AUMENTADO (FB)
CEBU CITY – Amid rising fuel costs, Bohol Gov. Aris Aumentado has issued an executive order (EO) calling for austerity measures in the province.
Aumentado urged city and municipal government units, barangays, and community-based associations in EO No. 13 to minimize expenses in the conduct of foundation days, fiestas, and other local celebrations.
He called for minimizing non-essential expenditures, including excessive decorations, costly accommodations, and holding celebrations that entail significant expenses.
The governor discouraged holding activities that will not benefit the promotion of culture, sustainable tourism, and the communities.
Aumentado also called for maximizing the use of local resources and talents to minimize expenses.
Transparency and accountability in all expenses needed for certain activities must also be ensured, Aumentado said.
The governor added that savings must be redirected to essential services such as health, education, food security, environmental protection, and calamity resilience programs.
He encouraged that celebrations must be simple, culturally rooted, economically inclusive, and economically sustainable.
“Instead of socio-cultural activities, we are calling for the holding of local trade fairs, food markets, product showcases, cultural and tourism-related activities, as well as community-based initiatives to support our local, especially the small businesses,” Aumentado said.
As part of austerity measures, the governor announced that the Governor's Cup basketball tournament is cancelled.
He added that upcoming activities related to the Sandugo Festival will be scaled down to conserve resources.
The set of conservation measures was agreed upon during a meeting by the Provincial Inter-Agency Task Force on Energy and Economic Resilience, which was created by a separate EO, said Aumentado.