Bohol’s 1st ‘Green District’ to be set up soon

CEBU, Philippines - The Office of Bohol 2nd District Representative Erico Aristotle Aumentado and the National Economic and Development Authority-Region 7 are now brainstorming to make Bohol’s 2nd District the first ‘Green District’ in the province.

Aumentado, NEDA-7 Director Efren Carreon, Assistant Director Dionisio Ledres and their staff last week met with municipal planning and development coordinators (MPDCs) of the district’s 14 towns at a restaurant in Tagbilaran City to discuss solar energy.

Carreon, Ledres and staff explained the advantages of solar energy to the MPDCs, tagged as partners to tap for the implementation and the wherewithal to purchase the panels. Solar energy does not discharge waste or effluents to the environment, hence the term “green.”

For starters, the development workers planned on using solar energy to power their lights and small appliances during daytime, and switch to this kind of energy from existing power distributor, Bohol Electric Cooperative (Boheco), if needed, for overtime work at night if required.

The towns also have the option to purchase batteries. Plans have been set to have San Isidro town as the pilot area for the project. The proposed scheme is for the town to get all its power requirements from solar energy over the next four to 10 years.

The solar panels will be installed on the rooftops of the municipal building and other government structures. The rest of the towns in the 2nd district are expected to follow suit before the year is over, hence the term ‘Green District.’

This way, Aumentado said, the second district will have the ascendancy to tell other local government units to also protect their environment. This will be his district’s contribution to the national government’s campaign of using more green energy, he said.

Meanwhile, the MPDCs are now at the height of preparing their lists of tourism destinations, products or finished goods. This is in line with the master planning of the whole district conducted by NEDA-7 to ensure that the towns’ destinations or products complement  — and not compete — with each other.

This also follows the congressman’s resolve to make the second district actively look for opportunities. “Let us not wait for opportunities to find us,” Aumentado said, following in the footsteps and the mantra of his namesake, his late father, and immediate congressional predecessor in the district, Erico Boyles Aumentado. (FREEMAN)