Main benefactor of Bohol 's China trip here tomorrow

THE Filipino-Chinese benefactor of the Bohol delegation that visited Jiangxi province in China will visit here starting tomorrow. Taipan Carlos Chan, chair of the Liwayway (International) Co., Ltd., president of the Philippines Soong Chin Ling Foundation and member of the Jiangxi Economic Advisory Council will lead his company top brass to shoot footages of Bohol 's tourist attractions to serve as backdrop for his Chinawide television commercials.

Gov. Erico Aumentado, who led the Bohol delegation on the May 6-12 Jiangxi trip said the taipan has 12 factories that manufacture Oishi products, among others, distributed across China, and three in the Philippines – in Cavite, Cebu and Cagayan de Oro. This early, Chan has announced that the Loboc Children's Choir (LCC) will hum the Oishi jingle for his commercials. The Bohol sortie is part of Chan's commitment to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to promote the Wow Philippines campaign of the Department of Tourism.

In his letter to the President hand-carried by Aumentado, Chan said he is taking her request to put the Wow Philippines logo on the packaging of their products in order to promote tourism a step further. “Through this audio-visual medium, the beauty of our country will speak for itself. The commercial will showcase such Boholano treasures as the Chocolate Hills, its beaches, its churches, the Loboc River , and of course, the Loboc Children's Choir to hum the Oishi jingle. On the film, written in Chinese, will be ‘ Bohol Province , Philippines ,'” he said.

In his upcoming Oishi TV campaign, the commercial will be aired nationwide in China on CCTV 1, 2, 3, 4, 7 and 8 as well as on local channels. Chan has also assured Aumentado that aside from himself, he will also bring investors to Bohol to attend the Economic Forum on July 22 at the Bohol Tropics Resort, for starters. “Rest assured that we will do our best to support your project of promoting Philippine tourism in China ,” he assured Aumentado and President Arroyo. While his parents were born in Chinese soil, the taipan was already born in the Philippines . Today, he is also already a Boholano.

In recognition of his sponsorship of the trip of Gov. and Mrs. Aumentado, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, a Tagbilaran City councilor, other provincial government officials, the presidents of the Bohol Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Bohol chapter of the Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the LCC with Loboc Mayor Leon Calipusan, the Provincial Board last week passed twin resolutions. One declared Chan an adopted son of Bohol while the other declared May 8 of 2006 and every year thereafter as Bohol-Jiangxi Friendship Day.

Meanwhile, Chan's company is prepared to give technical assistance to interested Boholano farmers, especially those in higher elevations and therefore with cooler climate, who are willing to plant potatoes – the base for most Oishi products. Aumentado said Chan is willing to buy all potatoes that the Boholanos can produce.

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