Gov. Edgar Chatto presided over the first convening meeting of the Bohol Road Investments Board (BRIB) at the South Palms Resort in Panglao on November 28, 2013. Created through a resolution by the Provincial Development Council in June this year, the BRIB is a first in the country that was organized with the Bohol Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) as the lead implementor. It is the steering body tasked to facilitate the proper prioritization and coordination of road investments.
The BRIB launched on its first meeting the project called Coordinating Road Investments (CRID) for Local Economic Development and Poverty Reduction in Bohol. CRID intends to create a road registry for better prioritization of road projects in Bohol. Only six municipalities were chosen as pilot areas for the CRID as follows: Alburquerque, Alicia, Batuan, Buenavista, Jagna and Tubigon.
BCCI president, Atty. Emmanuel Tumanda, and Regional Development Council private sector representative, Argeo Melisimo of the FCB, previously presented the project concept and partnered with the media in monitoring the implementation, ensuring the presence of transparency and absence of corruption in the road projects. Atty. Tumanda said that the launching of CRID comes at an opportune time as Bohol strives to recover and rebuild a stronger province.
BRIB will assist and monitor barangay, municipal, and city governments in Bohol by prioritizing strategic road links, regardless of administrative jurisdiction or classification, that will enhance access to services or economic activities.
There are 36 members of the BRIB, 20 of which come from the national government agencies, four from the civil society, six from the Provincial Government of Bohol and six from city/municipal local government units.
This project was made possible through a grant from the Asia Foundation with funding assistance from the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID).