GMA
postpones Bohol visit but
Jiangxi-Bohol Day bash a 'go'
By
JUNE S. BLANCO
PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo may not be the guest of
honor during the celebration of the 1st Bohol-Jiangxi Friendship
Day on May 8, but she will return to lower the time capsule
for the Panglao Bohol International Airport on May 20.
Her
office earlier confirmed her attendance to both activities
on May 8 but she called her regrets to Bohol Gov. Erico Aumentado
shortly after she inaugurated the Cebu-Bohol and Jagna (Bohol)-Camiguin-Cagayan
de Oro legs of the Strong Republic Nautical Highway (SRNH)
on April 29, saying that equally pressing matters needing
her personal attention cropped up.
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She
will return on May 20 and 21 instead - to participate
in a diving activity in Balicasag Island off the resort
town of Panglao, to lower into the ground at the terminal
site the time capsule for the P4.2 billion Panglao Bohol
International Airport, and to view the Chocolate Hills
in Carmen town and campaign for more votes for it to
earn a berth in the ongoing search for the New Seven
Wonders of Nature.
The
undersea world of Balicasag, Aumentado quoted President
Arroyo as saying, is one of the top three best dive
sites in the world.
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He
also said aside from the Chocolate Hills, the President has
been strongly campaigning for votes for the Tubbataha Reef
and the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park,
both in Palawan.
As
of yesterday, Tubbataha was No. 8 and the Chocolate Hills,
No. 9 among the 77 nominees that will be trimmed down to 21
after the Internet voting ends on December 31, 2008. Voting
will resume to choose the top seven from the 21 finalists
on January 1, 2009.
The
Chocolate Hills had climbed to No. 6 when it was delisted
because of the lack of an official support committee (OSC).
The lack has since been corrected by Aumentado, with the support
of several quarters, Rep. Edgar Chatto of Bohol's 1st District
included..
Meanwhile,
the subterranean river has climbed to No. 32 from No. 35.
In
spite of the postponement of President Arroyo's second visit
to Bohol this year, the Bohol-Jiangxi Friendship Day celebration
will continue.
Jiangxi
also trimmed down its original six-man delegation led by Vice
Gov. Xie Ru as she has been tasked to prepare for that province's
leg of the torch relay for the Beijing Olympics.
The
Jiangxi delegation will be comprised this time of Deputy Director
General of the General Office of the Jiangxi Provincial People's
Government Ye Lei, Deputy Director General of the Foreign
Affairs Office of Jiangxi Fu Pengpeng and interpreter Zhu
Jincheng, chaperoned by Consul General Emelinda Lee-Pineda.
But
giving weight to the celebration will be the presence of a
minimum 12-man delegation headed by the Philippines' Special
Envoy to China Carlos Chan and his wife. Chan of Liwayway
Marketing (International), Ltd., manufacturers of the Oishi
line of products, sits in the Economic Advisory Council of
Jiangxi.
Chan
had donated P10 million for the construction and equipage
of the Loboc Children's Theater where the world-famous Loboc
Children's Choir practices and performs.
He
has also sponsored the children's trips to Jiangxi, Shanghai
and Hongkong to perform back-to-back with their counterparts
in festivals. He also brought Chairman Lu Ping, chief negotiator
for the return of Hongkong from Great Britain to China, along
with Shanghai's Little Companion Art Troupe to Loboc.
Chan
also donated the lights now being installed along the Loboc
River's banks to allow night cruises. The lighting facilities
will be inaugurated this Thursday.
On
their arrival in the morning of May 7, Chan, Pineda and the
Jiangxi group will call on Aumentado at the Capitol where
they will exchange tokens, and on Tagbilaran City Mayor Dan
Lim at the City Hall.
Lunch
will be sponsored by the local Filipino-Chinese Community
headed by Dr. Simplicio Yap Jr. The afternoon is set aside
for a tour to the Chocolate Hills, the Bilar Man-made Forest,
the tarsier sanctuary and the Blood Compact Site.
The
Bohol Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) will sponsor
the welcome reception at the Bohol Beach Club.
The
Friendship Day will start with the raising of the Philippines
and of the People's Republic of China at the Rizal Park in
front of the Capitol, followed by the fiesta parade and street
dancing from the plaza to the Bohol Cultural Center for the
grand program.
After
lunch at the Bohol Beach Club and some time for rest or shopping
in the afternoon, the delegation will proceed to Loboc in
the evening for the inauguration of the Riverbank Lights Project
and dinner sponsored by the Municipality of Loboc under Mayor
Leon Calipusan.
The
delegation will leave back for Manila and onwards the morning
after.
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