The Bogo Times

By Peter L. Romanillos 27 Nov 2013 | Cebu Daily News After staging three successful concerts to raise funds for the victims of the recent calamities in Central and Eastern Visayas, the fourth edition is set on Saturday, this time for the typhoon-stricken city of Bogo in northern Cebu by a group that now calls itself Bangon SugBogo. It is actually the same group that launched the #BangonSugBohol benefit shows to raise funds for relief and rehabilitation of communities devastated by the 7.2-magnitude earthquake in Cebu and Bohol last Oct. 15 . Organizers said the objective of the concert is not just raise funds but also to "uplift the spirits of residents in north Cebu who were ravaged by Yolanda." "They don't have a roof, they don't have food and they don't have entertainment so we saw the opportunity to go there and stage the concert. Everyone is free to attend," said Wilson Ng, one of the event organizers. "We expect more than 5,000 ...

© IDF Blog After two weeks of extending medical relief to about two thousand residents in the City of  Bogo and  its neighboring municipalities, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday turned over its field hospital (mobile hospital) to two foreign non-government organizations -  LandsAid , a German NGO and Workers' Samaritan Federation Austria (ASBÖ) , an Austrian NGO. The two NGO's will assume and take over the medical assistance that was extended by the Israeli medical crew.    "The cooperation between LandsAid and ASBÖ has been agreed in consultation with the local authorities and the hospital to make sure the resulting gap in health care in the next few weeks,"  -  LandsAid CEO Hans Musswessels  The turnover of the mobile hospital was witnessed by Ambassador of Israel to the Philippines Menashe Bar On, Bogo City Mayor Celestino Martinez Jr., and IDF Col. Yoram Laredo. ...

Major power lines have now been restored two weeks after super typhoon Yolanda (International name: Haiyan) ravaged the northern part of Cebu.  The Freeman reported that all municipalities in northern Cebu including the cities of Bogo and Danao have been energized except for some mountain barangays and places where restoration of the lateral lines are still ongoing.  Restoration of power lines in Bogo City © City Government of Bogo The backbone lines of Cebu Electric Cooperative II (CEBECO II) serving Compostela, Borbon, Tabogon, Tabuelan, Tuburan, Carmen, City of Danao and City of Bogo were already restored. The backbone lines are also partially serving Catmon, Sogod and San Remigio.

Bogo City residents enjoying the Pacquiao - Rios match. - © DANTE MAYOR Bogohanons rejoiced after boxing hero Manny Pacquiao thrashed Brandon Rios to clinch the WBO international welterweight title in Macau yesterday. Bogohanons react to Pacquiao's Win over Rios Bogohanons flocked to the Don Celestino Matinez Sr. Sports Complex yesterday to watch the Pacquiao - Rios fight. The Pinoy boxing hero dedicated the fight to the victims of super typhoon Yolanda. "This isn't about my comeback," Pacquiao said. "My victory is a symbol of my people's comeback from a disaster, a national tragedy." - Yahoo Sports For the first time in almost a year, Pacquiao returned to the ring and wore Rios down with his blinding  handspeed and won 120-108, 119-109 and 118-110 on the scorecards at The Venetian casino in Macau. Per CompuBox, Pacquiao landed 281 of 790 punches(36%) while Rios only landed 138 of 502 punches(27%).  After the fight, Pacquiao sa...

POSTED ON 11/20/2013 11:25 AM on Rappler.com BOGO CITY, Philippines – “Walay pabor-pabor. Hatag sa tanan. Lihok.” (No favoritism. Give to all. Move.) With this marching order, Bogo City Mayor Celestino “Junie” Martinez Jr dismissed his meeting with barangay (village) captains at a sports complex, the base for relief operations in this northern Cebu city reeling from Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan). Named after the mayor’s father, the Don Celestino Martinez Coliseum is not just the drop-off point for aid. It is where officials now work after Haiyan brought down the newly built city hall’s ceiling, roof and windows. Restoring power lines in Bogo City  © City Government of Bogo Known as the center for trade and commerce in northern Cebu, Bogo City is now grappling with the lack of electricity, damaged schools and hospitals, and homelessness for 90% of its people. The city is home to over 80,000 residents. Thirteen died in Bogo, among the over 4,000 fatalitie...

Bogo City Mayor Celestino Martinez, Jr. has launched a program intended to speed up rehabilitation work that will hasten the recovery of the city. Dubbed “Cash for Work, Food for Work”, the program consists of two phases. The first phase involves giving work to 100 residents in each of Bogo’s 29 barangays for a week, employing them to clean up their respective villages and communities. They will be paid with cash so they can have a starter fund to help them start a new chapter in their lives. The second phase is to let them do repair work on their own houses for a week, and even if it is their own houses they will be working on they will still be paid with food. The beneficiary residents will be chosen by the barangay officials based on the gravity of the damage to their houses. The program will show the people that the city government is committed to help them get back on their feet. This time, however, it shall not be the “dole-out” way. Mayor Martinez explains that thro...

Barely a month after the destructive earthquake, another threat from mother nature looms to hit Cebu and other parts of Central Visayas. Government agencies go on full alert as a possible super typhoon, Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) is expected to make landfall by Friday, with possible heavy rains on Thursday. City of Bogo Disaster Emergency Hotline The weather was fair throughout yesterday (Wednesday), but LGU's have already held numerous meetings to prepare for Yolanda . Solar News reported  that authorities have their eye on northern Cebu, specifically the City of Bogo as it could be the hardest hit when Yolanda ploughs through the province according to its plotted course. Governor Hilario P. Davide III declared suspension of classes in all levels in the entire province of Cebu beginning Thursday until Friday (November 7-8). Here are some tips from the Cebu Provincial Government 

by Mayor Celestino E. Martinez Jr. George Hoffman used to say that no one person can change the world but that you can change the world for one person. I remember this saying well each time I assess the progress of the many big projects I have long dreamed for our beloved city. Together with Vice-Mayor Santiago Sevilla and the other officials I dream of the New Business District as the epicenter of progress and development in northern Cebu; the Special Economic Zone as another major hub of light to medium industries in the province; the expanded Polambato Port as major gateway to the country’s nautical highway and Bogo’s main portal as logistics distribution center of the Visayas region; the proposed Banakod Eco-Park as the new centerpiece in our quest to make Bogo a major player in the tourism industry;and the construction of agribusiness infrastructures to make our city an important contributor to the country’s effort at food sufficiency. It might be added that the end goa...