The visit of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo augurs well for trade and commerce in Bohol.

This is so because of the ports which were formally opened to become parcels of the Strong Republic Nautical Highway - which is the inter-island travel and transport in the Visayas and Mindanao.

The arrival of the President last Tuesday was indeed timely for the Boholanos to traditionally display their brand of hospitality (as especially pronounced) during the "fiesta month" of May which kicked off last Thursday - the city fiesta of Tagbilaran.

There is no other province in the country where fiestas are celebrated everyday, from May 1 to 31. With the renowned hospitality of the Boholanos, people who hold a list of fiesta dates can spare their kitchen from any chores if they just hop from one town and barangay to the other to dine during fiestas.

It is in Bohol, (the President may not have known) that one does not have to get invited to dine. All homes are "open house" in this fiesta month of May. But back to the ports.

The Tubigon and Jagna ports were both recently expanded to become part of this "nautical highway" which brings Visayas and Mindanao provinces just a mere "one step away" from one another.

We believe that the progress of Bohol, especially in the area of tourism, comes because of her accessibility from most parts of the country. For instance, Bohol is an hour away by air from Manila and 1.5 hours by ferry from Cebu which undoubtedly is commercial and most populous hub of the region.

With these additional ports, we expect more trade and commerce to briskly develop in the province. During the last 7 years, we learned that Bohol ports development got P278 million. That's no sneezing figure.

The Tubigon port where the President arrived before noontime Tuesday is the closest link to Cebu City while Jagna Port where she exited before sundown is the opening to and from the Promise Land of Mindanao.

GMA's visit became part of history as it symbolically linked Cebu, Bohol, Camiguin and Cagayan de Oro in one nautical highway. Without an iota of doubt, tourism will benefit since many travelers from Bohol have been looking for access, for instance, just to reach Camiguin island which is a tourists' haven as well. Just to name one example.

The economics of tourism will bring many of the Filipinos to travel not just with this new-found great convenience but, with a very affordable fare (as well) in reaching their destinations. Definitely, domestic tourism has come of age - where Filipinos do travel primarily to view local sites just so for them not to become a stranger in their own country.

Bohol, which is known to be one of the favored provinces of the Arroyo administration, should maximize its efforts to ride-on the infrastructure projects implemented in this island province.

Yet, that tourism aside - and amid the rice crisis, we know Bohol has more to offer in agriculture.

But, it is sad to note that there are also millions of government funds wasted in the province meant for agriculture development. The Talibon irrigation dam, which Boholanos consider as the biggest proven scam, continues to look for an answer as to where the P175 million went with the unfinished dam.

The president should not ignore the fact that Boholanos are wondering aloud why until now no case has been filed by the Sandiganbayan against officials including those from the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) even as the Ombudsman (Visayas) found prima facie evidence against NIA officials.

No one got suspended, no case has been elevated to the Sandiganbayan for over two years now.

The President remains answerable to the Boholanos in this regard. Instead of reprimanding or suspending people involved in the anomalous irrigation project, the government instead poured another batch of millions of pesos to pursue the project. As if no single centavo was wasted - and the subsequent action was just par for the course.

We await a word on this from Madam President. People expect that projects are not only economically beneficial but can stand the acid tests of integrity, accountability and transparency as well.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo - for the nth time in her political career has visited this one province that is obviously close to her heart and purse.

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