Bohol News, Hotels, Travel and Real Estate Property

By Boy Guingguing, Sunday Post Elections are all about hostility not unity  Forget about unity. Think about hostility. That's elections are all about. Why should our candidates foist on the electorate the merits of unity when elections should have meant voters are given the freedom to choose.  First of all, elections are taken to mean the collision of hostile forces. For if political exercises are meant to be a choice between two friendly forces we might as well abdicate our right of suffrage to our so-called leaders who have the temerity of dictating our choices.  In elections past, we had seen how leaders dictated the tempo of elections by herding candidates under one party.  The coming one promises to end  all the scandalous machinations  of the powers-that-be to foster unification.  What use to be the order of the day of elections past  became clearer to the common man that indeed the 2010 electoral combat is one that promises the electorate the right of a lifetime on the  b...

Editorial: Sunday Post Something tells us the on-and-off affair of Lakas-Kampi with Gov. Erico Aumentado is not over. Earlier dumped by Lakas as official bet for his old congressional seat, Aumentado is back in the good graces of the administration party when his certificate of nomination and acceptance (Cona) was restored.     In effect, Lakas also revoked the Cona issued to Trinidad Mayor Judith Cajes. This sets the stage for one of the most bitterly fought electoral battles in next year's elections.     Of course, the interesting sidebar to this tussle was the manner in which Aumentado was nearly elbowed out by the combined forces of Rep. Edgar Chatto and Rep. Roberto Cajes. In spite of all their professions of innocence, there is no doubt about the part that they played in the whole drama.     Granting that party higher-ups were the ones who lowered the boom on Aumentado, no one bit the canard that they were unaware of it. If they were unaware of the charges...

Two unknown gunmen armed with a 9 mm pistol and another a 45 cal. firearm waylaid Board Member Josil Trabajo while on board a government-issued Isuzu Crosswind Wednesday evening but fortunately for the lawmaker, his live-in partner and their child as the three car occupants, escaped unhurt.   The kind of firearms used in the ambush was determined by the spent shells found in the crime scene.   Trabajo and his common law wife identified as Daisy Comahig, of legal age, and now residing along Banat-i Road in Dampas district, this city, just came in from the Bohol Tropics where they presumably had dinner.   When the Trabajo family was near their rented apartment in Dampas, two men came from behind and peppered their vehicle with bullets.   At least three bullets holes were found in the door panel and rear window of the car but failed to hit its mark which apparently was the board member.   When Trabajo sensed that he was being targeted for assassination, he immediatel...

A Bohol unit of the Philippine Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG) is under fire after it conducted a two-day operations against local businessmen resulting in arbitrary interceptions of goods and commodities getting out of the city insular wharf.   Crying foul against the unnecessary searches were the Provincial Development Council and the Bohol Chamber of Commerce and Industry which took the cudgels for the local businessmen who felt harassed by the PASG-Bohol.   But Rommel Manhilot a.k.a as Rommel Montano, an actor and younger brother of gubernatorial candidate Cesar Montano who claims to be the director of the local PASG unit, said that there was nothing irregular in their operations.  The elder Montano is also an actor and a multi-awarded at that.   On December 9-10, Montano's group made up of 10 men, mounted a checkpoint at the city pier to inspect the import documents of Bohol-bound cargoes.   Just like Montano, its team leader is another Baclayon native identifi...

Lakas-Kampi-CMD officially reinstated Bohol Governor Erico Aumentado as candidate for congressman in the second district and revoked the Certificate of Nomination and Acceptance (CONA) of Trinidad Mayor Judith Cajes, wife of third-termer Second District Representative Roberto Cajes.        A letter from the national directorate of the ruling party dated December 4, 2009 reached the provincial office of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on November 9 through LBC, affirming Aumentado's CONA and revoking Mayor Cajes'.        Copies of the communication were also furnished to Aumentado, Mayor Cajes and the Law Department of Comelec head office.        This time, it's signed by Lakas-Kampi CMD president, Sarangani Governor Miguel Rene Dominguez, and Lakas-Kampi CMD Secretary-General Francis Xavier Manglapus.        This resolved the issue between Aumentado and Mayor Cajes as to who holds the valid CONA for the congressional slot in the second district.   ...

  If the current interest in books and transformation of students into voracious readers are the gauge, then the celebration in Inabanga of the 75th National Book Week was a success,   The celebration that has become a tradition especially for local libraries revolved around the theme Kaaya-ayang Magbasa, sa Kapaligirang Kay Ganda.   Highlighting the celebration were the book display at the lobby of the municipal hall and an information quiz that focused on women who pioneered and excelled in the field of arts, sports, history and sciences.   Vice Mayor Wenceslao Lao welcomed the participants composed of three senior students per delegation from all public and private schools in the municipality - the Saint Paul's Academy (SPA), Southern Inabanga High School (SIHS) and Inabanga High School (IHS).   Corazon dela Torre of SIHS bagged the first place while Ma. Verzomena Estillore and Aldrian John Añana both of SPA landed on the 2nd and 3rd places.   The distribution of certificate...

The communist insurgency in Bohol has been crushed, making it as the first province in the country to meet the deadline set by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo before she steps down in June 2010, according to the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP). The deadline is to defeat the left-leaning New People's Army (NPA). The declaration was made by Bohol Governor Erico B. Aumentado and Col. Allan Luga, commander of the 802nd Brigade of the Philippine Army based on the island province some 600 kilometers south of Manila. OPAPP said Aumentado made the announcement during a meeting at the Bohol Tropics Resort last Tuesday. The session was attended by a delegation from Columbia's Office of the High Commissioner for Peace led by Alejandro Eder, political advisor of the Office of the High Presidential Counselor for Reintegration. Other members of the Columbian delegation were Miguel Suarez, Ms. Maria Lucia Uepigue and Ms. Andrea Salazar. While in Bohol, they...

Catigbian town puts in another innovation worth replicating by local government units: a socialized health service incorporated in a local system called the yellow card.  By passing Municipal Ordinance Number 6, series of 2009, the town has also successfully institutionalized a program that has become prime tool for some local chief executives who want a sole credit making it appear that he is using his own money to aid his constituents.   We need to put up a measure that would stop future leaders from appointing his political supporters as beneficiaries, all to the disadvantage of those seriously needing the help, Mayor Roberto Salinas stressed.  The Yellow Card Ordinance is our humble way of providing the best health care and at the same time sustain the operations of the new Municipal Health Center and Lying in Clinic, Salinas said.  But considering that we have indigent constituents who would also need to avail of its offered basic medical and health services, we need to ident...

Bohol Provincial Police Office (BPPO) accounted a total of 1096 fire-arms in its drives since August to September to top all the regional police offices in the implementation of the National Firearms Control Program (NFCP) or Bilang Boga, data from the Central Visayas Regional Police Office revealed. Meanwhile Cebu Provincial Police Office beat BPPO in active anti-illegal firearms interdiction operations or operation Kontra Boga net when it accounted for 433 in the last four months of operations.   Operations Bilang Boga and Kontra Boga are active police operations to account and recover the estimated forty nine thousand one hundred thirty six loose firearms in line with the NFCP.   It also brought down the final gun registration and licensing amnesty to advance the government's desire to get loose firearms which often end up being used in criminal activities. The number for BPPO was 25.90 percent of the estimated 4,232 loose firearms from threat groups and criminal elements or...

NHI MARKERS NHI Chairman Ambeth Ocampo will lead in the installation of the "heritage marker" at the city residence of the late President along F. Rocha st., and another marker at the CPG house in the remote sitio Luy-a, Talibon town , according to Ardie Batoy, executive director of the Pres. Carlos P. Garcia Foundation, Inc. Former Defense Sec. Campos and his son, Caloy, will welcome Ex-Pres Ramos at the  PRESIDENT'S HOUSE. The ancestral home of the late Pres. Carlos P. Garcia in the city will be installed the "Heriatge Marker" by the National Historical Institute (NHI) at noontime today with NHI Chair Ambeth Ocampo and former Pres. Fidel Ramos leading the guests. President's city house, now known as Bohol Musuem for a luncheon gathering hosted by the provincial government. Ramos will have lunch with the Garcia family, the awardees and guests at the Bohol Museum . CPG QUIZ The CPG quiz competition at the Bohol Cultural Center starts at 1:30 this afternoo...

Former president Fidel V. Ramos and Health Secretary Francisco Duque III will grace today's celebration of the 113th President Carlos P. Garcia Day that will highlight the signing of a memorandum of agreement for the PhilHealth Universal Coverage of indigents. In behalf of the Garcia family, former Defense Sec. Fernando Campos, son-in-law of the late President together with his son, Carlos "Caloy" Garcia Campos arrived yesterday for today's affair. Chairman Ambeth Ocampo of the National Historical Institute (NHI) is also gracing today's observance of CPG Day which is declared a non-working holiday in Bohol Province . The day's activities will kick-off with the traditional flag-raising and wreath-laying ceremonies at the New CPG Park in Barangay Cogon, this city, to be followed by the commemorative mass at the Bohol Cultural Center . The commemorative program, still at the Bohol Cultural Center , immediately follows at 9:30 this morning where Ramos will be ...

Artists from Bohol's community theaters would lead the local action to press governments and their leaders across the globe to realize their commitments to the Millennium Development Goals (MDG).    This as the deadline for the 2015 comes fast and that poorer nations still have to make a dent on the extreme poverty situation despite the pledges of financial commitments from wealthy nations.    To insist on the urgency for action, the Boholano community picks activities to show solidarity with the poor of the world by standing up in one venue this October 17, Saturday.    The move is to dramatize the call for the government to hear the demands of ending poverty and inequality, claims organizer Lutgardo Labad.    Here, amateur theater artists, cultural dancers and an expected huge number of Boholanos would converge at the Maribojoc Cultural Center to make their own statement to advance the commitments of nations as incorporated in the MDGs, he added.    Organized with the Natio...

Provincial Small and Medium Enterprise Development Coucil (P- SMED) officers and members hold its 2nd out of town meeting at the Inabanga Cultural Center on September 16. Marietta Gasatan of the Bohol Chamber of Commerce and Indusrty (BCCI) chaired the council which is composed of different government and non- government agencies.   Gasatan acts as moderator as the group thrashes out its regular agenda with particular concern of Local (Inabanga) Micro, Small and medium Enterprise in Loomweaving and its value chain output.   Municipal Councilor Amormeo dela Torre, president of (BUWRPA) Bohol United Woven Raffia Association gave a short presentation of the Inabanga Raffia Loomweaving Industry.   Meanwhile, DTI Provincial Director Nanette Arbon presented a draft of the Bohol Raffia Industry value chain output- a result of the focus group discussion from the municipalities of Inabanga, Tubigon, Danao, Albur and Catigbian .   It was later decided that Department of Trade and Indus...

  Nothing beats refreshers to ensure that frontliners, especially in the towns, are on their toes where courtesy as well as competent and efficient service to the public are concerned.   As such, Municipio Inabanga recently initiated a service excellence in the workplace training workshop for department heads, mayor's office staff and Information Community Relations Officers (ICRO).   Training Division Chief Ella Lachica and Senior Trade and Industry Development Specialist Grace Lardizabal from the Center for Industrial Competitiveness (CIC),  a bureau of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) based in Manila flew in for the purpose, accompanied by Blair Panong and Nita Balaba of DTI-Bohol .   In his statement of purpose, Panong said the local government unit (LGU) is a service industry that should answer the needs of the constituents.   "This is an attempt to improve the delivery of services that will give us a fresh outlook on how to deal with the constituency being f...

Peace workers here have joined hands to prevent crime – a job admittedly not for the police alone, but everybody's concern.   Municipal employees, members of the municipal and barangay Peace and Order Councils (POCs), barangay officials, tanods and students recently gathered for an orientation on their roles to keep the peace conducted by the Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) that Gov. Erico Aumentado chairs.   Revolving around the theme Krimen Sugpuon, Pamilya Palig-unon, the activity formed part of this town's participation in the nationwide observance of Crime Prevention Month which aims to promote community involvement and participation in crime prevention.   This town became a stop in the PPOC's provincewide information campaign to generate awareness and promote crime prevention in the common tao.   Provincial Director Rustica Mascariñas of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) led a panel of speakers that discussed the responsibilities o...

The Arroyo government has declared tomorrow a non-working holiday in Balilihan in deference to the observance of the town's 181st foundation day. Dubbed as Sumad 2009, the day also marks the 8th  death anniversary of the town's illustrious son, the late assemblyman Eladio "Kiking' Chatto, father of the incumbent congressman.  It will be the first time in the history of the twin celebration that the town observes a non-working holiday .  Proud Balilinhons have marked Sumad, an annual week-long observance that climaxes on their town's Foundation Day every September 29, and cited unity with their leaders as their key to development.  Balilihan is emerging as another interior Bohol center of agri-tourism and education which they said only proves the workings of its officials led by Mayor Victoria Chatto and Vice Mayor Dominisio Chatto with the  support of the town's venerable son, the young congressman.  New vital infrastructures have taken place and existin...

At least two barangays with an estimated 100 hectares of rain-fed rice fields will stand to benefit from a water impounding facility.   Located in Poblacion Sur, the irrigation project was thru the efforts of Agriculture Sec. Arthur Yap who is on a project giving binge in his capacity as Cabinet steward for Bohol .  Yap's effort to give projects outside his turf doused cold water to speculations that his concentration in spreading the gravy of the agriculture department was limited to the third district where he is eyeing the Congress seat.  The Clarin facility replaced the old one which was wiped out by a water spout which hit the irrigation area last year. Construction of the project started in earnest and  as of last report the work phase ran the gamut of setting up the stone rip-rap. The DA allotted P9 million to finish the project. Aside from Poblacion Sur, the neighboring village of Candajic will also benefit from the irrigation project.   

Holy Spirit School Crusaders clobbered a strong SK All Stars of Taguihon, 73-62, in the first game of a twin bill exhibition matches which coincided with the celebration of the feast of their Patron, Sta. Cruz Exaltacion, Monday at the Taguihon hard court. The Crusaders were never threatened by the much heftier and taller all star team as they showed what they can. The all star team started hot and made a 6-0 run in the first few minutes as the visiting Crusaders could hardly find their range. Vincent Descallar, a native of Taguihon, led the attack of his team to counter an 8-0 blast to take the upper hand as the buzzer sounded ending the 1st canto, 21-16. But as the game went through in the 2nd quarter, the All Stars employed a full court trapping defense which yielded positive for the home team to grab the lead by a solitary point at lemon time. At this juncture both offense and defense of the visitors went anemic allowing their opponents to score without opposition. But their coa...

Tagbilaran City Science High School Virus stunned the overconfident Holy Spirit School Crusaders, 65-62 in the main game of a heavy quintuplet bill of the inaugurals of the 15th Bohol Schools Amateur Athletic Association 5th Graham C Lim Basketball Challenge, Saturday at the newly refurbished Bohol Wisdom School gym. Although the come backing Crusaders were bannered by Josh Dominise, a former mainstay of the University of Perpetual Help of Rizal Daltas, they succumbed to the pressure of the trapping defense put up by the sluggish Virus who were led by lanky slot man Matt Alej Tagaytay, with 18 points, strong boy Allen Joseph Aranzado, 16 and wily point guard Roque Gerry Viel Manug, who contributed 13 point aside from his task of orchestrating their offensive patterns. The score at halftime was, 35-31 in favour of the Virus. Coach Carlo Cresencio of the University of Bohol Baby Lemurs needs no much pressure as they clawed the Grace Christian School Eagles, 68-38 in the other game. ...

By FRED C. FUERTES The University of Bohol Flying Lemures , displaying power and precision basketball, outplayed Monday night the BIT International College Cruisers , 100-89, to clinch the championship crown of the 1st Maribojoc Inter-College Basketball Tournament at this town's sports and cultural center. Earlier, the Philippine Maritime Institute Navigators subdued the Holy Name University Falcons, 116-104, in a one-sided game for the third place finish. The two-day cage festivity which started Sunday night was sponsored by the local government unit headed by Mayor Leoncio Evasco, Jr. in coordination with Dep-Ed Maribojoc, the Sangguniang Bayan and the Liga ng mga Barangay. The championship set to started in a see-saw battle which ended, 24-23, in BIT's favor after the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Cruisers ' point maker Dela Cruz waxed hot and scored five successive three-point shots. They enjoyed a six-point margin, 47-41 when the buzzer signaled the end ...

The Bohol Dolphins Swimming Club Inc., hosted the first G-League Short Course Swimming Competition Series 1 and 2, for Visayas region last September 13 and 14, at Carlos P. Garcia Sports Complex, this City. It was organized by Philippine Aquatic Sports Association (PASA), the national governing body for Swimming , Open Water Swimming, Diving, Water Polo, and Synchronized Swimming, in accordance with FINA (Federation Internationale de Nation Amateure) rules, and under Mark Joseph, PASA national president and POC deputy secretary general, graced the opening. Swim clubs from the different parts of Central Visayas Region, such as the, Cebu Blue Marlins Swimming Club from Cebu, with 36 swimmmers, Siliman University Swimming Club from Dumaguete City with 26 swimmers, Negros Blue Dolphins Swimming Club from Negros Oriental with 32 swimmers, and our very own Bohol Dolphins Swimming Club with 25 swimmers, were among the participants of the two-day event with different age-group categor...

Frank Padilla and wife Gerry together with the Country Coordinator of CFC-FFL USA are visiting in Bohol on September 26-27, 2009. Padilla is the Servant-General of Couples for Christ, Foundation Inc. He will address the General Assembly of leaders and members of CFC-Bohol on September 26, 10:00 a.m., at the Bohol Wisdom School Gym.    The Diocese of Tagbilaran was declared a District of CFCFFL last year while the Diocese of Talibon is awaiting declaration with more than a Vicariate coverage of members from transferees and participants from the latest CLS conducted. He is also scheduled to meet with the CFC-FFL servant leaders in Bohol and Bishop Leonardo Y. Medroso, the Spiritual Director of CFC-FFL, Diocese of Tagbilaran. We are calling all CFC-FFL members to take this rare opportunity of meeting the Servant General and Founder of CFC. To those in-active CFC members, this is our chance to meet our founder. You are also invited. It's BYOP. For additional information on co...

I noticed lately that some people who search for Bohol news have inadvertently misspelled Bohol Chronicle as Bohol Chornicle . There are many reasons why people commited this spelling blunder. For one, some are in a hurry to type a term or word in Google and hit Enter without checking the spelling. There are thousands of webmasters who have taken advantage of misspelled words. They bought domain names based on existing popular names and make a website out of them. Some webmasters would even sell the site to the real owner of the name if they deem these misspelled domain names already profitable. This is exactly what had happened to flicker.com . The popular name is of course flickr.com (without the "e"), a photo-sharing site acquired by Yahoo . Someone bought the domain name flicker.com . When flickr.com became popular, flicker.com was auctioned and the bid started at $6 million. Hmmm... Boholchornicle.com is not registered yet. Got an idea? Proceed to Godaddy.com . ...

Gov. Erico Aumentado yesterday strongly pushed for Bohol's organic agriculture after inducting the Bohol Organic Agriculture Management Council (BOAMC) created by his Executive Order No. 20. Aumentado said the launching of the Bohol Greenlife Program is a sequel to the provincial government's Bohol Green Project which seeks the rehabilitation of the major river watersheds in the province which provide water for irrigation, waterworks, power, and flood control. The provincial government has a joint venture with the Department of ENviroment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the ABS-CBN Foundation Bantay Kalikasan to rehabilitate the Loboc River Watershed and the Abatan River Watershed. It is also in tandem with DENR and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to reforest the Wahig-Pamacsalan River Watershed which provides water to Bohol's mega irrigation facilities with the Malinao Dam, the Bayongan Dam and the Capayas Dam as the main beneficiaries in providing water to about 1...

Bohol aligns three major agrarian reform community (ARC) projects for foreign funding and leading officials are confident the province keeps an ace in its sleeves in accessing funds for its implementation.  The hidden card, provincial agrarian reform officers Atty. Johnson Sinco and Dr. Tony del Socorro point out, is the convergence formula implemented by Bohol leaders.  Convergence formula is a strategy of cost sharing in the implementation of projects where the beneficiary local government shares in the costs of the project with the funding agency and the community people's organizations .   Here, a barangay government fund is propped up with the share from the provincial government, other government agency in the area concerned with battling poverty. Even the people's organization puts up labor counterpart, explains Atty. Sinco during the recent Kapihan sa PIA.   This way, the people realize that they too have ownership of the project and this improves the chances of c...

Mayor Baby Cajes, 'no babe in the  political woods in 3-in-1 concoction'  By Boy Guingguing, Sunday Post    Life the hot coffee we used to know as 3-in-1, there is a political equivalent concocted by the most clever politician Bohol has ever known.  Pardon our description but this is not meant to despise our favorite politician, who is at it again in his role as an astute political animal.  Truth is, we adore to high heavens his honesty and sincerity in public service that even in his twilight years he is still a force to reckon with.  The adjective "clever" is therefore complimentary given his colorful political career which to this day still  the envy of his peers.  We are referring to Gov. Erico Aumentado's announcement in Trinidad that Cong. Roberto "Ondoy" Cajes is a candidate for vice governor. For Aumentado, it was a calculated gambit in making the announcement right in Cajes' territory. Never mind that in the same forum, he also made a fo...

By JUNE S. BLANCO     Zero may be a record that nobody wants to hold. But when it comes to rabies cases, the rule of thumb is the lower the number, the better the performance is.   And Bohol is gunning for just that: zero record.   This after eight – going nine – months into 2009, the province has not encountered any case of human or canine rabies yet.   Dr. Stella Marie Lapiz, provincial veterinarian, expressed hope that Bohol's record will stay as such until the year ends and onwards.   This after the province launched an innovative program designed to make the anti-rabies campaign sustainable: integrating rabies awareness and responsible pet ownership in the elementary school curriculum – on top of dog registration, vaccination and elimination where required.   In collaboration with the Makati City-based IP Foundation (IPF), a non-profit organization that advocates affordable and accessible health care and bridging the digital divide, Bohol Gov . Erico Aumentado embarked o...

      A pre-fiesta gift from the Katas ng E-VAT for Lolo and Lola arrived on time on September 9 before the townspeople will celebrate the feast of St. Michael the Archangel on the 29th.       The much-awaited cash gifts that drew a sort of skepticism on the part of the doubting senior citizens turned out into a big affair of a bundle of joy when 70-year-old up folks and non-pension members of the Federated Senior Citizens' Association of the Philippines (FSCAP) in Jagna converged at the municipal gymnasium to receive P500 each.       Mayor Exuperio Lloren, together with Social Welfare Officer-in-charge Marcionila Reyes and Acting Municipal Treasurer Raymond Cuadra, worked hard that the amount be released soon and that it would be enough for all entitled FSCAP members.       The first batch, comprising beneficiaries from the 14 barangays of Jagna, trooped to the gymnasium for the whole day activity.       The second batch came from the eastern coastal barangays who gathered at t...

     Catigbian Performance Team showed full support to the 75th Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) medical and feeding mission.       Prior to the schedule of the provincial-wide medical mission, Catigbian Bohol Mayor Roberto Salinas met with the Local Health Board to discuss preparations for the activity.       The Municipal Health Office and the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office took the lead among the departments that could be involved in the activity.       Concerns like the venue, transport, participants, volunteers, medicines and food were discussed during the meeting to come up with a systematic flow of the activity.       The municipal government provided transportation to the target indigent patients, especially to those who came from far-flung barangays.       A schedule was made for the 22 barangays so as to facilitate orderly consultations for all the patients.       Those from the far-flung barangays were scheduled in the morning, while patients...