Local Convergence

Bohol

In recent years, Bohol has found renewed prosperity through tourism but along with other beach destinations in the country, the tourism sector was truly devastated by the onslaught of COVID-19. While more jobs have been created by the tourism boom, many of Bohol’s poor remain in the agricultural sector and are still suffering from a lack of access to safe water. Having recognized the lack of knowledge on existing poverty situations, the Bohol convergence strives to share the ZEP2030 initiatives to its local stakeholders with the intentions of bringing them together and aligning poverty reduction priorities in Bohol.

  Highlights:

Poverty
  • 47,355 poor families (2018)
  • Poverty incidence reduced by more than half to over the past decade, now at 15.5%
  • High vulnerability: 43% of poor lost incomes during the COVID-19 pandemic
Local Convergence
  • Bohol Integrated Development Foundation, Inc. (BIDEF) leading the Bohol Convergence
  • Pressing on to spread the ZEP2030 initiatives to local stakeholders
Partnerships
Compared to its neighboring islands Cebu and Leyte, Bohol has a slightly lower magnitude of poor families (47,355). The provincial government’s Bohol Program Framework on Poverty Reduction, hand in hand with the continuous efforts of civil society organizations, enabled Bohol’s poverty incidence rate to drop from 40.25% in 2006 to 15.5% in 2018. The majority of Bohol’s poor individuals earn their living from the Agricultural, Forestry, and Fishery sector (55,751) and Mining and Quarrying (28,438). Common poverty indicators for the residents of Bohol are the absence of water piping and protected wells (7.4%) and family members aged 5-17 not attending school (6.8%).

Visualization of Available Poverty Data

According to the ZEP-UNDP COVID Pulse PH Survey, 65% of the Covid Pulse PH respondents in Bohol expressed in Q1 2021 that their income worsened compared to the previous year while 43% have lost their jobs or were forced to close down their businesses. Despite the decline in income, few respondents have expressed a certain level of recovery from the pandemic, and reasons for improvement were attributed to receiving support from the government, going back to their previous jobs, and having sideline work/businesses. What remains to be the main obstacle to economic recovery is the irregularity of income due to prevailing COVID-19 restrictions.

COVID Pulse PH Survey Findings

The Bohol Integrated Development Foundation, Inc. (BIDEF), an organization focusing on capacity building to propel sustainable development, is the local convenor for the Bohol convergence that first met in October 2019. Civil society organizations who attended welcomed the ZEP2030 initiatives with much hope for Bohol’s future, however, the outbreak of the pandemic has put all convergence activities to a halt. Ready to get right back on track, BIDEF carried out the COVID Pulse PH survey in Bohol and is driven to share the results to NGOs and local government units to revive poverty reduction projects in the province and proceed with the Poverty Probability Index survey.

Success Stories from the Field

Inspiration and power can spark out of the tiniest wick. With only less than a decade towards its vision, ZEP2030 continuously expands and builds bridges with allies and partners across the country. The inception of the Bohol Local Convergence arose from this.

The Philippine Partnership for Development of Human Resources in Rural Areas (PhilDHRRA), lead organization of the ZEP2030 Agriculture and Fisheries cluster, spearheaded the effort to bring the ZEP2030 Movement to Bohol, one of its identified target areas. PhilDHRRA tapped into its network of partner government agencies, peoples organizations, and non-government organizations, among them the Bohol Integrated Development Foundation, Inc. (BIDEF).
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Map of Local Convergence Members

Bohol Convergence Members
Bohol Integrated Development Foundation, Inc. (BIDEF)

To collaborate with the ZEP Bohol Convergence, reach out to BIDEF at bidefbohol@yahoo.com