By Cerge M. Remonde
ON 30 June 2001, Governor Erico B. Aumentado started out on the first term of his stewardship of Bohol. Located in Central Philippines, the province has a population of 1.2 million, with one city, 47 municipalities and 1,109 barangays.
At that time, Bohol was ranked 16th of the country's 20 poorest provinces, and while it was host to the famous tarsiers and the Chocolate Hills, poverty incidence was at a dismal 53.6%.
Already a veteran of Congress and various other local positions, at that time, the task ahead for Governor Aumentado was nonetheless daunting and formidable. Especially so with a festering leftist insurgency that fed and thrived on a populace plagued by poverty.
Roughly 30 percent of Bohol's 1,109 barangays, in the words of Gov. Aumentado, "were in various stages of insurgency: Influenced, infiltrated or threatened. There were also 283 armed men in four fronts in the province, making Bohol a hotbed of insurgency in Central and Eastern Visayas."
It was the consensus of the Bohol leaders from the start, he explained, that military intervention alone would not solve the communist insurgency. A poverty reduction program focused on attaining peace and security in the province was what was needed. And that was what he gave Bohol.
While continuing the Let's Help Bohol program, a livestock dispersal program instituted by his predecessor, he immediately created the Bohol Poverty Reduction Management Office. And in succession, he established the Bohol Employment and Placement Office which deployed a total of 5,827 foreign, domestic as well as student workers. The Bohol Tourism Office, to promote the natural attractions of a province populated by a people who are by nature warm and hospitable, was also created. Other programs, such as the Livelihood Integrated for Food and Family Enhancement, an extension of Let's Help Bohol; KALAHICIDSS; Agrarian Reform Community Development, Phase 2; Belgian Integrated Agrarian Reform Support Program; and the Philippines-Australia Community Approach Program, among others, helped jumpstart Bohol out of the poorest 20 provinces.
While work on grooming Bohol for the turn around started from Day One, it did not come until much later.
Friday the 13th in 2004, a day of bad portents to many, would actually be the big turning point for Bohol's anti-insurgency campaign. The day the Governor miraculously escaped a well-planned ambush, the gentle and peace-loving Boholanos took it upon themselves to rid their province of the red scourge.
Wednesday, February 19, 2020
Tourist Arrivals in Albay, Philippines
LEGAZPI CITY -- A total of 1.27 million tourists visited this capital city of Albay province last year, which is higher than the 1.25-million figure in 2018.
The increased number is attributed to promotions of tourist destinations and different idyllic places here, said Tourism Officer Agapita Pacres in an interview on Monday.
She said Legazpi still emerged as the most attractive place to visit in Bicol for both domestic and foreign tourists.
“Most of the foreign tourists who visited this city came from the United States as well as Canada, United Kingdom, Australia and India, while the domestic or local visitors coming from different parts of the country were still the main contributors of the huge number of tourist arrivals in Legazpi," Pacres said.
She said that she always attended exhibits in Metro Manila and other parts of the country to promote the tourism destinations of Legazpi by way of distributing brochures and participating in other tourism-related activities.
The increased tourist arrivals in this premier city of Bicol was also the result of the different Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) and other huge gatherings held here by various giant national and international organizations, Pacres said.
Based on the record of the City Tourism Office (CTO), at least 240 MICE events were conducted in Legazpi in 2019.
Pacres added that national and international sporting events such as the Mt. Mayon Triathlon and national beach volleyball held during the celebration of Ibalong Festival every month of August also contributed to increased number of visitors to this city.
“Still, the Mt. Mayon, the famous perfect volcano in the world, was the frontline of attractions of Legazpi," she also said.
Riding an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) on lava hills and along rugged crevices down the Mt. Mayon slopes, Pacres said, is also a favorite activity among visitors in this city. (PNA)
The increased number is attributed to promotions of tourist destinations and different idyllic places here, said Tourism Officer Agapita Pacres in an interview on Monday.
She said Legazpi still emerged as the most attractive place to visit in Bicol for both domestic and foreign tourists.
“Most of the foreign tourists who visited this city came from the United States as well as Canada, United Kingdom, Australia and India, while the domestic or local visitors coming from different parts of the country were still the main contributors of the huge number of tourist arrivals in Legazpi," Pacres said.
She said that she always attended exhibits in Metro Manila and other parts of the country to promote the tourism destinations of Legazpi by way of distributing brochures and participating in other tourism-related activities.
The increased tourist arrivals in this premier city of Bicol was also the result of the different Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) and other huge gatherings held here by various giant national and international organizations, Pacres said.
Based on the record of the City Tourism Office (CTO), at least 240 MICE events were conducted in Legazpi in 2019.
Pacres added that national and international sporting events such as the Mt. Mayon Triathlon and national beach volleyball held during the celebration of Ibalong Festival every month of August also contributed to increased number of visitors to this city.
“Still, the Mt. Mayon, the famous perfect volcano in the world, was the frontline of attractions of Legazpi," she also said.
Riding an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) on lava hills and along rugged crevices down the Mt. Mayon slopes, Pacres said, is also a favorite activity among visitors in this city. (PNA)
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