TAGBILARAN CITY — The provincial government opened bids on May 20 for a ₱10‑million project to widen the Junction Corella–Balilihan Road, a critical connector linking the Loboc interior to Tagbilaran City. The 60‑day contract includes road widening, concrete paving, and slope protection.
The project is one of 29 provincial roads Governor Aris Aumentado is pushing to convert to national highways. Speaking after a meeting with DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon, Aumentado said national classification would unlock larger federal budgets. The Corella–Balilihan road carries heavy traffic and serves key institutions.
A University Campus, a Sports Complex, and a 2,500‑Student Catchment
The road directly serves the 8‑hectare Bohol Island State University–Balilihan Campus. Over 2,500 students and staff rely on the corridor daily. A new sports complex—the Sen. Ed Angara Sports Complex—is being built to national and international standards.
The university has transformed surrounding barangays into a rental and commercial hub. Student demand for dormitories, apartments, food stalls, and retail outlets has already attracted small‑scale investors. The road widening, by cutting travel time and making the corridor safer, is likely to accelerate that trend.
A 1.6‑Kilometer Precedent and the Right‑of‑Way Standoff
The Corella–Balilihan road forms part of the Tagbilaran–Corella–Sikatuna–Loboc network, a growing corridor of freshly paved highways. On March 18, Governor Aumentado opened the newly concreted Sikatuna–Sevilla via Cambuac Sur Road—a ₱40‑million, 1.6‑kilometer stretch built under the province’s road management program.
That project delivered what the province now wants for Corella–Balilihan: safer travel, shorter commutes, and higher land values. However, the national conversion is blocked by an unresolved right‑of‑way dispute in Corella, where the LGU has yet to secure private land for the future national road.
A 60‑Day Road Works Contract That Property Markets Will Watch
The invitation to bid closed on May 20, with a ₱10‑million approved budget. The 60‑day contract requires completion by late July. Once widened, the road will further connect Corella and Balilihan to Bohol’s booming tourism‑and‑retirement market.
Property analysts have noted that infrastructure is the primary driver of land‑value appreciation in Bohol’s interior towns. The Corella–Balilihan corridor, already anchored by BISU and the Angara Sports Complex, is now competing with coastal municipalities for residential investment. The bidding window may have closed, but the transformation of this road has only just begun.
