MikeLigalig.com

Coats-and-ties and gowns will be the order of the evening as ‘sanos troop to the Bellevue Hyatt Regency Hotel Grand Ballroom in Washington State “today” – for the all formal Gala Night Dinner and Dance of the Confederation of Boholanos, USA and Canada, Inc. (Conbusac).

The Philippines is ahead of Washington by 15 hours, so that 8 a.m. of Sunday here is still 5 p.m. of Saturday there that marks just the start of the highlight of the Sleepless in Seattle 2009 – the 13th biennial convention of the umbrella organization of all Boholano associations in North America.
Gov. Erico Aumentado will be the convention speaker. Conbusac through its President Carlos Cagaanan had invited him and First Lady Peregrina Aumentado to the event, hosted by the Bohol Association of Washington State, Inc. (Boawas) headed by President Nat Calacat and Vice President Mely Cagaanan.

Aumentado will update the Bohol-born as well as second and third generation Boholanos at the gathering on developments in the province including his pet mega projects like the circumferential road, the Bohol Irrigation Project, the Leyte-Bohol Interconnection Project (LBIP) and upgrading of the province’s backbone power transmission line by the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), the upgrading of major Bohol ports and their inclusion in the Strong Republic Nautical Highway and the Panglao Bohol International Airport .

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had completed and inaugurated Phase 2 of the circumferential road and the irrigation projects as well as LBIP, and is expected to start Phase 3 that already have feasibility studies.

On the other hand, the notice of bidding for the airport is slated to be published on July 17, with the opening of bids – and possible awarding to the winning bidder – scheduled 43 days later as set by law.

Aumentado had instructed Provincial Legal Officer Handel Lagunay to attend tomorrow’s meeting of the Manila International Airport Authority in Manila to ensure that the timelines earlier set are followed.

The governor takes pride in having unified the Bohol leaders so that the President does not hesitate to support local projects for which the former leverages the internal revenue allotment (IRA) for counterpart funds.

As such, he has invited her to inaugurate another 138 brand new classrooms in 68 newly constructed buildings in symbolic rites at the Bohol Cultural Center when the province celebrates its 155th foundation day on July 22.

The Chief Executive has confirmed her attendance to the event even as under the governor’s guidance, the Presidential Visit committee is including preparations for her possible stay overnight in the province.

The classrooms for secondary schools – some located in remote barangays and even in islets around the province, with some built by private contractors and others by the Philippine Army’s Engineer Support Battalion (ESBn) form part of the second batch of joint school building projects that the province entered into with the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Office of the President-Presidential Social Fund (OP-PSF).

Using the same strategy, he constructed new buildings, out-patient department, pharmacy and laboratory or wings for the Garcia Memorial Provincial Hospital (GMPH) in Talibon town, the Cong. Simeon Toribio Memorial Hospital (CSTMH) in Carmen town, among others.

For being the unprecedented patroness of Bohol’s socio-economic development that redound to the well-being and general welfare of the Boholano people, Aumentado will confer upon President Arroyo on July 22 the Datu Sikatuna Award of Excellence – the highest honor that the province gives to those who have helped the province much.

Meanwhile, the governor will also induct Conbusac’s new set of officers and crown Miss Conbusac 2009 during the Gala Night timed to coincide with America ’s Fourth of July celebration of independence from Britain.

Conbusac has alloted Sunday for a thanksgiving mass at the Kitchen Shelter Area of the Lake Sammamish State Park in Issaquah , WA , slated to be officiated by Msgr. Ignacio Reyes, vicar general of the Blessed Trinity Cathedral Parish in Talibon, Bohol – the seat of the Diocese of Talibon.

The Walk for Bohol 2009 and a picnic will immediately follow. The walk, the search for Miss Conbusac, the raffles, the Family Night and Gala Night dinner-and-dance and other activities are all fund-raisers for different projects that Conbusac is partnering with the provincial government to implement.

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