Boholanos are big winners in the Vispop X after their entry won the grand prize in the said songwriting competition.
Keith John Quito, an engineer, who traces his roots from Balilihan, is the composer of the grand prize winning entry entitled, “Para Natong Duha”.
According to Balilihan mayor Pureza Veloso-Chatto, Keith John is the son of Marquetta Quito and the grandson of Editha Badayos of Balilihan.
The interpreter of the song, Joseph Gara, is a Boholano singer from Dauis town, the mayor said in her post.
After a five-year hiatus, the said songwriting contest made a successful comeback, according to competition founder Jude Gitamondo.
About six entries competed for the Vispop X grand prize during the final tilt held on Aug. 27, 2022 at the Ayala Center Cebu.
In a report by Rappler, Gara said that the song is a “poetic heartbreak story”.
Keith John says that the song paints a mental picture of how painful it is to be treated like a brother by someone you adore, Gara added.
The first runner-up in the competition was John Erscel’s “Hawid,” while Ferdinand Aragon’s “Bangon Adlaw” won as second runner-up.
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The Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP), under Vice Gov. Dionisio Victor Balite, started the process of acquiring 14 new vehicles.
The new vehicles are going to be used by the 13 board members and the vice governor himself.
Balite’s move to buy new vehicles is a 180-degree turn from his stance more than a year ago.
Balite, who used to be the Senior Board Member, a year ago, opposed the plan of then Vice Gov. Rene Relampagos to purchase new vehicles.
Balite’s reason: the purchase of new vehicle was not timely due to the pandemic.
After only 2 months in office, Balite is singing a different tune saying the SP members need the new cars as the old ones are no longer safe to use or drive. Moreover, the price of maintaining the old cars is more expensive compared to the cost of acquiring new vehicles; and the pandemic is no longer a huge problem like it was a year or so ago, Balite said.
For Board Member Tomas Abapo, having new vehicles is not mandatory but necessary. He pointed out that board members need to travel and find out the situation in the field in order to become an effective legislator.
The fact is that there is a need for new vehicles, a story that existed in the previous SP.
Perhaps, the only difference is that the Coronavirus disease (Covid) cases today are manageable compared to a year ago.
Yet, Bohol remains under Alert Level 2 and the number of cases still hover around 90 or a 100, according to the Bohol Infer Agency Task Force (BIATF).
Thus, the Covid issue remains a problem in Bohol despite the fact that the province is under Alert Level 2.
Furthermore, there are thousands of Boholanos who are yet to fully recover from the impact brought by typhoon Odette.
They have yet to rebuild their homes; some some still don’t have electricity.
Likewise, there was exposè by Board Member Lucille Lagunay saying there is a problem with water potability of some municipal waterworks system and water refilling stations.
With these things considered, a question is being raised:
- Can we divert the SP vehicle budget of P24 million and spend it for a different purpose?
There are other pressing issues where the P24 million in funds can be used instead of buying 14 new vehicles.
For one, we have the concern about the supply of rapid antigen tests for local government units. The funds for the SP car purchase can be diverted for the acquisition of rapid antigen test kits so that Boholanos can get tested quickly if they have symptoms of Covid and can promptly be isolated should they turn out to be positive for the disease.
The budget for the SP cars can also be used to help the Boholanos who were impacted by the onslaught of Odette. The money could help some residents whose homes got destroyed, fully or partially, almost a year ago by the terrible storm.
It may be also better to use the funds to finance a water treatment plant in order to solve the problem of the potability of water produced by our waterworks system.
The fact remains that there are a lot of problems that can be solved with adequate funds. If it was a wise to defer the car purchase before, could it not be wiser if we do the same now?