TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, Aug. 10 (PIA) -- The Bohol Association of Bohol Livestock Aides (BABALA), an aggrupation of para-veterinarians here, came up with a unified stand defending Gov. Arthur Yap and denounced the malicious accusations against the Provincial Government’s BALA program as well as the Provincial Veterinarian's Office (PVET).

In a statement signed by the 36 BABALA members who are also chapter presidents of the Bohol Association of Livestock Aides (BALA) on Aug. 6, the group claimed that the accusations against the governor are false.

“The word itself, souvenir check, is already a giveaway,” said Maribojoc Municipal Agriculturist Oscar Ong, who added that those who are making the accusations are either misinformed or simply do not want to understand.

Ong supervises the BALA in their activities in his town.

This week, radio program anchors have received complaints from alleged BALA members that the governor allegedly promised them that they will receive honorarium when the Provincial Veterinarian’s Office (PVO) informed them of a ceremonial check and BALA ID turnover with the governor.

Organized in the late 1990s, the BALAs of Bohol is an organization of para-veterinarians trained by the PVO to address the big gap between a handful of veterinarians against the services to livestock growers and head count of Bohol, said Provincial Veterinarian Dr. Stella Marie Lapiz.

“For 24 years, they have volunteered and have remained a very efficient and hardworking partner of the office in bringing out national and provincial government programs to the communities,” she added.

In its beginning years, the BALA of Bohol won a Galing Pook Award for innovation in governance. 

In 2019, the PVO acknowledged the crucial role of the BALAs and asked Capitol if, after all their years of volunteer work, the BALAs would be able to avail of a 200-peso honorarium per month.

"As soon as we had information that the governor approved the request for honorarium, we had the office do the paperwork and process everything. By the first quarter of 2021, the 2020 honorarium of P2,400 for the 12 months were ready for release," PVET official Romulo Garcia said. 

“We then asked the BALA members to open First Consolidated Bank accounts so the ready checks could be deposited that time,” he said.

"By the first quarter of 2021, the 2020 honorarium of P2,400 for the P200 for 12 months were deposited into their accounts. In fact, for the BALAs of Maribojoc, I told them do not withdraw everything so the account would not be closed," Ong said.  

In the BABALA statement issued this week, they said "we thank the Provincial Government of Bohol under the leadership of Gov. Arthur Yap, Vice Gov. Rene Relampagos, and the Sangguninag Panlalawigan for giving us honorarium beginning 2020, which we have received just now since we started to be BALAs." 

The group also attested that they have already received the honorarium through cash or through ATM/FCB Pitakard, with the souvenir check and BALA ID.

They averred that they understood that the souvenir check was a personal and family remembrance having first received the honorarium in 2020.

In Maribojoc in April this year, the PVO sent text messages to BALA members in the towns informing them that a ceremonial distribution of the souvenir checks and BALA IDs would happen with the governor himself attending.

For Loboc, the same text was used to gather the town BALAs for the same ceremonial souvenir check distribution for Aug. 3 in Upper Bonbon.

BALA members who complained against the souvenir check claimed they were expecting money to be given by the governor, and hired habalhabals just to get to the event.

What they received was a souvenir check, a replica of the deposited check that cannot be honored.

According to Ong, some Maribojoc BALAs called him to ask about the honorarium and he explained to them that the governor is not giving any money as it has already been credited in their ATM accounts.

He added that most BALAs understood and still came, knowing that the check was only a souvenir they can keep.

“I think it was clear, and if these bad things happened recently, it is because of some people who refused to understand, and they tried putting political color into it,” Ong said.    

Lapiz, addressing the BALA presidents during a meeting, said that what has happened should not destroy the way the BALAs treat each other.

“We may commit mistakes, but one mistake committed by our member does not flush out the 24 years of good service (he has) rendered as livestock aide. Let us remain as a BALA family and let the truth bear us out,” Lapiz said. (RAHC/PIA7 Bohol)