Alleged drugs, gun seized from drug suspect in Valencia
A drug suspect was arrested following a drug buy bust operation in Valencia town on Feb. 5, 2025.
The elements of the Valencia drug enforcement unit arrested the suspect after detecting alleged illegal drug operations.
The suspect was identified as Aljhon Cainglet, 19, of barangay Poblacion Occidental, Valencia.
Seized from the suspect were packets of alleged shabu estimated to weigh 85 grams and valued at P578,000.
Also seized from the suspect was a caliber .45 pistol and five live ammunition.
The suspect admitted in the possession of the alleged shabu which he obtained from a source in Tagbilaran City.
He faces charges of violation of the Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 and illegal possession of firearms.
Bohol to donate P500K to Canlaon City
Bohol is set to donate P500,000 to Canlaon City, Negros Oriental affected by the eruption of Mt. Canlaon.
This was revealed by Dr. Anthony Damalerio, the chief of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) said the budget is being processed and will be soon provided to Canlaon City.
Canlaon City in eastern Negros is among affected including some localities in Negros Occidental were affected by the ash fall from the volcano’s eruption.
The PDRRMO will ask the Provincial Board to approve the release of funds to aid Canlaon volcano victims.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) reported that at least five emissions and 16 volcanic earthquakes were result of the eruption of the said active volcano.
The volcano emitted more than 5,000 tons of sulfur dioxide, the agency said as alert level 3 is still hoisted near the volcano’s vicinity.
SP okays ordinance providing satellite internet to brgys.
The Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) has approved on third and final reading the proposed ordinance providing satellite internet connection to Bohol barangays during Tuesday’s regular session.
In an interview, Board member Aldner Damalerio revealed the update on the proposed ordinance as the measure was authored by Board Member Greg Jala.
The ordinance provides a framework for providing satellite internet connection in remote areas of Bohol.
It is more likely it would tap internet satellite providers such as Starlink owned by billionaire Elon Musk.
Although there are other suppliers in the industry that could provide the service.
The idea is to provide internet access to areas without cellular signal and could be provided with satellite service.
Damalerio helped in defining the terms used in the ordinance as there are areas near highways without signal because the presence of cellular coverage is wanting.
These are also considered remote.
Loon mayoralty bet plans to create cluster for landfill
Loon mayoralty aspirant Yul Lopez plans to create a cluster with neighboring towns to create a sanitary landfill similar to what is in Albur.
In a report, Lopez said if he becomes mayor of Loon, he will reach out to the mayors of Calape, Maribojoc and others to form a cluster to create a landfill system where they could dispose of their garbage.
Loon is not viable for a landfill as it is filled with sinkholes.
The Loon town spends a lot on tipping fees to dispose of waste in Albur aside from the transport costs.
He is confident that Cong. Edgar Chatto will find ways to look for funding for a landfill just like what the solon did with Albur, where the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) shouldered the bill in building the landfill in Alburquerque.
The landfill issue has been the epicenter of controversy as Albur mayor Don Ritchie Buates decided to close the landfill temporarily for rehabilitation amid problems of leachate leaks.
It is easy, Damalerio said to justify the barangays which are located in totally remote locations and these should be given priority for internet satellite service.
The challenge will be in the island barangays where electricity supply sometimes is not stable as operating the ground station needs electricity, he said.
Damalerio hopes the governor will soon sign the measure into an ordinance.
Once signed, the SP will deliberate the budget for the project as the measure has no allocation in the 2025 budget.
The budget is P2 million per year for the next three years for a total of P6 million.
NHA starts to distribute aid to Odette victims
The National Housing Authority (NHA) has started to distribute the emergency housing assistance program (EHAP) aid to those whose homes were damaged during the onslaught of typhoon Odette in 2021.
The NHA started to distribute the aid in separate days in various towns in Bohol and targets to complete the distribution of the aid within this year.
Due to some circumstances, the aid was not availed of right away and took years before it was handed to beneficiaries.
Each beneficiary will receive P10,000 as assistance to help repair damaged homes after the typhoon struck.
Bohol government officials heaved a sigh of relief as the aid finally is being distributed.
The aid from the NHA is not downloaded to the local government units and the agency itself is responsible for the distribution.
To recall, the same aid was used as an election issue where some candidates in the 2022 election lost or nearly lost as they were accused of holding on to the funds for those with damaged homes. This done even if the local chief executives were not involved in the distribution of the said aid.
In Loon, the NHA distributed the aid to beneficiaries on Wednesday with a total of P23 million.
There were 2,454 families who received the aid in Loon. The NHA allocated about P73 million in aid to benefit more than 7,000 beneficiaries in 14 towns in Bohol.
The aid aims to help families restore their homes damaged by the typhoon.
Arcamo still clueless on stalling of JO allocation
Board member Benjie Arcamo remains clueless as to why Vice Gov. Tita Baja has not approved the allocation for job order (JO) employees assigned to each board member as his allocation has not been approved as of Monday.
Arcamo told Ardy Araneta-Batoy during the Newsmakers ug Uban Pa radio program on Feb. 3, 2025 that he is supposed to get around 15 JO workers as stipulated in the budget of the provincial government for 2025.
Arcamo said this is the first time the approval of the allocation has stalled since he became a board member in 2010.
He claims, this never happened during the time of former Vice Gov. Rene Relampagos.
He has no clue why there is a delay in the allocation of JO workers to his office and he has no recourse but to wait until the vice governor approves the allocation.
Arcamo said the human resource department is not the reason for the stalling and he did not hear any move to bar the allocation of JO coming from the governor’s office.
Arcamo said that the vice governor would often avoid any means to be confronted with the issue as he described Baja as “idlas” or slippery.
Arcamo said the vice governor would skip in presiding over the pre-session for two instances already and would stay for a bit then move to start the regular session.
Arcamo said some of their JO are teachers in the towns. These teachers are supposed to be paid by the municipalities but the board members decided to absorb some to ease the burden on the municipalities a bit.
There is a tendency these JO may end up drowning in debt because their salaries have been delayed, Arcamo said.
Arcamo said the JO are stuck in such work because they have no other source of income and rely on their meager salaries for livelihood.
Making things worse, Arcamo learned that some board members already have their respective JO approved and those who got an approval are aligned with the governor unlike Arcamo who is in the opposition.
The ones in the minority bloc are left waiting for approval.
Arcamo said the situation is pretty unfair for those JO that rendered service and denied any compensation.
Arcamo said it is the sole discretion of the vice governor to delay the approval and she alone knows the reason when she keeps on stalling
Arcamo said to spare the JO from political bickering and karma will exact justice to the oppressors who deny people of just compensation for work rendered.
Bohol police seize P2.4 M worth of alleged illegal drugs in a week’s operation
The Bohol Police Provincial Office (BPPO) reported to have seized around P2.4 million worth of alleged illegal drugs in a week of operations.
The period spans from Jan. 27 to Feb 2, 2025.
The report said the alleged drugs came from 31 police operations leading to the arrest of 31 drug suspects.
The suspects are now facing charges of violation of Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
In a separate development. BPPO confiscated around P3,807 worth of alleged bet money from various anti-illegal gambling operations.
There were 25 anti-illegal gambling operations that were done in the said period where there were seven cases filed in court, reports add.
Meanwhile, 26 firearms without license were confiscated as these are without license.
3 Bohol solons vote to support VP impeachment
All three Boholano congresspersons were among the 215 solons who voted to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday.
Cong. Edgar Chatto, Cong. Maria Vanessa Aumentado and Cong. Alexie Tutor all voted to impeach the vice president.
Now that the Lower House impeached Duterte, the articles of impeachment will be transmitted to the Senate and the Upper Chamber will decide if it will transform itself as an impeachment court as the Senate already adjourned sine die until June 2, 2025.
It would take 102 votes to impeach Duterte but 215 solons ended voting to impeach the vice president.
Chatto was the 118th solon who signed, Aumentado was the 119th, and Tutor was the 120th. It means the vice president was already impeached even before the Bohol solons signed the impeachment, as the signing was seen more as a statement of support to the majority of solons in the House.
At least four articles of impeachment were filed at the House where the vice president was accused of allegedly committing impeachable offenses.
The House will then elect a set of impeachment prosecutors as they will present their case to the Senate sitting as an impeachment court.
The Senate impeachment court, historically, will be presided over jointly by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the Senate President, just in the case of the impeachment trial of President Joseph Estrada in 2000.
ALLEGATIONS
Among the allegations hurled against Duterte included the conspiracy to assassinate President Marcos Jr., the first lady and Speaker Martin Romualdez,
Moreover, the alleged malversation of P612.5 million in confidential funds, bribery and corruption, unexplained wealth and failure to disclose assets, insolvent in extra judicial killings, destabilization, insurrection, and public disorder.
BASHING
The Bohol solons have been bashed online by supporters of the vice president.
There were bashers pointing out that Duterte stood as the godmother of the only daughter of the Aumentados but now Cong. Vanessa turned her back at the godmother of her only daughter.
San Miguel Foods looks at investing in Bohol
Food giant San Miguel Foods, a subsidiary of San Miguel Corporation, has visited Bohol to explore possible investment opportunities according to a report on Feb. 4, 2025.
The executives of the said company met with Capitol officials recently to discuss possible investment ventures in Bohol.
San Miguel Foods Rico Ildefonso Gomez and Ed Co were at the Capitol recently to discuss business with Capitol officials.
During the meeting, there is a plan to build a dressing plant for chickens here.
The projects will depend on the areas allotted to the company as it invests in Bohol.
Capitol officials want to direct the investments in areas known to be impoverished by providing more livelihood opportunities.
It was reported that 24 towns in Bohol have a high incidence of poverty and these areas might be given priority in investments.
SM to break ground this February?
Observers surmise that SM Tagbilaran will break ground this month.
This comes as Mayor Jane Yap dropped cryptic message about a huge investor finally breaking ground this February.
In a report, Yap said a huge investor plans to break ground but did not mention the name of the investor.
She said she will reveal the information in time when all the preparations are set.
Observers think the mayor is referring to SM as the retail chain’s management was quoted before to be looking at 2025 as the start of the construction of a mall at barangay Cogon.
The mayor said the exact date of the groundbreaking and once finalized, she will reveal it publicly.
She said the investment could generate jobs for Boholanos as it will hire plenty of people in the construction phase of the project.
This is aside from the workforce needed in the operation, she added.
Mayor Yap, last year met with officials of SM and reiterated the retail giant’s commitment to build a mall in Tagbilaran.
Tagb to focus on mass transport scheme
The city government of Tagbilaran is going to focus on a mass transport plan as traffic has become worse in most areas in the city.
Mayor Jane Yap made the realization after her recent visit to Cebu where she had to ride a motorcycle taxi in order to attend an event attended by President Marcos Jr.
She said she experienced transport issues in Cebu City, which led her to take a motorcycle taxi also known as habal-habal.
For this reason, she decided to craft a mass transport plan for Tagbilaran City and also to manage the traffic.
She also met with former Cebu City mayor Michael Rama and incumbent mayor Raymond Garcia where she learned that it is difficult to widen the streets as they have been narrow ever since.
This is the same status here even though there have been new roads opened in certain areas to decongest the traffic.
The new road openings could also bring the economic activity to more places in the city.
Initially, pocket terminals for tricycles and jeepneys are planned, she said.
Currently, the main mass transport remains the roving tricycles that occupy the main roads of the city.
To put sanity in the roving tricycles, the pocket terminals will organize routes that could help ease traffic congestion.
Capitol orders temporary closure of whale watching activities in Bohol
Gov. Aris Aumentado issued an executive order which was made public on Monday that temporarily halted whale watching activities across Bohol.
The order is supposed to take effect on Feb. 7, 2025 as the Capitol is also looking at cushioning the impact of the order by providing financial assistance to those who will be displaced.
Bohol towns of Dauis, Lila and Albur are the ones hosting whale watching activities.
The three-page order is mandating the temporary closure of the whale watching activities in the province.
The Capitol’s decision to close the activity is aligned with the fact that the province is an ecological tourism area and known as an UNESCO-declared eco park.
Bohol has been focused on balancing ecological protection and the economic aspect.
Whale watching has become a novel attraction among tourists with Dauis being the latest player in the game.
It was the town of Lila which started the attraction followed by Albur.
The attraction provided income to the town, which are not previously known as tourism hotspots like Panglao, Dauis or Loboc.
Back in 2023, the governor formed a task force to probe the alleged issues surrounding the activity.
It was discovered that the activity involved the feeding of the whale sharks using tiny shrimps called oyap.
It was alleged the small shrimps are causing odor as the operators were unable to get the necessary clearance from national agencies.
The first one that is able to comply with the regulations including the no feeding order will be opened and become the official whale watching area in Bohol.
Comelec to start drive in removing posters of national bets
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will start the removal of posters of national candidates as the campaign period of these bets starts on Feb. 11, 2025.
Comelec spokesman in Bohol, Tagbilaran election officer Rocco Lamanilao said the posters of those running for senators and partylist representatives shall be taken down on that date.
Posters of candidates must be placed in the designated common poster areas. However, candidates may post on private properties with the permission of the owner.
Posters should follow the prescribed size and those caught in violation may face sanctions and the materials may be taken down.
Lamanilao said Comelec provincial supervisor Eliseo Labaria already released a directive to conduct the removal of the campaign materials of those running for national positions.
It has been observed that some bets already placed materials all over the province, which to some poses an eyesore.
The same will be done by March 28, when the campaign period for local candidates starts.
Alleged illegal gambling usher nabbed in Inabanga
An alleged illegal gambling usher was arrested on Feb. 4, 2025 at barangay Ilaud, Inabanga.
Police identified the suspect as Mirasol Lascuña Celis, 47, of barangay Ilaud, Inabanga.
Police said the suspect was caught in the act of operating illegal numbers game in the said area.
Seized from the suspect were alleged bet money and illegal gambling paraphernalia.
Sources said that an alias Liezel is behind the operation of illegal numbers game in certain parts of Bohol and is now being the subject of surveillance by the regional police force.
Mayor Bullen says sorry for being absent
Dauis mayor Roman Bullen apologizes to the members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) Committee
on Environment for having been absent during Monday’s hearing on the whale watching activity in Bohol.
His town, along with Lila and Albur, allows whale watching activities that have become controversial of late.
According to the mayor’s wife, Carmel, the mayor was unable to attend the said meeting due to several engagements including officiating weddings, which could not be postponed as these were scheduled a long time ago.
The mayor said it is not his intention to cause embarrassment to the committee as he failed to attend the said meeting.
Furthermore, the mayor is ready to abide by any recommendation of the committee in relation to the letter sent by cause-oriented group Tagbilaran Baywatch, which was the subject of Monday’s committee meeting.
Tagbilaran Baywatch has sought to halt all whale watching activity as Gov. Aris Aumentado issued an executive order ordering the temporary halting of the said activity across Bohol.
This means Dauis is not the only town affected as the order is also affecting Albur and Lila.
Man nabbed for alleged possession of drugs in Talibon
A man was arrested in Talibon for alleged drug possession, on Feb. 4, 2025, according to reports.
The suspect was accosted by the police and the latter discovered alleged shabu in the former’s possession.
It was learned a barangay official reported the suspect allegedly possessing alleged shabu.
The suspect was identified as a certain Jerson Auguis, 29, of barangay Bogo, Pres. Carlos P. Garcia town.
Upon inspection, the police discovered 13 small packets of alleged shabu from the possession of the suspect.
The alleged shabu was estimated to weigh around 0.39 grams and valued at P2,600.
The inventory of seized effects was done at the barangay hall at Busalian and witnessed by barangay officials and members of the media.
Senior citizen allegedly hacked in Inabanga
A 62-year-old man was injured in his left foot after he was allegedly hacked by the stepfather of the senior cirizen’s minor common-law wife in Inabanga town on Feb 3, 2025.
The victim was identified as a certain Romeo Andagan of barangay Daig Sur, Inabanga and was brought to the hospital for treatment of his injury resulting from the incident.
Police said that the victim was on board a motorcycle and was travelling to barangay Baogo to fetch his alleged common-law wife who is a minor. The victim did not know that the minor and the stepfather had an altercation and the minor hits in a secluded area.
Upon seeing what was happening, allegedly the victim tried to hack the suspect identified as Daniel Milar but missed. Milar allegedly got a hold of a tool, which he used to hack and injure the victim.
The suspect was taken into custody and the victim was brought to the hospital for treatment.
Woman stabbed by live-in partner in Trinidad
A woman was brought to a hospital after she was allegedly stabbed by her live-in partner in barangay Soom, Trinidad on Feb. 2, 2025.
Police identified the victim as Leann Arcaleon, 31, and the suspect was identified as a certain Dan Ricky Garcia, 35, both of barangay Soom.
Investigations revealed that the victim sustained an injury allegedly as a result of the stabbing incident involving the suspect.
Prior to the alleged stabbing incident, the suspect and the victim had a heated argument that resulted in the stabbing incident.
The victim sustained stab wounds in different parts of the body and was rushed to a nearby hospital.
The suspect immediately fled the scene as the police conducted a follow-up operation to take the suspect into custody.
Bohol SP express support on move to halt whale watching in Bohol
The Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) expressed support on Gov. Aris Aumentado’s move to disallow whale watching activity in Bohol.
The governor issued an executive order disallowing the conduct of whale watching in the province.
Three towns have been engaged in whale watching: Dauis, Lila and Albur,
During Tuesday’s regular session, Board Member Jamie Villamor filed a resolution supporting the governor’s move to disallow the whale watching activity.
Tourists have been flocking in the said areas to watch whale sharks or the butandings with some activities having feeding sessions as alleged.
Villamor also delivered her committee report following Monday’s heading where allegedly the three towns conducting the activity were found in violation of laws as feeding of these marine mammals are disallowed.