Bohol, that island province in Central Visayas, is an absolute paradise– with 72 islets replete with flora and fauna, including one of the oldest living primates, the endangered tarsier. With a coastline of over 600 kilometers of white sand beach and clean seawater teeming with marine life, it is one of the most sought-after diving destinations in Asia. Bohol is also home to the Chocolate Hills, one of the world’s wonders.

Also, no other place showcases 300 years of Roman Catholic Spain’s rule over this country better than this province, which was awarded top tourist destination in the Philippines by the Department of Tourism (DOT)- Philippine Tour Operators Association (PHILTOA) in 2002.

Bohol derives its name from the local word Bool, or the venue for a friendship treaty, sealed by a blood compact between two peoples of different race and culture, religion and civilization. One such treaty took place in 1565 between local chieftain Datu Sikatuna and Spanish captain Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, representing the Spanish conquistadors.

Clean province
Manifestations of the Boholanos’ deep religiosity may be found all over the province and is not limited to the Hispanic-era churches found here. Tagbilaran, the capital city, for instance, is devoid of nightclubs, girlie bars, videoke joints, massage parlors, and the like. “We have no red-light district here. The Catholic Women’s League is a real force to contend with when it comes to guarding the morals of Boholanos,” says Eric Canete, a well-sought-out tourist guide in the province known for his erudite narrative peppered by witty anecdotes about Bohol.

This religiosity among the people in Bohol seems to do well for the province. Nowhere in the entire country, it seems, can one find a place as peaceful and calm as Bohol. Indeed, between the clean air and bountiful gifts of nature, both in terms of land and sea and the many magnificent, if mute, testimonials to a rich historical past, one can say that Bohol, indeed, is a virtual slice of heaven on earth. And of late, these blessings have become the province’s main economic growth driver.

The province’s cleanliness notched stellar marks after the Bohol local government’s environmental management system was awarded an ISO-14001 Final Certificate from TUV Germany, making it the first, if not the sole such government unit in Southeast Asia to be so recognized.

Resti Tejido, who manages the Bohol Investments Promotions Center (BIPC), says the ISO-14001 certificate from an independent audit body is significant for Bohol particularly in terms of attracting investors to the province. “The investors would be happy to know that the environmental management system we’re adopting follows world-accepted standards.”

Investment Opportunities
The BIPC takes the lead in targeting investment potentials for the province and seeing to it that the nature of such investments are compatible with the vision set by Bohol’s leaders for the province. ”We want to develop eco-cultural tourism as the main economic driver for Bohol, and preserving the pristine qualities of the environment here is priority.” That means, only light to medium, non- pollutive industries and no such things as cement factories or mining activities will be allowed in the province. “Go to our pier here, there’s no oil slick. It’s so clean, you can go there,” urged Tejido.

In August this year, Bohol held its 2nd Tigum Bol-Anon sa Tibuok Kalibutan (TBTK) or International Homecoming of Boholanos Around the World – an event occurring every four years – and its 9th Biennial Convention of the Confederation of Boholanos in USA and Canada (CONBUSAC) in Tagbilaran City.

To take advantage of the cash-flushed balikbayans, the provincial governor launched key potential investment projects during an Investments Forum organized with both TBTK and CONBUSAC delegates in attendance. The projects included a Mutual Fund project, a tourism-related Bohol Fund project, medical transcription services project and one that will undertake the construction of retirement villages in the province.

Two other projects, Loboc Cultural Heritage Development Program and Bohol Ubi Social Enterprise – both social investments in nature – were also presented for potential investors to plunk financial resources in. But of these projects, the retirement villages elicited the most interest. “That’s no surprise,’ Tejido said. “All Boholanos who leave the province do so with the intention of coming back home someday.”

On their own initiative, ten Boholanos working abroad have chipped in their resources and have bought property on which some 20 duplex units will be built in Panglao Island, about four kilometers away from the provincial capital, Tagbilaran. Mostly on Congressman Edgar Chatto’s efforts, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority is set to make an exception of Panglao, making the island the first tourist economic zone in the country.

Paving the Way
Panglao is where Bohol’s new airport – “a domestic airport but with international standards,” as Congressman Chatto calls it – will be built. And because this is where most of the tourist establishments are located, a master plan is now on the drawing board ensuring that once the gateway infrastructure and attendant facilities are completed, Panglao will rival Bali, Indonesia as an important international destination in the region.

You may attribute it to the people’s religiosity or any other positive characteristic, but one thing really going for this province is the quality of its leadership. Local businessman Anton Pernia, whose family established one of the oldest newspapers in the province points out that “differences between local rival politicos are blurred and all are united where the province’s good is concerned.”

Pernia cites, for instance, Governor Erico Aumentado’s continuation of his predecessor, former Governor Rene Relampagos’ programs and projects, which is not the usual norm elsewhere in this country. To be sure, the present governor has not done bad at all himself when it comes to his own-initiated infrastructure programs and projects for his province. For instance, all three of the so-called mega-infrastructure projects in Bohol were all started during his term as congressman, which he had been before his current position. These projects are the Bohol Circumferential Road Project, the Leyte-Bohol Power Interconnection Project and the Bohol Irrigation Project.

The road project, to date, has provided 136 kilometers of cement roads starting from the western portion of Bohol all the way to the northeast, or half of the entire province. Phase 2 of the project, targeted for completion next year, will give the entire province all first-class cement roads.

The Leyte-Bohol Power Interconnection Project on the other hand, entailed the laying down of submarine cables through which power from Leyte’s geothermal plants rush to provide 20% of Bohol’s power requirements initially. The remainder of such requirements will be met once the second phase, which is now ongoing, is realized in a year’s time.

Close to 5,000 hectares of rice lands in the province are now irrigated well by Bohol’s Irrigation Project. Now also on its second phase, the project, once finished, will irrigate some 5,330 hectares more in other towns in northeast Bohol, which is now regarded as Central Visayas’ rice granary, providing 66% of the region’s entire rice and corn supply. And it is not only these crops that are ample in Bohol; the province also provides 54% of fish consumed in Central Visayas and 76% of other rootcrops, including ubi kinampay or aromatic yam which is indigenous to the province.

Now that the basic infrastructure requirements have been laid, Bohol’s leadership says a more integrated comprehensive development plan for the province is now underfoot, all within the vision of “Bohol as a province where eco-cultural tourism shall reign supreme.”

Six Clusters of Development
Under such comprehensive integrated plan, the province will be divided into six clusters. A Special Activity Cluster includes Tagbilaran City and Panglao Island, along with prime dive sites Balicasag and Pamilacan Islands. This Cluster will host the Bohol Convention Center and Sports Complex in the capital and Tourist Ecozone already mentioned.

Another cluster – including the towns of Corella, Baclayon, Loay, Loboc, Bilar, and Carmen – has plans of hosting a theme park linked to the Chocolate Hills. The towns of Clarin, Inabanga, Buenavista, Getafe, Talibon, and Ubay, on the other hand, are being eyed for the development of an agri-tourism park to include facilities for mango processing and dairy production.

Two clusters will showcase Bohol’s cultural heritage, and will mainly do structures preservation and beach resort development. The sixth cluster will be devoted to agri-industrialization, where light activities such as furniture making, post-harvest facilities, and fruit and meat processing will be put up. Also projected in this last cluster is the setting up of an industrial economic zone, an agri-park, including an information and training center for farmers in the northern town of Ubay.

Once known only as a great tourist destination, Bohol is now rising to another plane of development. Blessed, indeed, is the province of Bohol, to have grand sites, grand plans, and people united in making it known to the world.