Today until the Sunday before election we will run a series on the gubernatorial candidates for the Province of Bohol hoping The Agora can help shape an informed decision among our voters on Election Day. As I said in the previous columns, the people want to know from the candidates themselves why they should vote for these candidates; they want to know the extent of the candidates’ commitments; and they want to know the size and leanings of the candidates’ heart. I fielded five (5) basic questions that I feel are enough to get the information that the people want. And for this first series, The Agora is giving the floor first to Gov. Edgar Chatto being the incumbent.

The Agora (TA): Why should the electorate still vote for you? You have been described as physically hindered from effectively performing the functions of the Governor after your accident.

Edgar M. Chatto (EMC): As the elected Governor of the province, I humbly say that our administration’s accomplishments speak for themselves. These accomplishments are widely known, but let me cite a few for purposes of illustration: the fact that Bohol has ranked FIRST in the Local Governance Performance Management System (LGPMS) of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) for TWO CONSECUTIVE YEARS, thus establishing a reputation as the “Best-Governed Province” in the country.

Also, there are numerous awards for our local governance and our innovative frontline service delivery programs, some of which are: the Galing Pook Award, the Seal of Good Housekeeping, and the Gawad Pamana ng Lahi. Most recently, we were given the Gawad Paglilingkod sa Sambayanan (GAPAS) Award, in recognition of our social welfare and development programs.

Of course, we are not just banking on the awards that we have earned, but we continually reach out to our constituents in every way possible. Our HEAT Bohol Caravan (HEAT stands for Health and Sanitation, Education and Technology, Agriculture and Food Security, and Tourism and Livelihood) is a never-before-seen service delivery initiative, conducted throughout the Province of Bohol, delivering a comprehensive range of government and even private sector services directly to the Boholano constituents, with special attention to poor and far-flung municipalities. Can the critics of the PGBh leadership mention any previous program that has had the same reach, immediacy, visibility and regularity? No, because there has never been any program like it in the past.

One of the most recent accomplishments which we are proud to report is that this year, it was the Province of Bohol alone which saved the agricultural productivity of the whole of Region VII. Despite the drought last year, we experienced a positive growth in our rice production of 2.7%, which offset the negative figures from the three other provinces in the region, and thus resulted in a net positive growth for the entire region of 1.2%. And this positive trend is being sustained. Comparative agricultural production data show that, during the 1st quarter of 2013, reckoned against the same period of 2012, our rice production increased by 13.14%, which has given us an unprecedented production of 77,597 metric tons!

Our leadership has been marked by these accomplishments and many more, and we firmly believe that our track record can speak for itself.

On the aspect of physical disability, let me make it clear: physical disability has never been a hindrance to great leaders. One obvious example that comes to mind is US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was paralyzed from the waist down after a bout of polio. But that (merely physical) disability did not prevent him from becoming one of the greatest US Presidents, one who was repeatedly re-elected, and served an unprecedented total of FOUR terms.

That is, of course, to dispel the notion that physical disability poses a hindrance to leadership ability. On the other hand, I would like to make it clear that the unfortunate accident which occurred on New Year’s Day cause only a temporary condition, from which I was able to make a quick recovery, thanks to the grace of God. A mere two weeks after the accident, I was already back at work, and have been constantly working for an uninterrupted period since then.

TA: What factor is crucial in winning this election?

EMC: TRUST of the electorate in the candidate, I think, is the most important factor in seeking election or re-election. For new candidates, they have to establish that they are worthy of the positions they are seeking. Do they have the proven capability and track record (whether inside or outside of the political arena), to earn the trust of the Boholano electorate, that they can lead the entire province of Bohol, and lead it well? For candidates seeking re-election, have they shown themselves to be good leaders in their previous terms? Have they delivered the services that they promised, notably infrastructure and basic services? These are questions that every candidate must answer.

TA: What in your view are the three big problems that Bohol and the Boholanos are facing today that must be given the attention of the Governor?

EMC: I choose to use the word “challenges” – the three most important challenges facing Bohol and Boholanos today are: poverty, infrastructure (notably roads), and sustainable development. Poverty, because Bohol has historically figured among the poorest provinces in the country, according to data from the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB). From the start of our term, we have maintained a focus on poverty reduction by enabling socially-inclusive economic development, through our numerous livelihood, employment and entrepreneurship programs. This is also the reason why we have implemented the HEAT Bohol Development Agenda, because we are addressing the problem from a multi-faceted approach: Health and Sanitation, Education and Technology, Agriculture and Food Security, and Tourism and Livelihood. Infrastructure remains another major challenge. Of course, this includes basic infrastructure such as roads, to enhance access and connectivity throughout the province. There are also other major infrastructure needs, such as power and water supply, which should be addressed in the next few years, to ensure that the fast-growing trend of development in Bohol is not stunted by the inadequacy of basic infrastructure.

Sustainable development is the third challenge, in particular regard to the need to manage our environment well, in light of economic development, notably through the influx of tourists and major investments, and amid major infrastructure projects such as the New Bohol Airport and others. Sustainable development, by definition, includes sustainable agriculture, to ensure the continued productivity of our agricultural lands. Tied in to all this is the need to be Climate Change Adaptive and Disaster-prepared, aware as we are of the extreme climatic events that have occurred around the world and in the Philippines. Sustainable development also includes our continuing responsibility to look after the peace and order situation of our province, a focus that we have always kept and will continue to keep, with the assistance of the Provincial Peace and Order Council and its member agencies tasked with this mandate.

TA: The people have seen your first three years, they would want to know what their lives will be in the next 3 years of your second term. What changes will Bohol and the Boholanos see during the first year of your second term? The 2nd year? The 3rd year?

EMC: I think we need to distinguish between what needs to change, and what needs to be sustained. In our first term, we have established several ‘best-practice’ programs and projects that deserve to be sustained and even expanded: programs like the HEAT Bohol Caravan, the Purok Power Movement (PPM), Bahay Kubo FAITH, HOPE and CHARITY project, and many others. Of course, we also have to implement new projects that can facilitate socially-inclusive economic development, and therefore reduce poverty incidence in the province. I have already given a hint of our future direction during the recent Gubernatorial Candidates Forum. On top of our HEAT Bohol Agenda, we will vigorously pursue Information Technology as a means of enabling livelihood and employment, and our updated development catchphrase is now: HEAT-IT Bohol! We will continue to look after the province’s peace and order, because although we can safely say that insurgency is behind us, we need to ensure that the threat of its resurgence is kept at bay. Also, we need to guard against criminality as a result of urbanization. Towards this end, we continue to strengthen our partnership with the police forces, and to tap citizen participation. We will ensure the realization of major forthcoming infrastructure projects: the New Bohol Airport, the Albur Sanitary Landfill, the Upgrading of the Malinao Dam and other Small Reservoir Irrigation Projects (SRIPs), bulk water supply and power generation, the modernization of our Provincial Hospitals (which is already being started, even as we speak) and the construction of the Gov. Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital in a new location in Cortes, and the concreting of major interior roads.

In short, alongside our continued social service delivery initiatives and economic development strategies, we will also ensure the provision of Bohol’s most necessary and basic infrastructure.

TA: What is your cutting edge over Mayor Che Toribio de los Reyes and the two other candidates for Governor?

EMC: Modesty aside, we proffer our academic training and extensive experience in a wide variety of governance positions, ranging from local, national, to international scope, having been part of several multi-country exchanges in governance. Our dedication and passion for service has been sustained, from our first foray into public service as a youth leader, until the present day. Again, modesty aside, our awards for public service, such as the Lingkod Bayan and Dangal ng Bayan awards, which were conferred by the Civil Service Commission, Commission on Audit, and the Office of the Ombudsman stand as a collective testimony of our service to the Boholanos. Of course, we also reiterate what we said earlier, that the accomplishments and the track record we have established during our leadership speak for themselves. We submit that the rest is up to the Boholano people. There you are my dear readers. Gov. Chatto has responded candidly to our questions. Be the judge of his person, character and competence. There are as many questions as there are those in your minds but we cannot have them all answered here today. We thank him for responding to our questions. Next issue we will have Mayor Che Toribio de los Reyes reveal her true self to you.