#VRS2016Snaps
What
an amazing year 2016 has been!
2016
was a busy year, with big breaking news stories seemingly every week.
The
presidential election was clearly a dominant topic of interest, but stories on
drug war, loveteams, and sometimes
beauty pageants also drew avid readership.
As
is our tradition, here's a look back at some of our favorite moments from the
year gone by.
#DuterteEffect
The
Duterte-Cayetano political rally last April 3 in Bohol was “phenomenal.”
Supporters called the visit “redemption,” “Duterte festival,” and “Duterte
phenomenon.”
In
Ubay town, a crowd of 10,000 greeted Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and Sen. Allan Peter
Cayetano at the town’s gymnasium. In Tagbilaran City, the crowd swelled to
60,000, an event really unexpected since Bohol is touted as bailiwick of the
Liberal Party (LP).
After
Tagbilaran, Duterte and Cayetano proceeded to Panglao where at least 20,000
supporters, wearing blue and red shirts with Duterte’s face and name on it,
have gathered at the Panglao gymnasium.
 |
It’s
been an amazing year for VRS. So we’d
like to stop and remember some of the
most compelling stories of 2016.
Courtesy: Ralph Paulo Libradilla/Chris
Ramasola/PEPPS/ABS-CBN/et al
|
#PoliticalGrip
Of
the 47 towns and one city in Bohol, 31 elected mayors are with LP while nine
belong to PDP-Laban, the party of President Duterte. The UNA and the NPC have
four mayors each.
For
the Boholanos, the choice was a Duterte-Robredo leadership. But even though
Duterte won in Bohol due to his campaign manager, former Maribojoc mayor
Leoncio Evasco Jr., Duterte’s popularity in the province didn’t help for the
local PDP-Laban leaders to win.
In
Maribojoc town, considered the bailiwick of Evasco, their candidate incumbent
vice-mayor Fructuoso Redulla Jr. failed to win the mayoralty bid. Also PDP-Laban’s provincial chair Dr. Doloreich
Dumaluan didn’t win for mayor in Panglao
town.
Prominent
political families have maintained their political dominance.
The
Jumamoy family maintained its dominance in Inabanga town. Josephine Socorro Jumamoy was re-elected
mayor, while son Jose Jono Jumamoy was re-elected councilor.
The
Cajes family maintained their hold in Trinidad town. Judith Cajes was reelected
mayor, while daughter, Joan Robie, won a fresh mandate as councilor.
In
Panglao, the Montero strengthened its position after Nila Montero was
re-elected in the mayoral race and her daughter, Aya Montero was elected
councilor.
The
Imboy family continued its dominance in Loay town. Outgoing mayor Rosemarie who
lost to Chatto will be replaced by her daughter, incumbent councilor Rochelle
Brigitte Imboy, 25, who received a fresh mandate as the new mayor of Loay town.
Rosemarie’s husband, board member Brigido Imboy, was elected as Loay vice
mayor.
Capt.
Gisela Boniel was elected mayor of Bien Unido, replacing her husband Mayor
Boniel who won a seat in the provincial board.
#PinoyAquaman
Lawyer
Ingemar Patiño Macarine, popularly known as “Pinoy Aquaman,” added feathers on
his colorful cap by successfully crossing the 17.1-kilometer long Canigao
Channel between President Carlos P. Garcia (Pres. CPG) island-town of Bohol and
Maasin City, capital of Southern Leyte.
The
swim was organized by the Municipality of Ubay courtesy of Mayor Constantino
Reyes to promote tourism in Ubay and for cleaner seas.
Macarine,
also the election officer of Tubigon town in Bohol, started the swim early
morning of November 20 at Barangay Tugas of Pres. CPG town and tackled the
channel in six grueling hours and 37 minutes to reach Barangay Guadalupe in
Maasin City.
Macarine,
one of this year’s nominees for the World Open Water Swimming Man of the Year,
has conquered the seas in the United States and Philippines. He plans to return to the United Kingdom to
swim the English Channel sometime in September next year. The event was
cancelled in August last year due to bad weather.
#CelebritySightings
Bohol
is their favorite destination. Those who visited Bohol in 2016 were
singer-actress Manilyn Reynes,
Nonito
“The Flash” Donaire Jr., former beauty queen Precious Lara Guigaman and husband
Marco Alcaraz, Sara Duterte, Vice
President Leni Robredo and her kids, Valerie Concepcion, appl de Ap and K-Pop
Star Sandara Park.
During
the Earth Day celebration, members and supporters of the Bohol Nature
Conservation Society (Bonaconso) gathered to celebrate Earth Day with
multiawarded singer-songwriter Joey Ayala.
As a musician and artist, Ayala believes in the healing power of song,
as well as the connection to the earth that it provides.
#Weddings
The
former beauty queen Anna Maris Igpit and Aussie football player homas Luke Taylor finally tied the knot in a
church wedding at the St. Augustine Church in Panglao town.
#BoholFestivals
By
any standard—quantity, quality, variety—2016 was an amazing year for Bohol’s arts
and culture.
Baskets
of different sizes and shapes highlighted the 3rd basket festival in Antequera
town.
The
2nd Calamay Festival was held in Jagna town, the home of the original calamay.
The 29-feet replica of the famous calamay
added fanfare to the celebration. Amiela Balaba, Jagna information officer,
said that “Jagna’s calamay is
delicious, tasty and world-class ang quality.” Its Sinoog Estokada festival last Sept. 29 portrayed angelic war
through rhythmic marching and movements following the beat of the drums.
This
year’s Sandugo street-dancing competition had a new twist. It had infused kuradang, a native Visayan
dance practiced in Bohol, Cebu, Leyte and Panay, that might had a culture shock
for the Boholano millenials.
Loon’s
SidlaKasilak (Festival of Lights) revolved
solely on the lights, choreography of lights such as movement, synchronization,
formation and dynamics and quality of lights such as design, color harmony and
brightness.
Amid a downpour, the participants of the 3rd Panubig Festival in Pilar town last Oct.
11 drew cheers as they danced in honor
to Nuestra Señora del Pilar or
Our Lady of the Pillar, the town’s patroness.
The rain did not appear to affect the
enthusiasm of the dancers (seven from elementary and three from high school)
who wore colorful costumes and props as they showcased the tradition and
culture of the Pilarnons.
History
came to life as the show, “Dagohon sa Hoyohoy, Dagohoy the Musical 2016” by the
Bohol Theater Network headed by Kasing
Sining, exceptionally told the story and struggle of Bohol’s Dagohoy. The
scenes were so intense that it impressed the audience.
“When
I was watching the original show way back in 1990 I was already amazed. This
time, I was totally captivated and hooked up to the show. I was even teary eyed
along the way because it was really well performed, the music was
well-arranged, all the actors portrayed the roles excellently. In general, the
show was excellent,” said Jeycelle Espejo-Inting, a former history teacher at
University of Bohol now teaching at Dr. Cecilio Putong National High School.
#BeautyandBrawn
Glyssa
Perez of Danao town was proclaimed Miss Bohol 2016. Perez was a former Miss
Philippines- Australia.
Petche
Ann “Che Anne” Vale of Bohol also tried her luck in Mutya ng Pilipinas 2016. Che Ann, 20, a Radiologic Technology
graduate from Bohol International College, hails from Barangay Agape, Loboc,
the music town of the province. She was the second Lobocanon to join the Mutya
ng Pilipinas and the third Boholana to do so.
Carlo
Roy Gorospe Roslinda joined the Gentlemen
of the Philippines 2016. Caloi, 27, underwent rigorous physical trainings as well
as Q&A training under the supervision of his manager James Obedencio and
some friends.
#BiyahengAR
Mister
Bohol AR dela Serna (real name: Alberto Rodolfu de la Serna), 23, won the first Misters of
Filipinas-Supranational 2016.
AR,
the son Alberto and former Poblacion 2 barangay captain Glorivic of Tagbilaran
City, said winning in a national male pageant was a dream come true.
He
represented the Philippines in the Mister Supranational 2016 in Poland and he
was one of the Top 20 finalists.
#PBBLucky7
The
housemates of the latest season of "Pinoy Big Brother" (PBB): Lucky 7
had two lucky teens from Bohol. They were: Ma. Niña Vivoree Matutes Esclito,
the “Go Better Girl ng Bohol” and Fenech Aimee Veloso, “Ang Ballroom Baby ng
Bohol.”
Vivoree,
16, who hails from Loon town, is a grade 10 student of Tagbilaran City Science
High School.
“She
can sing and play the guitar,” said teacher and cultural worker Butch Bernas,
who was Vivoree’s grade 7 adviser.
Vivoree,
who dreams of becoming a performer, said that the reason she auditioned to for
PBB was to, “At first po, try lang po talaga. Minsan lang po yun nangyayari,
yung mga auditions po sa lugar namin, so sinubukan ko po. But then nung
nagtagal po, narealize ko na I’m doing this for something not just for nothing.
And that dream isyung pumasok sa bahay ni Kuya.”
#KiligPaMore
Enrique
Gil and Liza Soberano, collectively known as LizQuen, were in Bohol for
ABS-CBN’s hit television series “Dolce Amore (Sweet Love).” The show explored
the province’s scenic spots like the white sandy beaches on Panglao Island,
Sevilla Hanging Bridge, Loboc River, man-made forest and the Chocolate Hills.
The
Bohol episode showed Tenten (Enrique Gil) finally agreed to join Serena (Liza
Soberano) in her trip to Bohol.
Many
Boholano followers could not get over to the kilig serye’s episode on Bohol, trending on social media and
unwittingly disrupting the diurnal of Boholanos.
Fans
of real-life sweethearts Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza got excited upon
knowing that the phenomenal love team were in Bohol to shoot for a movie they
will be part of. Alden and Maine,
collectively known as Aldub, were in Bohol for the taping of "Enteng
Kabisote 10, The Abangers.”
#OplanTokhang
In
Bohol, at least 30,000 drug dependents voluntarily surrendered and pledged not
to use shabu again. At least 61 drug suspects had been killed in the province
of Bohol but not a single case for extrajudicial killing has been filed at the
Commission on Human Rights (CHR) here.
As
the war against illegal drugs took a brutal, and often left a bloody trail
across the country, police in Cebu City (soon in Bohol?) had found a novel way
of softening suspects up: serenading and asking them to surrender through
singing the novelty song “Oplan Tokhang.” The (un)official theme song of the “Oplan
Tokhang,” was composed by the grandson of Yoyoy Villame PO3 Janew Villame of
Clarin Police Station.
#GoodNews
Pope
Francis had appointed Monsignor Alberto Uy as the new bishop of the Diocese of
Tagbilaran. He will replace Bishop
Leonardo Medroso, 77, whose resignation has been accepted by the pope. A priest for 23 years, Msgr. Uy is currently
the Episcopal Vicar of the Diocese of Talibon and at the same time the pastor
of St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Jagna town.
Dr.
Mutya Kismet Tirol-Macuno, MDM, was appointed as the new Medical Center Chief
II of Gov. Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital (GCGMH). She took her oath
before Health Secretary Paulyn Jean Rosell-Ubial. Leah Tirol-Magno (of Bohol’s Baking Mama),
Macuno’s youngest sister shared on Facebook, “We are very proud of you Anang.
Carry on the torch of righteousness and continue to share God's love to His
people with this new responsibility He entrusted you.”
#Poweroutage
Boholanos
took to social media to vent their ire against a 21-hour power outage that hit
the province last Dec. 3.
The
outage started at 4 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 3, to give way for the annual
preventive maintenance of the NGCP’s 138-kilovolt Maasin-Ubay Line 2.
But
in its advisory, NGCP had said the outage would last only until 5 p.m. on
Saturday. Time passed, however, and power has not returned by 6 p.m. By 7 p.m.,
NGCP issued another advisory to say that the outage would last until 8 p.m. The
time came but still, there was no power.
The
delay in the power restoration irked Boholanos who turned to social media to
vent their anger.
There
were power interruptions on Dec. 4, Dec. 17 and Dec. 27.--all unscheduled.
#PaskongBol-anon
Some
towns were just more creative than others. The town of Tubigon had retained its title as
the “Most Christmassy Place” in Bohol province.
The
28-foot tall Santa Claus in Sierra-Bullones had become the town’s center of
attention, drawing people who take pictures with the Santa in the background.
In Anda town, Christmas trees were created
with discarded trash and indigenous materials. An array of skillfully crafted
Christmas trees made from waste materials are now beautifully displayed at the
town plaza and continue to surprise a lot of viewers.
Hundreds
of devotees in Jagna town flocked to St. Michael the Archangel at 9:30 a.m. on
Dec. 24, not just to hear Mass but to witness the “Padagan sa Kometa (Gliding
of the Comet).” It was an reenactment of
how the Christmas Star shown brightly above the manger to guide the shepherds
and the three kings to where Christ was born.
Msgr.
Ignacio Reyes, parish priest of Jagna, said that based on their records, the
reenactment dated back to 1867 when parishioners were no longer contented of decorating
their church with small stars.
Church
records showed that the tradition was never interrupted even during the
Japanese occupation in World War II.
Before
the start of the first day of the Simbang
Gabi (Dawn Mass), the parishioners already hang their kometa (star) near the mezzanine floor above the door of the
church.
The
kometa's tail was folded as it
remained at the end of the pulley until Christmas Eve when it would be released
and glide toward the belen near the altar, about 62 meters away.
Reyes
and the choir --Pastorela Chorale-- led the congregation in singing the “Gloria
in Excelsis Deo,” the church lights dimmed and the bright comet slowly glided across
the church, passing the 12 stars that were evenly hanging from the ceiling. It took at least 10 men to control the ropes
that held the comet to the pulley, making the comet move up and down as it
continued its glide toward the manger.
Once
the comet is directly above the manger, it is made to move down thrice as a
sign of respect to the infant Jesus. It would stay there until Jan. 3, the
Feast of Three Kings.
Resident
Aurelio Acebes, 52, said attending the “Padagan sa Kometa” made him feel proud
and happy because this could only be witnessed in Jagna. “I feel that my
Christmas is complete every time I attend the Padagan sa Kometa,” he added.
While
some parishes have their own “Padagan sa Kometa,” it is only in Jagna where
“Dagit sa mga Bitoon” (Snatching of the Stars) is being held every the first
Sunday of January.
“That makes it unique in Jagna because the
celebration doesn’t end in "Pagdagan sa Komet’ but we have the
‘balik-dagit’,” said Reyes.
In
“Dagit sa mga Bitoon,” the “kometa” begins its journey back home to coro. As it
glides back, the 12 smaller stars that are also connected to the pulley
followed the “kometa.” The journey will be accompanied by marching song. By the
end of the song, the ceiling will be empty.
Jagna
Councilor Anthony Aniscal said the tradition should be preserved since it gives
identity to the town.
“It
is already an identity of our town because we are one of the few, if not alone,
practicing such tradition every Christmas for more than a century,” said
Aniscal. “It must be preserved but must not defeat the real center of Christmas
who is Jesus Christ,” added Aniscal.
#WeRememberThem
From
the tragic deaths of former Danao Mayor Thomas Gonzaga and Bohol Gov. Rolando
Butalid and to the loss accomplished greats Dr. Luther Ramiro and Nemi Monton,
we've done a lot of collective mourning in 2016.
Shock
waves rippled through the political arena as news surfaced that former Danao
Mayor Louis Thomas “Tom” Gonzaga passed away, two days after he was found
unconscious inside his house in Tagbilaran City. He was 46. Mayor Tom was
described as one of the coolest and unassuming public servants in the province.
Lawyer
Rolando Gatal Butalid, former governor of Bohol and city mayor of Tagbilaran passed
away at the age of 85. He served as provincial governor for eight years
(1978-1986). He left a good legacy of an honest and friendly leadership.
Sports
enthusiasts were devastated by the passing of sportsman and civic leader Nemi
Monton last Oct. 4. As president of
Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (Abap) in Central Visayas, Nemi
opened doors wider for Boholano athletes (he discovered Rey “Boom Boom”
Bautista, et al). He would be sadly
missed for his energy, great sense of humor and timeless example as discoverer
of athletes.
The
founder of Ramiro Hospital Dr. Luther Ramiro passed away on Oct. 30. He was 91.
As a civic leader, the late Ramiro was a pillar of the Rotary Club being
a charter member and a former outstanding president.
News
of his death spread on social media, and fellow Rotarians expressed their
condolences. "Thank you for touching many lives Dr. Lu, you will live
forever in the hearts of grateful Rotarians and all people dedicated to service
above self,” Rotarian Andreimarie Thurman posted on Facebook.
Boholana
beauty queen Marcelina Marcel Gatal-Diego, who was named Miss Young Bohol 1983,
died after a long bout with breast cancer.
She was 53.
Her
friends also took to social media with their condolences.
“Another beautiful angel has gone to the Great
Beyond,” said Miss Tagbilaran 1987 Fiel Angeli Araoarao-Gabin.
Also
former chairman of Miss Tagbilaran Mary Anne Michelle Porticos left us. Her friends at City Hall expressed their
shock and grief of her passing.
Radio
personality Joseph “Jojo” Ligan died on May 23. He was 56. Also known as George
Gray, he was fondly remembered in radio with his deep booming voice, he brought
back the music of yester years in “Good Morning, Yesterday” and the half-hour
“Beatles Special.”
Writer
Joe Espiritu wrote “30” on Oct. 15. He wrote a column “View from The Top” in
the defunct Bohol Sunday Post. His
friends said, “You can view us now from the top...thanks for sharing your
talent...continue writing in heaven.”
And
while most of us didn't know them personally, the loss of them, somehow, feels
personal -- we cheered their victories, enjoyed their works and services and
listened to their voices.
We
remember them.
***
Thanks for your
letters, all will be answered. Comments welcome at leoudtohan@yahoo.com, follow
leoudtohanINQ at Twitter /Facebook.
