Tuesday 19 March 2024 14:10:06 PHT

Doing Bussiness in Bohol

Tagbilaran City, Friday, 12 April 2002

Table of Contents


Why Bohol?

Location and Accessibility

In the heart of Asia lies the Philippines - now poised to take its place as an investment area in the region. And in the heart of this archipelago of 7,100 islands, the tenth largest island, Bohol, is ready to offer an investment climate that is advantageous for both foreign and domestic investors.

Bohol is located in the central part of the Philippines, which makes it easy to access from the both the capital city of Manila and the regional metropole Cebu and thus to potential markets. With a travel time of less than two hours by fast boat and about twenty minutes by plane, Bohol is easy to reach both by air and sea from nearby Cebu, which today is the industrial and commercial center of the Southern Philippines.

Certainly, Bohol is an alternative that gives you the right business climate, plus a healthy environment that provides a soothing haven to a busy lifestyle.

Quality Manpower

Bohol's primary asset is its people, with the distinctive quality traits of hospitality, dedication to work, industry and self-reliance. It has a highly trainable and strong labor force of about 686,000 and literacy rate is 95.57%, which makes up a dynamic manpower pool. The majority of the Boholanos can speak and write English.

Competitive Labor Cost

Bohol offers quality manpower at lower rates than to those of the metropolitan areas.

Wealth of Natural Resources & other Tourist Lures

Bohol has one of the best displays of natural resources that lure business and the more pleasurable adventures. It has an abundant water resource that remains to be tapped and agricultural areas that have great potential. Seek delight and experience pleasure in its best diving havens, rich marine resources and a variety of natural wonders. Discover Bohol's history in its landmark and imbibe a piece of its culture through festive celebrations and an array of cultural expressions.

Developing Infrastructure

Bohol is cognizant of the need to provide necessary infrastructure facilities for a growing population and the increasing demand of commerce and industry. To improve the services and efficiency of the utilities, the Provincial Government sought a joint venture project for both power and water with a private partner. The ongoing power interconnection project with Leyte is targeted to generate additional power supply of 80-100 MW of geothermal energy. The national highway that links the municipalities is being paved under the Bohol Circumferential Road Mega-Project that has increasingly provided efficient access and transport of people, goods and services. Meanwhile, large irrigation facilities are expected to irrigate an additional 10,260 hectares of ricelands.

Government & Private Sector Dynamism

In Bohol, synergy and participatory development processes have resulted to local governance initiatives and policies that give leverage to strategic investors and entice business to locate here.


About the Island

The Province

Bohol is the seat of an international treaty of peace and friendship between Datu Si Katuna, a native chieftain and Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, a Spanish conquistador on March 16, 1565 through a blood compact known today as Sandugo. The province celebrates its foundation on July 22, 1854 as Bohol Day.

Vision

Bohol is a prime eco-cultural tourist destination and a strong agro-industrial province with an empowered and self-reliant people who are God-loving, law-abiding, proud of their cultural heritage and committed to the growth and protection of the environment.

Location & Topography

The tenth largest island in the country, it is nestled securely in the heart of the Visayas, between southeast of Cebu and southwest of Leyte. Its oval-shaped mainland, surrounded with 73 smaller islands, has a gently rolling terrain ideal for commercial and industrial site development.

Bohol's mountainous interior is home to rare and endangered flora and fauna. The uplands are fit for agro-forestry and high value agricultural production. The central and northern lowlands have also fertile grounds and abundant water supply.

Over a hundred caves have been identified, the biggest of which is found in the eastern part of the island, which makes Bohol ideal for spelunking adventures.

Typhoon and earthquakes are very rare.

Getting There

At the moment, Asian Spirit and Laoag Airlines serve the direct route to Manila daily. Development projects at the city airport, including the extension of the runway length, are expected to handle PAL B737s in December 2001.

There are 10 daily ship calls to Cebu, 7 being fast ferry trips. Daily passenger traffic is approximately 4,500.

Other regular destinations include Manila (4 times weekly), Cagayan de Oro, Dumaguete, Dipolog, Iligan, Larena, Plaridel and Ozamis. Four other ports cater to Cebu and northern Mindanao routes.

Population

Bohol is the second most populous province in the region with 1,137,269 residents in 2000, representing 20% of the region's total (2000 NSO). Growth rate is 0.89% while the population density is 204 persons per square kilometer (1995 POPCEN).

Employment

Employment is predominately agriculture-led at 50%, followed by the service sector at 33% and industry at 17%. Approximately 93% of the labor force, or about 637,980, were employed in 2000.

Education and Language

The annual turnover of college graduates, approximately 3,800 a year, assures a reliable supply of highly trainable and dynamic manpower. Engineering course graduates comprise 20%.

A host of learning institutions, among the best in the region, includes one university, six colleges - four in agriculture and fishery, and six technical/vocational schools. Skills development centers are handled by TESDA in five towns.

Boholano is the native dialect, which is closely associated with the Cebuano dialect.


Natural Resources

Minerals

About half of the province is covered with limestone and other non-metallic minerals like high-grade silica, guano and clay. For instance, the limestone deposit in Garcia-Hernandez covers a 640 hectare-spread with 600 million tons available for processing by the Philippine Sinter Corporation.

Forest Products

Vines and fibers constitute Bohol's vegetation, which are sources of indigenous raw materials for its handicraft industry.

Water Resources

An abundant supply of surface water is provided by 434 springs, 59 rivers and 197 creeks provide abundant supply of surface water - a ready reservoir for a water development program.

Eco-Tourism

Bohol is gaining prestige as a prime eco-cultural tourist destination in the region.

Like the other islands in the region, Bohol has an abundance of pristine white sand beaches and azure blue waters. Coral reefs teem with a variety of picturesque marine life. Most notable of these sites and increasing in world renown are those found in Pamilacan, Balicasag, and Cabilao islands, now becoming havens for tourist and scuba divers.

Inland, serving as magnets for local and foreign tourists, are sights that are equally remarkable. These are Bohol's natural and cultural wonders. Some of these sites earned worldwide interest, such as: the 1,268 perfectly-coned haycock hills, more popularly known as the Chocolate Hills, hunched together with elevations of 40-120 meters high. There are the Baclayon Church, the best-preserved Jesuit-built church in the region; and the reclusive Philippine Tarsier, the world's smallest primate endemic only to Bohol and a protected species.

Gradually taking shape is the 2,000-hectare Panglao Island Tourism Estate (PITE) just off Tagbilaran City. Declared as a flagship project of the government, the PITE is one of the five tourist satellite destinations in the country where investments in hotel/resort complexes, convention facilities, sports/recreational facilities, golf courses, shopping centers, retirement and handicrafts village and marina are being promoted.

Agriculture and Aquaculture

Its agricultural area is estimated at 60% of the total land area, or about 256,400 hectares. With most of its land utilized for agriculture, the province is considered as a potential food granary of the Central Visayas region.

Coconut is grown in 63,500 hectares. Rice, the staple crop, is cultivated in 50,561 hectares, with irrigated ricelands comprising only about 32%, or 19,259.04 hectares. Corn, on the other hand, is grown in 19,347 hectares. Mango is an emerging product with 120,000 fruit-bearing trees and 180,000 more by the turn of the century. Mango harvest reached 422 metric tons in 1996. But Bohol is best known for its ubi kinampay, an aromatic purple yam.

Prawns are directly exported to Japan. Lobster, seaweeds and milkfish are likewise harvested. Seaweeds of the eucheuma variety are cultured and marketed to Cebu for processing into various grades of carageenan.

Special Economic Zone

The northeastern strip of Bohol which faces Cebu has been identified as viable areas for development of Special Economic Zones (SEZ) as part of the Regional Growth Corridor (RGC). These SEZs shall enable the province to gain economic headway as an agro-industrial center in the region. Already, areas suitable for industrial sites have been consolidated to provide easy entry for investors.

Great opportunities exist for complementation between these SEZs and those found in the eastern coast of Cebu, such as the MEPZ I and II. Investment opportunities would be in the areas of agri-business, light manufacturing, and even eco-tourism.

Tagbilaran City serves as a major service center for various tourist packages in the province. Three major tourism circuits have been identified that offer diverse attractions to tourists and guests.

On top of all these, the Local Government Unit is providing a vibrant atmosphere for investments in Bohol. The Bohol Investment Code has been passed which establishes both fiscal and non-fiscal incentives, and investment mechanisms that are investor-friendly. Special assistance services will also be extended in the ecozones.

The Bohol Investment Promotion Center has been set up to cater to investors' needs.


Investment Opportunities

Eco-tourism
Accommodation Facilities
Nature Parks/Mountain Resort
Transportation Services
Golf Course
Restaurants/Food Outlets
Other tourism related services
Agri-business
Post Harvest Facilities
High Value Crop Production
Fruit/Meat Processing
Feed mill
Aquaculture
Light Manufacturing
Precision Assembly
Semiconductors
Farm Implements
Furniture/Furnishings
Garments
Services
Media/Advertising
Medical services/facilities
Information technology
Financial Services
Engineering/architectural services
Training and sports facilities
Development of Indigenous Power Sources
Human Resource Development

Infrastructure

Telecommunications

Bohol is wired with the rest of the world through the state-of-the-art telephone facilities that provide domestic and international linkages through the service providers PLDT, Cruztelco and Islacom. Cellular phone firms have also established entry in the province. Internet access is available with the three service providers now in Tagbilaran City.

Access to telecommunications can be made easily in the towns through the 138 public calling stations. Forty-three payphone stations are conveniently located in strategic places and major commercial centers in the city.

A project of Islacom involves the installation of province-wide landline connection, increasing the number of lines from 2,000 to 13,000.

Seaports

The Tagbilaran City wharf has fine port facilities, such as: 265.8 m of berth length and 2 dedicated berths for fast boats; two roro ramps; 18,000 m2 storage area; average cargo handling capacity of 49,000 tons accommodating 10-20 footer vans; container traffic of 5,142 TEUs, and 300 m2 transit shed.

A port expansion project in Tagbilaran City costing 85 million pesos is being pursued for the construction of additional berthing space for fast craft ferries.

Power

The province is fully energized by the National Power Corporation. The actual generation capability of 54.2 megawatts is supported by the following facilities:

Facility Capacity (MW)
Diesel Power 22.0
Loboc Hydroelectric 1.2
Hanopol Hydroelectric 5.0
Power Barge 101 26.0

The 21 billion-peso Leyte-Bohol interconnection will bring geothermal power of higher capacity base of 80-100 megawatts. Power rates are then expected to be very competitive.

Industries with power requirements of at least 100 kilowatts can apply for direct interconnection with NPC.

Water

Water supply is made available in Tagbilaran City and in the nearby municipalities on a 24-hour basis with the completion of the Tagbilaran Water Supply Project. Thirty-two deep wells with submersible pumps operate at a daily capacity of 19,000 cubic meters.

Several water projects are in the pipeline to respond to water requirements for both domestic and industrial use. The Central Visayas Water and Sanitation Project and the construction of Level III water systems have made water available in 16 other municipalities. Likewise, the development of Ujan Spring in Cortes with a daily capacity of 3,500 cubic meters and Loboc River are currently being pushed.

Road System

The road network is well developed, facilitating access to all barangays. The 2.6 billion-peso Bohol Circumferential Road Project, covering a total of 589 kilometers along the national highway, will improve the road network. Phase I of the project, which links about half of the province from Calape to Candijay, has been completed.

Amenities

Bohol has adequate accommodation facilities to offer to tourists and investors alike. In place are seven hotels, 36 lodging/pension houses, and 31 beach resorts. There are slightly over one thousand rooms of varying standards.

Other tourist facilities are nine diving shops, nine sports centers, eleven high-end diving resorts and 16 centers for shopping and recreation. There are nine establishments that can cater to conventions.

Likewise, a strong and enthusiastic banking sector has enabled the province to be at par with the rest of the urban centers in the country. There are 45 banking units providing modern banking facilities.

Executive Brief

General Information
Location Central Visayas
803 kilometers South of Manila
79 kilometers Southeast of Cebu
Capital Tagbilaran City
Nr. of Municipalities 47
Nr. of Barangaysb 1,109a
Land Area 411,726 hectares
Population
   Province 1,137,268a
   Tagbilaran City 77,700a
Language/Dialects Boholano, English, Tagalog and Chinese
Literacy Rate 95.57%c
Labor Force 686,000a
Climate Generally fair
Average temperature: 29°C
 
Commerce & Industry
Sectoral Establishments
DTI registered as of June 1998.
Manufacturing 762
Service 2,345
Wholesale/Retail 5,925
Total 9,032
Industrial Establishments Limestone mining, cassava, starch/glucose plant, galvanized iron sheets factory, soft drink bottling plant, frozen prawn, food processing, ice plant, handicraft, metalcraft, furniture, garments
Leading Non-traditional Exports Prawns, baskets, woven raffia
Leading Domestic Items Traded Galvanised iron sheets, limestone, handicrafts, marine products, rice, bananas, cattle, hogs, mangoes, fish, copra, garments
Leading Domestic Trade Partners Visayas, Mindanao
Arable Area 256,400 hectares
Land Classification
   Certified alienable & disposable 310,455 hectares
   Classified forests 101,271 hectares
Agri/Aqua Products Rice, corn, coconut, root crops, vegetables, fruits, poultry, fish, prawns, crabs, seaweeds
Power Capacity 54.2 MW
Water Supply 19,000 cubic meters daily
Road Network 5,383.589 kilometers
   National 588.879
   Provincial 971.361
   City 66.569
   Municipal 277.310
   Barangay 3,479.490
 
Seaports (Domestic)
Base Ports Tagbilaran City
Terminal Ports Tubigon, Jagna, Ubay, Talibon
Subports Catagbacan (Loon), Getafe
Municipal/fish ports 15
Private Ports 2
 
Airports (Domestic) Tagbilaran City Airport
 
Land Transportation
Taxicabs 50
Bus Companies 23
Vehicles for Hire 3,395
Trucking services 9
 
Communications
Telephone lines 36,890
Cellular phone firms 3
Telecommunications companies 3
Radio stations (AM, FM) 5
Cable stations 5
Messengerial/Courier 7
Post Offices 49
Newspapers 4
Internet service providers 3
Trade publication 1
 
Financial Systems
Commercial banks 11
Development banks 20
Government banks 3
Cooperative bank 1
Savings banks 4
Rural banks 8
ATM facilities 7
International credit cards available 6
Lending firms 65
Pawnshops 70

a According to the NSO census of 2000.
b The smallest political subdivision, a neighborhood.
c 1994 FLEMMS.

Operating Costs of Doing Business

Minumum Wage Rates

Sector City Province
Peso / day Peso / day
Non-agricultural 145 136-145
Cottage/Handicraft 136-140 124-128
Retail/Service 128-145 116-145
Agricultural 130 120-130

Electric Power

Supplier Residential Commercial
Peso / kWh Peso / kWh
Bohol Light Co. 4.86845 5.02475
BOHECO I 5.00 5.02
BOHECO II 6.4577 6.5077

Water

Supplier Residential and Commercial
Consumption Range
cubic meters
Price
Bohol Water Utilities-Tagbilaran City 0-9 65.00 Peso (flat rate)
10 6.80 Peso / cubic meter
11-20 7.60 Peso / cubic meter
21-30 8.78 Peso / cubic meter
31 and above 17.87 Peso / cubic meter

Real Estate

Location Price Range
Peso / sq. m.
Along CPG Avenue (Main Street) 30,000 - 40,000
Along CPG North Avenue (Main Street) 10,000 - 20,000
Beach Areas 1,000 - 1,500
Residential 50 - 1,500
Commercial 1,000 - 40,000
Industrial 1,000 - 40,000
Agricultural 50 - 1,000
In the towns 50 - 1,000

Rent

Type Price Range
Peso
Residential 5,000 - 10,000 / month
Commercial 100 - 300.00 / sq. m.

Telephone

Supplier Residential Commercial
Peso Peso
PLDT Installement fee 2,816.80 4,188.60
Monthly fee 75.00 90.00
CruztelcoInstallement fee 2,541.00 2,541.00
Monthly fee 326.70 571.73
Islacom Installement fee 2,538.14 3,668.90
Monthly fee 445.57 748.89
Type Rate
National (Long Distance Call) P 4.00 - 8.00/min.
International $ 0.49 - 0.99/min.

Airfreight

Route (one way) First kilogram Succeeding kilograms
Peso Peso / kg
Tagbilaran-Manila 88.00 48.00

Shipping Freight

Route (one way) Class A Class B Class C
Peso per cubic meter, EVAT Exclusive
Tagbilaran-Manila 772.00 617.00 502.00
Tagbilaran-Cebu 185.00 148.00 120.00

Social Security & Medicare

For employed members

Range of Compensation Salary Credit Employer's Contribution Employee's Contribution
11,750 & above 12,000 618.00 400.00
11,250-11,749.99 11,500 592.70 383.30
10,750-11,249.99 11,000 567.30 366.70
10,250-10,749.99 10,500 542.00 350.00
9,750-10,249.99 10,000 516.70 333.03
9,250-9,749.99 9,500 491.30 316.70
8,750-9,249.99 9,000 466.00 300.00
8,250-8,749.99 8,500 440.70 283.30
7,750-8,249.99 8,000 415.30 266.70
7,250-7,749.99 7,500 390.00 250.00
6,750-7,249.99 7,000 364.70 233.30
6,250-6,749.99 6,500 339.30 216.70
5,750-6,249.99 6,000 314.00 200.00
5,250-5,749.99 5,500 288.00 183.30
4,750-5,249.99 5,000 263.30 166.70
4,250-4,749.99 4,500 238.00 150.00
3.750-4,249.99 4,000 212.70 133.30
3,250-3,749.99 3.500 187.30 116.70
2,750-3,249.99 3,000 162.00 100.00
2,250-2,749.99 2,500 136.70 83.30
1,750-2,249.99 2,000 111.30 66.70
1,250-1,749.99 1,500 86.00 50.00
1,000-1,249.99 1,000 60.70 33.30

Cost of Living

1994 data

Peso
Average family income 38,187
Average family expenditure 28,841
Average family savings 9,346
Average family income 29,052
Average family expenditure 22,411
Average family threshold 5,978

Business Contacts

Bohol Investment Promotion Center (BIPC)
Office of the Governor, Capitol Compound, Tagbilaran City
Phone (63-38) 411-4559, 501-9676
Email: boholipc@mozcom.com
Web Site: www.bohol.gov.ph

Department of Trade and Industry
Bohol Provincial Office
2nd Floor, FCB Building, C.P.G. North Avenue, Tagbilaran City
Phone (63-38) 411-3302, 411-3533
Telefax (63-38) 411-3236
Email: dtibohol@bohol-online.com

Bohol Chamber of Commerce and Industry
4th Floor, FCB Building, C.P.G. North Avenue, Tagbilaran City
Telefax (63-38) 411-5910

Small and Medium Enterprise Development Center (SMED)
c/o DTI Office
2nd Floor, FCB Building, C.P.G. North Avenue, Tagbilaran City
Phone (63-38) 411-3302, 411-3533
Telefax (63-38) 4113236
Email: maverick@mozcom.com

Tagbilaran City Government
City Hall Compound, Tagbilaran City
Phone (63-38) 411-3130; 411-3715; 411-3720
Fax (63-38) 411-4405

Comparative Trade & Industry Economic Indicators

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
INVESTMENTS
New Business Establishment
DTI Registered 960 659 524 618 594 402*
Initial Capitalization for New Business
DTI Registered
in million Pesos
228.44 235.86 8,654 132.40 106.056 225.82*
BOI-Registered
in million Pesos
56.45 74.46 # 7,501 # #
UTILITIES
Power
in million MWh
   Consumption 0.09 0.077 0.08509 0.0828 1.0385 0.5883*
   Generation 0.10 0.107 0.11240 0.1183400.783865 0.3794*
Water
in million cubic meters
   Consumption 4.629 3.664 5.22093 3.60338 3.009848 1.8549*
   Generation 3.952 6.498 9.52260 4.39998 4.083558 2.6015*
CONSTRUCTION
Cement Production
in million 40 kg bags
1.35 1.898 1.84232 1.830 1.692 .852*
Construction Activities
   Residential 1645 972 681 646 705 333*
   Commercial 193 247 131 125 90 28*
   Institutional 46 380 299 23 11 34*
   Others (industrial/infra) 568 436 783 160 108 16*
VISITOR TRAFFIC
in thousands
Incoming Passengers
   By Boat 1277.1 1480.71 1865.76 1566.290 1753.266 960.471
   By Plane 30 26.17 193.01 162.52 139.80 31.86
Tourist Arrivals
   Domestic 27.67 42.829 63.290 60.283 52.730 35.682
   Foreign 19.39 29.63 30.03 32.785 15.686 7.898
CARGO STATISTICS
in millions tonnes
Domestic: Inbound 0.54545 0.940453 0.803842 0.814924 0.831420 0.382345
Domestic: Outbound 0.19360 1.10201 0.941386 0.911118 1.070104 0.484072
Foreign: Inbound 0.831420 0.11610
Foreign: Outbound 0.909252 0.596364 0.407237 0.205671
TELECOM
Telephone lines
in thousands
10,413 9,130 39,513 3,689 1,208 #
TRANSPORTATION
Registered vehicles
   Private 13,526 20,594 10,957 16,865 16,150 5,152
   Government 864 723 582 747 603 191
   For Hire 2,540 4,716 1,993 4,006 3,240 1,303
BIR REVENUE COLLECTIONS
in million Pesos
214 212.39 26 243.6 93.00 75.214
EMPLOYMENT (%)
   Employment rate 91.60 86.30 86.30 90.5 93 93
   Unemployment rate 8.40 13.70 13.70 13.70 7 7
   Underemployment rate 44.59 5.20 5.20 11.70 2.9 #
SHIPCALLS 7478 7478* 7478* 13,709 13,706 6,729
DOLLAR REMITTANCES
in millions
13.03 13.03* 13.03*
FUEL CONSUMPTION
in million liters
65.310 69.89 69.89
APPLIANCE SALES
in millions
79.820 85.43 85.43

BIPC

What readers think...

Jesse Bridges wrote:
Wednesday, 15 June 2022 14:06:06 PHT
Hello, I am an American from. California. I have spent my life in the construction industry working my way up to a superintendent position building schools throughout Sacramento county in USA. I am looking to place roots I. Bohol or some Philippines island. I have management skills as running an American job building schools is fast pace and requires a ton of multitasking and the ability to improvise and organize many trades. Quality and fairness are huge in my profession and my beliefs. I'm open to any opportunity which you may have to offer. I'm 39 years old and willing to learn as well as put in the effort to make a business successful. Please let me know if you have any suggestions or questions. Thank you for your time .
Cliff Persigas wrote:
Saturday, 6 June 2020 19:54:17 PHT
I am looking for a very good location farmland around 2-5 hectares with water and accessible to road anywhere in Bohol. Thank you.
Bohol Online Store wrote:
Tuesday, 4 February 2020 23:33:57 PHT
We deliver grocery items in Bohol, Philippines. If you are an OFW, overseas worker or far from Bohol, and you want to send money to your family, instead of money you can send them groceries. Visit our website at www.boholonlinestore.com Or send us an email at storebohol@gmail.com
Blue Freedom Apnea wrote:
Monday, 6 January 2020 12:18:33 PHT
There is new freediving school open in Panglao, Bohol. They are non-profit organization that offer AIDA and Molchanovs courses from beginner level to instructor level. If you want to explore Balicasag island in Panglao, you can also do fun dive with them. Checkout their website is https://bluefreedomapnea.com . You can also send an enquiry to their enquiry page Send Enquiry. #freedive #freediving panglao #freediving bohol #freediving philippines
John Patrick wrote:
Sunday, 7 July 2019 15:33:47 PHT
To those who wanted to buy a COMMERCIAL LOT in PANGDAN, JAGNA, BOHOL Area of about 1,950 sq. meter, best for hotels, resort, restaurants(Jollibee, Mang Inasal, KFC) at a very low price or you can also have a business partner with me. You can contact my cellphone number (Globe) +639952942216 . You can free to ask anytime.

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