Loay…,from page 2


No. 04, series of 2005, entitled, “A Resolution Adopting The Recommendation of the Panel Resolving The Site of the Blood Compact between Sikatuna and Legaspi,” the (NHI) said that Loay town is the place where the blood compact took place on March 25, 1565.

NHI Resolution pointed out that after the a thorough investigations and interviews of divers, fisher folks and residents of both Tagbilaran City and Loay, including documents presented by both sides, the “panel concluded that the blood compact between Sikatuna and Legaspi took place in flagship San Pedro which was anchored off Hinawanan Bay or off the waters of Loay on March 25, 1565.”

With this, the controversy arising from the real site where the Blood Compact site is has been hounding Boholanos for years and even kept them in the dark, has finally resolved.

      The Resolution provides, “Whereas, ocular inspection and interviews with divers and fisher folks in Tgabilaran and Loay were conducted on February 9-11, 2005 with the help of experts of National Mapping and Resources Information Authority (NAMRIA) and National Institute of Geological Sciences of the University of the Philippines.”

      The Resolution was signed by NHI’s Ambeth R. Ocampo, chairman; and its members: Jose M. Cruz,  Benito L. Legarda, Jr., Corazon S. Alvina, Heidi K. Gloria, Serafin D. Quiason, Prudenciana C. Cruz; and Ladovico D. Badoy, director.

      The panel that assessed and studied the documents is composed of Judge Nestor Ballasillo, Office of the Solicitor General, chairman; Atty. Edgardo Sison, office of the Solicitor general; Mr. Fred dela Rosa, Editor, Manila Times, member; ug si Dr. Ricardo T. Jose, histrorian/adviser, University of the Philippines, the NHI Resolution said.

      Some residents of this town, about 18 kms. east from capital TagbilaranCity, being interviewed by this writer, said that it’s about time to correct the history for the benefit of the next generations and rectify the wrong notion of the blood compact site.

      Some say that it’s also about time to avoid fooling the visitors of believing that it is in barangay Bool, TagbilaranCity where the Blood Compact took place.

      Since they received the said Resolution from NHI not too long ago (although it is listed as part of Series of 2005) Loay officials, including the present administration preferred just to kept mum about it to stay away from head-on collision with other claimant, this case Tagbilaran City. Some don’t want to antagonize the provincial and other officials.

      But they (Loay officials) tried but failed to promote the site, after putting the marker courtesy of the NHI and placing a billboard and even clear the way especially the well as an indicator of Legsapi’s anchorage way back then even if the said site is along the tourism circuit on the way to the land of the Chocolate Hills in Carmen town.

                Some well-meaning tour guides who are already knowledgeable about it tried to explain leisurely on the real score but still preferred to put in tour itinerary, stopover for that matter, the one with the statues of Datu Sikatuna and  Legaspi in Bool, this city.(Ric V. Obedencio)

With this development, Bohol is primed to call the shots in the global industry, and the world has to start rethinking of Bohol from about what it is not to what it can now be and potentially more can do, the governor added.

The disaster- and climate change-resilient fiber link has transfused a powerful energy into the third leg of Bohol’s economic tripod which is the IT-BPO industry, the governor said.

Tourism and agro-industry have been the two  other strong pillars of Bohol’s economic development and growth, with the IT-driven industry now primed to give the triumvirate balance.

The DFON will hasten IT-BPO industry growth, make tourism more flourishing, enable many other businesses and developments, and drive small and medium enterprises to greater growth, among other capacities it can dispose.

Department of Trade and Industry Regional Director Asteria Caberte confirmed a number of BPO investors having already registered their strong intent to establish in Bohol.

“Fiber will now help turn the potential of the outsourcing industry to realize big-income employment in Bohol.  The BPOs depend on high-speed internet as well as high-bandwidth connectivity, and fiber is a key enabler of these services,” said Eric Alberto, PLDT executive vice president and head of enterprise and international and carrier businesses.

The Bohol DFON is set up at an initial transmission capacity of 40 Gbps or gigabytes per second (Bohol’s capacity pegged at only 2.5 Gbps before the project), allowing 160,000 call center seats, 41 million point of sales (PoS) transactions and 5.1 million automated teller machine (ATM) transactions, according to Arvin Siena, head of the PLDT network planning and engineering group.

With all these in the next two or three years, the DFON is capable of carrying data up to 5.13 Terabytes per second (Tbps).

PLDT’s difference-making connectivity venture in Bohol includes enabling 3G/HSPA mobile connection in all towns, rolling out eight long-term evolution (LTE) sites, seven fiber to the home (FTTH) sites, and 37 sites for DSL broadband.

“We have looked with envy at other provinces which gained a headstart in IT-BPO, and this landmark project certainly addresses the gap,” Chato said.

According to the governor, the new, empowering capacity is vital not just because of the promise it holds for the industry or for its breadth and scale.He pointed out its importance to the maintained focus on socially inclusive, equitable growth that will raise human development to a dignifying degree.

Part of PLDT’s 90,000-kilometer “most extensive fiber optic network in the country,” the project consists of 328 kilometers of fiber optic submarine and inland cables rolled out from Cebu to Bohol all the way to Mindanao via Misamis Oriental.

AN “X” FACTOR

The fiber optic line is an “X” factor of the development in other places that Bohol has been obsessed to possess in the pursuit of its aspirations.

Recognizing Bohol’s vision, Nazareno was bullish in his keynote speech that the governor “will (now) be able to attract more call center and outsourcing companies that can hire many more (qualified) graduates from universities and colleges in Bohol.”

“Tagbilaran can really become another ICT center in the country,” confidently reiterated the executive of the country’s biggest telecom company whose father is a Boholano.

To support it, the industry’s national road map has identified these priority activities:  Driving standard and accreditation to ensure a better match the skills of the graduates with requirements of the industry; more aggressive internal marketing of the local talent pool; strengthening awareness of the Philippine value proposition in IT, voice and non-voice BPO services in existing and new markets; advocating high impact public policies; and strengthening public-private partnership with government to fund key programs like study-to-work training..

The outsourcing, including the global in-house center (GIC) industry, can genuinely complement with tourism and agro-industry towards the full recovery of Bohol from the great earthquake and taming of the province’s vision of inclusive growth.

Tourism will benefit much from the DFON as it meets the ICT demands of Bohol when it is also transformed into a new aviation hub with the rise and operation of the international airport in Panglao, plus the planned tourism enterprise zones and industrial parks in other strategic areas.

With the various efficient cloud services in place, a high-speed internet will satisfy the tourists and guests who come expectant of fast and easy connectivity Of manifold connectivity power than copper, the fiber link can further improve learning system as students scour speedily on worldwide web while it betters government performance thru a reliably quick access to its online services.

As it signals the openness of the investment climate in Bohol and its desirability as a location, the marvelous connectivity endeavor “can only lead to greater things,” Chatto said with confidence. (Ven rebo Arigo)


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