Bohol bares 4Q target for tourism re-opening -- are we ready? #OpEd

Are we?

Bohol - we are ready!

These words -- bold rounded purple fonts, exclamation point and all -- bannered the opening slide of the Gov. Art Yap's Bohol tourism re-opening strategy at the interface of Bohol officials and mayors with Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año and Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat during the two secretaries' visit in Bohol on July 31, 2020. 

But wait, hold your horses --

Let the whale sharks swim free.

The Save the Sharks mural is a community street art project produced during the 3rd Shark Summit held in Bohol last November 12-16, 2018.

At the public consultation held in the Baclayon Cultural Center last Thursday, October 3 for the proposed municipal ordinance entitled “Providing regulatory guidelines for the conservation of whale sharks within the municipal waters of the Municipality of Baclayon” authored by Councilor Erico Joseph T. Cañete, the first stakeholder opinion was from a fisherman, and it was in opposition to the ordinance. His statement was brief, and but the gist of it is captured in this quip: “kay naa na man jud nang mga whale sharks, nganong di man na ‘nato pahimuslan”. (A fraction of the audience actually applauded to this; the nays had a contingent.)

Review: President Duterte's First State of Nation Address (SONA)

President Digong looked and spoke like the badass Mayor that he was.

We watched the first State of the Nation Address of President Rodrigo R. Duterte. Here's what we have to say:

Another one bites the dust.

The corner building in front of the Royal Theater (now Novo Jeans) in Tagbilaran City.

Another old-ish building (70s or 80s) succumbed to demolition and will soon be supplanted by some bland or gaudy concrete and glass mid-rise.

(Bohol Republic is documenting the changes in the urban fabric of Tagbilaran City.)

Dolce Amore de Bohol

The #LizQuen #SerTen tandem just made Bohol even more sweeter. Loveteams are cash cows, let Bohol milk them, why not. Symbiosis. 

After the earthquake: McDonald's

The golden arches rise in Tubigon, Bohol

Legit question to a local: Unsa na'y mga nakita ninyong nangahuman nga mga post-earthquake projects diri sa inyo? (referring to the DILG-funded projects)

Her epic reply: Uhmmm, McDonald's?

#LOLBohol #bohol
#longroadtorecovery #bangonbohol #2yearson

Puddle Trouble

Malabon in Tagbilaran

On our way to a trip out of town, a friend pointed out this flooded area at Tagbilaran's Integrated Bus Terminal. He said it's been here for ages, the water, never drained, and seem to just be ignored by the authorities.

Talk about a breeding ground for mosquitoes, bacteria and other such disease-causing what-not's.

While that area out front of the Integrated Bus Terminal which used to be the problem-pool, ignored, left to turn green and disgusting, has vanished, now comes this new puddle.

There seemed to be someone digging something on the side, which looked like a sewerage manhole.

We hope this problem will get fixed. Soon.

Update (1 October 2015): The great puddle, unfortunately, was still there.