By Angeline Valencia

By the brink of election ban, the provincial government and its partners in poverty reduction effort managed to sneak in the launching of the Skills Training Advocating Reliance and Self-employment (STARS) Project on January 13, initially, in the towns of Maribojoc and Buenavista, and the rest of the nine pilot towns this week. The town of Talibon will have its turn on Monday.

Governor Erico Aumentado sent a letter to Provincial Election Supervisor Eliseo Labaria informing that the STARS Project is an ongoing project that reeled off on January 13, before the election ban starts.

The governor’s Chief of Staff Antonieto Pernia said it took former BCCI president Norris Oculam three years to finalize the STARS idea as a response to Aumentado’s challenge on the private sector to take part in solving the poverty incidence in Bohol.

The project intends to make life better for at least 36,616 of the identified 90,000 Boholanos living in poverty level.

It is implemented in partnership with all the 47 municipalities and the capital city, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and Central Visayas State College of Agriculture Forestry and Technology (CVSCAFT) now Bohol Island State University.

The launching ceremonies in Maribojoc and Buenavista were attended by Rev. Fr. Warli Salise representing Bishop Leonardo Medroso of the Diocese of Tagbilaran and TESDA Provincial Director Franie Opog.

In the piloting stage, the STARS Project will be implemented in nine towns- -three in each district- -with a total allocation of about P2.23 million.

The entire project gets P6.5 million from the President’s Kilos Asenso initiative and P1.5 million from the provincial government.

In the first district, the pilot towns are Calape, Loon and Maribojoc. In the second district phase 1 covers Buenavista, Inabanga, and Talibon; while in the third district, it includes Dimiao, Lila, and Valencia.

For the training of the beneficiaries in 12 skills disciplines, each town gets an allocation of 358,462 pesos- -P301,461 for the supplies and training materials, P57,000 for the honoraria of trainors.

Beneficiaries will be trained on welding, tour guiding, driving, cellphone repair, therapeutic massage or reflexology, plumbing, hair styling and cutting, basic electricity, household services, manicure and pedicure, TV/radio repair, and small engine mechanic.

The piloting stage starts with four of the 12 skills- -tour guiding, cellphone repair, driving and welding.

For each skill, each barangay is entitled to two beneficiaries, making it 24 beneficiaries per barangay. Governor Erico Aumentado expressed appreciation to the efforts of Vice-Governor Julius Caesar Herrera, the Provincial Board, and former provincial administrator Tomas Abapo Jr. in facilitating the supplemental budget to fund the project when the supposed counterparts of the congressmen never came.

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