BOHOL: The Executive Brief 

- 47 towns - Tagbilaran, Capital City - Population is roughly 1 million - Oval-shaped mainland with 72 smaller islands - Area is 4,117 square kilometers- Tropical climate with 2 distinct seasons: wet & dry

- Rainfall is evenly distributed throughout the year - Typhoons and earthquakes are rare - Filipino is the national language. Cebuano is commonly spoken. - English is the medium of communication in business and education.

Tagbilaran City is the capital city of the Province of Bohol.
BOHOL: Land Characteristics & Utilization/The Environment
As of 1996, about 78% of Bohol's total land area of 411,726 hectares are classified (sourced from the Department of Environment & Natural Resources) as alienable and disposable (A&D) land constituting the following:
Agricultural 302,654.00 hectares
Exempt* 16,260.21 hectares
Residential 2,615.04 hectares
Special** 173.09 hectares
Industrial 87.72 hectares
Commercial 85.24 hectares
* church, catholic schools, cemeteries & all other government land
** hospitals, cultural & scientific purposes, local water districts & government-owned corporations
Meanwhile, 25% are classified as forest land which constitutes the following:
Reforestation area 4,323 hectares 4%
Range Land 6,600 hectares 7%
Ordinary mangrove 8,151 hectares 8%
Protected areas 66,034 hectares 65%
As of 1996, of the total A & D land in Bohol, only about 74,122,51 hectares or 24% have land titles. Total area granted for fishpond development equalled to 2,214.86 hectares in 1996. According to the report from the DENR, the municipality of Talibon has the largest timberland area in Bohol at 14,917 hectares followed by Carmen and Duero at 7,178 hectares and 6,109 hectares, respectively.
BOHOL: Road Network & Transportation
The road network of the province adequately links the major urban and rural centers of Bohol. As of 1996, Bohol has a total of 5,384,933 kilometers of road, an annual average increase of 33 kilometers from 1993 to 1996. Of the total, 65% are barangay roads and about 10% are cemented or asphalted. Majority of the kilometerage increase was on the construction of barangay roads.
Also providing accessibility to areas in the province are some 275 bridges (national and provincial) having a total length of 8,867.53 linear meters. As of 1996, there were 17,030 registered vehicles in Bohol, an average increase of about 1,170 vehicles per year from 1991 to 1996. Private vehicles accounted for 48% of the increase of vehicles in the province for the same given period. There are also buses and jeepneys providing overland transportation to different destinations of Bohol outside Tagbilaran City. Tricycles, moterelas, multicabs & taxis are the major means of transportation within the City area.Habal-habal also serves as a very helpful form of transportaion in the hinderlands in the different municipalities.
Several ports strategically located around Bohol serve as its gateway to other parts of the country. Bohol has 7 major seaports which are located in Tagbilaran City (with daily trips to Cebu, Cagayan de Oro City, Daumaguete City via fast crafts; to Larena, Iligan City, Manila and Dipolog with most of its ships for cargo transport than for passenger transport); in the municipalities of Ubay (with trips to and from Leyte and Cebu); Talibon (to and from Cebu); Getafe (to and from Cebu); Catagbacan, Loon (to and from Argao), Jagna (to & from Cagayan de Oro City and Nasipit-Butuan), Tubigon (to & from Cebu). Bohol also has a domestic airport located in Tagbilaran City with Philippine Airlines (PAL) as its only commercial carrier operating in the province with daily flights to and from Manila and Cebu City. A feeder airport is located in the municipality of Ubay.
BOHOL : Utilities
Power
In Bohol, the National Power Corporation supplies the province's power reuirements through its 2 power plants (a diesel power plant - Bohol Grid in Tagbilaran City and a hydroelectric plant in Loboc town with an installed capacity of 22 megawatts and 1.2 megawatts, repectively) and a diesel power plant barge with a rated capacity of 14.4 megawatts.
Connected also to the Bohol Grid is the 5-megawatt Janopol Hydroelectric Plant bringing the combined installed capacity to 42.6 megawatts as against the province's peak demand of 25.0 megawatts.
This is spatially apportioned by 3 major power distributors covering the entire province, namely: the Provincial Public Utilities Division (PPUD) for the whole Tagbilaran City; the Bohol Electric Cooperative I (BOHECO I) serving the municipalities at the northeastern part of Bohol; and, Bohol Electric Cooperative II (BOHECO II) serving the municipalities at the southeastern side. Other major power consumers in the province include some major industrial firms such as the Philippine Sinter Corporation (engaged in limestone quarrying), the Philippine Starch Industrial Corporation (startch-glucose production), Bohol Enterprises, Inc. (ice production) and the Southern Industrial Project (G.I. sheets production). Energy consumption in Bohol is generally of the household demand type. During the evenings, peak load perks up to 25 megawatts, 70% more than its daytime load. To date, 88% of the barangays in Bohol are energized. Electricity is available to all municipalities.
Additional power will be needed and provided in the near future with the projected increase in industrial and commercial demand for electricity. Before the end of 1997, NPC will field a 14.4 MW power barge and another in 1998 before the completion of stage I of the Leyte-Bohol Interconnection Project which is targeted for commissioning in 1998 or early 1999. This project will supply Bohol an additional 80 to 100 MW of geothermal power from Leyte. Power rates, by then, are expected to lower significantly.
Water
Bohol is blessed with several springs and rivers as sources of water supply both for domestic, agricultural and industiral use. So far, there are 434 springs, 59 rivers and 197 creeks found in the province. The principal source of drinking water in Tagbilaran City and other municipalities is ground water. However, only 16% of Bohol's population is provided with Level II potable water and 14% from Level II sources while most households in Bohol get their water from Level I sources. Considering the national minimum standard of 50 liters per capita consumption per day, Bohol's population will require some 52 million liters of water per day in 1997 and an additional 2 million liters per day by the year 2000. To augment current water supply in Tagbilaran City, the Provincial Government has tapped water sourced from Corella. A future plan is looking at the Loboc River to serve 12 other neighboring towns.
As to Bohol's utilization of water for irrigation purposes, major rivers are tapped for this purpose. As of 1996, only 34.42% of the total irrigable area of 40,800 hectares, is utilizing this resource through various irrigation facilities constructed mainly by the National Irrigation Administration (NIA). A lot of investments along this area are still needed to make Bohol the rice granary of Central Visayas.
Communication
The Philippine Long Distance and Telephone Company which has installed public-calling offices in every municipality mostly handle the local telephone service in Bohol. Other areas, including the city of Tagbilaran is also served partly by the Cruz Telephone Company (CRUZTELCO). Their combined landlines reached 4,619 in 1996, twice as much in 1991. Payphones are also available in the city provided by PLDT with 43 working lines wiht national and international direct dialling capabilities. However, 22 more payphones are still needed to meet Bohol's current requirement. Cellular or mobile phone service providers have recently gained entry to the province with Mobiline, Smart, ISLACOM and Globe.
Providing equally important role in Bohol's development is the telegraph/telegram and radio services sector. Presently, the Bohol Law Enforcement Communications System (BLECS), a government operated entity can access any municipality of the province with its 42 ICOM and other radio units any time, any day. Amatuer radio clubs also exists in Bohol with more than 1,000 members that have been tapped during emergencies and calamities. TELOF, RCPI and PT&T also are providing telegraph and telegram as well as long distance services in Bohol with its 14 counters scattered in the city ad municipalities.
Other communication facilities of the province include 5 radio stations in the province, all privately owned and operated, 2 of which operate in the FM band. All are located in Tagbilaran City with a maximum output capacity of 5,000 watts and within a 20-kilometer raduis coverage.
Internet service is also provided by three Interner Service Providers (ISP) namely, BQLink (of the Bohol Quality Corporation), Bohol-Online System and WebLogic Inc. These ISPs made Bohol connected to different parts of the globe through the wonders of the Internet.
Two cable stations are operating in the province. Bohol is likewise kept well informed through various newspapers and magazines available in Bohol including 3 local weeklies with a combined total circulation of 15,000 copies as well as subscriptions to 11 national dailies. Postal and messengerial service such as LBC, DHL, JRS among others, are also operating in Bohol.
Housing Facilities
Based on the 1995 figures, Bohol has an estimated housing backlog of 19,168 units which is expected to increase with population growth. Although 99% of the households in Bohol are occupying single dwelling units, a greater number of these units are of substandard materials. This account for a bigger share of the province's housing backlog.
Educational Facilities
Providing a significant role in the development of its manpower base, Bohol's 1,070 schools (both public and privately owned) provided education services, breakdown as follows:
Primary Schools - 357
Elementary Schools - 570
Secondary Schools - 130
Technical/Vocational - 8
College - 5
University - 1
There are also 5 skills training center operated by TESDA in the province which offer formal and informal trainings. Most of the Colleges and the university are located in Tagbilaran City. Bohol also has an agricultural college located in Bilar town. About 61% of Bohol's population have attended these schools of which 62% have attained elementary education while only 5% are academic degree holders. Nearly half of Bohol's projected population (approximately 361,000) is going to school in year 2000.
Health Facilities
As of 1996, the province has a total of 31 hospitals. Ten (10) are run by the Provincial Government with a combined personnel complement of about 200 and 448 hospital beds. With the normative Philippine standard of 1 bed to 2,000 population, Bohol's ratio of 472 indicates that the province is a little way below the standard. However, aside from these hospitals, there are also
48 Rural Health Units (RHU)
254 Barangay Health Stations
425 Botica sa Barangay
712 School Clinics
There are also private hospitals which are mostly located in the city of Tagbilaran.
BOHOL : Employment/Income Characteristics & the Economy
Per results of the Labor Force Survey conducted by NSO in Bohol, the province's total labor force in 1996 estimated at 404,000 decreased by 2% compared to that in 1995. Likewise, employment rate in 1996, reported at 92.6% which was predominantly agriculture-led, decreased by 2.4% against the 1995 results. However, Bohol's inflation rate in 1996 at 6.6% decreased by 30% compared to 1995. The purchasing power of the peso at 1988 prices was pegged at P.039, the lowest in the region. within the same given period, a slight difference in the minimum daily wage rates between Tagbilaran city and Bohol's municipalities was also observed at P121.00 for the city and P108.00 in the municipalities.
Based on the latest survey, Bohol's average family income, pegged at P38,187.00, was among the lowest in the region. The average expenditure in 1994 for a Boholano family amounted to P28,841.00, highest in the region. Fifty (50) percent of Bohol's families have their main source of income from entrepreneurial activites while 27% from wages and salaries. In 1994, Bohol's poverty incidence rate of 42.3% was the highest in Region 7, higher than the national average rate of 37.5%. However, this has been decreasing over the years from a high 60.5% in 1985 and 54.7% in 1991. Monthly poverty threshold in bohol in 1994 was at P5,978.00, higher by 24% from that in 1991. Magnitude of poor families was placed at 44%, a decrease by 16% from 1991.
As to the flow of commodities in and out of the province from Bohol's ports, a trade imbalance is noted. In 1996, total incoming goods with an estimated total volume of 440,000 metric tons valued at P2.78 billion was much lower than the volume and value of commodities exported by the province estimated at 100,000 metric tons and P1.82 billion. Galvanized iron (G.I) sheets led the top 15 outgoing commodities followed by limestone, copra, rice, prawn and handicraft items while manufactured goods top the list of incoming commodites followed by feeds, hardware, refined sugar among others. From this same report, it is, however, alarming to note that among the incoming goods in Bohol, the province had been importing larger quantities of rice than it is exporting over the years despite the fact that it is touted as the rice granary of Central Visayas. In 1995, Bohol was estimated to have imported P82.56 million worth of rice.
BOHOL : Climate
Bohol's climate is classified by PAS-ASA as belonging to the 'Fourth Type', with rainfall evenly distributed throughout the year. For the year 1996, the highest recorded rainfall by the Tagbilaran PAG-ASA was at 282.7 m.m. (January 1996) while the lowest at 29.2 m.m. (March). Highest 24-hour/daily rainfall recorded by the same weather station was on January 5, 1996 recorded at 73.3 m.m. The hottest day for the same period was recorded on September 17, 1996 at 36.1 degree Celcius and the lowest temperature at 19.0 degree Celcius in February 1996. General wind direction for the province in 1996 was northeast and southerly. There were three (3) tropical cyclones recorded by PAG-ASA during the year. Only one earthquake was reported for the whole of 1996 in Bohol at magnitude 5.6 of the Richter Scale.
BOHOL : Population Scenario
Bohol has a population of roughly 1 million (1995) which is 19% of Central Visayas' population. In the same census, Bohol had a total of 191,657 households. Tagbilaran City, its capital had the biggest population while, among the municipalities, Ubay leads the pack.
By age structure, Bohol had the following population census results:
14 & below 380,778 or 38.3%
15-64 years 551,156 or 55.4%
65 & above 62,506 or 6.3%
It was estimated that in 1996, Bohol's population would increase by almost 1% from the 1995 figure. The steady increase in its population is mostly attibuted to the increasing number of live births resulting in a progressively growing natural increase reaching its hghest crude birth rate (CBR) of 21.16 per thousand population in 1992. However, there was a gradual reduction of live births over the years from 1990 to 1995 decreasing from 26.78 CBR in 1990 to 1995 decreasing from 26.78 CBR in 1990 to 24.35 in 1995. The municipality of Bien Unido exhibited the highest CBR in 1995 while the municipality of Bilar had the lowest.
Over the years, Bohol had a more or less the same death rates, thus ascribing its birth rate to the province's population growth. Pneumonia is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in bohol for several years now.