by magnolia_eic | Jul 5, 2010 | Local News / Bohol Balita
POLITICS barely affect the community life tours, says Abatan River Development and Management Council (ARDMC).
New leaderships or any wayward development plans along the Abatan river is decided by not just one but a council, and that consultative forum does not threaten the operation of the tours, agree both erstwhile and present council chairs and former Maribojoc Mayor Gavino Redulla and current re-elected Catigbian Mayor Roberto Salinas.
Mayor Salinas said even with new leaders elected for Antequera and Balilihan, the new-comers are not new to the program as they have been a part of the widespread participatory planning process, which laid the ground-works for the new eco-tourism product.
Former Mayor Gavino Redulla, who used to head the council also said that they were careful that the product development, that is, that the community life tours undergo participatory planning sessions from communities in five towns to make sure everybody knows what they are into.
Speaking at the recent Kapihan sa PIA which tackled the newly launched community life tours of Abatan River towns as ecotourism development strategy to sustainably manage the river resource, both council leaders believe newly leaders are generally familiar with the activities and the Abatan River development master plan.
Balilihan’s new mayor, Dominisio Chatto was then vice mayor, while Antequera’s Mario Pahang also sat as the town vice mayor during the product development stage.
Cortes Mayor Apolinaria Balistoy, Maribojoc Mayor Leoncio Evasco Jr and Catigbian’s Mayor Salinas have retained their seats and would continue so in the next three years, at least.
Often regarded by many as a competition for the already famous Loboc River Cruises, the Abatan Community Life Tours is an entirely different experience, stresses Governor-elect Edgar Chatto, whose congressional funds then helped finance the endeavor.
The community life tour as managed by the beneficiary towns showcases aside from the often misunderstood mangrove ecosystems, the communities living about in their usual daily rituals, Redulla said.
Starting from the main community village center in Cortes, the tour takes one to some five major stops, all in riverside communities of Abatan-Lincod, Santo Rosario, Kawasan Falls and Catigbian’s Dagook Falls.
The tour also includes artistic and cultural presentations showcasing rituals of Wadji, nipa mangrove livelihood activities, basket-weaving and home industries, rural community immersions in Balilihan and Catigbian as well as a package of innovations in governance.
Interested tourists can drop by at the Abatan Main village center at national Highway in Junction Cortes and book a trip. (PIA-Bohol)
by magnolia_eic | Jun 28, 2010 | Local News / Bohol Balita
SO many things to do, so little time.
Forty-eight hours away from walking out of the palace, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo still had her hands full.
In a brief visit to Bohol after leap-frogging from Manila to Ilo-ilo and then to Ubay, Bohol, the working president still needs to let people know that the government is not just coasting to a stop until the next administration picks up the speed.
With time running short and still instilling the government’s dream for Bohol, PGMA used two persons’ help.
Instead of speaking the benefits of the rehabilitated Ubay Roll-On Roll Off (RORO) Port in Bohol’s northeastern side, a construction worker and a businessman did it for her.
William Tadle, a heavy equipment operator of the construction company rehabilitating the P364M port said he had fed his family and found the work he needed to get through life decently.
Ubay port construction phase 1 was done when the country suffered from fiscal scrimp brought about by collapsing world economies in early 2009.
The project, contributed immensely to the government’s comprehensive livelihood and emergency employment program by allowing local employment, said Ubay town information Officer Virginia Dupa.
Tadle and many other workers constructed the port back up area, reinforced concrete pier, roll on roll off ramp, dredging and disposal, port mooring and fendering systems installation and port lighting facilities installation.
In fact, even after phase I, Tadle was still hired to lend heavy equipment support for the construction of additional back up area and thus make a 1.7 hectares more of port working area, according to Marra Builders, the winning bidder for the mega infrastructure project.
On the other hand, Ruben Hamili, a Cebu based agri food supplier said the port helped in getting their hog-lines and poultry feeds supply in time to their outlets in Bohol.
Then, the shipment of stocks from Cebu to their outlets in Bohol takes about four to five days, now its two days or even overnight, assuring their customers of the freshest products, he said in Cebuano in front of the President and some crowd of 3,000.
With the construction of a wider back-up cargo storage areas, businessmen like Ruben Hamili now have the option to transport goods right at their customers doorsteps or have them stocked at the port storage areas to cut on transport costs, says a project media briefer.
The Philippine Ports Authority funds Ubay Port, a component of the country’s Strong Republic Nautical Highways and makes travel by goods and people across the islands fast and affordable while allowing the growth of local tourism.
Ubay Port serves RoRo vessels plying the Ubay-Hilongos, Ubay-Maasin and Ubay-Bato routes, while it opens the possibility of Ubay-Dinagat, Ubay-Nasipit and Ubay-Baybay.
The President, who was not expected to speak in Ubay engagement, gamely took the microphone and asked the two guys to tell the people their stories.
Going out of the palace on Wednesday bearing a stain of criticism for corruption, records would show that the Arroyo Administration has built more that two pervious administrations combined, states Ganito Tayo Noon material printed in major national dailies late last year. (PIA-Bohol)
by magnolia_eic | Jun 25, 2010 | Local News / Bohol Balita
SI Vice President-elect Jejomar Binay dili na interesado sa bisan unsang Cabinet posisyon sa mosunod nga administrasyon, apan ni ingon siya nga iya gihapong suportahan si President-elect Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III inig sugod sa ilang pangatungdanan sa Hunyo 30.
Matud pa sa media affairs officer ni Binay nga si Joey Salgado, ang duha nagkita niadtong Miyerkoles atol sa duha ka oras nga meeting sa panimalay ni Aquino sa Times Street, Quezon City, diin gipadayag ni Binay ang iyang hukom nga dili na kini interesado sa bisan unsang Cabinet position aron dili na makasamok sa Presidente ug tugotan kini nga maka focus sa daghang mga hagit nga giatubang sa nasud.
Usa ka reliable source gikan sa kampo ni Aquino ang nagkanayon nga si Binay gitanyagan og posisyon apan ang outgoing Makati mayor nibalibad ug nipadayag hinuon sa iyang suporta kang Aquino. Wala hinuon gibutyag sa tinubdan kon unsang posisyon ang gitanyag kang Binay.
Daan nang nipadayag si Binay nga gusto niyang mamahimong kalihim sa Department of Interior and Local Government kon DILG, apan si Aquino nagduhaduha sa paghatag sa maong posisyon kang Binay. (PIA-Bohol)
by magnolia_eic | Jun 19, 2010 | Local News / Bohol Balita
STRUGGLING through bad publicity thrown in its way into the homestretch, the Provincial and Municipal Coordinating Council for Clean, Honest and Peaceful Elections (CCCHOPE), emerged fairly unscathed to peg their aim of a successful election.
No less than the Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) acknowledged this during the recent joint meeting held at the Bohol Tropics, June 14.
Council Chairman Governor Erico Aumentado and Interior and Local Government Provincial Director Rustical Mascarinas joined in handing out awards of recognition for each of Bohol’s 47 town mayors and Tagbilaran city, including their local government operations officers for leading local councils to ensure the conduct of free, clean, honest and peaceful elections.
Also receiving recognitions were town police chiefs and their stations, as well as the integral units of the army, for their relentless drive in ensuring that people go out to vote freely without intimidation by pressure groups.
It may be recalled that political camps accused the Provincial and municipal CCHOPE of bias in as much as they believed PPOC organized council was a brainchild of the governor, who will be throwing his hat in the second district.
Immediately after the establishment of the PCCCHOPE and the succeeding town coordinating councils, several news items made their way to the news.
Majority of them accuse police of harassment, especially in the towns placed by the Commission on Elections under its watch-list.
Several groups assumes that the scheduled police augmentation which came on the eve of the establishment of the PCCHOPE indicate that the governor had a hand in pulling more police units in.
Earlier, there were reports of armed men believed to be groups roaming in Bohol’s second district.
Not any moment later, at the exchange of accusations of bias and using position to advance political motives, Boholanos were shocked at the eventual relief of police provincial director Anthony Obenza.
PSSupt. Obenza, who has his roots in Talibon Bohol could not warm his seat as provincial police director before his relief came into effect. He was an Aumentado appointee.
But even with the damaging accusations besmirching the credibility of the PPOC organized council, elections, according to police and military assessments run peacefully and added that the objectives of the CCHOPE were generally attained. (PIA-Bohol)
by magnolia_eic | Jun 19, 2010 | Local News / Bohol Balita
INITIAL steps in placating the development of the Loboc River as a potential source of processed water for Bohol’s thirsty towns tentatively shuffled as Mayor Leon Calipusan proposed the resource based project for endorsement.
At the joint meeting of the Provincial Development Council and three more Bohol key groups, Calipusan pushed for the endorsement of a project he called the Loboc Water Supply Development project.
Citing the current need for potable water to enhance Bohol’s tourism potential, Calipusan went on to say that the excess water in his town could actually be tapped for domestic, commercial or industrial purposes.
The Loboc river flows at a staggering rate of 56,355 cubic meters a day, the mayor said implying that aside from its being the channel for the famous river cruises, the river could also add up to the town’s fiscal resources when used judiciously.
He argued that developing the river resource would ensure sustainable bulk supply of processed water for Loboc and nearby towns as well as elevate the sanitation levels of the watershed areas.
Loboc’s successful endorsement for the project officially puts up the proposal on the showcase for interested organizations with a potable water supply in its investment portfolio.
While not necessarily saying that the LGU would own the project, the mayor of the tourism town made famous by its river cruises and singing groups, implied that interested groups can now start opening up their funding and development proposals for the river resource.
Observers also said that Mayor Calipusan’s projected project amount is appropriate as the project could operate on a funding somewhere in the vicinity of P800M.
Installation of mainlines, reservoirs and a water processing plant would ensure that the operators would store adequate supply for distribution to its consumers.
Asked as to the mode of the project implementation, Calipusan said his local government is presenting three options: LGU operated utility, an open–access mode where outside investors are invited to invest of any other option subject to the agreements entered into by the local government and the project proponents. (PIA-Bohol)
by magnolia_eic | Jun 17, 2010 | Local News / Bohol Balita
BY all indications, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo could be personally visiting Ubay Bohol this June 24 to launch the P500M port development project there.
The President, whom Governor Erico Aumentado calls Bohol’s greatest patron for the infrastructure support implemented during her nine-year tem would finish her help to Bohol with the inauguration of the Ubay Port.
The port development, identified by local officials as another gateway to showcase Bohol’s eco-cultural tourism and agro-industry potential, is also a component of the Administration’s Strong Republic Nautical Highway (SRNH).
With the archipelagic nature of the country, the government has decided to implement an intricate network of Roll-On-Roll Off system of ports to cut on the transport and handling costs of goods and services.
Ubay Port in Bohol, connects to Maasin and Bato in Leyte province towards Luzon or Mindanao and to Cebu City though regular slow boat and ferry services.
The opening of the port signals the dawning of countless opportunities for Ubayanons and those in the nearby cluster of towns who may feel the ripples of business opportunities arriving in the region. (PIA-Bohol)
