Wake-uppers:
Seen: Spotted in Bohol last Friday was Gigi
Caciuleanu, world famous choreographer, professor and contemporary dance
innovator on cultural management, identity and Diasporas and the transformative
power of dance. He is in Bohol to share his specific technique and his original
style of contemporary dance during the Bansay
sa Ting-init 2016’s 2nd Bohol International Workshop. Gardy
Labad is the project director.
 |
Danicop
Ticugan Spring in Loon town. Leo Udtohan/Chronicle
|
Scene: We fell head over
heels for places like Loon’s Danicop Ticugan Spring, one of the least-visited
springs in Bohol. It is accessible to
hikers and visitors who want to beat the heat. You can indulge in the soothing
coolness of the spring. The trees growing on cliffs and mountain slopes give
the place a cool ambience to beat the summer heat. And the good thing: No
entrance fee.
* * *
The Holy Name University (HNU) has joined the ranks
of universities in the country adopting solar power harvesting technology as a
way to bring down energy costs.
School officials on Friday assembled on the rooftop
of the HNU’s fifth floor at Scanlon Building to inaugurate a solar photovoltaic
power plant composed of 1,100 solar thin film panels provided by OrionGroup
International Inc.
 |
Some employees and guests check the 1,100 solar
thin film panels provided by OrionGroup International Inc. on the rooftop of
the Holy Name University (HNU) in Tagbilaran City, Bohol province. HNU is
the first academic institution to fully integrate solar power energy system in
the province and the Visayas.
Leo
Udtohan/Chronicle
|
Also present were former HNU president Fr. Florante
Camacho, Dr. Christopher Bernido, chairman of HNU’s board of trustees, some
deans, teachers and the media- Bohol’s Queen of All Media Ardy Araneta, Dave
Albarado, Rey Chiu, Liz Butron and Angeline Valencia.
The solar power plant is capable of producing 100
kilowatts of electricity, said Engr. Rynor Jamandre, president of OrionGroup
International Inc.
Jamandre said solar power is the use of the sun’s
energy. He said that concerns over pollution, environmental degradation
and resource depletion have led to an increasing awareness of the importance of
developing solar energy.
HNU (formerly the Divine World College of
Tagbilaran), founded in 1947, is the first academic institution to fully
integrate solar power energy system in Bohol and Visayas.
Jamandre also said that HNU’s solar power plant is
the largest thin film solar installation in the country as of today. He
said most projects are using crystalline solar panel. The power production can
be remotely monitored from an Android or iphone devices.
HNU president Fr. Francisco Estepa, SVD, said it
would save the school roughly 20 to 25 percent of its monthly energy cost.
“We believe there’s other energy in the environment
we could tap. The solar energy is safer and cheaper. We really contribute
to the cooling of the earth,” he said.
There are many advantages of solar power, said
Jamandre.
“Of course, you save your energy bill every month;
the roof will always be cooler because you have a cover of solar panels. And
the most important is we save carbon emission. It’s very important because
global warming is a reality. We are doing our part to make it happen one
project at a time,” he said.
The solar power can be used for many years, said
Jamandre.
With the project, HNU joined other Manila
universities in the use of solar energy, namely La Consolacion College,
Manuel L. Quezon University, St. Scholastica’s College and Mapua
Institute of Technology.
***
BBM’s whirlwind visit to Bohol
While you and I were sleeping, Vice Presidentiable
Sen. Ferdinand “BongBong” Marcos Jr. had a whirlwind visit to Bohol last
Thursday to meet local officials and renew social ties.
His tandem, presidential aspirant Sen. Miriam
Defensor-Santiago was not present.
 |
Vice Presidentiable Sen. Ferdinand “BongBong”
Marcos Jr.
meet the members of the Bohol United Opposition (BUO)
in Tagbilaran
City. Leo Udtohan/Chronicle
|
Marcos was to meet some members of the Bohol United
Opposition (BUO). But before the program would start, the venue had power
outage.
He blamed the administration for sitting on the
power supply problem in the country.
“Ang experience ko sa kampanya saan ako pumunta may brown-out e.
Yesterday, the day before yesterday ganyan din. Pinuputulan kami ng kuryente
everywhere we go. I don’t know kung ito’y artificial or
talagang..but there is really a big demand that cannot be supplied sa power sa
Visayas including Mindanao,” Marcos told Bohol reporters.
He said the administration’s lack of foresight and
planning has worsened power supply in Visayas and Mindanao.
“Luzon is beginning to feel it,” he said, “The
problem is wala talagang ginawang plano kasi itong gobyiernong ito para sa
infrastruktura na kailangan natin kaya nagkaganito. They have been in
power for 6 years they have not able to do anything. Matagal na naming
winawarningan yun tungkol sa power supply pero wala naman silang ginagawa.
That’s why this is it. Ito, dedicated sa akin itong brown-out sa akin.”
He also said the government has to examine sources
of energy.
“It is very difficult to re-open the power nuclear
plant. We already sold the fuel already. There’s no fuel anymore. If we
are going to rehabilitate it to standard of today, sa laki ng gagastusin natin
we might need to put up a new one. But we have to examine the potential
of nuclear, we need to examine alternative energies, we need to examine
the traditional sources of energy because we have to increase our power supply
and we have to lower our cost of production.”
In other developing and developed countries, they
are using nuclear because it is the cheapest to produce power, he added.
Bohol has no power supply based in the island and
the existing power load is dependent on the power from the geothermal plant in
Leyte. In 2013, the power supply was disrupted causing blackouts and water
shortage when Leyte was hit by Typhoon Haiyan (local name Yolanda).
Marcos spoke before at least 200
members, mostly mayors and vice-mayors, of BUO, a local political party
organized by Bohol 2nd district Rep. Erico Aristotle Aumentado.
BUO is also supporting presidential aspirant Vice Pres. Jejomar Binay.
Prominent members of BUO who met Marcos were former Carmen Mayor Che
Toribio-delos Reyes who is running for Bohol’s 3rd district representative
against incumbent Rep. Art Yap and Loay Mayor Rosemarie Lim-Imboy who is
running for governor against incumbent Gov. Edgar Chatto.
Marcos also told reporters that he met Vice Gov.
Conching Lim.
“Magkilala na kasi kami. Siya ay dating member ng
Blue Ladies,” he said.
“Blue Ladies” was Imelda Marcos’ gang or sort of
ladies in waiting composed of the strong, high-profile women or the wives of
the country’s top businessman and the Marcos cronies. They were the center of
social life in the Marcos years. They were called Blue Ladies, after the color
the campaigners of the late Ferdinand Marcos wore when he ran for reelection in
1969 (Sergio Osmeña ran against Marcos).
Marcos in his speech said that he was ready to
serve the country.
He also said that it was not a problem whoever
would win president since all presidentiables were his friends.
“Maraming nagtatanong eh, Mr Senator kapag ikaw
nahalal bilang Presidente, e hindi mo naging kasama o ka-partido ang
Presidente mo, anong gagawin mo? Eh, ako Bakit naman? Tingnan natin ang
listahan. Si Miriam, siya katandem ko, magkasama kami, magkasundo
kami sa maraming bagay. Si Jojo Binay, galing Norte, natural allies. Si
Mayor Duterte, matagal ko nang kaibigan si Mayor Duterte, isa sa tagahanga
ng administrasyon ng aking ama, so magkasundo kami nun. Si Mar Roxas,
kaibigan ko rin. Bukod pa run, pinsan siya ng asawa ko..Araneta ang asawa ko.
Madali kaming magtrabaho together. Si Grace, kapatid ko, e walang
problema," said Marcos who laughed on the last part about Poe.
He continued, "Kaya sinasabi ko, kaya ako nalang ang best position na
maging best president. Biro lang ha, kung minsan nagbibiro ng ganyan.“
Before he left the venue, he took a look of an old
photograph showing his father, the late Pres. Ferdinand Marcos, who was with the
late Gov. Erico Aumentado and former Pres. Carlos P. Garcia.
* * *
Thanks for your letters, all will be answered.
Comments welcome at leoudtohan@yahoo.com, follow leoudtohan at Twitter
/Facebook.
