Major infrastructure-support facilities were implemented in Bohol over the years and more are still up for implementation as it seriously takes the challenges in being the leading provincial tourism destination of the country as well as an emerging transshipment point.
Road Links
Bohol is crisscrossed with roads that link major urban and rural centers of the province. It has a yearly average of 33 kilometers of road being constructed from 1993 to 2002. However, only about 3% of these roads are cemented/asphalted. Bohol’s average vehicle increase per year was computed at 3,678 with private vehicles accounting much of the increase. Tricycles are the main mode of transport in the city, although a number of taxis are now serving the area.
Water & Power Supply
The main source of drinking water in the province is ground water with springs and rivers as alternate sources for domestics, agricultural and industrial use.
The combined capability of electric sources in Bohol in 2002 totaled 61.7 megawatts (MW) against its maximum demand 40.6 MW or a net reserve of 21 MW (NPC, 2002). Hydroelectric power sources account for 4 percent of Bohol’s power source while geothermal power from Leyte Province provides 11 percent of its electricity and the rest are sourced from diesel plants and a power barge. Electricity is available in all municipalities with about 90 percent of barangays in Bohol already energized in 2002. Power generation charge in Bohol in 2002 was P2.21 per kilowatt hour (KWH) while Transco charge for that same year was at P0.80/KWH. The bulk of Bohol’s power demand comes from residential and commercial establishments while industrial consumption is projected to increase in the incoming years as a result of governments bullish efforts in investments promotion.
Labor Force/Working Population
Bohol’s working age population constitutes about 60 percent of the total population of the province. Between 1998 and 2002, the working age population expanded at an average of 1.2 percent annually. With a good number of schools and training centers, Bohol’s labor force is one of the country’s highly skilled.
Industry Structure
Bohol’s industry structure measured by employment is composed of 3 major sectors, namely, the agriculture, forestry and fishery sector, the manufacturing sector and the services sector. The agriculture sector continues to account for a greater portion of provincial employment. On the average, the agriculture sector provides employment to 54 percent of the total employed persons in the province. The services sector accounts for 30 percent while the industry sector at 16 percent. The manufacturing industries in Bohol are mostly categorized as micro and cottage industry types. The earliest and most dominant is its handicraft industry. This industry in Bohol includes fashion accessories, shellcraft, woodcraft, food processing, ceramics, hand-made paper and novelty items.
Major Industrial Firms in Bohol
There are five major industrial firms in Bohol engage in producing galvanized sheets, in the quarrying of limestone for sintering iron, in the manufacturing of starch and glucose, in the production and distribution of prawn and milkfish (bangus) fries, and in softdrink bottling (Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines Incorporated). Starch and limestone are among Bohol’s products directly exported to other countries.
Wages Nominal
The prescribed minimum wage rate for all covered private workers and employees in Bohol is P185.00 or about US$3.36 per person a day for agricultural and P200.00 or about US$3.64 per person a day for non-agricultural worker.
Prices Indicators
The purchasing power of the peso in Bohol ranged from P0.79 in to P0.63 in 2002, an average of P0.03-centavo decrease. The province’s inflation rate remained at single digit at about 3.7 percent in 2003, lower than the national inflation rate of 6 percent. Prevailing foreign exchange rate is at P55.00 per US$1.00.