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LTO patrols outreach services to CV towns
The Land Transportation Office in Region 7 gives a new meaning to the government drive to give inclusive services to its constituents in its e-patrols. Facing the problem of clogged transactions due to limited district offices which are also cramped by backlogs, the LTO 7 puts up its own version of a mobile service through its outreach off-site service licensing and renewal operations in Bohol. Launched in Panglao, February 18, the e-patrol is comprised of an air-conditioned bus loaded with a mini office complete with counters for documentary processes, plus a complimentary support of LTO staff handling out application forms, doctors to issue medical certificates, insurance providers, and a police clearance booth so those intending to have their LTO transactions can be served. LTO 7 Regional Director Victor Caindec said they are putting up the e-patrol outreach in Region 7 to get to the most number of people who have been stumped at the sheer number of clients and the waiting time there at district officers. Now slowly cutting their backlogs through the use of offsite printing offices to decongest the clients, five-year validity for licenses to cut on the number of renewals, but it still has other services including the decades old backlog in vehicle plates and other transactions. We have to thank Mayor Nila Montero for inviting us to come, Caindec who led the regional team told the modest crowd of applicants gathered at the town gym. Montero arranged for the team’s billeting and accommodations in the town, a huge cost that the LTO could not singlehandedly afford, the LTO 7 chief added. Before the program, a... read moreIPOPHL to hold intellectual property themed MCLE Program to Cebu on March 18-22
The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) will be mounting the 2019 edition of the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) on March 18 to 22 at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Cebu City in order to reach out to IP practitioners in the Visayas. “Scaling up our IP Education and Awareness drive is at the forefront of IPOPHL’s agenda. The MCLE Program’s first run outside of Luzon will be an essential learning opportunity for lawyers and non-lawyers alike. The curriculum for this lecture series is a diverse offering of updates on IP legislation, strategic innovation on IP core processes & appeals, commerce-related concepts of IP,” said Director General Josephine Santiago. Intellectual property processes, particularly in application and appeals, as well as the special rules and procedures on IP cases will also be discussed. Intellectual property is a game-changer of scientific innovation and creativity, and has been entrenched as a component of economic growth in the Philippine Development Plan particularly in chapters on advancing science, technology, and innovation & expanding economic opportunities for industry and services. The area of intellectual property is a new and exciting field in legal practice that remains to be fully tapped by a new generation of lawyers. With every sector, from manufacturing to banking, now being infused with technology, expertise in the field of intellectual property will complement law firms’ existing competencies in high-demand practice areas such as information technology and cyber law . Intellectual property has increasingly been a salient feature of modern free trade agreements, both bilateral and multilateral ones, putting it in a prime intersection with trade law. The lecture series... read more
Aris pushes energ’n of 2nd District islands
By JUNE S. BLANCO JANUARY 7, 2017 will forever be etched in the minds of the over 700 households in the three-barangay island of Mahanay off Getafe and Talibon towns. This was when Rep. Erico Aristotle Aumentado (Bohol, 2nd District) powered on the ceremonial switch for the P30-million energization project for the island. Engr. Eugene Tan, manager of the Bohol II Electric Cooperative Inc. (Boheco II) assisted him. Not resting on his laurels, Aumentado recently sought updates from former Camarines Sur congressman and now Energy Undersecretary for Power, Renewable Energy, and Media Affairs Felix William “Wimpy” Fuentebella. An island will remain under-developed without the necessary basic infrastructure support. To note, in his switch-on message, Aumentado waxed sentimental as he declared the fulfillment of the promise his namesake father and immediate congressional predecessor, former Gov. Erico Boyles Aumentado, had made to the islanders. Patterned after the Leyte-Bohol Interconnection project, Mahanay taps power from mainland Bohol through submarine cables. The National Electrification Administration (NEA) through then Administrator Edita Bueno downloaded the amount to Boheco II that undertook the bidding process for the cable and installed it, along with the electric poles, power main and lateral lines. Boheco II manages the power distribution to the households as well. The elder Aumentado had broached the energization plan for the 2nd District’s 35 islands and islets to Bueno. With the technology already available, it did not take him long to convince her. However, death overtook him on Christmas Day of 2012. Aumentado, the son, picked up the pieces where his father left off. In 2015, during his own first term as congressman, he brought...PLDT, Globe seen selling their16,000 towers
PLDT Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc. will likely end up selling their wireless communications towers to any of the seven independent private firms putting up new towers for collective use, Makati City Rep. Luis Campos Jr. said Sunday. “We see both PLDT and Globe eventually assigning their 16,000 towers to any or all of the non-aligned firms providingshared towers, now that the government has permitted at least seven of them to operate,” Campos, a deputy minority leader, said. “They (PLDT and Globe) will likely consolidate and spin off their tower assets into separate subsidiaries, and then put them up for saleto the independent tower entities,” Campos, who is counting on common towers to quickly boost Internet connectivity all over the country, said. Campos made the statement after the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) authorized Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc. (AIC) to build new towers for shared use. AIC became the sixth entity authorized by the DICT to construct new common towers after ISOC Infrastructures Inc.; ISON ECP Tower Pte. Ltd.; IHS Holding Ltd.; edotco Group SdnBhd; China Energy Equipment Co. Ltd. and RT Telecom Sdn Bhd. “The immediate beneficiary of new commontowers isthe Mislatel consortium – the third telecommunications player that the government has brought in precisely to drive competition in the supply of superior Internet services,” Campos said. Campos has been batting for improved public access to faster Internet connection speeds at a lower price. He is author of a bill that seeks to reclassify Internet access as a “basic telecommunications service” so that regulators may compel suppliers to provide rising connection speeds under pain of harsh administrative...Local News/ Bohol Balita
Are you Kinatkatay ready?
Technical climbs and rampage rated downhill sections with possibly painless ball-out sections if you are quick to roll into the tall grasses: these await the uninitiated into the KinatkataysaBinabaje, Alicia’s extreme cross country mountain biking challenge. Set in the afternoon of February 24, the 35 kilometer race of epic proportion, is generously spiced up with punishing climbs into the tall hills of sitioBinabaje in Barangay Cambaol in Alicia town, and opens to age group competitors. But just before you let go of that P400 registration, it just might be fair if you get forewarned about what to expect when you get on The Alicia Panoramic Park (TAPP) trails. BUILD ON THE MUSCLE AND THE HEART If you ever had joined a group trail ride and wondered how you humped and puffed while other whizz through, then you know what it is to climb faster, rip through the downhills and bunny hop on obstacles like they do. That ain’t coming with your kind of training regimen. You would have to invest in lots of riding, great fitness workouts and scratched bikes. So take on the trails at least four times a week and build on those heart muscles. TAPP’s KinatkataysaBinabaje is a 35 kilometer 3 hour ride at least, so it would make sense if your designed training program fits the race distance. Or more. Single day long rides or moderately long rides placed back to back in the remaining weeks should work on the muscle memory and the heart. Keep the intensity level high in short trail rides, and do not forget the recovery rides, that is where one...Aris OK’s nuclear energy only after thorough study
By JUNE S. BLANCO REP. Erico Aristotle Aumentado (Bohol, 2nd district) favors the use of nuclear energy – but only after a thorough study. Aumentado aired this position during a recent meeting with House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The solon expressed his support for the bill proposing to use nuclear energy provided that all safety measures are put in place. He said a thorough study must be made by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Department of Energy (DOE) on the nuclear power models of the United States and Japan, among others, before attempting to repair, retrofit and use the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. On the local scene, he observed, power in Bohol is getting expensive. He said this is because of the strides in infrastructure development brought on by President Rodrigo Duterte’s thrust of “build, build, build”. Bohol still depends to a large extent on power from Cebu. But, Aumentado said, this may not be for long because Cebu’s power demand is also increasing – at a rate bigger than Bohol – the former being already industrialized. The price of power will inevitably become more and more expensive, he said. The Philippines’ chance of finding sustainable and stable energy comes in nuclear power, he continued. However, Aumentado warned, while DOST may be supportive of nuclear power, it should not push to the back burner the concerns on the environment. Development of nuclear power must be consistent, especially with the province’s goal of protecting the environment and the lives of the people. When operational, Bataan can easily provide from 500 to 1,000 megawatts of power. This can...Aris stages 10th anti-drug concert
By JUNE S. BLANCO REP. Erico Aristotle Aumentado (Bohol, 2nd District) will stage anew an anti-drug concert in Ubay town as one of its nightly entertainment in the rundown to the town fiesta. “Let’s eat, drink, have fun, enjoy music and be merry – all without drugs – this fiesta,” Aumentado exhorts the youth, the not-so-young and the young once as The Dawn, the rock band featuring singer-guitarist Jett Pangan and company, performs in the evening of Thursday, January 24, at the Magsaysay Gymnasium in Poblacion, Ubay. This is Aumentado’s 3rd concert as part of his campaign against drugs, and the 10th for the youth in his district. Listening to good music, the solon said, soothes the nerves, and relieves one of the day to day pressures of studies, work or other occupation. This can be enjoyed without drugs, as the latter can only destroy one’s health and brain, and can overhaul one’s personality to change the bright, courteous and humble into uncouth, foul-mouthed monsters. Rather than venturing into the unknown without knowing what kind of dragon one turns into when stoned, Aumentado pushes for a drug-free life, motivated to serve one’s fellowmen. He urges especially the Ubay youth and their peers and visitors, to come and enjoy the concert. Ubay has a soft spot in the solon’s heart as this is the hometown of his immediate congressional predecessor and namesake father, former Bohol governor Erico Boyles Aumentado who was born and raised in barangay...The Call from the TAPP:
Alicia opens trail Until January 25 TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol January 12 (PIA)–The gorgeous trails leading to the best panoramic views in eastern Bohol open again this year for the annual The Alicia Panoramic Park (TAPP) Trail Run 2019 in time for the foundation days celebration of the town, 100 kilometers from this capital city. Said to be most brutally beautiful race that allows trail masters to get a glimpse, or a selfie at the scenery, the TAPP trail run gets a trail runner from The Farm in Barangay Cambaol, Alicia to dizzying elevations by following the pasture trails that make their way to Mount Labawan, the trail’s highest peak at over 350 meters towering over the largely rolling landscape. Now fast becoming the town’s most popular sports tourism product, the trail run this year, set February 24, Sunday, is open for 5 kilometer kiddie, the 10 kilometers and the 30 kilometers trail for the hardcore runners who have found the real challenge off-road and away from the pavements. With registration opening since December, the TAPP trail run attempts to limit the number of runners considering the trails’ carrying capacity, according to town tourism officer Godelia Lumugdang. When there were over 350 runners who registered in last year’s TAPP Trail series for the 21 kilometers, organizers this year opened limited 150 slots for the 30 kilometers, another 150 slots for the 10 kilometers and 50 slots for the kiddie 3 kilometer race, she added. Registration for the 30 kilometer race is P1,200, for the 10 kilometer race, P700 and for the 5 kilometer kiddie, P500. Registration which includes an event...Aris thanks Japan for ODA grants
By JUNE S. BLANCO REP. Erico Aristotle Aumentado (Bohol, 2nd District) expressed gratitude to the Japanese parliamentarians at a recent dinner hosted by House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Aumentado acknowledged the “very significant” assistance from Japan that the province now enjoys – given during his namesake father and immediate congressional predecessor Erico B. Aumentado’s watch – the Bohol Circumferential Road. The solon is now trying to rekindle the ties his father once had with Japan, and exploring if it still has official development assistance (ODA) available, and what specific projects can qualify. After all, he said, Japanese ODA has the most reasonable cost of money – more affordable than China’s interest rate – lower than by as much as 50%. It is high time, he said, that Bohol further builds its network, with no intention of letting up, in order to make it a top notch province, of international standards, especially where roads, ports, airport and other infrastructure are...National News
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