Bohol in Rene Guioguio’s youth

This insightful piece was written and shared by retired UP Diliman journalism professor and a friend, Dr. Reynaldo Guioguio. While it is about Bohol, Rene raises the important issue of lingering poverty that needs to be resolved throughout our country.

Entitled “Bohol of My Youth,” Rene wrote:

“I am in “Matabao, Tubigon, Bohol, tapping on my laptop with internet images coming in at an agonizing speed of one 1 mega byte per second. My service connection may be primitive so to speak, but out here, this basic broadband connection is progress indeed. Now, things are starting to stir at least; and not soon enough for my home province which had long been consigned into the backburner of the country’s economic development.”

“Way back then, going to Tagbilaran from Tubigon was an ordeal that would make the most intrepid of travelers swear to high heavens. The road network then was a combination of dirt and asphalt sections with the dust from the dirt portions literally swamping the bus travelers with what we call then as “DPWH or public works talcum powder”. One can travel in a closed-window vehicle to avoid the dust plague but with no air-conditioning, the interior heat could surely push one’s blood pressure to near boiling point. Thank goodness, Bohol’s roads now, except for some rehab works being done after the 2013 7.2 magnitude earthquake, are currently a pleasant driving experience. The province has moved forward; yet there are still things that have remained as they were.”

“There is still the desolate picture of shanty huts where majority of residents reside --- where fisherfolks and farm families eke out their daily sustenance from lands that are drying up and seas where the catch have drifted far off shore because of over-fishing. It is this slow grinding and immutable poverty that besets the byroads and shoreline of the province, far away from the commercial verve reshaping Tagbilaran or from the bustle of ascendant towns like Calape or Tubigon. Out there, the real country begins; where the masses of Filipinos remain huddled in their hovels and their children caught in the vicious cycle of poverty due to lack or inadequate education and dire need of employment opportunities.”

“Like a growing child, Bohol would be analogous to an adolescent whose head and main torso may have grown these past decades but whose essential appendages; its arms and legs, are still half formed and too weak to propel the body forward. Therefore, for those concerned with transforming this laid-back and oft neglected island province into the ranks of 21st century progressive and livable communities, its leaders and concerned sectors must work together to make the province not just a pleasant destination to visit but an enviable place to live, work and nurture all Boholanos and their children’s children as well.”

“Bohol has its share of perils and opportunities. Consider the earthquake and the strength and indomitable spirit of its people that allowed the province to rebuild and to normalize. Yet the scars run deep and there are still households and building rubble that have yet to be put in order. The burden of loss for many Boholanos, especially among the poor, need to be addressed squarely and resources put to bear to address them. The people themselves are the most valuable resource that must be mobilized to harness the wealth that nature has endowed the province. Perhaps then, Bohol could finally attain the maturity of a whole person, in full strength and vigor --- confident and with head high in facing the challenges of the future.”