Inabanga gets medicines from CFTC

INABANGA – The Rural Health Unit (RHU) here Monday became the latest beneficiary of medicines from the Canadian Feed the Children (CFTC). Dr. Mae Lilibeth Melicor, municipal health officer (MHO) and nurse Marlyn Melecio inventoried the medicines along with FTC-Philippines representatives Lou Coluyan and Leo Ardon who urged the local officials to maximize the use of the medicines. Mayor Josephine Socorro Jumamoy assured them that the medicines will primarily be prescribed and distributed to the less fortunate constituents. She also thanked CFTC for the partnership that contributed to the success of the different programs and services of the LGU. The medicines included amoxicilin, benzathine, cotrimoxazole, doxycycline, albendazole, mebendazole, paracetamol and some oral rehydration salts.

Inabanga gets rice threshers

INABANGA – This town is the proud owner of 25 brand new rice threshers from the Department of Agriculture (DA) Regional Office through Engr. Eugene Cahiles, project manager of the Agriculture Promotion Center (APC) in Tagbilaran City. Engr. Efren Añora of APC Tuesday delivered the threshers that Municipal Agriculture Officer (MAO) Leocadio Torregosa and Secretary to the Mayor Jovenal Jumamoy received. Torregosa expressed gratitude for the grant. He said the threshers will hasten the rice harvesting and storing process. Mayor Josephine Socorro Jumamoy also thanked DA. She said the threshers will help sustain the agricultural programs of the town. She then instructed Torregosa to remind the recipients of the thresher to maximize their usage and maintain their upkeep.

Mayor Jumamoy delivers country's first ever SODA

INABANGA – Mayor Josephine Socorro Jumamoy Wednesday delivered her State of the Dagat Address (SODA) – the first ever in the country. The address presented what the town's partnership with the Marine Aquarium Council (MAC), Reef Check (RC) and Conservation and Community Investment Forum (CCIF) has done to preserve, conserve, protect and manage the marine and coastal resources, what it is currently doing and what remains to be done. Sangguniang Bayan (SB) member Jovanna Jumamoy welcomed the participants to the event. The SODA, she explained, intends to fire up the Inabangnons in sustaining the good that has been done and to challenge them to sustain the partnerships as well to attain development and progress. “If President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has her State of the Nation Address [SONA], Inabanga has the SODA,” the mayor started her presentation. Aside from appraising the Inabangnons on the accomplishments of the Coastal Resource Management (CRM) in terms of status of the resources and its effect or impact on the lives of marginal fishers, the SODA also aimed to set an example of best practices for other LGUs to emulate, and to raise the level of awareness of all the constituents particularly the youth who will eventually be the successor of today's leaders of society, in the need to protect and conserve marine and coastal resources. The SODA emphasized that community participation plays an important role in making any local endeavor a success. It also presented CRM plans for the next five years starting 2006 to 2010.

Mayor Jumamoy revealed that her administration's continuous efforts in conserving and preserving the coastal and marine resources ushered in many positive changes, among them the increase of CRM-related revenues to P1,286,563.22 in 2006 from P91,347.00 in 2004 and P669,558.00 in 2005. The holistic efforts also resulted in the town's accreditation on Ecosystem and Fishery Management (EFM) and Collection, Fishing and Holding (CCH) as certified by MAC. The EFM certification signifies that the collection sites of ornamental fishes of Inabanga does not just have abundant number of fish but qualifies in the international standard of a high quality fish collection site where Marine Protected Areas management is institutionalized. The CCH certification acknowledges the Hambongan fish collectors' proper and standardized way of collecting and handling ornamental fish that made them more credible to their customers and making their ornamental fish species world-class and globally competitive. Mayor Jumamoy expressed elation over the certification as it spells additional livelihood for her constituents. She thanked MAC, CCIF and Reef Check of the Marine Aquarium Market Transformation Initiative (MAMTI) Project for the partnership that catalyzed the attainment of the certification. She said the SODA will become part of the legacy of her administration – a legacy of the LGU's social accountability and responsibility to its constituents and a legacy of best practice in CRM. For his part, Vice Governor Julius Caesar Herrera congratulated the Jumamoy administration for the contribution to improve the quality life of her constituents. He also acknowledged the contribution of Mayor Jumamoy in putting Inabanga in the map not only in Bohol but also in the entire Philippines . He acknowledged Jumamoy's contribution to the success of Bohol . Over 1,000 participants from partner agencies namely the BFAR, officials of the 50 barangays, and students and teachers of the Saint Paul's Academy, Inabanga High School, Southern Inabanga high School and San Jose High School. Also present were United States Agency for international Development (USAID) Controller Homi Jampshed, BFAR Regional Director Andres Bojos, Bohol Environment Management Office (BEMO) head Renato Villaber, Mayors Theresa Camacho and Elsa Tirol of Getafe and Buenavista, respectively, and Board Members Ma Fe Camacho-Lejos and Amalia Tirol.

Jaro CSWDO people look at Inabanga's Day Care implementation

INABANGA – Over 20 day care workers (DCWs) from Jaro, Iloilo City last week visited this town to observe the implementation of the day care program and other social welfare interventions here. Iloilo City Social Welfare and Development Officer (CSWDO) Regine Salmon led the DCWs who stayed Wednesday to Friday to see the town's Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) resource center, the day care centers (DCCs) and to learn about the ECCD initiatives and how Mayor Josephine Socorro Jumamoy implemented the program. Salmon said they chose Inabanga as their learning area because of its outstanding implementation of related programs copied in the rest of Bohol and in the entire Philippines .

This town's MSWD Officer Artemia Samaco guided the visitors to the different DCCs to watch the DCWs bring out the best in the children during day care sessions. Samaco said Jumamoy's vision and leadership guide her administration in implementing programs that appropriately support young children, among them the provision of an environment conducive to study. Helping out the DCWs are the rural health midwives, barangay nutrition workers (BNWs). The ECD workers also include working with the parents to strengthen their parenting skills. The ECCD, day care and other social welfare programs address the child's needs in a holistic way. They strive to bolster the community in its economic, physical and moral support of families, mothers and young children. The project refers to child and family-focused services designed to build on and improve existing health, nutrition and early education services for disadvantaged children 0-6 years old. Meanwhile, Jumamoy stressed that studies and surveys show that the benefits gained from investing in ECD education programs far outweigh investment costs by increasing the economic productivity of the children who will complete school, and of women who receive child care support services. The Jumamoy administration envisions benefits from increased school participation and performance linked to increased earning possibilities. Jumamoy enumerates the interventions as health, nutrition and early education that offer the most benefits and the highest rates of return by improving children's overall health, well being and school performance and reducing the chances of school failure that pre-dispose children to dropping out of school.

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