Pa establishes infra; son pushes livelihood

ROAD TO DEVELOPMENT

By June S. Blanco

IT PAYS to work closely with the visionary, planner and implementor.

Rep. Erico Aristotle Aumentado (Bohol, 2nd District) may be into his first term yet as congressman. But unlike some of his neophyte colleagues, he has been way ahead in learning the ropes for the job. 

He had been doing some legwork for his father, Rep. Erico Boyles Aumentado in his both his capacities as son and as chief of staff. He held the latter position until his father died on Christmas Day in 2012 – a few months before the 2013 elections.

The family and party consensus saw him as the replacement candidate. The rest, as the saying goes, is history.

Aumentado was there when his father conceptualized, shepherded through gestation and implemented his mega projects – the Bohol Circumferential Road Phases 1 and 2 that now provides safe and convenient travel in less time, the Bohol Irrigation Project Phases 1 and 2 that have saved the crops of the farmers during long dry seasons, the Leyte-Bohol Interconnection Project Stages 1 and 2 that now supplies 100 megawatts of power for the province’s demand, and parallel infrastructure.

The elder solon had always said development can only be achieved with the attendant infrastructure in place.

The younger Aumentado said these infrastructure – already laid out – have made the Boholanos’ life easier. At the same time, he admits that these are far from complete, and he is even exploring ways to add more locally generated power, more upgraded roads, irrigation, school buildings and bridges including the proposed 17-kilometer Bohol-Cebu Bridge anchoring in Getafe town in northern Bohol and Cordova in Cebu.

But in a parallel move, he has been pushing for the doubling of the 2016 budget for livelihood projects of the Technical Education and Skills Development Administration (Tesda) and the Departments of Labor and Employment (Dole) and of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

To note, he has been tapping the three agencies for livelihood funding for people’s organizations and associations in his district. This means, he has been giving out fund assistance for start-up capital for his constituents who belong to organized groups even in the absence of Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel by whatever name it is called.

The Supreme Court had declared the PDAF to be unconstitutional. Funds previously given to congressmen for their discretionary fund are now given to the different departments. 

These funds are what Aumentado has been tapping to help especially his Yolanda-hit constituents to be back on their feet again. --- END

Rep. Aris distributes P30-M checks for livelihood capital

GOING BEYOND BOHOL SHORES. Rep. Erico Aristotle Aumentado (6th from left) and Region 7 Directors Asteria Caberte of Trade and Industry and Mercedita Jabagat of Social Welfare and Development (2nd and 4th from left) lead the distribution of checks worth P30 million to capacitate and bankroll the loomweaving, crab meat processing and fish (sardines) processing projects for Boholanos. Witnessing the event are Mayors Natividad Redulla-Gonzaga of Danao and Ronald Lowell Tirol of Buenavista (7th and 8th from left) and the municipal agricultural officers of Pres. Garcia and Panglao. At extreme left is Antonieto Pernia, Aumentado’s consultant on livelihood. CONTRIBUTED FOTO

By JUNE S. BLANCO

REP. Erico Aristotle Aumentado (Bohol, 2nd District) distributed Friday P30 million in checks for livelihood projects of weavers and fisherfolks in four Bohol municipalities in rites held at the cultural center of Buenavista town.

The checks will capacitate and bankroll loomweaving projects in Buenavista and Danao, crab meat processing in the island town of President Carlos P. Garcia and fish processing in Panglao.

The funds are from the budget of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) under the 2015 General Appropriations Act – to be implemented by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

DSWD Region 7 Director Mercedita Jabagat and DTI Region 7 Director Asteria Caberte travelled with Aumentado to Buenavista in north Bohol for the ceremony witnessed by Buenavista Mayor Ronald Lowell Tirol, Danao Mayor Natividad Redulla-Gonzaga and the municipal agricultural officers of Pres. Garcia and Panglao.

In her message, Caberte said the loomweavers of Buenavista and Danao will take up the slack in the orders from Paris, France and other Eurpoean countries that current Bohol weavers could not meet. Caberte said new designs for raffia – the dried, bleached and colored fiber from the shoots of the buri palm – have been coming in. 

She said the Bohol weavers must grab the opportunity otherwise the European importers might look to other provinces that can meet their product demand.

DTI is also looking at teaching the Pres. Garcia islanders to process their own crab meat for added value – and to make their product available all year round not only in the town but in supermarkets in the main land as well. 

The same goes true for the fisherfolks of Panglao. Instead of the Boholanos importing sardines from other provinces, Caberte said the process can be reversed after capacitating the Boholanos.

For his part, Aumentado said he will tap other sources to fund the construction of the crab meat processing center.

He said it is high time that the Boholanos tap their innate talent and skill. With training, they can easily produce loomwovens like raffia fabrics, placemats, table runners, rolls and decors, processed crab meat and sardines – and offer these for sale beyond Bohol shores. --- END

Aris: Investors bullish on corporate farming

By JUNE S. BLANCO

August 16, 2015

REP. Erico Aristotle Aumentado’s (Bohol, 2nd District) exploration for still another livelihood scheme for farmers is nearing realization.

This after two investors he met expressed willingness to venture into corporate farming.

The solon said the investors will conduct a feasibility study in order to draw the best scheme to implement the program.

The study will also draw the criteria qualifying farmers for the program.

Under the scheme, the investors will spend for everything needed to plant palay – the farmers do not spend anything at all.

On top of that, Aumentado said the investors will pay at least the minimum wage to the farmers for the land preparation and rice planting, weeding and fertilization as well as pay rent for the use of their lands.

He added that the investors will assume the risks brought on by typhoons, drought, pest infestations and the like.

On top of that, participating farmers will also be enrolled with the Social Security System (SSS) so that after years of work while in their prime, they can have support to tide them over during their sunset years.

The investors admitted that they chose to partner with the solon for this venture after knowing fully the brand of leadership the Aumentados have. --- END

Links:

- Photo from untvweb http://www.untvweb.com/news/tag/rice-farming/

Bohol-Cebu bridge on

Bohol-Cebu Friendship Bridge design

If the new Bohol Airport which construction will start this month took decades before it got implemented, the proposed Bohol-Cebu Friendship bridge is forecast not to take that long considering the economic viability of the project.

This was the identical statement issued by Gov. Edgar Chatto and Rep.Aris Aumentado who are both bullish about the realization of the project.

Rep. Aumentado said initial meetings were already conducted among three Philippine based  and a foreign investor who are interested to work on the project under the Private Public Project modality. The young solon told The Chronicle last Friday that he wants to “make a dream come true” of his late father, Erico Aumentado in whose term as governor this project was conceptualized.

The proposed 22-km. bridge  linking  the two provinces will be connected from Getafe town in Bohol and Cordova, Mactan in Cebu.

It may be  recalled that it was during the term of the late Gov. Aumentado that the idea of a bridge linking Bohol and Cebu was thought about. The Chronicle was privy to the start of the project’s conceptualization which the late governor termed as the “3-in-1″ project. The business components of the project includes water, power, trade and commerce.

This  “3-in-1″ project which is a 22 km. bridge will make possible the selling of  water from Inabanga River to Mactan through a water pipe attached to the bridge and at the same time bring in cheaper power from Cebu to Bohol. The third component which would make the Friendship Bridge even more economically viable is the income to be derived through the trade and commerce bringing in goods and commuters as well as tourists between the two bustling provinces of Central Visayas.

Rep. Aumentado is scheduled to meet  interested investors of the  project which is estimated to cost some $2.5 billion using a floating bridge technology with an viaduct. Because of the huge investment in implementing the project, the fund is expected to come from private investors who at this early stage found the economic viability of the project.

The solon said  private investors have shown interest in the project. He even quoted some investors saying the bridge to be more economically viable than the new airport in Panglao.

Rep. Aumentado said the investors, once organized, would conduct the feasibility project  which is expected to be completed in a couple of years.  The “corporate vehicle” is expected to be established during the meeting at the end of this month in Manila.

For his part,  Gov, Chatto when interviewed by The Chronicle said he endorsed the project for funding during a meeting held last Tuesday with the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) and the Department of Budget as well as with other national government agencies at the NEDA Central offices in Manila. He said the proposed bridge is among the projects being considered to be funded in the 2016 General Appropriations Act of the national government. --- END 

Link:

• Bohol Chronicle [link]

Jatropha mill, biodiesel plants & 'agropolis' to rise in Aris turf

Rep. Erico Aris C. Aumentado, 2nd District Bohol

By June S. Blanco

AN “AGROPOLIS” will soon rise in Bohol's 2nd District.

This after Rep. Erico Aristotle Aumentado, together with Malaysian investors Bionas, led switching on ceremonies in Dagohoy town Thursday for a jatropha press mill, processing plants for both jatropha and seaweeds (guso), townhouse type resorts – with a stadium, commercial centers, recreational centers, clubhouse and swimming pool, airport and seaport – in an agriculture-oriented metropolis hence, agropolis. Studies have shown that jatropha – tuba-tuba or kasla in the dialect and guso – are top producers of biodiesel or “green” fuel that minimizes carbon dioxide and other pollutants from the exhaust pipes of engines caused mainly by partial combustion.

Aumentado said from Dagohoy, the jatropha extract will be brought to Ubay town where the processing plant will be located. The same holds true for the seaweeds, considering that Ubay has seaports viable for expansion when the time comes, and an airport waiting for development. The solon said the project will provide additional income for rice, corn and coconut farmers. These are the staple crops of Bohol while jatropha remains to be considered a wild plant and used as a quack doctor's favorite prescription for a range of maladies. On the other hand, guso will provide additional income for fishermen. In both cases, the Malaysian investors will provide competitive buying prices – higher than the going rates, he added.

He said the resort will construct an initial 303 rooms – targeting 3,000 rooms in five years. The Bionas investors – coming from 49 countries – will be required to visit the agropolis at least once a year. Under the time sharing concept, they will be staying in their choice of rooms in the resort that they financed. The rooms will be rented out to transients when they return to their respective mother countries where they will campaign for tourists and vacationers. Aumentado said top architectural firms will be presenting their designs for the biggest hotel cum resort by next month for the investors to choose from so that construction can start next year. He also assured his constituents that the laborers, hotel/resort staff including the cooks, chambermaids and even managers – if they qualify – will be taken from the local work force. --- END

Links:

• Bohol Sunday Post [link]
• Bohol Standard [link]

Aris: Livelihood support universal

By: JUNE S. BLANCO

THE livelihood support Rep. Erico Aristotle Aumentado churns out for his constituents in Bohol’s 2nd District is “universal”.

The solon said his beneficiaries are groups, be they progressive or still budding. He crosses political party lines, following in the footsteps of his namesake father and predecessor Erico Boyles Aumentado.

The son said his father’s formula in alleviating the poverty of the Boholanos during his time was bringing livelihood assistance to kanhi rebelde (KRs) or former rebels and non-KRs alike.

The two-pronged approach of combat, and livelihood support, for the KRs and their sympathizers after the armed conflict won for Bohol the fight against insurgency, he recalled.

The younger Aumentado observed that more often than not, people who feel neglected by the government because of poor delivery of basic services, if at all, are easily swayed into the rebel movement by the sweet-talking of recruiters who promise land, money, medicine for sick relatives, scholarships for their children, and even firearms, ammunition and allowances, especially if they join the armed group.

The formula was successful so that former Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo issued Administrative Order 201, s. 2007, making the Bohol experience of civilian-led counterinsurgency the template for emulation nationwide.

This drives the solon to extend his helping hand to those in dire need – to make them feel being cared for by the government.

Another footstep he is taking after his father is integrity. To note, the elder Aumentado earned the moniker “Mr. Clean” in Congress. He had completed three terms as congressman before assuming the Bohol gubernatorial seat for an unprecedented nine years.

He was into his fourth term as congressman when death overtook him on Christmas Day of 2012. Yet, he is Bohol’s only veteran leader and politician not involved in the misuse of public funds, particularly the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).

Links:

• Bohol Standard newspaper - [link]

Aris gives option to illegal fishing

~ sample photo only ~

By: JUNE S. BLANCO

ILLEGAL fishing is always tempting.

For a fisherman who has had rough times with a growing family and debts, blast and fine meshed nets fishing can be the solution that even sparks hope for a brighter future.

It smells smack of a Cinderella story – another rags-to-riches episode that sadly, however, is not sustainable. It is short-lived and immediately snuffs out that spark of hope even before it ignites.

Rep. Erico Aristotle Aumentado of Bohol’s 2nd District decided to make the difference for the fishermen among his constituents.

“Unless one is born with the proverbial golden spoon in the mouth, today’s high cost of living can be intimidating,” Aumentado said.

To wean the fishermen from thoughts of – and getting a crack at – the high risk path to “getting rich quick” by engaging in illegal fishing, the solon tapped the resources of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for project proposal preparation trainings and funding for alternative livelihood for them.

These past two weeks, he has been island-hopping in Bien Unido town to provide funds to the fishermen and women’s groups according to the projects they proposed.

Implementing fishery laws is the province of the executive department but providing funding and technical assistance can very well be done by the legislative department, he explained.

The projects range from pumpboats and fishing nets to replace those washed away by supertyphoon Yolanda, seaweeds or guso planting, planting materials and fertilizers for the farmers in the islands and even livestock or goat and native chicken dispersal with incubator for the eggs so that the chickens can lay eggs continuously for the women’s groups.

This way, the solon said, the fishermen can continue fishing using legal methods, augment their income with the seaweeds and the goat and chickens plus eggs for sale and consumption.

He said he will also replicate best practices of these beneficiaries to counterparts in the islands of other towns as well as the mainland within the district. --- END

Links:

• Bohol Standard newspaper - [link]
• Photo - [link]