Guv lists '09
Top 12 feats
By JUNE S. BLANCO

PLUCKING Bohol out of Club 20 - the country's 20 poorest provinces - landed on top of graduating Gov. Erico Aumentado's list of major accomplishments he will bequeath to his successor and the Boholanos in general.

Aumentado aired his Top 12 list Friday during his weekly program The Governor Reports, simulcast live over Tagbilaran City's two radio stations, relayed to an Ubay-based station and delayed broadcast over a Carmen-based station - just another busy day for the local chief executive when most people were yet enjoying the long holidays.

The governor who co-relates poverty with insurgency takes pride with the feat when the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in its 2005 Human Development Report ranked Bohol No, 41 among 79 provinces. It was still a certified Club 20 member before he assumed the governorship in 2001.

It jumped 11 notches higher in 2006 when the National Statistics Coordination Board (NSCB) ranked it No. 55.

During this time, the military reported that the four insurgency fronts that used to thrive in the province were already dissolved.

This earned for Bohol Administrative Order (AO) 201 issued by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo calling for relevant agencies to accelerate or expand development programs in support of local peace efforts, "especially the Bohol local peace efforts", making the province the model in achieving peace and development through poverty reduction.

"The message should be clear: When peace is forged, development follows," the AO had read.

Aumentado has the penchant for creating solutions to problems, among them the global rice crisis. Using provincial funds, he launched the Rice Accelerated Enhancement Response (Racer) that earned for the province a 113 percent self-sufficiency status in 2008 as certified by the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS). This made Bohol an exporter of the staple to Cebu, Negros and Siquijor.

Agriculture and tourism are Bohol's top economic drivers. Aumentado put forth an aggressive tourism campaign that landed the province in the global road map.

No. 5 in the governor's list is the Panglao Bohol International Airport Development Project (PBIADP) is now back on tract, with the pr-bidding conference conducted last December 14 by the Manila International Airport Authority Bids and Awards Committee (MIAA-BAC) where 14 foreign and domestic bidders participated for Phase 1, Package 1 of the project costing P1.5 billion. The bids will be opened this January 25 - a breakthrough in the delayed implementation.

The Free Patents Law is alive and kicking in Bohol with the Land Administration Management Project 2 (Lamp 2), funded by World Bank and with technical assistance from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is implementing the project, with its provincial steering committee chaired by Aumentado who signed the memorandum of agreement for the security of tenure for the land and poverty reduction.

The project is ongoing in Corella, Loay, Sikatuna, Jagna, San Miguel, Ubay, Anda, Guindulman, Candijay and Loon towns where 11,681 titles have been distributed as of December 4. The project will be rolled out in Antequera, Dimiao, Mabini, Guindulman and Duero starting this month even as the local government unit (LGU) led projects are ongoing in Batuan, Balilihan, Catigbian, Garcia-Hernandez, Talibon, Trinidad, Candijay, Maribojoc, Buenavista and Inabanga.

The regular project is up for implementation in Alburquerque, Sagbayan, San Isidro, Clarin, Sevilla, Bien Unido and Sierra Bullones and LGU-led in Calape, Tubigon, Bien Unido, Getafe, Danao, President Carlos P. Garcia, Loboc, Bilar, Carmen, Pilar, Alicia and Sevilla.

Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer Nestor Canda reports a 47.42 accomplishment against the target of 24,632 titles.

The seaweeds multi-industry cluster (MIC) is another plus factor in Aumentado's list. The Korea International Cooperation Agency (Koica) is providing a US$2.9 million grant and technical support for the establishment of an algae bio-ethanol research center to be run by the Department of Science and Technology and the Provincial Government of Bohol at the proposed Talibon Industrial Special Economic Zone. It will play a key role in the establishment of a P7.5-billion bio-ethanol extraction facility, biomass power generation and organic fertilizer plant using algae of the cottonii variety as raw materials.

Also ongoing are the concreting of the Sagbayan to Jagna via Carmen stretch of the Strong Republic Nautical Highway, concreting or asphalting of roads under the Bohol Tourism Road Improvement Projects (BTRIPs) like those in Panglao Island, Macaas (Tubigon) to Balilihan, Catigbian to Sagbayan, Sikatuna to Loboc, Sierra Bullones to Alicia and improvement of the two causeways linking Tagbilaran and Panglao Island.

Already concreted are the Guindulman-Anda, La Union (Candijay)-Mabini, Poblacion (Ubay) to Tapal Wharf and Trinidad-Bien Unido roads while ongoing are the Sagbayn-Danao and Catigbian-Sagbayan roads. Asphalting is ongoing on the Lapacan (Inabanga) to Magtangtang (Danao) Road to shorten the tourist routes from Tubigon Port to the historic tourism site in Magtangtang.

Aumentado assured that more concreting and asphalting projects will be undertaken by the province with its 20 percent Development Fund.

The five-year Provincial Road Management Facility (PRMF) of the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) will be implemented this year, starting with th4e P26.462 million San Isidro-Catigbian via Caimbang Road and the P57.681-million Danao-Mahayag (San Miguel) Road comprising Segments 1 and 3.

No. 10 on Aumentado's list is the universal coverage under PhilHealth of around 17,000 to 20,000 families comprising Bohol's poorest of the poor, with the province paying for their premiums. These families will be advised to patronize provincial government-run hospitals that will be allowed to retain 50 percent of the capitation fund that accrues to the province for use on their PhilHealth patients and upgrading of equipment.

The governor also takes pride in the establishment of the Region 7 office of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) in Tagbilaran City. Under Region 7 Director Modesto Membreve, the office maintains, operates and supervises irrigation facilities throughout Central Visayas, especially the the irrigation facilities of the 26,000 hectares of rice lands bannered by the Bohol Irrigation Project Stages 1 and 2, Capayas Irrigation Facility, Ilaya Irrigation Project and the Talibon Small Reservoir Impounding Project (SRIP).

NIA 7 will also implement shortly the construction of solar driers with sheds in the 2nd District, the upgrading of the P800 million Malinao Dam in Pilar to increase its water storage capacity from five million to 10 million cubic meters in order to irrigate an additional 2,700 hectares of rice land, as well as the proposed SRIPs in Hibale (Danao), Bonot-bonot (Buenavista), Benliw and San Vicente (Ubay).

Ongoing is the Cayacay SRIP in Mabini and Alicia towns.

Rounding up the list is the achievement of zero rabies cases in Bohol for 2009.

Only a few years back, Bohol was top in Central Visayas and fourth nationwide in human rabies cases.

Aumentado said the International Alliance for Rabies Control (ARC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have cited the province for the zero rabies feat and will even hold the next ASEAN regional anti-rabies conference slated this year here.

Provincial Veterinarian Stella Marie Lapiz and Provincial Health Officer Reymoses Cabagnot lead the project implementation, with the governor chairing the multi-sectoral anti-rabies council that has strong media backing.

Bohol is now the only province with anti-rabies lessons incorporated in its elementary curriculum with the reference books - already distributed to all teachers - with funding support from ARC, WHO, and the Family Vaccine and Specialty Clinics, Inc. (FVSC).