Bohol, most business-friendly in Visayas

BOHOL has bagged another award – this time as the 2006 Most Business-Friendly Province in the Visayas conferred by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI). Maria Fe Dominise, head of the Bohol Investment Promotion Center a satellite office under the Office of the Governor and Norris Oculam, president of the Bohol Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) accepted the award on behalf of Gov. Erico Aumentado during the Gala Night of the Philippine Business Conference (PBC).

The governor was still at the Century Park Hotel presiding over the National Executive Board meeting of the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP). Dominise and Oculam accepted the award from Vice President Noli de Castro, PCCI President Donald Dee, lawyer Miguel Varela who chairs the 32nd PBC Awards Committee and Undersecretary Carissa Cruz Evangelista of the Regional Operations Group of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

Bringing the plaque home, Aumentado said it is a recognition of Bohol 's efforts to attract investors. He emphasized however that it he is steering Team Bohol not for the awards and distinction alone, but primarily to generate jobs for the Boholanos. While the Bohol Employment and Placement Office (BEPO) also under the Office of the Governor has been matching Boholanos with employers here and overseas, Aumentado still express that wish that paisanos would no longer need to go outside of the province just to be gainfully employed as this would be stressful especially on growing families.

The governor looks forward to better employment opportunities here through investors locating in the province, and for the Boholanos to gain enough skills to be entrepreneurs. By then, he said, his ideal of reducing poverty in his constituents shall have been realized.

l