Friday 29 March 2024 16:00:52 PHT

Bohol: the good, the bad, and the ugly

Manila, Wednesday, 24 December 2008

This article on Bohol was originally placed on Businessworld Online of Monday 15 December 2008. Since it is no longer available, I've reproduced it here with permission of the author. I am reproducing it here, not to bring discredit to Bohol, but to make people aware what is also being published on the island, and in the hope that some of the issues will be taken up seriously. I do love the island of Bohol, and truly hope it will develop further, to the benefit of all Boholanos.

Bohol: the good, the bad, and the ugly

Prospero E. De Vera

The regular vacations I take with my wife Charito give me the opportunity to take on the role of a tourist, explore and discover the Philippines, and decide whether I should enthusiastically say "Wow Philippines."

Our latest escapade brought us to the famous island of Bohol with its enviable white sand beaches, world-famous Loboc Choir and Church, and the New World Wonders contender Chocolate Hills. The visit was also timely, given the recent decision of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to build an international airport in Panglao Island to increase tourist arrivals and hopefully create another Boracay.

Our four days-three nights’ stay was more than enough to make me answer the question — Is Panglao Island (and Bohol) ready to become a world-class tourist destination?

The Good

As someone who has visited Bohol over the past two decades, I can say that the transformation and development of the province have been, to say the least, phenomenal. The island is definitely a major tourist destination as shown by the more than 140,000 hits that appear when you google "Bohol Philippines."

The information on the Web on Bohol includes a functional provincial Web site (www.bohol.ph) that contains important information for tourists (visa requirements, language, climate, safety, money) and the places and food to enjoy, reviews and ranking of hotels and resorts (www.tripadvisor.com), and individual websites for all the major resorts and hotels in the area. The resort we stayed in — Dumaluan Beach Resort — has clean rooms, attentive staff, good food, and best of all, is competitively priced.

The road network has expanded, telecommunication infrastructure has improved, and as Angelo our habal-habal (motorcycle) driver narrated, construction of new resorts on Panglao Island has created jobs and increased tourist arrivals. Clearly, as the cooks and waiters at the Dumaluan grill say, tourism has improved the lives of people. The leadership of Governor Erico Aumentado and Vice Governor Julius Herrera has increased revenues and brought many national projects to this island-province.

The Bad

My positive impressions of the island started to change when we explored the rest of the island.

We had to ride piggyback, without helmets, on a habal-habal (motorcycle) as the only way to reach the Panglao town center from the resorts. The 10km resort-to-town-center ride brought us to the church and a small marketplace that looked more like a ghost town at midday, without a decent place to eat — no restaurants, no historical markers, no brochures, and no balikbayan store where tourists could buy local products.

The only way to see the island’s scenic spots was through a whole-day van rental system with no standard pricing (I tried to haggle and got three different rates). We had planned on having lunch at the Loboc River in between our book reading and tanning at the beach but were quoted the same rate as a whole-day excursion. Not wanting to see all the sights, we decided to stay at the beach.

The Ugly

Our four-day stay was rudely interrupted by two disturbing incidents, which showed that local authorities and resort owners have not imbibed "tourist-friendly" practices or learned from their counterparts in other tourist places on how to keep their guests gratified.

The first incident happened at about 8:00 pm on our second night when we were rudely stopped by security guards (their nameplates identified them as Mr. Mirall and Mr. Ayento) of the Bohol Beach Club (BBC). They told us that their management prohibits people from walking along the beach at night for security reasons! When I asked for the legal basis for such a prohibition — such as a local ordinance or a security advisory from the local police — the guards were completely clueless and could not produce a document. Worse, they refused to give me the name of their supervisor or resort manager. Only upon intense demand did they mention a certain Tony Ceniza as the person I should talk to. As expected, this Tony Ceniza was not at the BBC at that time. I left my phone number, requested a return call, and even came back the following morning to talk with management. I never got a call.

As we returned to the Dumaluan Resort later that evening we were surprised to see that the band had started to allow guests to sing — videoke style — in the restaurant. As soon as the invitation was given, a group of denim-clad videoke enthusiasts descended on the stage and started to belt out a series of eardrum-shattering songs that no tourist would appreciate.

This utter disregard for the sensibilities, not to say the sanity, of the guests definitely left a black mark on my recollection of Bohol. My wife’s complaint was dismissed by the resort staff who also seemed oblivious to the glares of other annoyed guests. We had to endure the truly horrible rendition of "Delilah," "Skyline Pigeon," and "My Way" until the restaurant mercifully closed near midnight.

While Bohol remains dear to my heart and I would really like to tell friends to see the islands, my Good, Bad, and Ugly experiences tell me that Bohol still has a long way to go before it becomes globally competitive. Beautiful brochures, wonderful resorts, the Chocolate Hills, breathtaking beaches, or even an international airport will not be enough to win over tourists, if resort owners and local authorities remain insensitive and parochial.

Instead of building another airport at Panglao Island-which is only 18 kilometers from the Tagbilaran airport and which, to some foreign tourists, "completely makes no sense"-- the government can put the money to better use by improving the Panglao town center, providing better transportation, and training the locals to be tourist-savvy. Then can we really say "Wow Philippines."

Mr. De Vera is a professor at the National College of Public Administration and Governance, University of the Philippines, and a fellow of Action for Economic Reforms (www.aer.ph).

Webmaster Reaction

I love Bohol, but sadly, I have to agree with several of the observations in this article. I am aware of the issues he touches upon, and can add to this list several more issues that might detract an unsuspecting visitor.

1. The waste and sewage disposal problem at the main tourist destination (Alona Beach), where just behind the line of resorts, dirt is heaped up. Also, since no proper waste-water disposal system is available, the sensitive Karst soil of Panglao is polluted by sewage.

2. Since the fresh water supply on Panglao is severely limited, most resorts only offer their guests salty water from taps and showers.

3. Too many pump-boats moored in front of Alona Beach, such that swimming and snorkeling of the beach is severely hindered.

4. Some resorts use armed guards and barbed wire to block off public beaches (which are government property by law) from visitors who are not guests of the resort facing the beach, often in an aggressive way. BBC is certainly not the only offender in this respect, but I will refrain from naming other resorts.

5. In spite of misleading signs that the practice is permitted by the DENR, tarsiers are still kept in a cage along Loboc river, and constantly being handled and exposed to camera flashes. Even though the DENR permit may be real, this treatment is bad. Tarsiers, the famous icon of Bohol, are sensitive nocturnal animals that will suffer highly from this constant harassment, and wont survive such treatment for long. This way, the already dwindling stock of this endangered animal will be quickly depleted.

6. An uncontrolled building-spree of 'me-too' resorts, without a sound business plans and at low quality standards, which will probably end up as concrete skeletons within a few years. For what this can lead to, one should visit some of the formerly attractive beaches of the Spanish costas.

7. A uncontrolled development of Loboc river, turning the once tranquil river into a hectic water-highway, with light-shows, turning a former monument of mismanaged planning, the utterly useless Loboc Bridge, into a "tourist attraction"

8. A polluted, and to tourists uninteresting capital city.

I'm already a long time lone crusader against the Panglao airport plans, see the article on this site, in which I also offer several alternatives that would be far more beneficial to develop the Island.

As said, I love Bohol, that is why I made started this site, now over seven years ago, and realize that by posting this article here, I may detract some potential visitors. Unfortunately, by remaining silent, I will also contribute to the perpetuation of these problems, and will be misleading potential visitors.

Let me conclude with a final, positive mode. Bohol is a great province and has a friendly people. It has a huge touristic potential, which, if properly managed can give visitors a great time and contribute to its prosperity forever. Potential visitors, please don't hesitate to visit Bohol as it is a wonderful place, but just don't expect yet everything to be perfect. It is God's little paradise, but we're still building.--Jeroen.

Pictures

These pictures where taken a few years ago, but the situation hasn't changed much since.


Too many boats for the beach.


An ugly shed located on a prime location south of Alona Beach.


Waste deposited just behind Alona Beach.


Too many signs to find your way, and a smoke curtain as a bonus.


Rusty barbed wire straight on the beach.

 

What readers think...

Bernard wrote:
Monday, 25 July 2016 06:33:13 PHT
This morning i woke up terrible, alot of fighting chicken crying, i cant even think how these people sleep at night with this chicken? Wish municipal can do something about this. This place is a tourist place, a place to relax but with alot of crying fighting chicken? Terrible place.....
Sustainability Guru wrote:
Thursday, 21 May 2015 03:12:40 PHT
High time for Bohol public and private tourism stakeholders to embrace and espouse sustainable tourism criteria (global sustainable tourism criteria) and best green practices for hotels, resorts and tourism establishments! How we can help -> http://sstdi.org/take-action/
Christine wrote:
Sunday, 27 September 2009 05:42:24 PHT
I'm glad to have read this article. I'm sure it will help other travelers to have a balanced perspective about Bohol. I hope you don't mind my asking but I plan to visit this place around December 2009. Jeroen, since you know the place very well, could you please tell me where's the best place to stay for 2 days and 2 nights. I want to have a memorable stay in Bohol just like what most people had without over spending.
Sam wrote:
Thursday, 30 July 2009 02:26:30 PHT
Your Comment: I have been to many cities, and have been directed by friends to visit Bohol,,as they tell me,its where a guy like me wants to be. Why not be a part of the solution rather a contributer to a problem? I would love to come, retire,invest in Bohol, sounds and looks like a boat dock builder,would open up some space,and remind the resorts they do not own the beaches,a community clean up day would also help a little. I'm willing to help out,, anyone else? The surroundings are too beautiful to let go. We may need some people who build mound septic systems as used here in Indiana in our Karst areas, but a sewer plant could bring em a long way. Seems like a win/win for investors.
freida wrote:
Wednesday, 11 March 2009 23:30:56 PHT
The beaches are beautiful. The "bad" is not so difficult to improve...

Read all 10 comments by readers.

Also give your comments on this article

your name
your e-mail address
show email address
your comments on "Bohol: the good, the bad, and the ugly"

We reserve the right to remove or edit comments posted on this website. Please read our conditions of use for details. You can use <i>italics</i>, <b>bold</b>, <p> new paragraph, <a href="url">link</a>. Other markup will be removed. Use of the forums for advertising is prohibited. Enterprises located in Bohol can request to be added to the business directory.