Power Packed Bicolandia
Geothermal energy is just one of Bicol's rich resources
By Rosario C. Custodio

The Philippines is one of the world's largest producers of geothermal energy, second only to the United States. For every four light bulbs in Luzon, one is lit by geothermal energy. The major suppliers of geothermal energy are the Tiwi Geothermal Electric Power Plant and the Manito-Bacon Geothermal Plant - both of which are located in the Bicol Region.

Geothermal energy is just but one of Bicol's rich resources. The region's rich natural and man-made resources have made it the focus of unprecedented development by both the government and private sector.

There is now a flurry of economic activities in the region that promise to turn it into an emerging growth center in the Philippines.

The Land and the People
The region is located at the southern tip of Luzon. Composed of the provinces of Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Sorsogon, and the island provinces of Catanduanes and Masbate, the region occupies 17,632.5 sq. km. or six percent of the Philippine's total land area.

Bicol's volcanic landscape has made its lands fertile and very suitable for growing Manila hemp or abaca. Abaca is one of the Philippines' traditional major export products. Coconuts, another major export product, and rice are the other primary crops grown in the region.

Majority of the Bicolanos are farmers and fishermen. Many creative and skilled Bicolanos also engage in various cottage industries since the area is abundant with raw materials for this endeavor.

Employment opportunities in the region, however, are no longer limited to these traditional occupations. Today, major industries in the region include tourism (for its world-famous Mayon Volcano of the almost-perfect cone and the Peñafrancia festival), energy (for its geothermal plants), exports (for the Manila hemp), cottage industries, and mining.

Development Initiatives
These industries are flourishing with the current promotion of the region as one of the priority investment areas in the country. Under the 1997 Investment Priority Plan (IPP), enterprises which will locate in the provinces of Masbate, Camarines Norte, and Catanduanes will enjoy Board of Investments-incentive package under Executive Order 226 or the Omnibus Investment Code of 1987. Masbate is also one of the 20 provinces singled out specifically by President Fidel Ramos as priority areas for development. This province, therefore, enjoys the government's promotion and support in fast-tracking the delivery of basic services and other resources, identification of its raw materials and skills potentials for enterprises, and initiating an integrated research and development program, among others.

Strong industrial potentials are particularly seen in the region's only three cities - Legazpi City in Albay, and Iriga and Naga cities in Camarines Sur. These cities have been formed into one of the country's eight regional growth networks - the Legazpi-Iriga-Naga Growth Corridor (LINGC) and is expected to lead the region in attaining a sustainable agri-industrial-based development.

The components of the Legazpi-Iriga-Naga Growth Corridor (LINGC) Project include the development of agri-industrial centers, mini-industrial sites, tourism areas and activities, off-site infrastructure/facilities for production, processing, post-harvest and marketing, institutional support, environmental concern, and investment promotion.

The LINGC is expected to support the industrial centers and economic zones in the area. There are now three zones in the region which have been approved by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) - the Bicol Industrial Park (Camarines Sur), Legazpi City Special Economic Zone (Albay), and Sta. Rita Industrial Park (Camarines Sur). The industries which are preferred in these ecozones are food manufacturing, food processing, wood products, ceramics, textiles, garments, light metal industries, electronics, and computers.

Alongside this is the development of Naga City and other towns in Camarines Sur within the context of its own action plan - the Metro Naga Development Program.

Tourism Potentials
The tourism industry is seen as the fastest way to spur the economic growth and development of the area. The region is blessed with numerous tourism potentials, such as long stretches of white sand beaches, waterfalls, caves, virgin forests, majestic mountains like Mayon, and other man-made tourist spots.

To date, most of the regions' attractions are related to religion. Naga City is the seat of the Archdiocese of Caceres which oversees the whole region since Spanish times. Nueva Caceres is one of four dioceses of the Philippine See as declared by Pope Clement VII in 1595. Bicolanos and visitors also gather in Naga every third Saturday of September for the Feast of Our Lady of Peñafrancia which is known all over the country for its fluvial parade. Another attraction in the city is the Shrine of the Patroness of Bicol (Peñafrancia) which was built in 1750. The first church in the city built by the Franciscan friars in 1578, the San Francisco Church, is also a tourist attraction.

Tourists can take air-conditioned buses or planes, the airports for which are located at the capital city/municipality of each province. Also available in key areas are on-line banking services, fast food chains (McDonald's, Jollibee), souvenir shops, and accommodations to support the tourist industry.

Masbate's priority tourism projects include the development of Deagan Island, Dacu Beach Resort, and its annual Rodeo Masbateño Festival which emphasizes its role as a cattle country.

Minefields
Although the region remains predominantly agricultural, it has great potentials in mining. Each province boasts of different mineral deposits. Metallic and non-metallic mineral resources abound in Albay, with the latter's reserve estimated at more than 100 million metric tons. Gold and copper are among its metallic reserve, and are estimated at four million metric tons. Sand, gravel, and boulders are abundant in most of the surface water bodies in Albay as they serve as drainage paths of the surface runoffs coming from the slopes of Mayon Volcano. The quality of sand in Albay is highly preferred in the construction industry.

Camarines Norte has abundant reserves of gold, iron, copper, uranium, lead, and zinc. Camarines Sur also has deposits of silver, chromite, and other metals. Catanduanes has promising mineral deposits like marble, guano, rock phosphate, and cement raw materials. Likewise, Masbate has a large reserve of marble, enough to last at least 50 years of mining operation. Sorsogon also has deposits of sulphur, kaolin, limestone, and coal which are largely untapped.

Advantages
Aside from its strategic position and natural resources, one of the region's strong-points as an investment area is perhaps its people. Its population as of 1995 is 4.325 million with a labor force participation rate of 69 percent. The Bicolanos are known to be religious and mild-mannered people. They are also well educated with the region's literacy rate at 95 percent.

Adequate communication facility in the region is also an advantage. Telephone and telegraph services are provided by Digitel, ICC, MATELCO, NagaTel, PLDT, PILTEL, PT&T and RCPI. Mobiline and Smart provide the region's cellular phone system.
Recently, a barangay-based phone program was established in Catanduanes. The Pilipino Telephone Company (PILTEL) built a cellsite in Virac at a cost of P40 million, the largest single investment by a private company in the province. The government, for its part, expanded PILTEL's cellular coverage from Virac to the entire island and to all 315 barangays.

The region also has abundant sources of potable water supply - springs, ground water and running water. The region's power needs is supplied by the NPC-Luzon Grid through the electric cooperatives in each province. The proposed establishment of a Bicol Power Grid, which shall be independent from the Luzon Grid, will assure constant power supply.

The airport at Bacon, Sorsogon is also being rehabilitated as a secondary airport for light private planes. A primary airport will also be constructed as soon as an appropriate site has been identified.So far, the Legazpi Airport is the only trunkline airport in the region, which has a 2,210-meter runway, and can accommodate a 737 aircraft. The other provinces are also accessible by plane through Daet (Camarines Norte), Naga (Camarines Sur), Virac (Catanduanes), and Masbate (Masbate).

The island provinces of Catanduanes and Masbate are also accessible by ferry boat. William Lines and Sulpicio Lines sail every week from Manila to Masbate. From Naga City, the heart of the Bicol Region, it takes five hours to Metro Manila with the rehabilitation of the Philippine National Railways (PNR).

Bicolandia's road network is also continuously being upgraded. With the completion of the Quirino Highway in Naga, Mainland Bicol - which used to take six to eight hours travel time by land - will be threehours closer to Metro Manila and the Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon (CALABARZON) growth area.

Bicol Provinces
Each of the provinces in the region is considered a profitable investment area

Albay
This province "by the bay" (Albaybay in the past) is perhaps best known for its Mayon Volcano, the world's most near-perfect cone.

Albay is also home to a geothermal power plant operated by Philippine Geothermal, Inc. - the local subsidiary of Unocal, USA. Today, the Tiwi power plant is the number one supplier of geothermal energy in the Luzon Grid.

The province is still basically dependent on agriculture as a means of livelihood although efforts are being directed towards the development of industries in the province. Coconut trees occupy the largest area of Albay's vast prime agricultural lands and produce an average annual yield of 978 kilograms per hectare. Other major crops in the province are rice, corn, root-crops, vegetables, and abaca.

Its traditional exports are coconut oil, perlite and abaca fiber, while its non-traditional products are mostly gift items and housewares, synthetic hair goods, and abaca pulp and paper.

Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur
Considered the rice granaries or camarin of the Bicol Region, Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur are also rich fishing grounds with Camarines Norte's town of Mercedes a major supplier of shrimp and fish to Manila. Both of these provinces are also rich mining areas.

Camarines Norte boasts of clean, white-sand beaches, underground caves, waterfalls, historic shrines, and parklands which are drawing more tourists every year.

The cottage industries in Camarines Sur, the largest of Bicol's six provinces, include bamboocraft, embroidery, and fibercraft. It is still basically agricultural. Lately, however, economic activities in the area are becoming more brisk, particularly in Naga and Iriga City. Among the big businesses operating in Naga are San Miguel Corporation, Asia Brewery, Coca-Cola Bottlers Phils., Pepsi-Cola Products Phils., Cosmos Bottling Corp., Nestle Phils., Purefoods Corp., Procter and Gamble Phils., Jacinto Steel Corp., United Laboratories, and Consolidated Industrial Gases, Inc.

The new Central Business District (CBD II) being constructed by the local government and the Ruby Shelter Builders and Realty Development Corp. in Naga City is expected to provide investors the most conducive business environment.

Catanduanes
The island province "where tando trees abound" or Catanduanes is also rich in mineral resources. Marble and its allied minerals are abundant in Virac and San Andres. Approximately 27 percent of its total land area (403.89 sq. km.) have metallic resources of 630 metric tons.

The province, however, remains mainly agricultural producing rice, corn, coconut, abaca or manila hemp, vegetable, and rootcrops. Its coconut production goes beyond 50 million nuts per year which is equivalent to 14,630 metric tons of copra. Abaca production reaches 10,205,549 metric tons.

Fishing is the next main source of livelihood. Species in sea water include herrings, squids, groupers, lobsters, Spanish mackerel, scads and other pelagic species. Most of the large fishponds are located in San Andres, Bato, Bagamanoc, Payo and Viga. There are two available storages in San Roque, Virac and in Mayngaway, San Andres, to support the fishing industry.

Masbate
The second cattle country of the Philippines (next to Bukidnon in Mindanao), is also one of the richest in the country in terms of mineral deposits. Its deposits include copper, silver, iron, manganese, and chromite, aside from marble. Masbate is a premier producer of gold. To date, there are 185 existing mines in the province with 33 being operated by Atlas Consolidated Mining and 94 by Masbate Gold Field. The province also has adequate deposits of coal, lead and zinc.

A predominantly fishing province, Masbate is in fact the premier fish producer in the Bicol Region with 267 barangays from 21 municipalities all located along the coast. It has a coastline of 968 kilometers and covers 4,036 sq. km. of marine waters. The commercial potentials of the province's fishery resources, however, have remained largely untapped.

Sorsogon
Sorsogon is a major producer of abaca. In all of Bicol, it is said that the province produces the best hemp because of its fertile soil due to past volcanic eruptions and year-round rainfall.

The province also has a significant fishing industry as it is surrounded by rich fishing grounds.

Recently, the government proposed the construction of three mini-hydro plants in Osiai, Rangas, and Sibulan by the private sector through a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) scheme. It will be another source of power supply in Sorsogon.