DOE cites Tagbilaran City 

for energy, fuel conservation

By Elvira C. Bongosia

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol (PIA) — The Tagbilaran City Government earned a 5-star rating, or Grade A, from the Department of Energy (DOE) for its energy and fuel conservation program.

The city scored 96 out of 100 in the DOE energy audit, placing it in the highest rating category.

GEMP is a mandatory government program that requires national agencies, local governments, and government-owned and controlled corporations to reduce monthly electricity and fuel consumption in their facilities by at least 10% to 20%.

It also requires conservation measures, regular spot checks, and data submission through the GEMP Online System.

The program supports the energy efficiency targets under the Philippine Energy Plan 2023-2050, the Marcos administration’s long-term energy roadmap, which sets higher efficiency goals for the public and private sectors.

City General Services Office (CGSO) head Chris John Rener Torralba accepted the rating from the DOE assessment team following its evaluation of the Tagbilaran City Hall and the Sangguniang Panlungsod building.

“This achievement reflects Tagbilaran City’s strong commitment to energy efficiency, sustainability, and responsible resource management,” Torralba said.

Torralba commended CGSO employees who prepared the documents for the audit, along with City Hall departments and offices that complied with the city’s fuel and electricity conservation policies.

He also thanked Mayor Jane Yap, Vice Mayor Adam Jala and Rep. John Geesnell Yap II for their support of the city’s energy efficiency initiatives. (ECB/PIA-7 Bohol)

City streets explode in

‘Sandugo merriment’

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol (PIA)—Expect the rumble and rhythm to mask the din of celebration a little after lunch today, as 9 town dancing contingents spill into Tagbilaran City’s main street, in a street dancing and rituals showcase of the rich heritage and artistic excellence in commemorating the Sandugo peace pact.

Expect the throb of celebrations tugging every street reveler attuned to the beat to blend in as this year’s drumming beats approximating the boom of the goat-skin stretched drums in gimbaws, basaw, kalatong, tingko with the percussions of brass gongs, kulintangs and other improvised indigenous instruments that carry the quaint rhythm of the Boholanos for centuries.

For years, the Sandugo has, kept the historic encounter of the Spanish conquerors and the natives alive in the memory of the young, and this time embellished in the pomp and pageantry of the region’s best musical and theater directors, choreographers, historians, cultural researchers, dance instructors and instrumentalists and in celebration of Bohol’s geosites.

Sandugo, otherwise a peace treaty sealed in blood of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi and chieftain Sikatuna, has pinned Bohol in the international map as the venue where the seed of the United Nations was first sown.

Over the years, Bohol’s most famous festival brings to the streets an array of tattooed dancers in period costumes from the pre-colonial bahag with gold and silver adornments, saya, to colonial Spanish costumes like the traje, boda, cassocks and accessories jewelries, armors, blades as period design elements to help bring out the narratives of local festivals, heroes or stories that refused to die.

This year, dancing contingents are Asinderos de Alburquerque, Banay’ng Mangbubukag of Piskaya Antequera, Pundok Katigbawan of Catigbian, Banay sa Kulturang Dimiaonon of Dimiao, Banay Loaynon of Loay, Lumad Maribojocanon, Tribo Matahum nga Talibon, Pundok sa Nagkahiusang Ubayabon of Ubay and Tribung Hamiling Sang-at of Valencia would be pitted against each other on the most creative interpretation of the Sandugo in both street dancing and ritual showdown.

Expect then at least two thousand dancers, instrumentalists, propsmen, choreographers and support staff to unveil in their most artistic way local themes, concepts and stories to the kuradang sa Sandugo beat.

Tagbilaran City, a heavy contender for the championship is not among the competitors, being the provincial entry to the nearby Sinulog Festival in January.

Also, past major contenders: Loon, Loboc, Tubigon, Panglao are notably begging off, making this year’s street dancing hurdle more open for participating towns with Catigbian as the only entry with a champion pedigree.

While the past Sandugo dancing was saturated by borrowed beats and steps courtesy of choreographers from other festivals, this year’s Sandugo promises a do-away from those, with trained Boholano choreographers and directors seeing to it that the past cultural blunders do not recur.

And to make sure that ingenuity surfaces over tainted and borrowed culture, judging this year’s showdown are the country’s top culture and heritage aficionados.

Among them are Chris Millado, a Multi-awarded Theater Director and producer, former CCP Artistic Director, and Festival Director of the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival; Marichu Tellano, former Deputy Executive Director of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, Eminent Specialist on Culture and the Arts Sustainable Development, Culture in Governance, and the Creative Economy; Shirley Halili-Cruz, Outstanding Dance Teacher and founder of multi-awarded and internationally renowned Shirley Halili Cruz school of Dance; Dr. Nicanor Tiongson, Cultural Heritage Expert and Guru, Critic and former Artistic Director of the Cultural Center of the Philippines and Alice Reyes, National Artist for Dance, Outstanding Choreographer and Founder of the globally renowned Alice Reyes Dance Company.

Up for grabs, aside from the bragging rights are P1,000,000 and a package of development project for the Grand winner, P800K and development project for the first runner up, P700K and project for second runner up, P600K and development project for third runner up, P500K and development project for fourth runner up.

Consolation prizes of 300K and development projects are in for the next 4 contingents, so nobody comes home with an empty bag.

Best in Street Dancing Contingent also sets P300K, Best in Musicality and Best in Props and Design gets P100K each. (PIAbohol)