Showing posts with label bohol earthquake. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bohol earthquake. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Same faces running in Bohol in 2016; Bohol marks 2nd anniversary of quake

Same faces, familiar surnames and a mix of the old and the new, the hardened and the neophytes, in Bohol politics have thrown their hats into the 2016 ring, filing their certificates of candidacy (COCs) last week.
 
Friday’s deadline of filing of COC drew more and more people seeking posts in the 2016 elections.
 
Provincial Election supervisor lawyer Eliseo Labaria said he was pleased with how the filing, which started on Monday, turned out because orderliness was maintained.
 
As of July 20, Bohol has 757,144 registered voters, said Lourdes Cempron of the provincial Comelec office.
 
Reelectionist Bohol Rep. Erico Aristotle Aumentado
is holding a copy of his certificate of candidacy (COC),
 the first to file in Bohol on Monday with provincial
election officer lawyer Eliseo Labaria and some
mayors.
 Photo by Leo Udtohan
He urged the public to register before the Oct. 31 deadline.
 
Comelec will release the official list of candidates for next year’s polls on Dec. 10.
 
On Monday, only reelectionist Rep. Erico Aristotle Aumentado was the first candidate in the province to file his COC.  
 
Aumentado, who is running under the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) in the province’s second district, filed his COC at 1:55 p.m. He was accompanied with his wife, Vanessa, mom Greenie, some family members and some mayors and supporters.
 
He said he is seeking re-election to finish some of his projects, including a submarine cable project to bring power to island-barangays and the construction of Ubay Airport which will start in January
 
“We have lots of programs to accomplish,” said Aumentado. 

 
Labaria said he didn’t expect surge of candidates on Monday’s filing of COCs.
 
Reelectionist Rep. Art Yap (2nd district) says
 he is running to continue his unfinished projects
 that will benefit the barangays.
 Photo by Leo Udtohan
On Tuesday, Former Agriculture Secretary and Bohol Rep. Art Yap has filed his certificate of candidacy at the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) provincial office here on Tuesday
 
Yap, who is seeking re-election in the province’s third district under the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), was the second candidate who filed his COC at 10:30 a.m.  He was accompanied by his wife, Carolyne Varquez Gow-Yap, some mayors and supporters from the third district.
 
Yap said he is running to continue his unfinished projects.  
 
“Work is not yet done,” Yap said. He also said there are legislations to file as a representative that will benefit the barangays.

 
He also cleared that he has no involvement in the alleged misuse of pork barrel funds amounting to P163.2 million while he was Agriculture secretary during the Arroyo administration. But he is expecting that his possible opponent will use the issue during election campaign.
 
Former Carmen Mayor Che Toribio-Delos Reyes,
Loay Mayor Rose Marie Imboy, Board Member
Dionisio Balite and Godofreda Tirol file their COCs
on Thursday. –Photo by Leo Udtohan
 “They can always do that. That’s politics. It’s not only in the Philippines but all over the world.   The important thing is I don’t have cases at Sandiganbayan. I have a certification from Sandiganbayan that I am not facing a single criminal case. Just don’t listen to it.  The most important is people can see my performance,” he said. 
 
On Thursday, incumbent Loay Mayor Rosemarie Lim-Imboy, former Carmen Mayor Conchita “Che Che” Toribio-Delos Reyes and board members Dionisio Balite and Godofreda Tirol filed their COCs under PDP-Laban. They arrived 11:30 a.m. accompanied by their families, some mayors and supporters.
 
Imboy will run for governor, while her running mate Balite will run for vice governor.   
 
She will run against incumbent Bohol Governor Edgar Chatto, while Balite will run against incumbent Vice Governor Conching Lim.
 
Imboy's daughter Loay councilor Rochelle Brigitte Imboy also filed her COC for mayor, while her husband incumbent board member Brigido Imboy will seek re-election. 
 
Yap, who was uncontested in 2010 and 2013 elections, has found his match. De Los Reyes filed her candidacy for representative in the third district of Bohol.
 
Delos Reyes said she was not afraid to face Yap.
 
“Definitely no,” she said, “I am confident.”
 
Delos Reyes, who runs the international beauty soap “Beauche,” run for governor against Chatto in 2013 but she lost.  Chatto is the currently the provincial LP chairman.
 
Should she win a seat in Congress, Delos Reyes said she would file bills for health, education, livelihood and agriculture.
 
“The reason why I joined is for the poor people. Number one is health. We have poor people who can’t go to hospital because they don’t have money. Second is education. Then livelihood and support to our farmers,” she said.
 
Imboy said that at first she was hesitant to run against Chatto.
 
“It’s really scary, you know he has good track records,” she said. “But upon hearing support and comments from the people that they need a new governor, they need a change, my fear was gone. If God is with us, who can be against us?”
 
On Friday, the last day of the filing, provincial and city Liberal Party’s hopefuls filed their COCs.
 
Before filing their COCs, they attended mass at the St. Joseph Cathedral, joined by their families and fellow LP members.
 
Chatto, the party’s provincial chair, filed his COC along with Rene Relampagos who is seeking reelection of the province’s first district and Vice Governor Lim, their vice gubernational candidate.
 
In Tagbilaran City, reelectionist Mayor John Gesnell Yap filed his COC at the city Comelec Office. Along with Yap were reelectionist Vice Mayor Toto Veloso and their ten councilor aspirants.
 
Aumentado said that he is praying for peaceful elections especially that some of the towns in the second district are considered hot-spots during election time.
 
“We are all aware that there was tension and election related violence in the province, I pray for peaceful and successful general elections in 2016,” he said.
 
Labaria said he was expecting that the next elections is contested in the province. He also said that he will evaluate the critical set-up in the province.
 
“We will do our best that no election relate violence will happen again,” he said.
 
 
***
Bohol marks 2nd anniversary of quake
 
Church bells rang in Bohol for 33 seconds on Tursday to commemorate the second anniversary of the devastating 7.2 magnitude earthquake that brought Bohol to its knees.
 
A holy mass was held at the Saint Joseph Cathedral officiated by Tagbilaran Bishop Leonardo Medroso. It was attended by provincial and city officials, mostly from the Liberal Party.
 

Rodel Barace visits the site where four members of his
 family were swallowed by a giant crack. -LPU
After the mass, a photo exhibit was formally opened after the holy mass to demonstrate the post-earthquake recovery.It will run until Oct. 27 at the Bohol Cultural Center
 
But for others, last Thursday’s commemoration was a painful reminder of loved ones lost.
 
Those loved ones who were killed by the quake; they grieved and remembered the people who passed away.
 
“We will always remember them in our hearts,” said Rodel Barace of Antequera who lost four members of his family who were swallowed by a giant crack in Antequera.
 
The Barace family visited the cemetery and brought flowers and offered prayers.

 
Booy Barangay Kagawad also visited the cemetery to offer prayers to his mother Linda who died during the quake due to myocardial infarction aggravated by the quake.
 
“My heart breaks for anyone who loses their mom,” said Lofranco.  He also said that her mother was also his best friend.
 
Linda was the former top-seller Individual Group Supervisor of Tupperware  Brand – Bohol  (formerly Saralee Direct Selling).
 
“I thank you God for giving me the most priceless of all treasures, help my Lord to keep alive her memory here forever,” said Clement.

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Bohol killer quake, sorrow & hope in words

Wake-uppers:
Seen: Gremerson Idulsa Aladad of the Bohol Island State University (BISU)-Tagbilaran has topped the Oct. 2014 Mechanical Engineer Licensure Examination.  Aladad got a 93.8 percent rating. According to PRC, there were 2,960 out of 3,841 who passed the exam.

Seen: Miss Bohol 2014 Queenie Melody Fullante is Miss JCI Phiippines 2014.

Fullante
SceneOctober 15, 2014 is a special non-working holiday in Bohol, by virtue of Proclamation No. 887 signed by President Aquino.

Scene: Holger Horn is elected president of Panglao Scuba Diving Association (PASS). Other elected officers are Henry Hoeppner, vice-president; Laarni Lehtonen, secretary; Kwatz Gomez, treasurer; and Marlon Lamagna, auditor. The association is institutionalized through Municipal Ordinance No. 12, Series of 2013 and therefore fully recognized by the Municipality of Panglao.

Scene: The successful 1st PanubigFestival of Pilar town yesterday. Take a bow, Butch Bernas! Take a bow, Mayor Nita Cubrado!

***

Day of disaster/I can never forget/tired and thirsty.

This Wednesday, Oct. 15, will mark the one-year anniversary of the horrific earthquake that struck Bohol.
In the year that has passed, much has changed. Mountains of rubble have not been fully cleared. Bohol mourns the deaths of more than 200 people and five missing, one year after.

When an earthquake hit Bohol, Latigo (FT. kidothz), a group of Boholano rappers, wrote these words in Nov. 2013:



Another rap group, Anastazy Pro from Calape town, composed the song Bangon Bohol in Jan. 2014.

Collected here are recent images of those affected by the disaster, 
coping and moving on one year later. -LPU
Nakita sa kadaghan ang atoang katilingban,/ Akip na ang kahimtang ning atong ka igsuonan/daw na wad-an sa pagla-um,/ uban natong igsuon dili pa-ulahi para mobalik ta / ug mobangon sabay sampit sa kahitas-an / dili nato kalimtan ayaw huna-hunaa nga mo duol rata / kung kinahanglan kay wala siyay gi pili / andam siyang mo alagad sa atong palibot /  nga daghan na ang nanga samad.

Another song dedicated to the victims of the earthquake Bangon Bohol written by Ralph Maligro:

Itinayong tahanan gusali't simbahan / naglahong bigla , na parang bula /ang pangkabuhayan ng bawat isa/ 'san na napunta , 'san na kukuha

Bangon Bohol , bangon bol-anon/ Tayo ay sinubok lamang ng panginoon / ano mang hamon sa buhay haharapin/ lahat susuungin , lahat kakayanin

sa likod ng ngiti ay mga luha/ naghihinagpis nangungulila/ buhay'y nasawi , di na maibalik/ hinahanap-hanap , yakap mo't halik

Engr. Soc Saletrero’s Bangon Igsoon (Bohol Sandugo Song Festival 2014 grand winner), reminds us to put our trust in the Lord.  

Pailob lang igsoon sa na-aguman mo’ng katalagman nga ningdangat/ Hinumdumi nga ang tanan pagsulay man sa Kahitas-an.

Rhymathics Featuring Thea’s Bohol We Will Rise tells us that the Lord is our protector and strength.

Much has been said and written about the Oct. 15 quake. Yet, for all these words, the scope of the disaster and the depth of the sorrow have felt unknowable. The good part is we come to understanding/acceptance/moving on.

It’s now safe, /It’s over,/the Lord is on our side.

***

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