Like his political ally President GMA, Governor Erico Aumentado without saying so many words, (in his heart) would like to leave a respectable, lasting legacy to Boholanos.

In his last two and a half years of service as Governor, Boholanos will always remember him as a workaholic governor whose monumental efforts to have concreted roads all over this island province have been amply rewarded with concrete results (pun intended).

Not even during the term of a sitting Boholano president Caloy Garcia could the asphalting of the provincial road network be done. In fairness to the Boholano Great, President Caloy said he wanted to be seen as a "president of all Filipinos, not just Boholanos.' Be that as it may.

It might also be during his last term that the gigantic Panglao Bohol International Airport can commence (or even completed?) - giving flesh to one of the most powerful adjuncts to make Bohol Tourism roar to its Great Leap Forward. It should be Erico's "must list" that the airport be perfect -engineering wise (unlike the famous NAIA-3 that had to be "rehabilitated" to be operational by 2008) and the bidding process for its construction be transparent as through a looking glass.

Aumentado will then have truly stamped his name as one of Bohol Tourism's heroes.

But even as Boholanos savor these major projects, we can't help but look forward on what this workaholic governor has to do before he leaves the Capitol, barely 30 months from now. Let's consider some blind spots, booby traps and opportunities:
1. Bohol is facing a near shortfall in energy power. All we have is maximum capacity of 90 megawatts with a maximum demand of 52 megawatts or just 38 short of facing full utilization. Where will new tourist projects and investors get their source of power incrementally five years from now?

We heard that there is sufficient power supply from Cebu which can be accessible for Bohol connection. Some forward planning must be in place because energy investments can drain government coffers and take time to complete. By year 2010, Bohol could experience brownouts if we miss to address this urgent and basic concern.

2. Bohol has sufficient supply of water, but we lack the infrastructure support to flush out these gallons of water to our homes. Even the resorts in Panglao - after all these years - are still awaiting when the first drop of water will fall from a reliable, potable water source. It remains an irony that while Bohol is settled in a huge basin of water supply, we don't have enough water for our basic drinking needs.

Bohol can turn this Nature's gift into an income-generating opportunity to sell water to the neighboring province of Cebu which is now a veritable "desert" due to lack of reforestation initiatives amid a continuing development of subdivisions in the mountainous areas in Cebu City and suburbs.

3. Bohol needs to beef up our medical services. Thousands of the poor barrio folks who are distant from the basic health services know painfully well how unavailable medicines are at the devolved hospitals operating under the provincial government. For the tourism value as well, we can have no confidence in inviting more tourists and retirees to stay here without the upgrading of our medical facilities. No moneyed person wants to die out of style.

Affluent Bohoanos, in fact, until now go to Cebu if they want "better" medical checkups. Certainly, Bohol needs diagnostic centers and affordable, accessible medicines to maintain a vibrant and healthy community.

4. Bohol needs to re-evaluate its agricultural development program. While we are aware of billions (not millions, mind you) spent for gigantic irrigation projects here, questions abound whether there really exists good "value-for-money" benefit in terms of grain harvests and farmer productivity.

The Boholano taxpayers (who will help pay for these loans) can not understand why government wastes billions of pesos with questionable irrigation projects, when we can do this better on small impounding irrigation projects a hundred times cheaper but whose usefulness may triple compared to those budget-eating monsters. Let's be honest - who are really benefiting from these near "white elephants?"

So, while we welcome the Panglao airport development project, we strongly believe the proposed bridge linking Bohol and Cebu could be far more cost efficient for the government to undertake. We, therefore, humbly postulate that a serious study be made on the "3-in-1" concept in using this bridge from Getafe (Bohol) to Cordova (Cebu).

The bridge can be the transmission point for both the power lines from Cebu and water pipes from (Inabanga) Bohol. This can also mean quick land access for tourists from Cebu and vice-versa. Instantly the power shortage can be solved while the income generated from the water business can become a major economic driver for the province, instead of just wasting this water out to the open seas. Why not do a "water-for-power" swap deal between Cebu and Bohol - so not much cash-out may be involved?

We earnestly hope the remaining 30 months will be inspiring months for Gov. Aumentado for him to lay the ground work for these WHAP (water, health, agriculture, power) projects, ready for his successor to implement.

Since he will bow out in 2010 as governor, Boholanos should start evaluating (even now) who would be most qualified to carry on these needed projects after Aumentado hopefully leaves behind a legacy of good roads in the entire province - and perhaps a sensational airport to boot.

For Comments: email to bingo_dejaresco@boholchronicle.com Or editor@boholchronicle.com