Gi-ok sa pasalamat: Cortes’

native dance to Santo Niño

It is Sinulog season across the Visayan islands.

If every once in a while, thunderous beats wake you from the stupor of the holidays, it is because somewhere nearby, communities are in the boil of preparations for the most festive time of year, in the region.

Sinulog, a pagan dance ritual patterned after the forward and backward swirling of the tides passing through the Visayan islands, has become an adopted religious dance performed to seek the Holy Child’s intercession, to thank the child God for blessings and favors granted.

Sangpit sa Señor (Call on the Lord) shortened to “Pit Señor,” reverberate after every end of the music bar, and the choreographed waving of hands is a trademark for non-dancers joining the festival.

Here, lavishly-costumed dancers, parade through the streets, dancing and hoisting the image of the Santo Nino, while percussion musicians improvise and introduce the un-mistakeable and yet borrowed mardigras beat into the native dance.

But, did you know that in several areas in Bohol, a different kind of pagan dance rests dormant in the memory of the old, and could still stir and wake to the right beat?

Gi-ok, roughly translates to feet-threshing to separate the harvested rice grain from the bunch.

In pre-Hispanic rice producing communities like Camayaan in old Cortes, after a good harvest, communities gather, step into elevated wooden platforms for the job.

As workers lay the harvested bunch heavy with grains on the platform, people climb up and literally tread on the grains to force them off the bunch. Slits in the platform’s floor allow the grains to drop and be collected below, while people continue to trample on the un-separated grains.

To keep their balance in the platform, those who tread on the grains hold on to a hand rail, while one hand works as a sail to keep their balance

To get the most grains off, they grind and twist their soles on the bunch, creating a unique dance step: giok.

Made then as a dance of thanksgiving for the bountiful harvest and offered to a pagan child god called ‘Ay Sanu,’ gi-ok dancers mimic the processes of planting and harvesting, with the twisting as the main feet movement, recalls Monico Ligan, a septuagenarian gi-ok dancer in an interview decades ago.

But how did the pagan dance get to be brought to the church?

According to old people from nearby Tupas and Viga in Antequera, the usual harvest thanksgiving to the child god is in January, and it coincides with the feast of the Santo Nino, which incidentally is also the Holy Child.

As most of the villagers would rather stay in their fields for the gi-ok thanks giving, missionary priests urged the people to bring the community and the thanksgiving to the new town center in Cortes, so they can dance in front of the Holy Child.

Danced to the beat of the gimbaw; a native wooden drum topped with a stretched goat skin, brass gong and bamboo tingko (kuratong-baleleng), the unmistakeable bom-bo-lo-om-bo-om-bom fills the entire festival grounds as dancers spill into the stone church’s puerta mayor lorded over by the Santo Nino Principe.

And here, people do not dance before the red vested Santo Niño unlike the ones in Cebu.

Giok thanksgiving dancers perform before the Santo Niño, but the one in a Principe Legazpi costume: while breeches, black boots, black overcoat, and a tricorn hat: a strong statement of power and dominion over the natives.

A dance marathon that happens after the pontifical mass of the feastday of the Santo Niño de Cortes, gi-ok beats only stop when dancers run out.

Catch the possibly only surviving gi-ok dance of annual thanksgiving in Cortes, this Tuesday from 10 AM onwards. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)

TWISTING MOVEMENTS OF THE SOLES. Gio-ok, or the act of trampling on the bunch of palay to separate the grain from the bunch, is the fundamental step of the dance of thanksgiving to the pagan child god and is not reverted to the Santo Nino, and in Cortes, it is not performed in front of red robed Nino but the Principe garbed in a soldier (Legazpi) costume. Here, dancers mimic the act of planting rice. (PIABohol)

THE GREATEST SIGN OF SUBJUGATION. Native dancers who used to be pagans were made to dance the pagan dance Giok before the Nino Principe (Legazpi) outside the church and not in front of the traditionally red garbed Santo Nino. (PIABohol)

Gov Aris donates 360K for

PNP’s “Libre Alagad Balay

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, Jan 13 (PIA) – To jump start the Libreng Alagad ug Balay (LAB) Project for law abiding under-privileged Boholanos, Governor Erico Aristotle Aumentado handed in P360.00 to the Philippine National Police, January 10.

Turned over during the police provincial office command conference, the donation could immediately send the police and volunteer sectors into building low-cost but decent houses to poor Boholanos this early of the year, said Bohol Police Provincial Director Lorenzo A. Batuan.

Speaking during the latest joint meeting of the Provincial Peace and Order council meeting at the Capitol Ceremonial Hall, Col Batuan explained that Camp Dagohoy, in partnership with the Provincial Government of Bohol, the Dioceses of Tagbilaran and Talibon through its Balay sa Gugma project, congressional representatives, law enforcement agencies, business sector, religious institutions, youth and civil society volunteers initiated project LAB to provide decent shelter to selected beneficiaries from less fortunate families who have been God fearing and law abiding.

The houses, costing about P60,000 to P70,000, is funded by police partners, business organizations, establishments, and generous individuals, while the labor counterpart is given by church volunteers from the diocese and police volunteers including community volunteers and neighbors in Bayanihan, shared Police Lieutenant Colonel Norman Nuez, in a separate guesting at the Kapihan sa PIA.

Built on a 6 x 10 to 7 x 10 meters floor area, the house would already have bedrooms, a living room, dining and a little kitchen.

Some of the houses had cement flooring, with piles of concrete hollow block and amakan or plywood walls, galvanized iron sheets for roofing

Last year, BPPO has turned over some 12 houses when they started building in May and completed the 12 last December.

Five of the new houses were built for District I beneficiaries, three for District 2 and 2 for district 3.

Built houses for families who were not able to recover from the earthquake and the string of super typhoons that followed, these new decent houses are in Poblacion Norte, Carmen, Lapacan Sur Buenavista, Zamora Talibon, Campatud Loon, San Isidro Mabini, Soom Trinidad, Mayacabac Dauis, Mahayag Norte Catigbian, Maitum Catigbian, Bagacay-Cawayan in Loon, Imelda in Duero and Nahud in Danao.

Both Governor Aumentado and his wife Congresswoman Vanessa Aumentado have been among the tow contributors to the fund, but even the police force allocates some of their monthly pay for the project through a pledging system, Nuez added.

Project LAB is part of the Kasimbayanan Programs as implemented by the Police Community Affairs and Development Unit.

Other than Project LAB, the police are also implementing Generous Officers Offering Desirable Deeds for a genuine Community Orient Programs and Services (GOOD COPS). (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)

BEFORE AND AFTER. Among the recipients of the Project LAB is a couple from Bohol’s second District, who apparently had to live in this shed, and would probably continue to live here, had not the community helped them start anew. Project LAB is part of the PNP’s efforts to endear itself to the communities to earn their trust and support. (PIAbohol/PNP)

Bohol police builds on LAB

To earn community’s help

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol Jan 13 (PIA) –Camp Francisco Dagohoy is giving the police motto: serve and protect, a new twist.

In 2022, Bohol Provincial Police Office (BPPO), along with its partners, built 12 decent houses for Bohol’s poor across its three districts, said Police Lieutenant Colonel Norman Nuez, unit head of the Police Community Affairs and Development (PCAD) during the recent Kapihan sa PIA.

Through project Libreng Alagad ug Balay (LAB) for Law-abiding beneficiaries (lab), it is a package of free service and labor as well as material to build a livable house, 12 family-beneficiaries have since relocated from their earthquake or storm damaged houses to the newly built structures.

Done in partnership with the Provincial Government of Bohol, Dioceses of Tagbilaran and Talibon through its Balay sa Gugma, congressional representatives, law enforcement agencies, business establishments, institutions, organization and volunteers, LAB intends to promote cooperation and partnerships to provide decent shelters to selected beneficiaries from less fortunate families who are God-fearing and law-abiding Boholanos, the police community affairs unit head explained.

More than that, the projects promotes and relives the Filipino Bayanihan while motivating generous Boholanos into helping provide the essential services and materials in building decent shelters to qualified and needing beneficiaries, he added.

The houses measure from 5x10 meters to 6x10 meters with labor provided by police volunteers, carpenters from the communities, LGU workers, so the beneficiaries need not spend for the construction.

He also said that police put in a part of their salaries to the project, putting up the starter fund for another beneficiary.

In turn, most beneficiaries, whom local police authorities identify based on their patrol experiences, pay back by continuing to be good citizens and helping their neighborhood in their activities.

As a frontliner government agency tasked to serve and protect the people’s rights and property, the 2000 police warm-bodies in Bohol face a much bigger and real responsibility:

Taking care of 1.3 million Boholanos, about 800,00 tourists and an undetermined number of day tourists, transients local criminals pose a major challenge that can be remedied by making the police endeared by the communities.

We need all the help we can get, LtCol Nuez hinted as the organization also implemented Generous Officers Offering Desirable deeds in Genuine Community Outreach Program and Services (GOOD COPS).

The program as part of the Community Service-Oriented Policing, intends to dispel the accusations that all policemen are scalawags.

With GOOD COPS, our activities include going to communities giving of food packs, used clothing, tree planting and community service activities, join Brigada Eskwela, clean up drives, offer community information and advocacy lectures on anti-crime, women and children protection, anti-gang, and the Batang Masaya featuring party mascots and events advocacy, he enumerated.

With these, Bohol police is accomplishing decently in its Barangay Drug Clearing program, according to the official.

With 441 barangays remaining to be uncleared of drugs, BPPO is right on track and are already rolling up their sleeves to increase the 60% of 1109 barangays cleared of illegal drugs.

Here, the local police called anew individuals and communities to join them in the police programs to significantly dent on the drug problem as the local force implements measures to reduce the demand and reduce the supply as well. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)

SPREADING LAB. BPPO PCAD chief LtCol Norman Nuez and PCorporal Aldrin Palaca shares police accomplishment on their Libreng Alagad ug Balay: a house building program for disadvantaged law-abiding Boholanos, as their way of Community service-oriented policing system to endear the cops to community and hopefully earn their trust and help in crime busting. (PIABohol)

Pro-active policing results

In 8.36% up crimes count

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol Jan 12 (PIA) –Total crime incidents in Bohol in 2023 inched up about 8.36% over 2022, but Bohol Provincial Police Office chief says, it’s not what you think it is.

Reporting the over-all crime situation comparative for Bohol’s 2022 and 2023 terms, Police Senior Superintendent Lorenzo A. Batuan said a more proactive police force spreading anti-crime campaigns, human rights advocacies and enhanced police presence has facilitated a crime reporting system that helped law enforcement.

In previous years, crimes of rape, especially when these are incestuous, drug personalities in communities as well as criminals are easily busted when communities start to get actively engaged with the police, explains Police Captain Girlie Tolop while helping Colonel Batuan, when asked why crimes are up.

Bohol Provincial Police Office (BPPO) crime statisticians note that from January 1 to December 31, 2022, total crimes logged in police blotters across the province reached 5,679, according to Batuan.

In 2023, for the same period, BPPO noted 475 more cases, which makes up for the 8.36% increase.

Broken down, in 2022, crimes that affect the peace and order situation reached 2,639, which also increased in 2023 by 72 cases, equivalent to 2.73%.

Crimes which are punishable by the Revised Penal Code, or those 8 crimes focused by the police would show in fact that from 803 cases in 2022, it sunk to 766 or some 37 cases lesser for a 4.61% crime decrease, Col Batuan explained.

Crimes punishable by special laws like gambling, illegal drugs, illegal fishing, illegal logging, carnapping, violence against women and children, those in the RPC other than index crimes also increased by 232 cases or 20.90%, courtesy of the police more pro-active efforts at crime fighting, Col Batuan pointed out.

He also showed that in 2022, police initiated anti-crime operations numbered 762, while in 2023, the count bloated to 1,028.

To illustrate, Col Batuan cited 2022’s 433 cases, which with more organized police operations, netted 660 cases, some 227 cases over the previous year.

As to crimes affecting public order and safety, from 3,040 in 2022, crime fighters note a much bigger of 13.26% caused by the 403 more cases.

These include 233 cases of damage to property reports, over the 1361 cases in 2022 to 1594 in 2023, and another 181 cases over the 1588 cases of physical injuries report on 2022 to 1769 in 2023.

As to homicide, police note a 12.09% decrease or some 11 cases from the 91 cases in police blotters in 2022 now at 80 cases.

Over all these, Bohol police explained that the facilitated reporting of crimes following advocacy campaigns could spur complaints of past crimes, but these are not necessarily crimes that happened within the time of reporting. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)

NO CAUSE FOR ALARM. Police Colonel Lorenzo Batuan, Bohol police provincial director explained that the increase in crimes could also be because police are more active in initiating anti-crime operations, rather than wait for crimes to happen. Speaking before PPOC members, Col Batuan added that the Bohol police to population ratio is 1:1000+, so that Bohol needs more communities to help the police serve and protect its citizens. (PIABohol)