TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol (PIA) –Bohol’s domestic economy is looking up.
Thus bared Provincial Planning and Development Officer Atty. John Titus Vistal, a statement that Economic Development and Investment Promotions Officer (BEDIPO) Maria Fe Dominese also shared.
The statement came about as Governor Erico Aristotle Aumentado said with local investment promotions revving up to entice prospective capital in various industries, 2023 posted an estimated P29.3 billion of potential investments generated for Bohol, and this also means more jobs.
This as the investment promotions officer also hinted the review of the Bohol Investment Code by the governor Erico Aristotle Aumentado-led Bohol Investment Board.
Bohol Investment Code, which was enacted prior to the pandemic, sets the framework for a more appealing investment policy governed by the people, planet and profit development roadmap.
We have to perform a balancing act of fostering a business-friendly environment for micro, small and medium enterprises and large investments for a more sustainable economic development, the highly articulate Dominese explained.
While Bohol’s largely service-led tourism industry slumped during the pandemic with a negative 6.3% growth mark, it slowly picked up when the economy opened in 2021 with a 4.2% growth rate.
And then it ended the year with a 7.1 percent in 2022, Vistal reported at the weekly Capitol Reports.
“Productivity went up to an unprecedented P171 billion in worth of goods and services Bohol produced in 2022,” Vistal, who used the Philippine Statistics Authority to back his claim, bared.
And while the good news may not be felt by most people in their day-to-day purchases, economists pointed out that a more stable base of investments in small, medium and large enterprises would have a more perceptible impact in jobs generation, upping the local competition and allowing people spending power.
Revving it up with its investment promotions, by the end of the year, Dominese said about 66 proponents submitted in letters of intent and proposals and 13 of these proponents presented their projects to Bohol leaders.
These are investment proposals for power especially in renewable energy, which Bohol critically needs to power its industries, water, bulk water supply, wastewater management, mall development, retail, information technology and business process outsourcing as well as health and wellness, Dominese recounts.
Out of these, estimated cost of all investments generated from all investors coming forward is pegged at P29.3 billion, she added.
The multi-billion investments, when these can be realized, would generate around 30,000 new jobs, and 60 to 70% of the manpower requirement, would be supplied by local labor and talents, based on the provincial investment code, according to Dominese.
In fact, with these proposals, Bohol Investment Board has passed 17 resolutions of support to the proposals, which would be necessary for prospective businesses to earn the government’s development council support for additional non-cash incentives or government assistance.
The investment process however is long and with Bohol now sweetening the pot for investor incentives with the review of the Bohol Investment Code, the BEDIPO also added that the municipal investment codes need also to be reviewed to harmonize the enticing offers to locate in Bohol. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)
