TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, July 26 (PIA) –  Bohol Gov. Arthur Yap has urged Boholanos to respond to the call for healing, unity and sacrifice for others as a call for greatness in these extraordinary times.

Speaking before the Sangguniang Panlalawigan in session to give his last State of the Province Address (SOPA) for his first term, the governor delivered his reported through a video presentation that made up the majority of the chief executive’s report this year.

Yap set the tone of his address with what could be the continuing defining issue of the year: the coronavirus disease.

While citing the heroic work of the Boholanos working in the frontlines of medical health and peace and security braving the risk of fighting the virus, the governor said Bohol’s rebid to restart tourism may happen soon with Bohol now waiting for accreditation for the Department of Tourism’s international tourism green lanes.

Getting increasingly dependent on its tourism as an economic engine in the pre-COVID months, Bohol's economy has since slowed down to a crawl with international and domestic tourism on halt as the country’s bid to contain the spread of the virus.

Yap, in his video report, talked about the modernization of hospitals and clinics, making sure that dialysis machines are available outside of Tagbilaran City.

He said over half of the dialysis machines have been delivered to local hospitals so that Boholanos need not go to the city to be served, as the provincial leadership strives to approximate the services of the country’s leading hospitals in its ten province-owned health facilities.

While in the lull of economic activities brought about by the pandemic, Bohol looked at its agriculture industry and introduced science, mechanization, and application of the economies of scale to maximize farm outputs.

Using science, mechanization, proper inputs and subsidies as well as technologies, the governor reported stellar farmers' performance in rain-fed and irrigated rice fields, aggressive artificial insemination resulting to better dairy animals that are now supplying the targeted nutritional feeding program, and an improved native chicken production that could boost Bohol’s chances of feeding its people and tourists as soon as the industry reopens. 

Looking at the scarcity of feed stocks brought about by the African Swine Fever (ASF) travel ban, the governor said Bohol steered into corn, root crops, coconut and rice for a local feed mill industry that insulate the domestic hog industry from the effects of ASF. 

As the former secretary of agriculture, Yap said Agriculture Secretary William Dar lauded Bohol for choosing priorities that jibe with "One DA Transformation" goal. 

As to potable water development, aside from the P1-million fund for local government unit water supply development and rehabilitation, Bohol funded the water desalination plants of Pandanon Island Getafe, Pamilacan Island Baclayon, and soon-to-be implemented Cuaming Island plant in Inabanga. 

For power, Bohol banked on the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines Interconnection Project while waiting for the finalization of the mainland based power supply development currently bidding on Bohol Energy Development Advisory Group’s One Bohol Power goal. 

Capping his address, the governor reiterated his call for healing, unity and sacrifice, for Boholanos to survive COVID-19 and help re-engineer Bohol’s recovery. (RAHC/PIA7 Bohol)