The province of Bohol was once again placed in the East Asia map when it hosted the first cartography and hydrography meeting in the region held last June 26-28. The office of Gov. Edgar M. Chatto received a communication from the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA) informing him of an East Asia meeting held in Bohol, specifically Panglao. In his letter, NAMRIA Administrator Dr. Peter Tiangco informed the governor that his office, which is under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), has chosen Bohol as the venue of the three-day, June 26-June 28, First East Asia Hydrographic Commission (EAHC) Cartography and Hydrography Meeting. Several organizations and foreign delegates from Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, Korea, China, Hongkong, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines converged in the province to achieve regional cooperation between hydrographic offices, enhance hydrographic and cartographic capacities and to promote safety navigation in our seas in the East Asia Region.

However, due to Gov. Chatto’s prior commitments before he got hold of the letter, Provincial Administrator (PA) Alfonso Damalerio II instead took his place and ushered East Asian neighbors for the three-day event. PA Damalerio delivered the governor’s message to the delegates with finesse, talking of and thanking the Almighty for the abundance of our marine resources in the province, acknowledging the fact that “it falls upon us all to protect and preserve all these as our legacy for generations to come.” The Provincial Administrator shared to everyone the governor’s firm belief that “the dedication shown by the EAHC member countries will no doubt be an instrument in the sharing of best practices in the fields of cartography and hydrography, capacity building and advancement of safe navigation in the East Asia Region for the protection of our rich marine environment.” “Bohol might be a small province with more to learn about modern and advance technology but we have a very rich marine life we could talk about for a very long time; an abundant marine heritage which we intend to share with our neighbors, willing them to also share with us their technologies on how to protect all that God has lavishly bestowed upon us Boholanos,” PA Damalerio imparted to everyone with obvious pride and humble acceptance of God’s good graces.

During the three-day meeting, member nations focused their avid discussions on capacity building, protection of our marine life and the future plans which each nation intends to center on so they could converge, come together and concentrate on these areas to fully develop, but at the same time protect our seas and the resources within. As a token not only of great appreciation, but also to profusely thank the Provincial Government of Bohol as host, member nations gifted the province a huge Cartography and Hydrography Map of the Philippines, deemed “a very useful and very rich gift Bohol can have as an instrument which could forever remind us that our seas is not only a means of travel, of food, of entertainment, but more so, a very valuable gift from God which we all need to cherish and protect to preserve life,” PA Damalerio told everyone, enjoining them all to hold on dearly to God’s wonderful gift. (jlv/EDCom)