Bohol restores entry-policy of

drivers, moving cargoes’ crew

CORTES, Bohol, March 6 (PIA) – As an aid in reviving the local economy, Bohol is now relaxing the protocols in the handling of cargoes by sea travel to and from Bohol, and now allows inter-island rolling cargo delivery truck drivers and crew and the personnel accompanying their cargoes for Bohol on simpler conditions.

Executive Order No 19, which Governor Arthur Yap signed March 5, 2021, drivers and personnel accompanying cargo delivery trucks and vans should obtain a Certificate of Confirmation and endorsement from the Local Government Unit of arrival or ultimate destination for easier monitoring and must present a negative for COVID test result by Reverse transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) taken at least 72 hours prior to their departure to Bohol.

This requirement, the executive order emphasizes, also hinges on their observance of the minimum health standards like physical distancing, wearing of face masks and face shields as well as constant washing of hands as disinfection.

As a backgrounder, it was in March 16, 2020 when Capitol issued Executive Order No 11 series of 2020 which provided the protocols in handling cargoes by sea travel to Bohol in connection with the implementation of EO No 8, series of 2020 which also declared 5-day preparation and institution of measures to address the ongoing threat of COVID going into Bohol.

Then, delivery truck drivers and at least 2 helpers can enter Bohol as long as they sufficiently satisfy the requirements following medical check which includes body temperature, no colds and cough or fever, complete the African Swine Fever quarantine protocols and vehicle disinfection, and a corresponding Office of the Provincial Veterinarian Certification.

They, according to EO 11 can not stray outside their route, following the closest travel distance available and they are not allowed to move away from their trucks.

But with the imminent threat of COVID troubling nearby Cebu, the governor issued Executive Order No. 11-A, which now bans drivers and their helpers from entering Bohol.

The order also mandates that consignees hire local drivers and helpers to claim their rolling cargo and deliver them to the consignees after the vehicles have been disinfected thoroughly against the ASF.

The local driver and helpers, after getting thoroughly checked, would be issued Philippine Ports Authority Certifications, which will allow the local driver to choose the shortest distance to take him and his helpers to the consignees, the helpers only allowed to disembark upon arrival at their delivery destination.

But, with the recent EO lifting the mandatory quarantine, travel authority and medical clearance certificate, the governor found it but supportive of the move to open up the economy if the movement of cargoes be restored.

As the restrictions for passengers were relaxed, there is a need to apply the same protocols equally to drivers and personnel for cargo deliveries to aid the revival of the economy, a year after Bohol closed its doors to curb COVID spread, Gov Yap said, defending the new measure. (rahchiu/PIA-7/Bohol)

RELAXED CARGO MOVEMENT. To fully restore the economy to its full operations, Bohol has issued a new measure allowing drivers and crew of moving cargoes to enter Bohol as long as they can comply with the minimum requirement of negative COVID through RT-PCR test and a Certificate of Confirmation from the consignee’s LGU so authorities can monitor these people coming in. Vehicles entering Bohol however, needs to be disinfected before they are let off the ports vicinity. (rahchiu/PIA-7/Bohol)

FASTER CARGO MOVEMENT. Rolling container vans absent their towing prime movers arrive at the port of Ubay from Cebu. Then, Bohol based prime mover drivers go up the boats to pick their cargoes, have them disinfected against COVID and ASF before they can travel to deliver these to the consignees. Now, drivers from outside Bohol are allowed to enter and deliver their cargoes to any place in Bohol as long as they can pass the minimum requirement demanded by EO 19. (rahchiu/PIA-7/Bohol)

Balilihan sells coco-based soap,

shampoo, lotion in vendos

CORTES, Bohol, March 6 PIA) – From the much neglected tree of life, Balilihan Small Scale Integrated Level Coconut Processing Project (BSILCPP) beneficiaries have extracted cleaning agents and personal body care products that are basically similar to those in the commercial showcases, but are way cheaper.

In fact, with the help of the Bohol Small and Medium Enterprises Development Council (SMED-C), Office of the Provincial Agriculture-Philippine Coconut Industry in Bohol, local government unit of Balilihan, Provincial Government of Bohol, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Trade and Industry, Philippine Coconut Authority and the Bohol Investment Promotion Center, BSILCPP is now adopting a Boholano brand called Greenfields, which they place in their cleaning agents and personal care products.

And to up the ante in the marketing arena, Greenfields, using technology replication from the DOST did not just produce all-purpose detergents, liquid hand soap, liquid dishwashing soap, shampoo, lotion, bathsoap, body wash, including an mosquito repellent, all from coconut, but also sells these in a coin-operated dispenser which will soon be commercially available elsewhere in Bohol.

During the product launching February 24, local leaders together with the DOST and the community beneficiaries took pride in publicly presenting their new line of products, all aimed at reclaiming the slipping value of the coconut in the lives of Boholanos.

This initiative is designed to give communities job and income opportunities through this market driven strategic intervention by the PGBh in collaboration with the different National Government Agencies (NGAs) by developing and sustainably operating a small scale Integrated Village Level Coconut Processing to be located in the Municipality of Balilihan in Bohol, states the project documents as proposed.

This will allow pre-identified coconut communities in Balilihan to operate the project and supply the necessary production skills and raw materials while government enablers and stakeholders provide the needed infrastructure support, working capital requirements for small scale production and its local marketing options, adds DTI Bohol Provincial Director Maria Soledad Balistoy.

For Greenfields Balilihan, of the 6 coco-based products that were developed for local markets, the DOST and PCA were responsible for the technology replication trainings; as the LGU assisted in organizing the trainings at the community level.

On the other hand, the DTI and BIPC led in the implementation of entrepreneurial trainings and seminars that include entrepreneurial mind setting, pricing and costing, product branding, simplified bookkeeping and accounting.

DOST, PCA and the PGBh assisted, identified and provided small-scale production equipment incorporated through training-cum-production scheme, production sheds compliant with Food and Drugs Administration guidelines.

The project helped Baucan Norte women’s organization come up with a coco–based all purpose detergent Soap, Any Day & Conditioning Shampoo, while the women of Datag Sur produced the liquid hand soap, liquid dishwashing soap.

On the other hand, Haguilanan Grande womens group produced bath soap and shampoo bar while Sagasa women’s organization manufactured the body wash, body lotion, including an Anti mosquito repellent lotion.

What is exciting is that they even have variants for their all-purpose detergent soap like antibacterial, bleach and fabric conditioner, said DOST Bohol Provincial Director Vina Antopina.

Compared to commercial all purpose liquid detergent with fabric conditioner which sells at P175 a liter, Greenfields liquid detergent with fabcon is sold at P161; the commercial detergent with bleach is now at P187, while Greenfields’ detergent with bleach is sold at P150, Antopina pointed out.

Balilihan Mayor Pureza Chatto, in behalf of the town thanked all cooperating government agencies who contributed to the successful realization of the project, especially the DOST, DTI and the PCA, for empowering women in her town. (rahchiu/PIA-7/Bohol)

BOHOLANO PRODUCT ON VENDO. Greenfields Balilihan has their cleaning agents and personal care products sold on vending machines, a first and with it empowering women in coconut producing communities who have started to rediscover the value of the coconut. Here Balilihan’s partner government agencies take off the curtains to reveal the vendo machine. (PIABohol)

BRING YOUR OWN BOTTLES. Giving a premium on re-using empty containers, Balilihan wisely opted for a vendo machine for their coco-based products to reduce litter usually caused by detergent packs and single-use sachets. (rahchiu/PIA-7/Bohol)

DSWD, Bong Go team up to aid

Bohol in COVID crisis situation

CORTES, Bohol, March 6 (PIA) – He was almost 400 miles away and yet Senator Christopher Lawrence Go, otherwise Kuya Bong never forgot the Boholanos who were displaced by the measures against corona virus disease and gave out assistance to help them go over the economic crisis brought about by the pandemic.

Beneficiaries to the three-day whirlwind distribution of assistance from March 1 to 3, were persons with disabilities, displaced workers, market vendors and motor service vehicle drivers who were severely affected by the measures implemented to contain the spread of COVID-19.

In Corella, the 705 beneficiaries and accompanied by a horde of Kuya Bong supporters occupied the covered Multi-purpose Hall in the public market complex as local leaders led by Congressman Edgar Chatto, Governor Arthur Yap, League of Municipalities of the Philippines President and Dauis Mayor Marietta Sumaylo, Board Members Aldner Damalerio and Ricardo Masamayor, Corella Mayor Hilario Tocmo and town leaders when the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) handed out P3,000 in financial Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS).

Also there to offer their services were the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and the Department of Trade and Industry.

Grocery packs, food packs, brand new sports shoes, mountain bikes and computer tablets were raffled as the audience, practicing social distancing even when it was almost impossible to do so at times, awaited for the online address of the senator, flashed on a giant screen.

In Balilihan in the afternoon of March 1, 370 beneficiaries were sparsely seated on monobloc chairs and the crowd reached the concrete risers, suffering the mid-day sun, to await for their assistance.

Senator Go representative Samantha dela Pena did similar crowd interactive activities as the beneficiaries awaited for the connection to clear and for the senator to be joining the event online.

Rubber shoes, face masks, face shields, food and grocery packs were distributed while the DSWD also handed out the P3,000 AICS.

The next three days found the same Senator Bong Go team relentless and tireless with the DSWD in Trinidad making the day easier for the 1000 beneficiaries and to 585 beneficiaries of Tagbilaran City in the afternoon.

By March 3, the team was already in Alburquerque to distribute the assistance to over a thousand beneficiaries and the senator’s aid to the underprivileged sectors while in the afternoon, the team was again with Loay Mayor Hilario Ayuban and the local DSWD team in handling out aids to 998 beneficiaries.

We are giving mountain bikes, so the lucky ones among you will have something to use to commute now that there is limited public transportation in this time of crisis, the senator announced to the wild applause of the audience.

For those who have students on online classes, the senator also sent a total of 60 computer tablets, these were raffled off to lucky beneficiaries.

Another set of residents also received pairs of shoes.

The Senator also reminded beneficiaries who have medical concerns to avail of the medical assistance from the nearest Malasakit Center at Governor Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital in Tagbilaran City and Don Emilio del Valle Memorial Hospital in Ubay, Bohol.

The senator is hailed as the father of Malasakit Centers across the country. (rahchiu/PIA-7/Bohol)

GOING HOME, WHEELED. A person with disability in Loay gets a free wheel chair from the DSWD through Asec Jade Jamolod, while Loay Mayor Hilario Ayuban help the PWD to a wheel chair. Felix Barrete, 51 years old wood carver came to the gym on a bamboo cane and would be going home on this chair, as the government and Sen Bong Go distributed assistance to sectors hit by the COVID crisis. (rahchiu/PIA-7/Bohol)

BALILIHAN BIKE RECIPIENTS. Ten lucky residents from Balilihan receive mountain bikes they can use as commute in these times when there are few public transports operating here. The bikes, along with computer tables are donation of Senator Bong Go to help communities cope up with the COVID restrictions. (rahchiu/PIA-7/Bohol)

Quarantine only for inbound-

Travellers showing symptoms

CORTES, Bohol, March 6 (PIA) – From a lengthy list of requirements, travellers to Bohol would now need to present two requirements to be allowed to move out of the airport or ports of arrival, by virtue of Executive Order No. 17 (EO 17), series of 2021.

That is considering that you exhibit no symptoms of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) upon arrival at the port or airport of entry in Bohol.

With this, the old mandatory quarantine protocols would only be set for inbound travellers who exhibit the symptoms of the disease, until the traveller is certified medically recovered from the disease, that is when he would be released.

Issued by Governor Arthur Yap on March 3, 2021, EO 17 implements in Bohol the Inter Agency Task Force on the management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) Resolution No. 101 series of 2021, and amends an earlier EO No. 12 which provides for new testing protocols and lifts the quarantine requirement.

By EO No. 17, residents returning to Bohol, be they locally stranded individuals, Overseas Filipino Workers, Filipinos from travel abroad, authorized persons outside residence and domestic and foreign tourists need only to present a negative for COVID-19 test result via Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) assay taken at least 72 hours prior to departure to Bohol.

And while doing so, the inbound traveller has to secure a Certificate of Confirmation and Endorsement (COCE) from the destination local government unit, this document being a requirement for the traveller to purchase his plane or boat ticket to Bohol.

For non APORs, meaning domestic and or foreign tourists, instead of the COCE, registering online at the Bohol tourism portal: tourism.bohol.gov.ph or www.boholtourismph.com, secures for him his papers equivalent to a COCE.

Having these two requirements complied, the traveller will no longer be required repeat testing and further quarantine, and would be free to go about their businesses in Bohol.

The move, according to the EO hopes to mitigate the economic cost and losses stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic and accelerate the recovery, as well as bolster resilience of the Philippine economy through measures grounded on economic exclusivity.

The local measure, as a response to the IATF resolution comes as a welcome relief especially when summer is fast approaching and tourism is supposed to peak with domestic and international travels.

The move also come a few more days shy of a year after Bohol closed its borders to inbound passengers in efforts to curb and arrest the wayward spread of the virulent disease that has exponentially spread in Luzon then.

A few months later, after the government asserted the right of individuals to come home, health and security authorities put up protocols to make sure that those who would be allowed re-entry into their home provinces would be pre-screened through COVID tests, placed on 14 day quarantine and repeat-tested for the presence of the virus.

This then entailed hassles for the inbound traveller, who would have to secure a medical clearance certificate from his rural health facility, attesting to the fact that the traveller has not contracted the disease 14 days prior to his travel and that he has not gone out to areas with high COVID-19 affectation.

Having obtained the medical clearance, the traveller goes to the local police to secure a travel authority to be used to set up and initiate local coordination between LGU of origin to LGU of destination for the proper endorsement of the inbound passenger.

Sometime later, the protocols included a redundant system of informing LGUS mandated to prepare the inbound traveller’s isolation and quarantine facility as well as his health monitoring.

With these burdening protocols discouraging local and international travels, the EO is expected to open the gates of travel and rouse the slumped local tourism, stakeholders hoped. (rahchiu/PIA-7/Bohol)

THE VACCINE ARRIVES. Hospital officials being frontliners get to be given their first doses of the COVID vaccine from Sinovac as Bohol now lifts medical clearance certificate and travel authority for a negative RT PCR test taken 72 hours before departure to Bohol, and a certificate of confirmation and endorsement from their LGUs of destination. (PIABohol)

CEREMONIAL VACCINE ROLL-OUT. Dr Lawrence Eliott Tirol, Gov Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital Senior Executive Assistant gets the honor to be given his first dose of the Sinovac, as the government starts the vaccine rollout in Bohol, easing the tension from the communities who can now heave a relief as Bohol opens up its borders to returning residents and tourists. (PIABohol)