The Division of Bohol headed by Dr. Elpidio M. Jala gave recognition to Dr. Joseph Irwin A. Lagura, officer in charge of the newly created City Division of Guihulngan of Oriental Negros.
Lagura served as Assistant Superintendent of Bohol prior to his present position. In the same celebration, top ranking officials of the department from the three Educational Service Areas (ESA) were officially installed after its reorganization and reshuffling.
The event, held at the Bohol Tropics Resort Grand Ballroom last July 4, was graced by congressmen Edgar M. Chatto, Adam Relson L. Jala and Cong. Roberto C. Cajes.
As tribute to the honoree, a plaque of recognition was presented by Jala together with the invited guest. In his farewell message, Lagura was thankful for the wonderful experiences he had in his stint as assistant superintendent of Bohol.
Dr. Jala, in his challenging message to the newly installed officials, gave importance on the initiatives he implemented to support the basic education at the grassroots level.
With the institutionalization of Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) downloaded directly to the schools, and was implemented during the month of June, the superintendent made a commitment that he will continue to find ways and programs to help the administrators carry out their tasks and responsibilities effectively. As a response, the school heads applauded the superintendent for his new initiatives and concern.
Giving more excitement for the people present during the program was the pledge done by the three congressmen allocating five million pesos each from their discretionary funds for the construction of a new office of the Department of Education , Division of Bohol. Congressman Chatto stressed that the three lawmakers from Bohol will always be on the side of education, looking all priorities be best addressed.
As Vice Chairman on Committee of Education at the House of the Representatives, he made mention of policies which would benefit the education sector. One of which is the Compensation Bill which proposes a three thousand salary increase per year to all public school teachers up to 2010. On the other hand, Congressman Jala emphasized the importance of policy directions for the best of education in the province. He added that the basic education should be understood as a multi sectoral responsibility and therefore he shared this noble responsibility being a son of a former public school teacher.
The said activity started with a holy mass officiated by Rev. Fr. Joel Ruyeras. Also present during the program was Madame Norma S. Varques, the superintendent of Tagbilaran Division. Giving the words of thanks was Mr. Ernesto Calamba, the OIC of the office of the assistant school division superintendent.