DA Sec. Alcala To Grace Maribojoc Mariculture Park Launching

Department of Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala is expected to grace the blessing and launching of the Maribojoc Mariculture Park on April 28.

The local government of Maribojoc, in partnership with DA-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) – Region VII Office, announced last Tuesday that all is set for the launching and blessing of the Maribojoc Mariculture Park in Maribojoc Bay.

Other invited guests include DA-BFAR Central Office Director Atty. Malcolm I. Sarmiento, Jr. and Assistant Director for Technical Services Gil A. Adora, DA-BFAR Region VII Director Andres M. Bojos and Assistant Regional Director Allan L. Poquita, Bohol Provincial Governor Edgar M. Chatto, First District Congressman Rene L. Relampagos, Vice-Governor Concepcion O. Lim and First District Board Members Cesar Tomas M. Lopez, Abeleon R. Damalerio and Venzencio B. Arcamo.

Rev. Fr. Warren Abarquez, parish priest of the Holy Cross Parish, will officiate the 9:00 a.m. blessing of the Mariculture Park along Maribojoc Bay, followed by the unveiling of the Mariculture Park Replica by Sec. Alcala. This will be succeeded by a ribbon-cutting ceremony led by Atty. Sarmiento, Dir. Adora, Dir. Bojos, Gov. Chatto, Cong. Relampagos, Mayor Leoncio B. Evasco, Jr. and Dir. Bojos. Sec. Alcala will also lead a ceremonial seeding.

From the Mariculture Park, the group will proceed to the Dr. Abundio Echavez Memorial Sports and Cultural Center for a short program where barangay and municipal local government officials and employees will witness a signing of the Memorandum of Agreement between LGU Maribojoc and DA-BFAR.

Set to give inspirational messages are Atty. Sarmiento, Gov. Chatto and Cong. Relampagos, while Dir. Bojos will introduce keynote speaker and guest of honor, Sec. Alcala. The DA secretary and DA-BFAR officials will also distribute the certificates of award for cages to the Executive Management Council represented by Mayor Evasco.

Vice-Mayor Fructuoso F. Redulla, Jr. will give the closing remarks, while Barangay Poblacion Punong Barangay Arnulfo Turco, Jr. will be the event’s emcee. #

Maribojoc Gears Up For Enting-enting 2011 Festival

The town of Maribojoc will again celebrate the Enting-enting Festival dubbed “Enting-enting Basaw’g Sajaw: Parada sa mga Milagro,” come May 5 in honor of its’ patron saint, Saint Vincent Ferrer.

Ten local contingents will participate in the festival that will highlight the many miracles of Saint Vincent Ferrer as enumerated in its’ novena prayer. Festival participants will come from barangays Aliguay, Jandig, Lincod and Cabawan, the lone school contingent from Busao National High School, the Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transgender (LGBT) group, the Women’s Group as well as delegations from San Juan, Exaltacion and Kahayag, all from Barangay Poblacion.

Each group will perform two rituals, a ‘three-minute free-interpretation’ during the festival parade around major thoroughfares of the town and an ‘eight to ten-minute’ ritual performance at the presentation area.

Each contingent will have a minimum of 30 to a maximum of 60 participants, irrespective of age; their music or accompaniment may either be “live” or recorded and may avail of indigenous materials such as bamboo for drums and others; and costume can be of any style or any material(s), however these have to be appropriate to the concept. The ritual ‘steps’ can be any folkdance steps or figures but have to be appropriate to the choreography.

The one-day festival will be just one of several socio-cultural activities that the town has planned out from April 26 until May 7, 2011. Fiesta committee members include the Local Government Unit (LGU) Maribojoc, the Parish Pastoral Council (PPC), the Department of Education – Maribojoc District (DepEd Maribojoc), the San Vicente Ferrer Institute Alumni Association (SVFIAA), the Association of Barangay Captains (ABC), the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Federation and other sectoral groups of the town.

A 4:00 p.m.-“Fluvial Parade” in Maribojoc Bay on April 26 will commence the 12-day fiesta activities; at 6:00 p.m. the same day, the “Piyesta sa Lungsod” gathering will take place at the Dr. Abundio Echavez Memorial Sports and Cultural Center (DAEMSCC).

On April 27, the Municipal Eco-Heritage Tourism, Culture and Arts (MEHTCA) Council will facilitate a “Heritage Walk” around Barangay Poblacion at 9:00 a.m. Interested groups and organizations are invited to coordinate with the local government for the Heritage Walk schedule reservations. Later at 8:00 p.m. will be the “Sing and Dance” Attack Contest.

The Maribojoc Bay Mariculture Park will be launched and inaugurated on the morning of April 28 together with the conduct of an Agro-Agri Fair and the Paddle Boats Distribution. An Invitational Basketball Game sponsored by the SK Federation will be held in the evening.

A “Heritage Walk” is again scheduled in the mornings of April 29-30 and May 2, the April 29th evening activity will be the “Singing Bulilit Night” sponsored by the Parish Pastoral Council and a “Bingo Social” on the 30th sponsored by the Poblacion Barangay Council.

A “Cultural Show” coordinated by the MEHTCA Council and DepEd Maribojoc will be greatly anticipated on the evening of May 1. The latter will also sponsor a “Cheer Dance” extravaganza on the evening of May 2.

The Maribojoc Center for Livelihood Enterprise Development (MaCLED) will supervise an “LGU Maribojoc Job Fair” at the municipal building on the morning of May 3. Simultaneously, a “Boxing” event and the SVFIAA King & Queen – First and Last Canvassing affair will be held on separate venues in the evening.

The PPC will sponsor a “Holy Mass and Procession” on May 4 at 5:00 p.m., followed by a “Fireworks Display” arranged by the municipal government at 7:00 p.m; the Solid Sudlon organization will sponsor a “Disco” during the evening.

At 10:00 a.m. on May 5, a “Pontifical Mass” will be celebrated at the Diocesan Shrine of Saint Vincent Ferrer. The “Enting-enting Basaw’g Sajaw: Parada sa mga Milagro Festival” will start at 3:00 p.m., followed by another “Disco” by Solid Sudlon at 8:00 p.m.

The SVFIAA 2011 Grand Homecoming will commence with a 2:00 p.m. Thanksgiving Mass on May 6, a General Assembly and Election at 3:30 p.m., a Fellowship Dinner at 5:30 p.m. and at 8:00 p.m. the Coronation Rites for the SVFIAA King and Queen.

The last leg of the fiesta activities is an “SVFIAA Parade” at 9:00 a.m. and an “SVFIAA Heritage Games” from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. #

May 17 Education Summit in Maribojoc

Maribojoc will hold a municipal-wide multi-sectoral Education Summit on May 17, 2011 at the Dr. Abundio Echavez Memorial Sports and Cultural Center to gather the community to work together in improving the basic quality of education in the town.

Summit participants will include the municipal and barangay local government units, the Department of Education (DepEd), socio-civic groups, schools, teachers, parents and students in the town. Special guests invited to the summit are Synergeia president and chief executive officer Dr. Milwida M. Guevara and former Murcia mayor Esteban ‘Sonny’ Coscolluela of Negros Occidental.

Expected to be signed during the one-day affair will be the Tri-partite Agreement between the LGU, DepEd and the PTA on Sustainable Literacy Programs that will be implemented in Maribojoc.

The proposed Education Summit was agreed upon during the Local School Board meeting last March 24 attended by local DepEd-Maribojoc District principals and teachers, officers of the various Parents-Teachers’ Associations and the municipal government. A nine-member Education Summit Preparatory Committee was tapped to organize the affair.

Mayor Leoncio B. Evasco, Jr., who facilitated the meeting held at the Sangguniang Bayan Session Hall, invited Synergeia Program Officer, Dr. and Professor Caridad ‘Cary’ T. Tharan. She gave details on their organizations’ interventions in several parts of the country and their vision to influence communities to think strategically on Education and for local governments to implement Education reforms.

Evasco shared his wish for every child in Maribojoc, which is for them to discover and love reading books. “We can learn from Synergeia & the Saranggani ‘big brother, big sister’ experience. We can mobilize our Sangguniang Kabataan to have such a project,” he said.

Evasco previously attended the 8th National Education Summit sponsored by Synergeia Foundation, Inc. held on February 18-20, 2011 at the Ateneo de Manila Professional Schools in Rockwell Center, Makati City. Maribojoc was invited for being a ‘Seal of Good Housekeeping’ awardee and P1M Performance Challenge Fund grantee of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).

BFP Region 7 Recognizes Evasco

The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) – Region 7 awarded Mayor Leoncio B. Evasco, Jr. with a plaque of appreciation during its culmination program of the Fire Prevention Month last Thursday in Talisay City, Cebu.

Evasco was recognized for his support and invaluable assistance extended to the programs and projects of the BFP. Regional director and senior superintendent Ma. Luisa Cerrudo Hadjula, MM, awarded the plaque and thanked the municipality of Maribojoc for their constant assistance to the BFP regional office for their contribution to the attainment of the bureau’s mission and objectives.

In 2010, Evasco issued Executive Order no. 3 organizing the Maribojoc Emergency and Rescue Unit (MERU). Its’ primary functions are to prepare a specific comprehensive plan of action for disaster management, conduct regular IEC activities on emergency and rescue operations as well as recruit, train and mobilize volunteer fire brigades and volunteer paramedics within the municipality. The local BFP continues to be at the forefront of all MERU activities.

Maribojoc, a ‘seal of good housekeeping’ awardee of the Department of Interior and Local Government, has consistently supported initiatives of the national government that are deemed to decrease the incidence of poverty in this 4th class municipality. #

UST Partners with Maribojoc Community

The University of Santo Tomas first heard of Maribojoc in 2009, through UST journalism professor Jeremiah M. Opiniano who wrote about the initiative of the municipal government to organize Maribojocanons overseas and their families. Back then, Opiniano interviewed Mayor Leoncio B. Evasco, Jr. on his plan to tap the 742 overseas workers and emigrants for social investments in the town.

Opiniano, a member of the OFW Journalism Consortium and an Executive Director of the Institute for Migration and Development Issues (MIDI), highlighted in his article published overseas the Maribojoc Land-based Migrant Workers and Beneficiaries Association and the Maribojoc Seafarers and Beneficiaries Association.

MIDI then provided technical and organizational assistance to the town’s two overseas organizations and their projects. MIDI is a non-profit organization that does research, advocacy, networking and development journalism on international migration and development issues in the Philippines. Consequently, he also introduced Maribojoc to the UST community.

Last March 23, UST economics professor Dr. Alvin P. Ang and Opiniano made a trip to town to give a Financial Literacy Orientation to leaders of people’s organizations and municipal government employees. Their visit was mainly aimed at discussing several LGU project proposals wherein UST could assist the latter on their possible funding organizations to tap. Opiniano encouraged the development leaders to request UST’s College of Medicine to conduct a Medical Mission in the town.

On Wednesday, UST’s College of Commerce and Business Administration Faculty visited Maribojoc and met the development officers of the municipal government and their partner people’s organizations. They had a one-day exposure trip to the town to know more about its’ activities in order for them to identify areas where they could be of assistance. College of Commerce’ Dean and Prof. Ma Socorro P. Calara, Ph.D. headed the group with assistant dean, assistant professor Mary Hildence M. Baluyot, and regent, Rev. Fr. Senen R. Ecleo, O.P.

Mayor Evasco welcomed the group and thanked them for taking the time to visit Maribojoc, a ‘seal of good housekeeping’ awardee. The latter informed the Mayor that they have a pending request with their university’s publishing house for books that can be donated to the town. They also announced that UST students will be visiting the town soon for their own exposure trips since the process of having the town become their adopted community is on-going.

The Maribojoc Center for Livelihood Enterprise Development (MaCLED) headed by Jaime Llaguno Mabilin facilitated the visit of the UST community. Part-time UST professor Jerry C. Yao, currently the director for community affairs of the Philippine Marketing Association, discussed with Mabilin the former’s interest to assist Maribojoc. He said, “For the town’s products to be more competitive in the world market, we have to improve and develop its packaging and labelling strategies.” Dean Calara also suggested to give more focus on coming up with a processed Bangus production. #