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Bohol News October 2011
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| Chocolate hills of Batuan, Carmen, and Sagbayan Bohol. When there isn't enough rain, the grass on these limestone hills turn brown. Hence, the name Chocolate hills. These hills range from 40 to 120 meters high. | |||
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Triathlon Team C’ship Series starts
- Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/84881/triathlon-team-c%E2%80%99ship-series-starts
- By: Mars G. Alison
- October 29, 2011
Some 70 triathletes will converge in Dauis, Bohol today for the 1st leg of the 3-leg Triathlon Team Championship Series which starts at 1 p.m. at the Flushing Meadows Resort and Playground.
The event is the first to be held in the Visayas. It is organized by Sugbu Triathlon which hopes to gather the country’s growing number of triathletes to generate more support for the sport.
Backing up Sugbu Triathlon are Summit Mineral Water and Concepto Primero as well as the local governments of leg venues.
The event is a team contest with each team composed of four members. They will negotiate the standard Olympic distance of 1.5 kilometer swim, 40k bike and 10k run with the winner to be determined by a point system.
Each member of the team will be given points according to their rankings. Points will be accumulated and will make up the team score.
The points that each team accumulates from the three legs will determine its overall ranking.
According to coach Benjoe Gimenez of Sugbu Triathlon, it is not mandatory for the teams to take part in all legs except that their chances of becoming the champion will be diminished as they would miss out on the points staked in each leg.
First place will get 30 points, 2nd place 25 points, 3rd place 20 points, 4th place 17 points, 5th place 16 points, 6th place 15 points and succeeding points. The 20th down to the last finisher will get one point.
Bonus points will also be given in the split rankings for the top 10 finishers.
The champion team will get P15,000 while the first and second runners-up will get P10,000 and P5,000. All three teams will also get trophies.
An individual winner will also be named per leg with P3,000 going to the 1st placer and P2,000 and P1,000 going to the 2nd and 3rd placers, respectively.
A triathlete can only qualify as a team member if he/she first registers as an individual entry.
Teams may also pre-register as many members as long as only four will play during the race itself.
A triathlete not registered during the 1st leg in barred from competing in the succeeding legs.
Aside from triathlon, an ocean man will also be held tomorrow morning.
“No time limit” regulation for return of shoddy items --DTI
- Source: http://pia.gov.ph/?m=7&r=r07&id=61620
- By: Rey Anthony H. Chiu
- October 28, 2011
TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol- Just as Consumer Act of the Philippines outlaws the “no return, no exchange policy,” the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Bohol adds there is no time limit for the return of shoddy or defective goods.
At the recent Kapihan sa PIA commemorating Consumer Consciousness Month, DTI Bohol consumer division head Jose Hibaya said the law is not specific on the time limit for return of defective items.
Change of mind or later finding out that a similar item is priced lower on the other store as a reason for change of goods however is not acceptable, he said.
The issue came just as ConsumerWatch Bohol, an outreach program of the Holy Name Alumni Association reported that they have facilitated the linking of consumers and agencies concerned over complaints of shoddy goods and imperfect services, a fact that was not as practiced then.
ConsumerWatch Bohol advocates Gloria Araneta and Neneng Corales could not contain their elation over the apparent positive effects of the advocacy to inform consumers of their rights and responsibilities.
"The bulk of calls and text messages we handle during our radio programs is telling," said Araneta of ConsumerWatch’s Timbangan’s Tuesday late afternoons weekly radio program.
ConsumerWatch gives free seminars and services to consumer groups requesting for education and information on consumer rights as well as handles a regular radio program as a half-way house for complaints and remedies for customer dissatisfaction.
It may be recalled that there was a time when sales receipts of stores and establishments bore the “no return, no exchange policy” which has deterred consumers from asserting their rights.
Since then, there has been issued prohibitions of the policy as DTI cites the implementing rues and regulations of the consumer act of the Philippines.
According to the DTI, the prohibition is aimed to correct the misconception that consumers do not have the right to return defective items.
Consumers are entitled to either exchange or refund, as long as it is proven that there has been a hidden defect in the item and that this is not caused by customer mishandling of the goods, Hibaya explained at the radio forum aired live over DyTR.
At the same radio forum, Hibaya said that while they accept consumer complaints, it is not the DTI which supervises over all the goods and services available in the market.
For complaints channeled to the DTI, Hibaya said most have been remedied through mediation, one of the most effective ways of satisfying consumers through DTI intervention.
For other tough cases, Hibaya said the DTI assures action by linking the complaints to the agency concerned within five days at most, but a day at the very least.(30)
Bohol info officer elected as president of RADIO-7
- Source: http://pia.gov.ph/?m=7&r=r07&id=60080
- By: Rizalie A. Calibo
- October 20, 2011
Bohol Province Information Officer Augustus Escobia was elected as the new president of the Regional Association of Development Information Officers in Region VII (RADIO-7) in yesterday’s election of officers during the 19th RADIO-7 Consultative Conference, October 19-21 at the South Sea Resort Hotel, Dumaguete City.
Escobia was a former employee of PIA-Bohol and now head of the EfCom of the Bohol LGU and president of the Association of United Development Information Officers (AUDIO).
Cebu Association of City and Municipal Information Officers (CAOCAMPIO) president Carlo Dugaduga was also elected as its vice-president while Ma. Elena Maniwang and Bert Jaspe of AUDIO-Bohol were elected as Secretary and Treasurer, respectively.
Silliman University’s Information Officer Mark Garcia was elected as the auditor.
RADIO-7 Board of Directors include Nitz Bangay, Joy Perez and Adrian Sedillo of the ANOPIO-Negros Oriental; Leo Enot, Pilar Cabanlas and Lydith Tan of SAID-Siquijor; Arturo Bas, Roger Paller and Filomeno Leyson of CAOCAMPIO-Cebu; and Amiela Balaba of AUDIO-Bohol.
The first day of the conference ended with the induction of the new set of officers officiated by Negros Oriental Governor Roel R. Degamo and a welcome dinner and fellowship sponsored by the provincial government of Negros Oriental and Dumaguete City government.
Bohol receives P2.8M worth of scholarship from TESDA
- Source: http://pia.gov.ph/?m=7&r=r07&id=59617
- By: PIA
- October 17, 2011
Bohol province received recently some P2.8 million worth of scholarship from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
“I am very happy with the progress we are making here in Bohol," TESDA director general Joel Villanueva said, as he assured the provincial leadership that he intends to put more resources in Bohol. "The Php2.8M is just the beginning.”
In the luncheon with the TESDA top official with TESDA regional director Rosanna Urdaneta and Provincial OIC Dr. Francisca Opog, Bohol governor Edgar Chatto and the members of the Provincial Board accepted the trophies for being the most outstanding LGU partner at the regional and national 2011 Kabalikat Awards of TESDA.
“When we are in public service, we aim to provide our best, quality service,” said Chatto as he generously thanked TESDA for the honors.
The key to success is excellence in whatever field we choose, the governor said. There are many opportunities for Tech-Voc graduates, may it be in eco-tourism, agro-industry and Information and Communications Technology (ICT), all development directions that the provincial government is pursuing, Chatto added.
With TESDA at the helm to continue to guide, inspire and motivate, the local government units and private partners will be as inspired to support the implementation of the programs of the agency, Chatto assured TESDA.
Villanueva for his part said TESDA aims to reach new frontiers in training the workforce through out-of-the-box programs.
He related recent undertakings of the department in the areas of furniture making out of confiscated illegal logs, livelihood production from water hyacinths, and electronic vehicles, among others.
Villanueva revealed that Pres. Noynoy Aquino had just given him instructions to focus more on creating employment and has guaranteed more funding for scholarships under the agency.
He also disclosed that TESDA is currently concentrating on four industries: Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), Agri-business, Semi-Conductors, and Tourism.
“With Bohol on the agenda for tourism, we at TESDA are very happy to be part of this direction,” he said.
Villanueva admitted he was not surprised at Bohol’s latest achievement as best governed province in the country, and shared that according to a study conducted by the Ateneo De Manila University, the number one problem in the country is hopelessness.
“But this afternoon, Bohol made me realize that indeed there is hope for this nation. If we all continue to work hard and press on towards the goal of bringing this nation back on its right track, we’ll be able to achieve our dreams and our goals for our country”, Villanueva added.
Philippine Tarsiers thrive in Bohol
- Source: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/337498/philippine-tarsiers-thrive-bohol
- By: PATRICIA B. ILAGAN
- October 12, 2011
The Philippine Tarsier – considered the world’s smallest primates – used to be labelled as “critically endangered” in the past many years.
Not anymore.
This was declared by tour officials at the Tarsier Conservation Area in Loboc, Bohol during the conduct of the Biological Sciences Department Bohol Trip 2011 participated by biology students of De La Salle University (DLSU)-Dasmariñas, Cavite in this paradise island recently.
Let me first give a background on Philippine Tarsiers.
They are not monkeys. They are primates — the smallest primates.
They are nocturnal mammals, meaning they sleep in the day and they’re awake at night. These small primates have really small brains and their eyes are three times bigger than their brains.
Their head is very fragile and sensitive because their craniums are open, therefore, making it soft and vulnerable.
When tarsiers are stressed, they are prone to suicide. As their way of suicide, they bang their little heads on the tree branches until they die.
During the 1960s, the Philippine tarsier are free to roam the place of Bohol and the government were very lenient to the tourists in allowing them to touch the gentle primates.
The tourists kept touching the tarsiers, squeezed them for their cuteness and took pictures of them with their camera flashes. The poor little creatures got stressed and ended up committing suicide. This was how they started to be labelled as “critically endangered.”
Now, the local government of Bohol became very strict and began protecting the tarsiers. They have been creating peaceful and safe havens for the tarsiers where tourists can look at them but they are not allowed to touch them, take pictures with flashes and not allowed to make noise.
With less stress, such policy allowed then tarsiers to live on a better environment and multiply.
Along with the Chocolate Hills, the Tarsier Conservation Area in Loboc has again placed Bohol in the world map as an environment-conscious province with the local government’s determination to preserve its resources against human abuse and exploitation.
Feature: Pilar’s stand-out legacies: Education, agri reforms
- Source: http://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=1&t=1&id=58251
- By: PIA
- October 09, 2011
PILAR Bohol– Local officials here leave two stand-out visible legacies with the potential to strategically pin Pilar as economic growth hub, just as Mayor Wilson Pajo’s last term winds down in May 2012.
But for other local leaders, the milestone infrastructure development shadows an even more beneficial treat to the people of a town that has been identified as the rice granary of Bohol.
Everybody however agrees that central to all these efforts, is Mayor Pajo who has a tight grasp of the town’s development throttles.
Faced with scarce fiscal resources, the mayor admits he has to engineer a rational spending pattern while leaving enough leverage funds for convergence projects that Bohol local government units have recently mainstreamed.
Pillar of Bohol’s Rice Production: Pilar’s Modern Rice Processing Complex
Biggest among Pilar’s key infrastructure development is the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) funded Modern Rice Processing Complex which is expected to improve domestic self-sufficiency in rice in Pilar and nearby communities as strategic rice-producing area here.
We have the largest irrigated farms in the region but without the proper post harvest facilities, there is a lot of wasted palay that should have gone to farmer savings, according to Mayor Pajo.
With the problem, the new facility enhances efficiency in the rice post-production by reducing post-harvest losses, enhancing the quality of milled rice, improving the distribution system, and maximizing rice by-products.
The project, pegged at P195 M gets a KOICA grant of P125 M while the local government of Bohol and Pilar town contributes significant amounts in the philosophy of convergence, he said.
The KOICA grant would be used to construct buildings, provide equipment and machinery, dispatch experts to provide technical advice on the project implementation as well as technical and managerial training.
Beyond that, the mayor disclosed that the Department of Agriculture has earmarked another P20M for the project Just as Pilar has put up a one hectare lot for the complex, spent for the clearing and land leveling including the putting up of drainage systems.
For Pilar Vice Mayor Wilfredo Bernante, the establishment of the modern rice complex in their town a manifestation of the government’s commitment to boost rice production and assures farmers that their government is looking for their benefit in facilitating technology that could bolster their income status.
The rice processing complex integrates state-of-the-art postharvest facilities that will provide continuous drying, storing and milling while its operation also allows buying wet paddy rice and selling high-quality milled commercial rice, Mayor Pajo added.
This too as records show that post-harvest losses in Bohol represent 14.5 percent of its total harvest, which went as high as 31,000 tons in a year.
Losses were primarily caused by insufficient drying and milling facilities, local sources revealed.
With its completion in time for the first cropping harvest next year, the facility will immediately serve postharvest and marketing needs of rice farmer-beneficiaries of the Bohol Integrated Irrigation System in the towns of Pilar, Dagohoy, San Miguel, Alicia, and Ubay.
These towns also are served by Bohol’s three large dams: Malinao, Bayongan, and Capayas.
According to the municipal agriculture office, the facility reduces postharvest losses of about 2 million metric tons per year or an estimated P22M per year.
It also reduces labor cost for efficient rice processing operation while saving 9 million pesos annually; provide additional P16,000 income for farmer-beneficiaries in patronage incentives; and increase milled rice market value.
For Pilarnons, the presence of the facility creates jobs for an estimated 300 individuals who will run the complex operations from buying to selling, said Agricultural Training Institute.
Striving to invest on human Capital: Pilar STRIVE models Bohol education reforms
Cognizant of the critical role education gives for the sustainability of its progress, Pilar took a hard look at its local priorities in education and found huge discrepancies.
There was a lot of student drop-outs. There were very few good schools. The equipments were so basic many leaders believe students, it they learn anything in school, its in a tough environment of creativity in adversity.
In the first place, Pilar’s fourth class standing merits no more than affording a little basic education fund, one barely enough to get all its students into classrooms.
We used to have students having classes in makeshift classroom from an abandoned construction warehouse, on community stages, under the trees and anywhere imaginable, shared Gualberto Jaspe, federated Parents and Teachers association president in the town.
Investments in education then came as a priority in the town as local leaders see it as a sustainable method of engaging the attitude towards learning, which may be ironically the fastest way out of poverty for our people, admits municipal social welfare officer Wichita Lagapa.
Priority project identified by the people who have been instilled into the rhythm of community driven development as an aftereffect of the Kapit Bisig laban sa Kahirapan Comprehensive Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI CIDSS) was a high school that could be a technical vocational training institute for quick employment probability of students.
From a World Bank Local Government Finance and Development (LOGOFIND), Pilar funds which would be the foundation of the education sector reform the town is bent on implementing.
Fifty percent of the amount was a grant, 35 % is a loan and 15 is equity. From it, rose a two storey school building with 22 classrooms, an Industrial Arts Building, Home Economics and a laboratory building for a more integrated training of ours students, Mayor Pajo revealed.
Besides, the classrooms came with complete facilities like teacher’s tables, desks, blackboards, laboratory equipment, he added.
But there was yet another problem, there were huge dropouts, Jaspe, who also works as the town Sanggunian secretary revealed.
Having been identified as a beneficiary of the Basic Education Social Reform Agenda (BESRA) and tapping DepEd and an Australian assistance, Pilar picked up the stride for Strengthening Implementation of Visayas Education (STRIVE)
The ultimate goal for the town was to reach out to drop-outs, reduce the casualties and retrieve those out-of school youth to get them back into the mainstream or offer a special program for the accreditation and equivalency benefits.
In their investigations, many drop-outs are caused by distance from school to homes, low family income to allow transportation allowances, financial incapacity and several other minor reasons, Pilarnons sought solutions.
Finding a possible fund source in Support Options for Basic Education (SOBE), Pilar funded Sagip Bahay Eskwela, an 80 bedroom dormitory that charges minimal pay for boarders and prioritizes indigent students from far out barangays, Jaspe said.
The fund also allowed the student boarders to tend a demonstration farm as an income generating project for their daily sustenance.
Other stand out programs for educational reforms here include a Food Laboratory for student food technology and entrepreneurial skills training, an electronic tracking system for students at risk of dropping out, purchase of learning equipment like multi-media and the stand-out project Reading Remediation: A Sing Along System option for practice reading for slow readers.
Bohol rice yield increase by 10%, says DA-APC
- Source: http://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=1&t=1&id=58198
- By: Rey Anthony Chiu
- October 08, 2011
TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol– Take it from the local experts.
National data may rate Bohol’s average rice yield an average per hectare basis but local authorities have seen a 9.5 to 10 percent increase its recorded average yield from January to June this year compared to the previous cropping.
According to the records from the Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Promotion Center (DA-APC) in comparison to January to June in 2010, they have noted the promising increase to 2.58 tons per hectare over-all Bohol average yield.
Even then, this has pegged an over-all rice sufficiency level of 112-115 percent.
This means that the total rice production here is more than enough for Boholanos even if we have groups in the private sector who involve themselves in rice trading outside Bohol, says Liza Quirog.
Citing data from the DA, the provincial agriculturist also added almost 70% of the total production of Central Visayas is in Bohol.
The problem however is that there is still a considerably low average harvest yield on a per hectare computation in Bohol compared to other provinces.
To that, the office of the Provincial Agriculture, through its assistant provincial agriculturist accounts the larger rain-fed areas which are much dependent on the rain and spring sources than those which are irrigated.
Larry Pamugas cited that only around 47% or our total rice area is irrigated while 53% are rainfed.
Data shows that Bohol has 22,098 hectares of irrigated lands under National Irrigation Authority (NIA) control while 25, 280 hectares are rainfed.
Sources also disclosed that while irrigated farms are assured of a year round cropping, rain-fed lots would be dependent on the rains that come so that some of these farms would only get a single cropping on a year.
Over this, NIA has recommended that the general direction on irrigation in Bohol would focus on Small Farm Reservoir systems, small water impounding, pump irrigations and small concrete diversion dams, which are targeted for rain-fed areas.
Accessed through grants, these smaller reservoir projects are more economical and effective, costs much less and has a high impact as it reaches far flung areas, explains Engr. Eugene Cahiles.
The agriculture authorities here however said much could still be done to hit a 2.74 tons per hectare target within the next few croppings.