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HEART OF GOLD
Published: December 10, 2006 by The Bohol Standard

A TOTAL of 1,012 individuals from 578 families benefited from the recent civic action (CIVAC) of the Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) chaired by Gov. Erico Aumentado in barangay Bayongan in San Miguel town.

The CIVAC targeted the 101 families whose houses and lands tilled will be submerged when the Bayongan dam of the Bohol Irrigation Project Stage 2 (BHIP 2) will be operational.

However, residents of surrounding barangays Camanaga and Sto. Niño of San Miguel; Los Angeles, Bulilis and Buenavista of Ubay and La Suerte of Pilar were also invited to avail of free medical and dental services, Operation Tuli (circumcision) and consultation with Aumentado, representatives of national government agencies including the Philippine Army and the police, provincial government departments and satellite offices, San Miguel Mayor Silvino Evangelista, the municipal and the barangay local government units.

For the medical and dental services, the Provincial General Services Office under Engr. Rosalinda Yu procured P40,000 worth of medicines while Aumentado brought additional medicines given by Senate President Manuel Villar Jr.

The governor also brought iodized salt donated by the Artemis Salt Corp. to provide the micronutrient needs especially of children. While the human body needs only micro amounts of iodine, its lack can already cause dwarfism, cretinism and goiter, among others.

The Tagbilaran City Host Lions Club under Dr. Eufemia Cabagnot distributed 90 pairs of calibrated eyeglasses.

The Office of the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (OPSWD) under Constancia Tuñacao also distributed three kilos of rice, two cans of sardines and three packs of instant noodles to each family.

Aumentado also turned over Monday to provincial coordinator Mario Ramir Yu, program managers Engr. Calixto Seroje for livelihood, Engr. Dionisio Neil Balite for mobilization all of Gawad Kalinga (GK) a check for P500,000 for the livelihood of the affected families.

Bringing volunteers in, and with contributions from both government and private sectors and sweat equity of the beneficiaries themselves, GK built an initial 35 houses for the displaced families.

Aumentado, Yu and Couples for Christ head for Bohol and GK resource generation head Jose Ong distributed the titles prepared by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) to the beneficiaries. DAR had provided the relocation site under its Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

Convergence
The PGMA and EBA GK Village is the epitome of convergence. President Arroyo allocated P1 million for the project as counterpart to the provincial government’s P1.5 million.

The CFC and GK gathered volunteers to help build the houses and inculcate Christian values into the families. They will also conduct skills training and enhancement seminars to ensure that the money allotted for such will be used accordingly and not diverted to other needs otherwise it will defeat the purpose.

While conducting civil works on the Bayongan Dam, National Irrigation Administration-Bohol Irrigation Project Stage 2 (NIA-BHIP 2) also developed the land for the GK project site and provided water for its waterworks system.

The Bohol Electric Cooperative (Boheco) under Engr. Carlos Itable provided the power and the electrical lines and poles that attend to it. The local office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) then under PENRO Arius Ilano provided the lumber and fletches for the trusses and beams from those in their custody confiscated for being transported without the necessary documents.

The Department of Agrarian Reform under Provincial Agrarian Reform Officer Johnson Sinco provided the land with clean titles to the beneficiaries.

Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Co., Ltd. under Yung Qu Park provided the sand and gravel for the house construction and improved the road leading to the housing site.

The OPSWD provided food for the families as they built the houses under its Food for Work Program. This took away the worries of the beneficiaries as to food for their families as they suspended all other livelihood while constructing their houses.

The houses are constructed on 280-square-meter lots so that the farmers still have areas to develop as gardens. NIA BHIP 2 also absorbed most heads of the beneficiary families as workers, depending on their skills.

BHIP 2 will irrigate 5,300 hectares more of rice lands in San Miguel, Ubay and Trinidad towns.

Barangay Captains Demetrio Carnice Jr. of Los Angeles , Ubay who is a beneficiary himself, Rogelio Cutillas of Bayongan and Fausto Bustillos of Camanaga both of San Miguel witnessed the distribution of the certificates of occupancy.

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