BSP Bohol office gives province rosy prospects

CEBU, Philippines — Bohol province could be seeing a bright economic future.

Looking forward, one of the drivers seen to support the province’s economic expansion is the establishment of a full branch of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

Bohol Governor Edgar Chatto said the groundbreaking for Bohol’s BSP office will be in July.

The BSP full branch will rise in Dauis, Panglao Island in Bohol, where the province’s new international airport is located.

The new Panglao International Airport will start commercial operations in August.

“This is a very positive indicator of the business community’s trust in Bohol’s booming economic growth leading towards the province’s major role in contributing to the realization of our regional and national development agenda,” the official told The FREEMAN.

Late last year, the Monetary Board (MB) had approved the establishment of a BSP full branch in Bohol.

The plan mirrors Bohol’s bullish economic growth amid the continued expansion of its banking sector which should support pick up business activity.

The MB approval includes the project location and procurement of the building which cost P300 million, Chatto had said.

The full BSP branch in Bohol will have conference, research and information technology facilities to ensure quick banking services

The BSP branch will rise near the Bohol-Panglao island airport, but on the Dauis side.

Panglao island consists of the municipalities of Panglao, where the airport is located, and Dauis.

As of end 2017, bank branches in Bohol stood at 100, 43 of which are in provincial capital Tagbilaran City, data from the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp data showed.

Deposits held by Bohol-based banks as of 2017 also reached P37.587 billion while the number of bank accounts stood at 558,126, PDIC data also showed.