FEATURE

Living in LAB,

on a prayer

It was a few dots before eight, and there was already a buzz of activity in the highway roadside in Cabad, Balilihan.

A lady, wielding a midrib broom, was sweeping the grass in the lawn, the sweet rustic aroma of freshly mowed grass rise in contra-point with the scent of cooking caramel and burnt grass.

Moments later, men carrying a collapsible tent marched in to put up a makeshift sunshade for the early morning activity.

Judging by the number of monobloc chairs arranged under the tent, this would be a social event.

Activity buzzed in the dainty green-painted native house of woven bamboo and finished hollow blocks peeping behind a closed and abandoned shop, in front of the tent set up.

Ladies hang curtains, swept the cement floor, while in the kitchen, on a low fire was a vat where biko was cooking.

The house, built by free labor from Cabad barangay officials and by members of the Philippine National Police in Balilihan, is set for turn-over to Cristobala Gasatan Lozada, widow and about to turn 70.

Married after being swept off in a chance romantic encounter with a betrothed guy from Desamparados Calape, Manang Cristobala or Bala to her neighbors, sure knows that the handsome Juan Lozada, with a bagful of cash for his supposed wedding, can only be serious with her, if he persists.

A full summer of courting, staying with her family in Balilihan for the fiesta, their Bohol vacation ended with a civil marriage that marked the end of their commitment to live through thick and thin, with a thick wad of prayers everyday.

Now, with their five children already having families of their own, the bouncy Manang Bala, who wears a crown of silver hair, can hardly be imagined to be turning 70, something a stressful life could not give.

Apart from the disconnect in her age and physical bearing, anyone knowing her would hardly believe how she would survived fate she has gotten into.

Both Bala and husband Juan slid through the peak of comfortable wealth: her face now still bearing the cool aura seasoned by years as sales lady at the Aristocrat Lamps, the forefathers of Aristocrat Home of Lamps in Manila, while Juan, a brilliant millwright of Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific (AG and P) working in Qatar.

For them, with her husband wanting her to go full time as a housewife, she tended a small retail store on Paranaque, where they were made care takers of a house in a subdivision.

Later on, it turned out that the money used to build the house was dirty money, they were evicted. And she continued to pray.

As fate would have it, good things do not last. Then things started to spiral out of control.

With her husband in Qatar, she decided to bring the kids home to Balilihan.

Juan followed them there, making use whatever he can earn cash on, determined to do everything firmly believing that somebody would provide for them.

And then, Juan fell ill with cancer.

Unable to work, she has to singularly support the family and the medical needs of an ill husband.

In 2004, after using up all their savings, her husband died.

But yet with unrelenting faith and trust in divine providence, Nang Bala has to singularly bring up the kids, find a job and feed them.

From then, doing odd jobs, keeping prayer in her pockets, the kids grew and had families of their own, leaving her and her youngest in their small house.

And then, Odette happened.

She was teary-eyed, sometimes pausing to control her trembling lips as she recalls the hard times she has been though, especially during the hardest test of all.

It is quite a wonder how, all through the years, Manang Bala continues to keep to a clockwork schedule, praying after waking up at the break of dawn, slicing bananas into splits, cooking for the kids and preparing them to school.

Now that she is alone, working for her own and sometimes to share to her grandchildren’s needs, is what she is preoccupied, like all grandmas.

With a house totally ravaged by Odette, Bala met with social workers from the Department of Social Welfare and Development who saw her totally damaged house, her being a senior citizen, and alone.

For this, she was considered her for a P15,000 livelihood assistance.

I was interviewed and it went well, so I was expecting that I can finally get something to start up again, that, I prayed like I never had prayed earnestly, she shared.

Living on a P700 weekly capital, Bala makes sure that she could profit so she could buy her food, and habal-habal fare to the nearby state college as she vends snacks: banana splits.

Bring the bananas here on the table, she instructs to the lady neighbour cooking in the kitchen, as the community helped her prepare for the VIPS in the turn over ceremonies.

The bananas they are cooking are those that she is supposed to sell so she can buy a few kilos of rice for tonight.

No, this is my humble contribution, my way of thanking those who helped me rebuild the house, she insisted, when somebody said, she could sell the bananas instead.

And thinking of the DSWD help, she already had in mind what to do with the money. The livelihood assistance could be a big help, she mused.

Unfortunately, she said she was scraped from the final list, something she tags to local politics.

Aho nang gitugyan tanan sa Ginoo, kon kinsay makahatag naho og gikan sa financial, ug uban pa, labi na karon nga nagkinahanglan ko og puhunan sa ahong gamay nga negosyo. Giinterview man unta ko sa livelihood, nakapasar man unta ko adtong panahona, sa panahon sa Odette, pero natingala ko ngano nga apil man unta kos interview, nakapasar man unta ko, pero ngano nga pag-abut didto sa Balilihan, gi-erase man ang akong ngalan?

But in her draining luck, along came Governor Erico Aristotle Aumentado who met the community of Cabad.

Using the last ounce of courage and humility, she asked the top official to help her rebuild her house.

A few weeks later, that P80,000 house which is slightly bigger than the old Lozada house stands.

Funded solely by Aumentados, the house is one of the 145 houses which the police and the top leaders, wanted to build under Aumentado’s Balay sa Paglaum and the PNP Libreng Alagad og Balay in 20024.

Another 152 are slated to be built in 2026, says Police Lieutenant Colonel Norman Nuez, at the side lines of the turn-over.

I am so happy I have good neighbors, even happier that the governor and his family gave this house, she said as she entertained a pastor and her church members after s short house dedication before the turn-over.

For her visitors, she bought pilit and cooked biko. She also cooked the last of her ripe cooking bananas for her neighbors, from her P700 capital

In fact, she spent the last P200 of her 700 capital for the guy who mowed her lawn.

Wala na ko makahibaw asa ko ani, pero, ingon man ang ginoo, tan-awa ang mga langgam, wala sila magtanum apan makakaon, mao nga salig lang ta, she said.

She may have spent the last of her P700 which is her means to get food for the morrow, but like her namesake San Cristobal, keeping the faith amidst the hardships, and a prayer coming in handy, Nang

Bala does not think she will be hungry or starve to death.

Not now that she has a decent house, that is one less worry. (PIABohol)

LIVING ON A PRAYER. Widowed now, Cristobala Lozada could not contain her happiness for getting a free decent house to live in, after years of having to settle in a kitchen that was left of their house after Odette. She thanks Libreang Alagad og Balay and the Balay sa Paglaum benefactors. (PIABohol)

BENEVOLENCE. Manang Cristobala poses with her house benefactors: the Philippine National Police in Bohol, the Aumentados and the Barangay Officials’ free labor, here represented by Cabad Barangay Chairman.(PIABohol)

Public ‘satellite internet’

for remote villages soon

CORTES, Bohol, Feb 8 (PIA)—Because information has become a massively important for development, and with the advances in accessing information through internet connectivity, the Provincial Government of Bohol through its Sangguniang Panlalawigan, is into facilitating the internet connection of some last mile barangays, through an ordinance.

This as the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Region 7- Bohol said that in 2024, Bohol has about 250 barangay halls which do not have communication signal in short messaging system (SMS) or texting, voice or data connection due to their being too far from the reach of cellular networks.

However, of that number, 29 barangay halls succeeded in accessing free Wireless Fidelity (Wifi) through the DICT and its technologies.

Using similar models, Bohol intends to pick on the strategy to allow information through the last mile so communities can also access technologies, innovation and high speed learning.

Bohol’s solution is through a small investment in satellite internet connection, which shall bridge the digital division and information access for those remote areas, free for public users.

Here, the Provincial Government purchases the hardware and other necessary equipment for satellite internet connection for the remote barangays.

In partnership with reputable satellite internet service providers to ensure the efficient operation of the satellite internet services in the remote areas, the satellite signal is then passed to the installed local wireless signal receiver, in the barangay hall.

BICTO and DICT picks the strategic location of the barangay and provides for the necessary equipment and installation of hardware unit for free internet service in the barangay.

Through a resolution requesting the installation of free public internet, a barangay can avail of the program.

And then the barangay pays for the subscription of the internet service provider, maintains the internet service and report to project management team when and internet connection problem occurs.

As soon as the barangay now decides to discontinue the service, they notify BICTO, and return the hardware so the Provincial Government can assign the unit to a barangay which requests for the service. (RAHC/PIA-7/Bohol)

Authorities mull on closed fishing

season for select fishing grounds

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, Feb 8 (PIA)—Just as the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR) implements a 7-year Fisheries and Coastal Resilience (FISHCoRe) Project to improve food security and more resilient ecosystems and communities, authorities mull on implementing closed-fishing season in selected fishing grounds alternately for three months.

The proposal came amidst the noted decline of fish catch, which by laws of economy, drives the prices up.

BFAR Regional Director Mario Ruinata, in his keynote address during the BFAR FISHCoRe Roadshow, pointed out that this year, the fish catch all over the Visayas is just 34% of the 52,000 metric tons that is needed to sufficiently respond to the people’s needs.

The roadshow came to disseminate FISHCoRe programs in a bid to conserve, preserve, protect and balance the marine environment for sustainable fisheries and empowered communities, Ruinata explained.

Fisheries holds an immense significance for Bohol and its future, the BFAR official said.

To do this, BFAR stressed the need for community based fisheries management, to which they urged community collaboration in the undertaking.

FishCore, a World Bank funded project implemented by BFAR, however only looks at the management of fisheries in the seas of Ubay, President Carlos P Garcia, Candijay, Mabini, Anda, Guindulman, Duero, Jagna, Garcia Hernandez, Valencia, Dimiao, Lila, Loay, Alburquerque, Baclayon, Tagbilaran, Dauis and Panglao.

And while the BFAR works with fisheries stakeholders in these towns, Bohol is looking into implementing a localized closed fishing season, to stabilize fish stocks, increase supply and then reduce fishing tension, explained Bohol fisheries consultant Alfeo Piloton.

Piloton, a former BFAR Regional Director assigned in Region 7, Region 10 and 12, and a resident of Guindulman, himself saw what a closed fishing season can do, as a retired BFAR executive.

When the FISHCoRe project areas within the Fisheries Management Area 9 (FMA 9) may agree to implement a closed fishing area for a certain kind of fish in a fishing ground in Bohol Sea, fishing grounds encompassing 2, 822,800 hectares and covering 5 different regions, Region 7, 8, 9, 10 and 13, Bohol’s closed fishing season plan entails waters within Bohol’s municipal waters.

A fishing ground shared by many provinces like the FMA 9 may need a national directive for implementation, but for municipal waters, an executive order is an effective governing policy.

The Philippine Fisheries Code (Republic Act 10654) defines closed season as “the period during which the taking of specified fishery species by a specified fishing gear is prohibited in a specified area or areas in the Philippine waters.”

DA-BFAR saw implementing a closed-fishing season as "a critical conservation measure."

A policy backed by science, it aims to allow fish stocks to replenish and secure a long term food security for communities dependent on the managed areas.

Under the closed fishing policy, pre-determined key fishing grounds are off-limits to large-scale fishing or types of fishing gear designed to catch the kind of fish for conservation, for three months.

Proposed for closed fishing season upon the completion of a fishery management plan and public consultation are sardines (Tamban-tuloy or hawol-hawol), mackerel (Budboron or Anduhaw), siganid (danggit and kitong), and possibly bullet tuna (tulingan or pirit).

Closed Fishing season for blue crab (Alimasag or lambay) has also been contemplated for the seas in northern Bohol.

With a closed fishing season over an area, it would allow breeding and spawning, and the juveniles to mature enough while undisturbed.

While on closed fishing season, alternative livelihood would be given to communities directly affected by the policy, he said.

Piloton however acknowledged the challenge of enforcement during closed fishing season even if Bohol keeps an interagency and inter LGU coastal law enforcement council clusters. (PIABohol)

BE NEAR, BFAR. BFAR regional Director Mario Ruinata joins Boholano FISHCoRe stakeholders and revealed a fisheries management policy on closed fishing season, when fishing for specific kind of fish is banned for three months to allow the fish to spawn, grow into juveniles and then mature. (PIABohol)

Gov deputizes DENR, CLEC

PCG, PNP to enforce EO 10

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, Feb 7 (PIA)—The ball is now in the hands of the mayors of Lila, Alburquerque and Dauis, the local offices of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environment Management Bureau (DENR-EMB), Philippine National Police-Maritime Group (PNP Maritime), Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Coastal Law Enforcement Councils in enforcing the cessation of whale shark interaction in Bohol.

This as Bohol governor Erico Aristotle Aumentado, in an executive order, deputizes concerned government agencies and groups based here to enforce the stoppage of whale shark interactions in Bohol.

A known migration path of whales, dolphins and other pelagic fishes, Bohol sea, especially the seas south of Bohol, have seen the annual parade of whales, dolphins and large pelagic fish including whale sharks that need to follow their migration paths to pick forage on diets that complete their body requirements.

In fact, in nearby Pamilacan Island, the dolphins and whale migration has become a profitable tourism activity and was cited internationally for sustainable tourism in its dolphin-watch Pamilacan.

The activity is a full reverse of the community’s tradition of whale hunting by manually manhandling the giant whales and piercing large hooks into their bodies to assure capture and slaughter.

With the tourism revenues from this activity, bringing premiums to the island, copy cats including the ones in Balicasag dolphin and whale watching activities, the operators oblivious of the interaction regulations to make sure the wild animals are not hurt or get into the risk of getting hurt.

As the people by the coasts see the migrating whales, the only assurance that these gentle animals stay, is by feeding them with small amounts of krill and plankton, as they pass by specific locations.

In Bohol, years after Lila opened its whale shark interactions and pinned the town in the tourism map, Alburqueque, a another town along the migration corridor also opened their own whale-shark interactions.

Not a year later, Dauis town mayor issues a provisional permit for whale shark interaction in Catarman.

As early as November 2023, Aumentado formed an inter-agency team to investigate reports of illegal feeding practices used to attract whale sharks for tourism activities.

Indeed, the team confirmed that the Lila whale-shark activities involved feeding the marine animals with krill, having seen krill and its telltale odor, at the interaction sites.

In fact, the same inter-agency team noted that the operators of whale-shark interaction activities have not secured the necessary clearances from concerned national agencies including the DENR and the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

Aumentado was concerned because one location of the interaction in Alburquerque is within the established Alburquerque-Loay-Loboc Protected Landscape which is in the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS)

Bohol incidentally passed Provincial Ordinance No 2020-008 last March 32 and a Joint Memorandum Circular No 1 series of 2020-008 issued by the Department of Tourism, DENR, DA, and the Department of Interior and Local Government which provides rules and regulations governing sustainable marine wildlife tourism interaction, consistent with the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals.

In the EO, Aumentado said that both the Provincial Ordinance and the JMC prohibit any methods designed to attract marine wildlife using food whether artificial or natural, including but not limited to luring, baiting, chumming and feeding.

Feeding the whale sharks, migratory marine animals to lure them to interaction areas, disrupts their natural behavior and threatens the balance and healthful ecology, the governor in the EO assailed.

He fears that the foul odor from the feeds may reach Panglao and the surrounding waters of Balicasag Island, which can severely compromise the over-all image of Bohol and its tourism industry, and disrupt the thousands of Boholano livelihood which are dependent on tourism.

The suspension of activities however may be rebooted as soon as the DENR, BIR, Bohol Environment Management Office and concerned local government units confirm that all requirements of a safe, sustainable and managed activities are ensured and a comprehensive industry-wide consultation with stakeholders and conservation groups have been thoroughly observed. (PIABohol)

GHOST TOWN. Its eerily silent when people who have been used to having thousands of tourists every day from 6 to 10 AM lining up to board small boats for the whale shark inter-action. Governor Aumentado has issued a stoppage of whale shark interactions, as these have been unsustainably and illegally operated. (PIA photo by Cesar Capangpangan)

NHA EHAP

Loon ‘Odette’ victims

richer by P 23 million

LOON, Bohol, Feb 6 (PIA)—Loon is P23 million richer.

This is how Loon Municipal Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Officer Marina Loquinte, saw amidst the buzz of activity inside the Loon Townsquare Cultural Center, where typhoon Odette victims in 2021, line up to claim the government’s P10,000.00 Emergency Housing Assistance Program (EHAP) as typhoon beneficiaries, three years later.

“Seeing the sudden cash inflow bids well for the local economy,” she said, seeing that the hard ware stores and variety stalls are also cashing in on the brisk sales.

A town with the most number of barangays in Bohol at 67, Loon which sits in the western side of Bohol is among the hardest hit during typhoon Odette.

Three years later, residents have already repaired their houses, the trace of destruction hardly visible now, except when one knows where and what to look.

Still, the cash inflow, belated it may be, still stimulates the local economy when the beneficiaries start spending.

In 2021, Loon listed 2,454 households with totally damaged houses, 629 or some 25% of these are those houses in Cabilao Island.

The assistance is for house repair, but many have already repaired their houses over the years, that some of the beneficiaries immediately brought home some groceries, canned goods and even ready cooked food, bought from the stalls around the town square.

Governor Erico Aristotle Aumentado, who was in Loon for the distribution asked Loonanons to stretch their patience a little bit, as the NHA themselves and not the LGUS would be handing out the assistance.

He also cited how the NHA is also tagged with similar tasks in the 13 other towns in the two-week distribution schedule and the appreciation of the documents which other LGUS have submitted for assistance funding.

Maayo na lang nang late, [kay sa wala], dili dali sa NHA nag pagdistribute kay daghan ang biktima, mao nga daghan pod ang angay tabangan. Manghinaut kami nga inyong ipadayon ang pagsalig sa goberno, ayaw sabta nga wala maghunahuna ang goberno. Unta, kanang inyong P10K, inyong gamiton para ipaayo sa balay, kay atong himunduman ang katuyuan sa tabang, Aumentado urged.

Florencia Plazos Pantoja, 76 years old from Calayugan Sur off Sandingan Island said like most, she has almost forgotten that there was an assistance, that tin sheets from what is left of their roof that was blown off at the heat of the storm, is what they nailed to temporarily shelter her family.

Pantoja said the storm blew their roof off and carried it past two houses, and that they had to evacuate to a safer shelter days after that.

With the assistance, she would be buying plywood sheets and pay a carpenter to replace the tin sheets that have become their walls after Odette splintered their walls then.

On the other hand, Apolonio Bastida, homeowner, has to send his wife Daniela to claim their government assistance. The Bastidas were among the 49 house owners of Canhangdon, who totally lost their houses to the typhoon’s rage.

National Housing Authority (NHA) Bohol head Genesis Manalili said this time, the NHA targets to get to 7452 beneficiaries from 14 towns whose requests for assistance have been sufficiently complied with documentary requirements following government validation.

In some towns, the NHA initially gave P5,000 to owners of totally damaged houses, and the other half, they are giving out in the next two weeks of EHAP distribution.

This batch of EHAP distribution covers beneficiaries of the towns of Guindulman, Loon, Duero, Valencia, Sevilla, Batuan, Bilar, Dauis, Loay, Antequera, Cortes, Maribojoc and Balilihan, Manalili named.

This entails the 78,205,000 to be distributed to the beneficiaries from the municipalities above.

It may be recalled that in 2021, after the syper-typhoon wreaked havoc in Bohol, the NHA asked the local government units to submit a list of totally and partially ruined houses.

Some LGUS were quick to submit their lists, and the process was for these LGUS to request funds which the NHA has to submit to the central office, and along that while, the NHA has to personally validate the list.

There are LGUS that quickly complied, others were not as fast, and with the long process and documentary requirements for compliance, it will take some time. In fact, there are still some LGUS which have not fully complied with the requirements, Manalili updated.

On this, for beneficiaries who were not able to claim their assistance on the days they were supposed to claim it, can go to the NHA Office this February 17-20, for their benefits. (PIABohol)

SORTING OUT DISCREPANCIES. NHA Bohol chief Genesis Manalili, (rightmost) led the Bohol team in fixing out the documents from the beneficiaries to straighten out their claims for the EHAP, where the government gave out P10,000 for emergency housing assistance in Loon. (PIABohol)

Bohol Light rebrands: better service

Sustainable, reliable, cheap power

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, Feb 5 (PIA)—Bohol Light, stands up to Bohol Governor Erico Aristotle Aumentado’s challenge to help in building a smart, resilient and inclusive province, starting with a sustainable and cheap power in Tagbilaran, to entice investors to Bohol.

During the unveiling of the new face of Bohol Light Company Incorporated which revealed a rebrand after 25 years of service to Tagbilaranons, Bohol Light and PrimeElectric Holding Inc., President and Chief Executive Officer Roel Castro hinted that their P1 billion capital investments in Tagbilaran would answer to the challenge.

Castro, during an after event press conference, said after the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines commissions its new 100 MVA Cebu-Bohol Interconnection Project (CBIP) and attains power supply redundancy in Bohol, part of the Bohol Light investment is to fund the 12 kilometers Corella sub-station lines to connect its existing three substations.

The CBIP involves 54 kilometers of transmission lines carried by 179 overhead towers from Argao to Dumanjug Substation in Cebu and from Maribojoc to Corella Substation in Bohol, which when commissioned, assures Bohol stable supply even when the existing Leyte-Bohol transmission line meets problems.

With the stable supply, Bohol Light makes it even more useful for Tagbilaran because, keeping its own redundant systems while being connected to NGCP, any major rehabilitation in any of its existing substations, the connectivity allows substantial power to fill in the needed supply, bringing down the chances of power outages, according to Castro.

Aside from the three established Bohol Light sub-stations: the 10 MVA in Poblacion and the 25 MVA substation in Dampas, Bohol Light also keeps a 20 MVA mobile substation.

With the projected development of the Bohol Business Park at the old airport, Castro revealed that Bohol Light would be setting up a 1 kilo volt ampere (1KVA) substation at the old airport for the use of the establishments that would soon rise there.

These substations are linked through a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system: a software whose main task is to monitor and control an electrical grid system based on the information it collects from the substations within that system, that any problem in the transmission lines, engineers can remotely isolate and fix the problem.

This not only solves pilferage, loss of power, this can also facilitate the reroute of power to affected areas for continued services.

The new face of the company which is partly owned by the Provincial Government of Bohol, would also be putting up a new phase in their service to Tagbilaran with a new head office and a new warehouse.

As to cheaper power, Bohol Light commits to utilize more percentages of renewable energy in its power mixes to continue bringing down the rates.

In Ilo-Ilo City, MorePower, Bohol Light’s sister company implements an online real time power trading that assures them the purchase of cheapest power available for future trading, and other innovative investments.

Another part of Bohol Light’s investments is plotting all seven Bohol Light feeders to an online platform that allows real-time response to customer complaints, Castro said.

In an audio video presentation, Bohol Light’s new brand of service efficiency includes not just a fully manned 24/7 helpline with a standby crew and response team.

Through this, is online Bohol Konek for simplified application process for new consumers, Bohol Kolek, an manned online collection facility.

As to the problems of connecting informal settlers, it is now done in a compromise undertaking with the building officials without compromising safety.

Since we started, hundreds have been connected, Castro commented.

On the other hand, the facility also has Bohol Korek, a technical support service for meter recalibration to assure consumers that they are paying for the correct amount of usage.

And then, there is Bohol Update where Bohol Light dishes out announcements to insure transparency and accuracy. (PIABohol)

BETTER SERVICE. With the challenge of upping the service from the older management, Bohol Light now implements a billion peso investment to modernize and make the company more accessible to the consumers, says Roel Castro, president and CEO. (PIABohol)