By JUNE S. BLANCO
JANUARY 7 will forever be etched in the minds of the over 700 households in the three-barangay island of Mahanay off Getafe and Talibon towns.
This after Rep. Erico Aristotle Aumentado (Bohol, 2nd District) yesterday powered on the ceremonial switch for the P30-million energization project for the island. Engr. Eugene Tan, manager of the Bohol II Electric Cooperative Inc. (Boheco II) assisted him.
In his switch-on message, Aumentado waxed sentimental as he declared the fulfillment of the promise his namesake father and immediate congressional predecessor, former Gov. Erico Boyles Aumentado, made to the islanders.
Patterned after the Leyte-Bohol Interconnection project, Mahanay taps power from mainland Bohol through submarine cables.
The National Electrification Administration (NEA through then Administrator Edita Bueno downloaded the amount to Boheco II that undertook the bidding process for the cable and installed it, along with the electric poles, power main and lateral lines. Boheco II will manage the power distribution to the households as well.
The elder Aumentado had broached the energization plan for the 2nd District’s 35 islands and islets to Bueno. With the technology already available, it did not take him long to convince her.
However, death overtook him on Christmas Day of 2012, and in the midst of his campaign for reelection as congressman. He was into his first term on his second stint. Before that, he completed an unprecedented three terms as governor of Bohol. Prior to that, he was congressman also for three terms.
Aumentado, the son, picked up the pieces where his father left off. In 2015, his own first term as congressman, he brought to Mahanay the members of the board of Boheco II to answer questions on the technical side from the islanders.
“I promised them that i will give my best to bring in more hope in life by giving the light that will improve the standard of living of my constituents in the island,” he said.
“I would also like to thank Administrator Bueno for the support and for understanding the burning desire of the more than 700 households who are beneficiaries of the energization project,” he added.
He said the islanders will finally experience the “normal life” experienced and even taken for granted by mainland residents – lights at night, ice cold water and beverages, television, electric fan, and above all, refrigerators and ice to keep their fish catch fresh.
To note, islanders used to sell their catch cheap. With no cold storage, refrigerators or at least ice, their fish are vulnerable to spoilage. Cooking them all in one batch is impractical. The only other option is salting and/or drying them – which cannot be done in rainy, even stormy weather.
He thanked the Almighty for making him an instrument to uplift the lives of the needy, and Getafe Mayor Casey Shaun Camacho and Talibon Mayor Restituto Auxtero for the support.
As was in the elder Aumentado’s plan, top in NEA’s and Boheco’s list after Mahanay is Banacon island – through overhead towers. Six other island barangays are in the energization list soon, with solar power.
NEA has inventoried the powerless islands. Those not yet up for sub-marine cables or solar power like Pandanon island will be enrolled in the Small Power Utilities Group (SPUG) that will provide a generator that will run for limited periods, like four to six hours only each night.
Energization of the islands and islets adds the latest rider to the family brand or tagline – Basta Aumentado, isla “siga”-rado (With Aumentado, islands are alight).