The 157 th observance of Bohol Day Friday saw the launching of unprecedented programs of the province in a fitting tribute to its never ending quest to alleviate the lives of the Boholanos. Considered as bold initiatives, the new projects reinforced the province’s thrusts for health, agriculture, environment, tourism and efficient public administration, according to Gov. Edgar Chatto. They are the countryside action program dubbed the Purok Power Movement (PPM), capacity-building for financial management of rural-based organizations, especially farm and fishery sectors, and promotion of Bohol as environmental and good governance learning destination in the country.

The latter at the same time bodes well for the province’s advancement in the so-called eco-governance (ecogov), for which Bohol and a number of component LGUs have been acclaimed. Chatto, Bohol’s 25 th governor, and Vice Gov. Concepcion Lim, the first woman in the position, led the launching which highlighted the provincehood commemoration at the Bohol Cultural Center on July 22. A day earlier in Calape, Chatto announced his plan with Rep. Rene Relampagos to acquire a bus for “mobile hospital” equipped with X-ray machine, diagnostic laboratory, medical and dental facilities and manned by competent provincial government personnel. Another highlight was the honoring of three most recent Boholano achievers, namely, University of the Philippines (UP) – Diliman chancellor Dr. Cesar Saloma, a Baclayanon; Maj. Gen. Charlie Holganza, a Tagbilaranon, of the AFP-NADESCOM for the bayanihan school building program; and Catalino Ordinario, Jr. of Antequera who is a national coconut farmer awardee.

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Sec. Gregory Domingo graced the Bohol Day, which also had DTI Reg’l. Dir. Asteria Caberte, Rep. Rene Relampagos, lawyer Lindeza Rogero-Gavino, acting director of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) – Cebu Extension Office, mayors and vice mayors, among others. Chatto explained that purok power institutes province-wide a stronger purok system for direct implementation of the province’s agricultural programs and delivery of health services. Among its components are primary health care, establishment of purok kiosks, Food Always In The Home (FAITH) and Herbal Organic Plants Enhancement (HOPE), health/nutrition and food, health and agriculture information system, and capability-building for barangay health workers (BHWs) and barangay nutrition scholars (BNSs), among others. The purok system has proved successful in health service delivery in Balilihan, the governor’s hometown, which even earned national honors like the HAMIS Award from the Department of Health (DOH) in Chatto’s time as mayor. The PPM involves different provincial and national offices, the BHW and BNS federations, campuses of the Bohol Island State University (BISU) and even the Bohol Association of Hotels, Resorts and Restaurants (BAHRR) headed by Obdulio Caturza, Jr. of JJ’s Seafood Village. In Calape before the Bohol Day, Chatto announced his plan with Relampagos to acquire a bus for “mobile hospital” equipped with X-ray machine, diagnostic laboratory, medical and dental facilities and manned by competent personne

OTHER BOLD PROGRAMS

On the other hand, the capacity-building for rural based, especially rice-based, organizations on financial management is a public-private partnership (PPP) between capitol, thru the Office of the Provincial Agriculture (OPA), and Holy Name University (HNU) under its president, Fr. Francisco Estepa, SVD, and thru its College of Business and Accountancy. HNU faculty members and students provide technical expertise in training various sectors of the rural community that involves farmers, fisherfolk, growers and seed producers, among others. Municipal LGUs assist in facilitating the series of trainings on system application and monitoring as supervised by the HNU team and key OPA personnel, said OPA chief and concurrent capitol SEEM Cluster head Liza Quirog and Acting Provincial Agriculturist Larry Pamugas. True to its launching as the country’s environmental and good governance learning destination, Bohol got parallel honor for the new title from EcoGov itself thru its deputy chief of party, Becky Paz, and regional coordinator, Elizabeth May Ybañez. Both Chatto and Relampagos, a former governor, recounted the birth of during their capitol tandem then of the vision for Bohol as a prime-eco-cultural tourism destination and a balanced agro-industrial province. Relampagos had served as governor with Chatto as vice governor from 1995 to 2001. “Like a sun, it was a vision created to rise. Unlike a sun, it was a vision that could not set at each twilight because it must shine for all times,” Chatto told the media.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

Capitol and SEC inked also on Bohol Day an agreement that enhances the Bohol Business One-Stop Shop (Bohol BOSS) while a ceremonial distribution of residential patents was done with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). Chatto led in awarding the winners of the revived Suhid sa Malampusong Mag-uumang Bol-anon, a provincewide search for best agriculture and fishery individual workers and groups. The most outstanding are Gliceria Ligtas of Alburquerque for small animal raising adopting integrated farming system; Manuel Evarito Villalon, Loon, fisherfolk-fish capture; Orlando Rivera, Carmen, coconut farming; Rosita Litub Quipit, Carmen, corn farming adopting integrated system; Cantubod Association for Rehabilitation of the Environment (CARE), Danao, small farmers’ organization; Reynaldo Quilicot, Carmen, farm family; Arsenio Alingig, Ubay, rice farming/hybrid rice farming; Guillermo Aviles, Jagna, fish culture; and Bonbon Fishermen Association, Mabini, small fishermen’s organization; Silverio Miano, Mabini, rice farming adopting integrated rice-based system; Antonio Valentos Omamalin, Carmen, organic farming; and Vicente Luminarias, high-value commercial crop farming. Designed to motivate the sector of agriculture, which is the mother of all industries, the Suhid award system was established during the Relampagos-Chatto leadership of the province. It gathered molds in the drawer of the Aumentado administration until Chatto revived it upon assuming governor in July last year. (Ven rebo Arigo)