By JUNE S. BLANCO

SUBA residents in Jao Island off Talibon town anticipate more perks with the expected first harvest of their squash plantation next month. Rep. Erico Aristotle “Aris” Aumentado visited the island anew to check on Suba's livelihood project started with P130,000 in funds he sourced from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). Finding the initial bakery business modestly booming, Aumentado poured in another P280,000, again from DOLE, for the squash plantation.Lest the islanders be accused of harboring pet kangaroos (read: sigbin) that Filipino folklore says can be sent on missions to inflict harm on the owners' enemies and which allegedly feed on squash, Aumentado clarified that he pushed for the latter project to complement the bakery project that has afforded the residents with additional income of P700 per household.

The additional earnings turned out to be minimal because the islanders had to “import” flour from the mainland. Stilll, Aumentado said, the business earned enough for the community to buy the lot they had been renting and upgrade their bakery structure from plain sawalior amakan into concrete with galvanized iron (G.I.) roofing. Witnessing the islanders' drive to alleviate their plight, Aumentado sought DOLE again for the additional funds for the squash seeds and machines that process the squash into flour, and another into noodles. This way, he said, the flour will already be produced in the island, cutting “importation” cost. Besides, given the proven qualities of squash, the bread produced will be more nutritious than that made solely from wheat flour. Meanwhile, Aumentado last week conducted consultation meetings with residents of four more barangays in three islets: Hingutanan East and Hingutanan West, Bilangbilangan Diot and Sagasa all in Bien Unido town.

Village chiefs Alex Mabalatan of Hingutanan East, Dionisio Serenio of Hingutanan West, Feliciano Padillo of Bilangbilangan Diot and Ma. Puresa Barcoma of Sagasa led their respective constituents in welcoming Aumentado and party for the consultations. Aumentado had provided the fishermen in the islets with financial assistance from DOLE for seaweeds (guso) planting materials, fishing nets, pumpboats and fish cages while the farmers received seeds and fertilizers to help them recoup after supertyphoon Yolanda lashed northern Bohol on November 8 last year. This after the solon noted that cash and in kind donations poured more into Samar, Leyte and northern Cebu that all bore the brunt of Yolanda's wrath, and to the victims of the October 15 great earthquake which affected western Bohol more. With the consultations, Aumentado said his next round of assistance will be supplemental livelihood for the women. He said he will tap DOLE again for dispersal projects of goats and native chicken – incubators for the eggs included, The project, he explained, will provide additional income and variety in the food, plus nutrition to the islanders.