The Bohol Tribune’s managing editor Ardy Araneta-Batoy joined Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) head Sec. Martin Andanar in a nationally televised interview with Bien Unido mayor Rene Borenaga.
Araneta-Batoy was invited as a reactor in the Network Briefing News, which is anchored by Andanar.
Andanar started the interaction by asking Borenaga to introduce her town to a national audience.
The mayor told Andanar where Bien Unido is located, which is in the northern part of Bohol province. It has 15 barangays and touted as a 4th-class municipality.
The PCOO chief asked Borenaga how she is handling people who remain hesitant in getting the Coronavirus disease (Covid) vaccine.
She said that local government unit (LGU) personnel were the first ones who were inoculated to serve as examples to the general public.
Secondly, the town’s doctors and nurses went out of their way to personally visit the residents in island barangays to convince them to get the shots.
Borenaga said the barangay captains played a vital role in convincing the general public to consider getting the jabs against Covid.
During her turn, Araneta-Batoy asked Borenaga about her anti-Covid strategies especially that one of the town’s barangays, Malingin, saw a surge of cases last year.
“Mabilis ang response namin [against Covid] kasi nagtungan kami. Automatic na lockdown ang barangay Malingin para hindi makaspread ang Covid [virus],” the mayor told Araneta-Batoy.
The mayor said that she is optimistic that Bohol will recover from the effects of the pandemic because of the cooperation of Boholanos to achieve a common good. She is also upbeat when it comes to the recovery of the tourism industry in the province. The mayor said that Bien Unido is promoting its diving spots to tourists once Bohol’s tourism industry reopens.
The mayor also tackled with Andanar one of the major industries of the town which is seaweed farming. Borenaga said the seaweed farmers from her town are able to sell their products to consumers in Cebu City and even in Tagbilaran City.
Her only lament is the fact that climate change has impacted seaweed farming in Bien Unido. She said that the changes in the climate will ultimately lead to a decline in seaweed production and eventually affect the income of the seaweed farmers.
ON THE S-PASS
Borenaga gave her opinion regarding the continued requirement of the S-pass for those who wish to visit Bohol, during the interview.
She said that for her the vaccination card should be sufficient for any traveler and there is no need for any additional requirement.
The mayor said that people coming from rural areas may have a hard time complying with the S-pass requirement.