BALAs fire back: cash from

Souvenir checks long given

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, Aug 6 (PIA) – Bohol Association of Bohol Livestock Aides (BABALA), an aggrupation of para-veterinarians here came up with a unified stand criticizing the accusations against Governor Arthur Yap and denounced the spreading of malicious accusations against the Provincial Government’s BALA program as wells as the Provincial Veterinarians Office (PVET).

In a statement signed by the 36 BABALA members who are also chapter president of town Bohol Association of Livestock Aides (BALA), August 6 2021, the para-veterinarians’ claim that the accusations against the governor are false.

“The word itself, souvenir check, is already a giveaway,” pointed out Maribojoc town Municipal Agriculturist Oscar Ong, who added that those who accused somebody fooled them, is either misinformed or simply do not want to understand.

Ong, as the Municipal Agriculturist, supervises the BALA in their activities in his town.

This week, the radio air lanes in Bohol buzzed with comments as radio program anchors received complaints from alleged BALA members that the governor fooled them into believing they are to receive honorarium when the Provincial Veterinarian’s Office (PVO) informed them of a ceremonial check and BALA ID turn-over with the governor.

Organized in the late 1990s, the BALAs of Bohol are an organization of para-veterinarians trained by the PVO to address the big gap between a handful of veterinarians against the livestock count of Bohol, explains Provincial Veterinarian Dr. Stella Marie Lapiz.

“For 24 years, they have volunteered and have remained a very efficient and hard-working partner of the office in bringing out national and provincial government programs to the communities,” she added.

In its beginning years, the BALA of Bohol in fact won a Galing Pook Award for innovation in governance, one very few local government organized group has achieved.

In 2019, the PVO acknowledged the crucial role of the BALAs and asked Capitol of, after all the years of volunteer work, the BALAs could get an honorarium of P200 a month.

As soon as we had information that the governor approved the request for honorarium, we had the office do the paper-works and process everything. By the first quarter of 2021, the 2020 honorarium of P2400 for the 12 months were ready for release.

“We then asked the BALA members to open First Consolidated Bank accounts so the ready checks could be deposited, that time,” shared Romulo Garcia of the PVO.

By the first quarter of 2021, the 2020 honorarium of P2,400 for the P200 for 12 months got into their accounts. In fact, for the BALAs of Maribojoc, I told them do not withdraw everything so the account would not be closed, Ong shared.

And so, in the BABALA statement issued this week, we thank the Provincial Government of Bohol under the leadership pf Gov. Arthur Yap Vice Gov Rene Relampagos and the Sangguninag Panlalawigan for giving honorarium beginning 2020, which we have received just now since we started to be BALAs.

The group also attested that they have already received the honorarium through cash o through ATM/FCB Pitakard, with the souvenir check and BALA ID.

The averred that they understood that the souvenir check was a personal and family remembrance having first received the honorarium in 2020.

In Maribojoc, in April this year, the PVO sent text messages to BALAs in the town informing them that a ceremonial distribution of the souvenir checks, BALA IDS would happen with the governor himself attending.

For Loboc, the same text was used to gather the town BALAs for the same ceremonial souvenir check distribution for August 3 in Upper Bonbon.

BALAs who complained against the souvenir check claimed they were expecting money to be given by the governor, and hired habalhabals just to get to the event.

What they got was a souvenir check, a replica of the deposited check that can not be honored.

According to Ong, some Maribojoc BALAS called him to ask about the honorarium and he explained to them that the governor is not giving any money as it has already been credited in their ATM accounts.

He added that most BALAs understood and still came, knowing that the check was only a souvenir they can keep.

“I think it was clear, and if these bad things happened recently, it is because of some people who refused to understand, and they tried putting political color into it,” Ong mused.

Apparently muddled by political mudslinging, which has tarnished the image of the good program of the BALA and the PVO, Provincial Vet Dr. Lapiz, addressing the BALA Presidents during a meeting Friday humbly said, what has happened should not destroy the way the BALAs treat each other.

“We may commit mistakes, but one mistake committed by our member does not flush out the 24 years of good service [he has] rendered as livestock aide. Let us remain as a BALA family and let the truth bear us out,” Dr. Lapiz said. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)

HURTING. Provincial Veterinarian Dr Stella Marie Lapiz appeals to BALA members not to be discouraged by the upsetting issues of the souvenir checks, and consider that one member’s mistake should not flush out the 24 years of good service that BALAs have unselfishly rendered for Bohol. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)

IN DEFENSE OF HIS TOWN. Maribojoc Municipal Agriculturist Oscar Ong, who learned that BALAs from Maribojoc complained they did not receive money but souvenir checks, said of the town’s 38 BALAs, only two refused to understand his explanations even before they came to the souvenir check distribution. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)