Rep. Rico part of Getafe’s progress

By JUNE S. BLANCO

GETAFE town just celebrated its 138th foundation day with Rep. Erico Aumentado (Bohol, 2nd District) providing support all the way.

In his inspirational message on the celebration’s theme of Metro Getafe: Breakthrough to Progress, Aumentado enumerated his contributions to the town’s development components and support systems.

Getafe is developing industrial zones. The solon said he is now consolidating the Ouano, Camacho and Manuel Lim’s properties in barangays Tulang, San jose and Cangmundo into a special economic zone.

In tourism, he is contributing resources from his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) to develop and promote wakeboarding in Pandanon island as well as supporting eco-tourism in Banacon island, the biggest man-made mangrove forest in Asia.

For sufficient water, he provided a P500,000-counterpart from his PDAF for the expansion of the present waterworks system to serve more barangays by including Getafe in the 10 towns enrolled in the Water for Waterless Municipalities program of President Aquino.

For sufficient power and distribution, his office is an active player in the memorandum of agreement with the National Electrification Administration and the Bohol II Electric Cooperative, Inc. (BOHECO 2) wherein they just inaugurated the Getafe-Pandanon Interconnection Project that is the jumping board for the interconnection with four more islands that will get power from Pandanon – Mahanay, Banacon, Jagoliao and Nasingin.

He is also contributing resources for his continuing sitio and public school electrification program with NEA and BOHECO 2.

On highways, he funded the completion of the Getafe-Danao road concreting project to include the bridges along this road under the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) bridge program.

The Getafe fast craft terminal development is also another project – the Starcraft vessels now ply the Cebu-Getafe-Cebu route daily – support transport service for tourism and commerce in the town.

Getting closer to realization is the Bohol-Cebu Friendship Bridge, a 24-kilometer series of bridges and causeways that will link Getafe with Cordova in Cebu, with several exits along the way to several islands between the two provinces. He has done the leg work in requesting the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) fund the feasibility study for the bridge under an official development assistance (ODA) grant. He proposes the bridge itself to be constructed under Pres. Aquino’s public-private partnership program, or a build-operate-transfer scheme.

He said all these projects are included in the Getafe town and barangay master plans crafted by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) with the assistance of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG). He finalized the details with NEDA Assistant Region 7 Director Efren Carreon and Rafael Tagalog Jr. prior to the weekend.

OIC Mayor Simen Torreon and Municipal Administrator Theresa P.M. Camacho led local officials in welcoming Aumentado and other guests that included Board Member Gerargo Garcia, Carmen Mayor and gubernatorial bet Conchita Toribio, former Board Member Ma Fe. Lejos and vice gubernatoriable Sharleen Lim.