Wake-uppers:
Scene: #HelpNaga.
To extend a helping hand to residents of nearby Naga City
in Cebu after a horrendous landslide that claimed lives and displaced
families, you may give your donations to the Philippine Information Agency
(PIA)-Bohol and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG)-Tagbilaran Station at LMP Building,
K OF C Drive, Poblacion II, Tagbilaran City. Urgently needed are clothes, mats,
blankets and pillows for evacuees. For inquiries, call PIA Bohol: (038)
501-8554/ (038) 412-2292 and PCG-Tagbilaran: 09957212548.
Scene: Some Bohol
farmers attended the Saemaul Undong (SMU) lecture on vegetable farming last Thursday,
Sept. 20, in Balilihan town. SMU is a celebrated political and social reform
initiative introduced by then South Korean President Park Chung-Hee in 1970 to
lift his war-torn country out of poverty.
Scene: At
least 2,000 farmers from the different parts of the country gathered for the
7th National Rice Technology Forum held in Talibon town, Bohol.
***
For those who missed last weekend’s news (and why we
are moved, if we are moved):
Jade
Bautista seeks reelection
What a lovely time
(breakfast at Bautista’s residence in Baclayon town) we spent to celebrate
Friday. Of course, provincial board member Jade Bautista was
around, blooming and smiling.
She has retained "The
Face That Refreshes", all sweetness and light, the paradigm of things
bright and beautiful even her busy schedule as a nurse and lawmaker.
Media friends in
attendance were Chito Visarra (dyRD), Bob Galero (dyTR), Ric Obedencio (Bohol
News Today/The Freeman), Dave Responte (dyTR), Rey Tutas (dyRD), Allen Doydora
(dyRD), Atoy Cosap (dyRD), Helen Castaño (GMA News/Inquirer assistant), and
your VRS.
As expected from the
inquisitive media people, Friday’s breakfast with Jade was asked not only about
her career and business but also about her future political plans.
Chito told Jade about the
latest political development in Bohol.
Ric seconded Chito, saying the 2019 elections would be colorful as usual.
Everyone asked, is she or
isn’t she? Running in 2019, that is.
Since Jade’ track record
is so squeaky clean, politicians and other people are said to have invited her
to run as mayor in Bilar town in 2019. But Jade has not even thought about
taking that another big leap.
She said she will run
again for board member for the third district of Bohol.
“I will stay to serve the
people of the third district,” said Jade, the chairperson of the Committee on
Health and Public Sanitation.
As for her, Jade wants to
hear fellow Boholanos say, “She has served us well” at the end of her term as board
member.
By 2019, Edgar Chatto will be retiring as governor,
having served for three consecutive terms (9 years). But it does not mean he’s
really retiring from public service…or from leading a fruitful private life.
Last week in Balilihan
town, Gov. Chatto said he will run for Congressman in the first district of
Bohol.
“The direction is bringing
the voice again of the first district. Of course, mag-agad na sa Ginoo ug sa
katawhan,” he said.
Incumbent Jagna Councilor
Anthony Aniscal said he is seeking reelection.
The broadcaster turned lawmaker has sponsored not less than 20
legislations at SB Jagna—and counting.
“The people are my
inspirations for faithfully doing the job,” he said.
Incidentally, Jagna is
celebrating its 387th founding anniversary and fiesta on Sept. 29. The St. Michael the Archangel Parish Church
has its newly-renovated/restored Sanctuario.
***
Fuertes is
Panglao Mayor- DILG
Last Monday, Sept. 17, seven
hours after Pedro Fuertes and Leonila Montero – who both claimed being the
legitimate mayor of the town – attended the municipality’s flag raising
ceremony, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) put to rest
the nine-day standoff and recognized Fuertes as the lawful local chief
executive of Panglao.
DILG Regional Director
Leocado Trovela issued the directive favoring Fuertes last September 14.
DILG Provincial Director
Johnjoan Mende and municipal local government operations officer Sofronio
Abing, Jr. arrived at 2:30 p.m. Monday at the town hall to give
the order.
However, Montero was not
at her office when DILG personnel arrived. It was her municipal administrator
Alejandro Arbotante who faced the personnel. The order was served at 3:30
p.m.
 |
DILG ends nine-day
standoff at the Panglao Municipal Hall as it recognized
Pedro Fuertes as the
town’s rightful mayor on Monday, September 17, 2018.
/Photo
by Leo Udtohan
According to Mende, the
directive would end the confusion as to who was the mayor, as well as conclude
the impasse and avert any possible violence at the town hall.
“We cannot have two
mayors. Mayor Pedro Fuertes is still recognized as mayor,” Mende said.
In the five-page decision,
the DILG said Montero’s move was premature.
“Per record and report,
this Office was informed that respondent Mayor Montero re-assumed office as
Mayor of Panglao, Bohol on Sept. 10, 2018 and continues to discharge her
functions. Thus, such re-assumption to office is premature,” the DILG order and
directive stated.
“Accordingly, respondent
Montero should continue serving the penalty of dismissal with all its accessory
penalties imposed in Ombudsman Joint Order dated 19 Jan. 2018 relative to OMB-V
-A -15-2084, unless directed otherwise by a competent court,” it added.
“I am still the
full-fledged mayor of Panglao,” Fuertes said.
Vice Mayor Briccio
Velasco, meanwhile, was ordered to continue his function as vice mayor.
Tension was
felt during Monday’s flag raising ceremony at the municipal hall as
Fuertes and Montero attended the event.
Both even gave their
speeches before the employees.
Montero told employees
that her comeback was based on facts.
“The fact is I am the duly
reelected mayor of Panglao,” she said. “I have already served my legal
predicaments.”
She said the DILG’s
decision was based on opinion and a not a valid law.
On the other hand, Fuertes
just told employees that he would wait for the DILG order.
“I am just waiting for the
DILG for whatever decision,” Fuertes said.
It was only in Panglao
town where two mayors, two municipal administrators, and one municipal vice
mayor took office in one town hall.
Employees have not
received their salary last September 15 because of the confusion.
However, Montero said she
cannot be removed as mayor without cause.
***
Ricefields are still drying up due to dry spell
Farmer Orcesio Amoy was
waiting for the rains to be brought by supertyphoon “Ompong” to finally bring
relief to the drought-stricken small farm near the famous Chocolate Hills.
While the storm triggered
rains in some parts of the province and devastated farmlands in Northern Luzon,
not a single rain dropped in Carmen.
The lack of rain caused
his palay planted in a 8,000-square meter farm lot in Sitio Camanayon, Barangay
Buenos Aires to wilt.
“We were happy that rain
would finally come with Typhoon “Ompong” but the downpour occurred in other
towns. What we got here was just a drizzle,” said Amoy, 63.
“The drizzle failed to
penetrate the soil,” he added.
Amoy said he had accepted
that he would no longer be able to recover the P20,000 he invested in farm
inputs this crop season.
His rice paddies had
cracked due to lack of water while the palay had turned yellow as these started
to wilt.
To meet the needs of his
family, Amoy had been selling watermelons which were most resistant to drought.
He was able to harvest
watermelons last week from his other piece of land which he sold at P28 per
kilo in a makeshift tent along the national highway going to the Chocolate
Hills.
Another farmer, Temio
Balocoy, 45, said his palay was also wilting but hanging on.
But if not a single rain
would drop, he said he would lose his crops like Amoy.
During the previous
harvest season in September last year, Balocoy said he got a decent harvest.
But this year, he was
expecting to get a huge financial lost.
“The soil in our farm had
cracked because of lack of water,” he said.
 |
| Ricefields
are drying up due to dry spell in Candijay town, Bohol, that farmers need rain to save the crops. In order to save the thousand hectares of standing crops at the rain-fed areas in the province, acting provincial agriculturist Larry Pamugas said cloud seeding operations will be conducted next week. /Photo by Leo Udtohan |
“If only we had a stable
irrigation system, we would not have any problem with water supply during the
dry spell,” he added.
Bohol is considered the
rice bowl of Central Visayas.
In 2016, a state of
calamity was declared in the province due to drought.
Farmlands in the towns of
Corella, Calape, Loon, San Isidro, Sagbayan and Tubigon had been left unused
even if these had been plowed because of the drought.
But agricultural officials
said Ompong brought some rains in other parts of the province which brought
relief to the parched farmlands.
The provincial
agriculturist, however, said that rains was not enough.
“What we need is a long
period of soaking rain to fill our dams, replenish all our waterways and moisten
the soil,” he said.
Acting provincial
agriculturist Larry Pamugas said more than 47,000 hectares of rice land had
dried up due to the dry spell.
Of the 47,000 hectares of
rice field in Bohol, 24,000 hectares are irrigated through dams, small water catchments,
and diversionary canals.
The rest of 23,000
hectares rely on rain.
As of this season, only
800 hectares of rice farmlands had been harvested in the towns of Lila, Bilar
and some parts of Batuan in September.
“Rice plants in our
rain-fed areas are not just yellowish, they are turning brown, which means
there is not enough water,” he said.
Water elevations in
Bohol’s four major dams were already near critical levels.
These were Bayongan Dam in
San Miguel town, Malinao Dam in Pilar town, Capayas Dam in Ubay town and the
Talibon Dam in Talibon town.
The sporadic rains didn’t
bring up the water levels of these dams.
Pamugas said the remaining
water in dams could not suffice for land preparation in next the cropping
season in November.
Unfortunately, the
Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical Astronomical Services Administration
(Pagasa) was anticipating the El Niño phenomenon, or prolonged dry spell,
toward the last quarter of 2018.
“If there is no
intervention by the provincial government to produce artificial rains, farmers
in most rain-fed areas in Bohol could not plant rice in the next cropping by
November,” he said.
Pamugas said they planned
to hold cloud seeding operations to create artificial rain and send relief to
the farmlands.
In the meantime, Boholano
farmers continued to wait for rain – either natural or man-made – just to save
their crops.
***
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