Skip to main content

About Bohol

By
 
 
Bohol, in the heart of Central Visayas, is the 10th largest island in the Philippines.  It is comprised of 48 municipalities with 15, 14, and 19 municipalities composing the first, second and third congressional districts, respectively (Green, et al 2002). The productive force of Bohol is almost 58% of the total population, of which around 89% are engaged in farming and fishing.  Agriculture remains the biggest sector in the province in terms working population and land use (PPDO 2006).

In 2000, poverty incidence was very high in the province - 50.2% in terms of population (NSCB 2000), affecting mostly farmers and fisherfolk (PPDO 2001). In the same year, the province was one of the poorest twenty in the country (18th out of the 82 provinces) using monetary measures as criteria (NSCB 2000).  The alarming thing was that the poverty incidence increased by 27% as compared to the 1997 base figure (ibid). Also, the United Nations Development Program ranked Bohol as 7th in its list of 20 poorest provinces in 2001 (GPF 2006). 

 Bohol, since then, has become a leading example of how one province can lift itself out from poverty.  Bohol is no longer one of the top poorest provinces of the country.  Economically, the province relies on tourism, more particularly on its white sandy beaches, rivers, forests, caves for economic growth and development. It has been argued that this significantly altered Bohol's growth trajectory.
 

Popular posts from this blog

Is Bohol's Tourism Any Good for the Poor? (a repost....original lost)

By
The benefits of tourism to the poor in terms of employment, livelihood opportunities, improvements in the local economy, has recently been highlighted in development practice (Ashley 2006). Specific country case studies have shown its effect in generating employment, in enhancing participation of women in the labour force, and in instigating developments in forward linkages (ODI 2007). In the Philippines, tourism is pushed as development strategy, not only to propel local growth but also to combat poverty (Turingan 2006). Eco-tourism is one of Bohol’s primary development strategy (PPDO 2003). Its competitive advantage is the presence of the famous Chocolate Hills, white pristine beaches in its islands, diving sites, and world-class cultural attractions (Relampagos 2002). Increased investments and promotional activities in the tourism sector have caused the dramatic rise in tourist arrival in the province since 2001.Starting 2001 tourist arrival in the province has significantly increas...
1 comment
Read more

5 Things To Love about Joseph Gara's Songs

By
- Full disclaimer here – I am a huge Joseph Gara fan. I saw him for the first time in a wedding party of a dear friend, unmindfully singing as guests were entering the ballroom of a hotel. Apart from his guitar, he was his own prop, tucked neatly at one side of the stage, almost unseen as a massive bouquet of giant white lilies and carnations stood beside his guitar stand.   Right there and then I thought that this guy would go places, because it was quite clear that he liked his music, and while he sang covers of popular acoustic ballads, he seemed to claim them as his own, making the music sound fresh, and the words as if they were freshly minted.   I am an avid spectator of his shows – at South Palms Resort ,   one of our favourite staycation spots in Bohol, where he seemed to be a regular; at the many weddings that he was contracted to serenade; at the many cultural events in the province where he was a part of or was the sole reason for its convening. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

3 Reasons Why I am Worried about Education During this Pandemic

By
  The last four weeks or so, we have seen how the delivery of basic education has shifted significantly from face-to-face to a myriad of forms, masked by fancy labels as synchronous (e.g. fully online, virtual classes), blended (e.g. a mix of online and face to face instructions allowed only in specific contexts), and distance modular (e.g. learner-paced learning based on scheduled learning modules, done either through paper or web-based learning management systems). There have been significant apprehensions from different people, including parents such as myself.  Firstly, there is the problem of weak internet connectivity.   We all know that the technological infrastructure is not ready for a fully online learning delivery. There have been serious complaints in the past three years on the inability of telecommunications companies to deliver on their promised connection speed.  Based on statistics, our country has one of the slowest internet speed across the As...
Post a Comment
Read more