Pres. Benigno S. Aquino III will visit Bohol tomorrow for the fourth time since the epic earthquake, drawing more than love and respect from Boholanos for being a hands-on Philippine leader to them in fall and rise, according to Gov. Edgar Chatto yesterday. Expectedly, he will personally assess the massive recovery of the province which is underway by multiple cluster tasking for harmonious execution, systematic stages and sure gains of strong resolve and hardwork. Aquino will primarily stay in Loon upon arrival in Bohol from Davao in mid-afternoon tomorrow where he will have rehabilitation site inspections and a multi-sectoral dialogue. The governor will update the president of the rehabilitation process and probably newly-emerging related activities that require support. The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) already downloaded P456 million or half of the Aquino administration's P912 million commitment thru the said agency alone for quake victim's shelter, according to Liza Quirog of the capitol recovery coordination center.

The president will also release cash-for-work payment. Chatto, Vice Gov. Concepcion Lim and other Bohol leaders, including Rep. Rene Relampagos on whose district and town of Loon Aquino is setting foot anew, will meet and join the president in the company of select cabinet men. Reports until yesterday named Presidential Communications Sec. Herminio Coloma, Department of Interior and Local Government) DILG) Sec. Mar Roxas and Department of Health (DOH) Sec. Enrique Ona accompanying Aquino. The president will inspect in Loon a relocation bunkhouse for homeless quake victims, the damaged district hospital managed by the provincial government and its new relocation structure as well as the modular hospital facility, which is Singaporean-assisted. Reports said some worst quake victims—and Boholano supertyphoon Yolanda victims who have gone home on Bohol government intervention—would like to directly tell and thank the president at the forum in the hospital area how they have been able to rebuild their lives.

Bohol's post-quake emergency response and quick recovery strategies have been seen as a model, although a humble Chatto would always cite the president's supreme concern for the Boholanos in adversity. The dialogue will also be attended by partner humanitarian groups, both international and domestic, who will display materials informative of rehabilitation works in which they have been involved. The president will likewise be joined by the governor to Cabilao island, still a part of Loon, for an energization switch-on rite with the Boheco I. Aquino will fly to Cebu where he will stay overnight for an EDSA Revolution reenactment activity there the following morning before he proceeds to Guiuan, Samar, one of the areas that tested worst Yolanda's scorn. His fourth Bohol visit—and second in Loon where he had slept inside a tent on an open ground then yet experiencing major aftershocks—since the October 15 quake is his first this year. Boholanos regard the president's warm presence tomorrow as a belated gift, too, to the Bohol governor who marked his 54th birthday on Friday. Both Aquino and Chatto were born in February, suggesting why, according to some sectors in Bohol, they appear identical in their focused leaderships commonly redefined and defined by calamities of record might.

EDSA CELEBRATION OUTSIDE MANILA

Malacanang is not pushing through in holding the 28th anniversary celebration of the EDSA People Power Revolution on February 25 at the Palace grounds and the President will instead visit calamity affected areas. In a statement, Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio “Sonny” Coloma Jr. said the President met Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa last Monday and conveyed his decision to revisit calamity areas before he leaves for his official visit to Malaysia on 27-28 February. “Considering that the theme for this year's celebration is ‘Kapit-Bisig Tungo sa Pagbangon', the President said it was important to rally the people in the calamity-affected areas to rekindle the spirit of EDSA People Power in building back better communities,” Coloma said. Coloma said that the traditional “Salubungan” or commemoration of the meeting between the civilian and military participants of EDSA People Power will be held on Tuesday morning at the Cebu provincial capitol grounds. Cebu was chosen as venue because the province was the bulwark of the opposition to the dictatorship during the martial law regime. It was in Cebu City where Mrs. Corazon Aquino was staying when the military broke ranks from President Marcos on February 22, 1986. The President also plans to revisit Leyte and Eastern Samar to see the progress of government's recovery and rehabilitation efforts there. He may also visit Bohol which was devastated by an earthquake last October, Coloma said. The President may also proceed to Davao Oriental to assess reconstruction works following the devastation of super-typhoon Pablo in December 2011, he added. The EDSA People Power Commission (EPPC) will issue the final program of events for the EDSA anniversary commemoration. (Ven rebo Arigo with reports from PNA)