emerging destination in the category of next wave cities and the Province of Bohol is now in its last mile of preparation as a world-class tourist destination.
Of all the provinces in the country, only Bohol has a business one-stop shop office called BOSS under the Bohol Investment Promotion Center (BIPC) which is propelled by the most able hand of Maria Fe Dominise, who unceasingly revises new ways to attract more investors.
Gov. Chatto gladly recognizes the effort and technical assistance that USAID-COMPETE is doing in helping the Provincial Government in its Visit Bohol 2015 tourism campaign and how it has opened wide our doors to more investment opportunities.
He says that “everything must be at par with each other and each phase of development properly in sync with everything else for if we want to improve Bohol’s reputation, which even now, is being currently considered a choice business location, then, we should push each other more to achieve what we want and in order to arrive at our most-coveted destination.”
Also present during the forum were Board Members Cesar Tomas Lopez, Abeleon Damalerio, Tomas Abapo, Elpidio Jala and Madelone Rengel.
The proposals presented would undergo further scrutiny under the BEDAG and also most possibly, will be duly presented at the upcoming Provincial Development Council (PDC) meeting. (JLV/PGBh/EDCom)
by admin | Feb 15, 2015 | Headlines, Local News / Bohol Balita
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
Effective Development Communications Unit
BOHOL HOLDS DAY OF PEACE
“The dream of peace is a continuing dream; it is something that we are all working on”. –Gov. Chatto
“With disturbances to our peace existing, there is all the more reason to continue to advocate and work harder to achieve genuine and lasting peace,”
Gov. Edgar Chatto made this message clear during the activities held in observance of the Bohol Provincial Day of Peace on February 11.
Chatto also urged government and private sector to strengthen ties and continue to work together to face the challenges of keeping the peace.
Approved through Sangguniang Panlalawigan Resolution 2014-55, the Provincial Day of Peace marks the end of insurgency, as Bohol was declared by the AFP an “insurgency-free” province on February 11, 2010.
To commemorate the gains of peace, this year, peace advocates attended a Holy Mass at the St. Joseph’s Cathedral in honor of the Fallen 44, the 44 Special Action Force men slain during the Mamasapano encounter, including Boholano PO1 Romeo Cempron, whose family attended the Holy Mass.
Chatto and the Sangguniang Panlalawigan headed by Vice Gov. Concepcion Lim, Tagbilaran City officials, along with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine National Police (PNP), the private sector, civil society organizations, and peace advocates renewed commitments to sustain the gains of peace in the province in a symbolic flying of balloons and doves after the Eucharistic Celebration.
A workshop followed at the Bohol Cultural Center, where representatives of the agriculture, youth, the military and the police, health, media, tourism, IT and business, education, local government, and women sector identified threats to peace in respective sectors and recognized possible positive actions to address the threats.
Former University of the Philippines (UP) President and peace advocate Professor Emeritus Jose Abueva also provided insights on the advocacy for a non-killing Boholano society. (LEAH/EDCOM)
by admin | Feb 14, 2015 | Headlines, Local News / Bohol Balita
PRESS RELEASE
Philippine Information Agency-Bohol Information Center
LMP Bldg, K of C Drive, Tagbilaran City
(038) 501-8554 / 412-2292 * email: piabohol171@yahoo.com blog: piabohol.blogspot.com
Different flowers for families
of two Bohol media men
TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, February 14, (PIA) – On love day, when the beloved get cards, chocolates and flowers, it’s a different set of flower families of two media practitioners get.
This as Bohol lost two media personalities in a day, today.
One succumbed to death after doctors tried to recuperate him from a fatal gunshot wound, and the other, after battling from a debilitating disease.
Engr. Maurito Lim, who goes by the radio air name “Chairman Mao” was on his way to board his radio program, February 14, personally driving his maroon Isuzu Crosswind, like he would every Saturday.
But, this day, before he could get off the car, at about 10:45 this morning, in front of DyRD, a gunman, who accordingly parked his motorcycle behind Lim’s car, casually walked to the driver’s side and pumped a bullet through the window and into the broadcaster’s head.
Lim was immediately rushed to the nearby Gov. Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital, where doctors attempted to revive him.
The victim sustained a through-and-through gunshot wound from his cheek and through his right ear.
Lim expired at around 1:15 PM, doctors at Gallares Hospital declared.
Lim anchors “Chairman Mao on board” over radio station DYRD, and newspaper reports said Lim has been known to criticizing local officials allegedly involved in the drug trade.
According to the Inquirer, “Lim was the 34th journalist killed under President Benigno Aquino III,” citing Dabet Panelo, NUJP media safety coordinator’s statement.
Police are now looking at the identity of the gunman, who was caught on a closed circuit television camera installed outside the radio station.
A few hours later, news on the social media spread about the death of Loreto Palapos, a local newspaper columnist, broadcaster and former president of Bohol Tri-Media Association.
Palapos holds a regular daily radio program, “Nangutana Lang” with another media aide, and anchors a program of the Bohol Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Palapos, 72, has been suffering from complications brought about by a long struggle with diabetes.
He died at The Medical City, Ortigas, according to reports from a daughter, who also asked friends to say a prayer for the departed.
“As some of you know, he has been hospitalized and has been suffering from complications of diabetes for some time now,” the daughter said. (RAC/PIABohol)
by admin | Feb 14, 2015 | Headlines
Representatives from the Bohol Information and Communications Technology Council or BICTC and the Department of Trade and Industry met with David M. Schnier, Counselor for Economic Affairs of the US Embassy of the Philippines on February 6, 2015 at the DTI conference room.
The BICTC was represented by its officers led by Chairperson Leah T. Magno while DTI was represented by DTI Provincial Director Nanette Arbon and her staff.
During the meeting, Schnier and the representatives of BICTC and DTI exchanged information and ideas related to the ICT industry in the province. Schnier expressed to hear that the province has made strides in encouraging business process outsourcing (BPO) companies to locate here.
Schnier also clarified that the US government no longer discourages companies in the US to outsource to the Philippines. He said that outsourcing helps US companies achieve their business objectives so a free flow of trade and services is ideal for both the US and the Philippines.
The meeting was part of the visit of US Ambassador H.E. Philip Goldberg to the Philippines. On February 5, USAID missions director Gloria Steele signed a memorandum of agreement with Tagbilaran City Mayor John Geesnell “Baba” Yap. The city has been selected by the US Embassy as a recipient of their Cities Development Initiative program. Tagbilaran is the only city selected in Region 7 for the program.
US Embassy Counselor for Economic Affairs David M. Schneir (middle) with the representatives from BICTC and DTI after the February 6 meeting at the DTI conference room.
