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President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Wednesday led inauguration rites of
the P2-billion Bohol Circumferential Road Improvement Project
Phase 2 (BCRIP 2) and the P64-million Jagna wharf.
Gov.
Erico Aumentado, Bohol's Reps. Edgar Chatto, Roberto Cajes
and Eladio Jala, as well as Jagna Mayor Exuperio Lloren led
welcomers who greeted the President and her party as her chopper
landed at the track oval behind the Jagna Central Elementary
School (JCES).
Following
a short meeting among political leaders spiced by Boholano
senatorial candidate Cesar Montano, the President, Public
Works and Highways Secretary Manuel Bonoan, Aumentado, Philippine
Ports Authority (PPA) officials, the congressmen, Lloren and
other guests proceeded to the wharf to unveil the marker.
Erstwhile
Jagna Port Terminal Manager Juan Arawiran however is seeking
the support of Aumentado to expedite the expansion of the
wharf. Price escalation, among other factors, has limited
the present wharf to one-third its original size.
Following
the wharf marker unveiling, President Arroyo, Japanese Ambassador
to the Philippines Ryuichiro Yamazaki and Chief representative
Hiroshi Togo of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation
(JBIC) that provided the Government of the Philippines with
the loan, Bonoan, President Jeong Sup Shim of Hanjin Heavy
Industries and Construction Co., Ltd, the contractor of Package
1, Aumentado and other guests participated in the inaugural
drive-through along part of the BCRIP 2 Package 1 from Poblacion
to Barangay Pangdan and back to the town's cultural center
for the program.
Speaking in a mix of English and Cebuano, the President said
before, it was difficult even to dream of opportunities.
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"Money
was hard to come by and investors were apprehensive
to pour their money in the country. Thanks to the courageous
men in Congress, we have won our hard-fought battles
for economic reforms. Our decisions may not have been
popular, but we pushed for new revenues like the Expanded
Value-Added Tax. We implemented better collection and
tracked down tax cheats," she summarized her battle.
"Today,
one can drive around Bohol in a matter of four hours
- in convenience and style - because of BCRIP. Bohol
is now one of the favorites of investors - the resorts
in Panglao, the retirement home in Baclayon. It is even
eager to soak up the spillover of Cebu like the call
centers," she said.
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"I
take pride in the decision of the administration to focus
on debt servicing. By paying our external debt to the Asian
Development Bank and the World Bank even before they become
due saves us the full extent of the interest, giving us new
resources for our vital economic and social needs," she
explained.
For
his part, Aumentado said no other Philippine President has
given so much support, development and encouragement to move
forward than President Arroyo.
"The
BCRIP 2 and the Jagna Roro Port are vital components for Bohol's
development," he said.
"Aside
from BCRIP 2, she also gave us BCRIP 1, the Leyte-Bohol Interconnection
Project [LBIP] that now gives us 100 megawatts of geothermal
power from Tongonan, Leyte, the Bohol Irrigation Project -
the biggest irrigation project hereabouts - and the lasting
monument of the soon to be constructed Panglao Bohol International
Airport," he added.
As
such, he urged the crowd that packed the cultural center to
rally behind the President's standard and support her program
of economic and political reforms.
Going
to lunch at the town hall, the crowd was pleasantly surprised
with the appearance of another administration candidate -
Prospero "Butch" Pichay.
The
President stayed for lunch only - by 1 p.m. she was on the
way to Cebu again by chopper. Aumentado, Chatto, Bonoan, the
Japanese and Korean officials and other guests proceeded to
Tagbilaran for the unveiling of Kilometer Zero at Plaza Rizal
just across the St. Joseph Cathedral, the marker for Package
1 of the project - and on to the Bohol Cultural Center for
the program.
In
his message, Bonoan who counts over 10 years in the Department
of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) narrated how Aumentado
shepherded BCRIP 1 and 2 from the planning stage up to even
the pledging sessions in Tokyo, Japan.
Togo
himself acknowledged that Aumentado's name preceded him.
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