By JUNE S. BLANCO

MALINGIN Island off Bien Unido town and 22 other far-flung barangays in Bohol's 2nd District stand to be fully energized with an allocation from the National Electrification Administration (NEA). In a letter to Rep. Erico Aristotle Aumentado, NEA Administrator Edita Bueno assured him that her office has P33.5 million to support his energization program. While all towns in Bohol are already fully energized, some islands, islets and mountain barangays in the mainland do not enjoy power yet because these are considered missionary electrification being “out of the way” and requiring large capital outlay for infrastructure. Aumentado however still wants to energize these barangays in order to facilitate the economic uplift of the barangay folks like the fishing community of Malingin.

He said bringing electricity to the island will allow government to establish a post-catch facility to preserve excess catch and not force the fisher folks to sell at a low price otherwise these will go to waste. Minimal sales will not allow them to live better lives, he explained. Energization used to be a tripartite endeavor of NEA that provided funds and technical assistance, the Bohol Electric Cooperative (Boheco) that provided the infrastructure and also technical assistance, and the solon's father and namesake-predecessor, Rep. Erico Boyles Aumentado who provided counterpart funding from his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF). The PDAF has since been scrapped so that the younger solon now depends on the budget of concerned departments for his pet projects.

Once energized, Aumentado said, Malingin can push for the construction of a cold storage plant to keep their excess catch – and prices. Energization will also allow the sprouting of micro-businesses, he added. The solon said there can be no development unless the basic infrastructures are put in place. Entrepreneurs will need power to run their businesses and machines. Students will find studying at night difficult due to the absence of power. When they cannot study, he said, there is a big likelihood that they will drop out from school. To recall, Aumentado – and his father before him – had distributed computers and monitors to all high schools and the barangays in the second district. But the teachers and students cannot use them without electricity.  Meanwhile, Aumentado distributed pumpboats and fishnets to fisherfolks in the island barangays to support their livelihood after they were devastated by typhoon Yolanda. The officials of these barangays expressed gratitude to Aumentado for his support after the typhoon rendered them jobless when their bancas capsized and their fishnets were washed away by strong waves. The solon had tapped the Department of Labor and Employment to fund the pumpboat and fishnet projects.