Presidential aspirant Vice President Leni Robredo speaks before a crowd of about 80,000 pink-clad supporters during a campaign rally dubbed “Dilaab: Bohol People’s Rally” in Tagbilaran City, Bohol on Friday, April 1, 2022./photo by Leo Udtohan, Inquirer Visayas
TAGBILARAN CITY, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo has vowed to help Bohol in its tourism recovery and provide stable power supply should she win in the elections.
Speaking before 80,000 people during the “Dilaab: Bohol People’s Rally” at old Tagbilaran Airport on Friday night (April 1), Robredo stressed that the province’s sustainable tourism development was needed to draw more visitors and hasten tourism recovery.
“In this pandemic, tourism is one of the sectors most affected. And the Boholanos can feel it. The lost revenue in the province due to the pandemic is already billions,” she said in Filipino.
The pandemic brought the global tourism industry to its knees last year. The sector in Bohol was not spared.
On Panglao Island, the tourism jewel of Bohol, resorts, hotels, cafes and restaurants were closed with only a handful few were operating during the pandemic.
Tourism makes up 15% of Bohol economic output. Bohol hosted 1.5 million foreign and domestic tourists in 2019, with Chinese visitors leading the arrivals, followed by Koreans, records from the Bohol Tourism Office showed.
These tourists disappeared when provinces started closing their borders as strict quarantine guidelines had to be followed in March 2020 in a bid to control the spread of COVID-19.
There were 85,000 tourists from January to February 2020 before the lockdown in 2020.
The provincial government created programs to lure tourists. In November 2020, Bohol reopened to local visitors who arrived by plane, ending the travel ban in hopes of reviving a lockdown-devastated tourism industry that has fed many Boholano workers in the different tourism services.
“Ang pangako ko po sa mga Boholano na palakasin at paunlarin ang buong industriya at lahat na bahagi nito-mga empleyado, mga negosyo pati komunidad mismo. Sisiguraduhin natin na turismo ay hindi lang safe kundi sustainable,” said Robredo.
(My commitment to the Boholanos is to strengthen and develop the entire industry and all its components — employees, businesses and the community itself. We will make sure that tourism is not only safe but sustainable.)
Power supply remains a big problem in Bohol as brownouts are frequent in the province.
“Naalala ko ang tagal ninyo nawalan ng kuryente. Ang pangako ko po sa inyo ang Bohol personal kong tututukan ito para masiguro ang suplay ninyo bukod na sapat iyo dapat lagi ninyong maaasahan,” said Robredo.
(I remember the time you lost your power supply. I promise you Bohol, I will personally focus on it to ensure your supply besides you have enough you should always rely on.)
Even as a prime tourist destination, Bohol still does not have a sufficient in-island power supply and has been largely dependent on energy sources in Leyte to meet its daily power requirement.
The daily power requirement for Bohol is 90 megawatts (MW).
When a 5.9 magnitude earthquake hit Leyte Province on July 6, 2017, it damaged the geothermal plants.
After Typhoon Odette hit the province on December 16, 2021, it affected the province’s power supply.
Robredo’s rally in Tagbilaran was one of the three rallies her team held in Bohol.
Earlier in the afternoon, Robredo and running mate, Sen. Kiko Pangilinan visited Jagna town where 3,000 people showed up in the rally inside the Jagna gyamnasium past 1:30 p. m.
After Jagna, Robredo and Pangilinan proceeded to Talibon town for another rally.
But it was in Tagbilaran where the crowd was at its biggest.
At least 80,000 people filled the more than half of the 1.7-kilometer long runway of the old Tagbilaran City Airport.
Robredo likened the rally to a fiesta celebration, which Boholanos would celebrate in the whole month of May.
Even before Robredo took the stage at around 8 p.m, pink-clad supporters already trooped to the venue where they watched the performances of artists such Yeng Constantino, Gab Valenciano, Sponge Cola and Ben & Ben.
Robredo’s Senate slate were introduced and only their representatives campaigned for them. Only reelectionist Senator Richard Gordon was present.
Human rights lawyer and activist Neri Javier Colmenares was seen in Jagna town during the Leni-Kiko rally but he was not seen on stage.
In between chants of “Leni!” and “Madam President,” Robredo thanked Boholanos for voting for her in 2016 elections.
She won by just 283,589 votes against her rival, former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. who had 79,729 votes.
Bohol has 949,791 registered voters, making it 20th vote rich-vote province.
Now, Robredo asked for the same support to the Boholanos.
“Makasalig ba ako sa maong suporta? Nga maangkon nato ang mas labaw pang kadaugan?” asked Robredo.
(Can I count on such support? That we can have even more victories?)
Amid cheers, Robredo said she and Pangilinan were offering a governance where people would be inspired to help and contribute.
“Ang inyong yangungo atuang paminawon, kung aduna moy problema atuang sulbarun. Paningkamutan nato. Ito po ang totoong unity, hindi pagkakaisa ng mga pulitiko, kundi pagkakaisa ng mga Pilipino. Pagkakaisa ng pagmamahal, pagkakaisa ng pangarap, pagkakaisa ng pag-asa,” Robredo said.
(We will listen to your grievances. If you have a problem, we will try to solve it. Let’s try. This is the true unity, not the unity of politicians, but the unity of Filipinos. Unity of love, unity of dreams, unity of hope.)