Tagbilaran
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Tagbilaran, officially the City of Tagbilaran ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Tagbilaran), is a 3rd class
component city A city ( fil, lungsod/siyudad) is one of the units of local government in the Philippines. All Philippine cities are chartered cities ( fil, nakakartang lungsod), whose existence as corporate and administrative entities is governed by their own ...
and capital of the
province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...
of
Bohol Bohol (), officially the Province of Bohol ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Bohol; tl, Lalawigan ng Bohol), is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region, consisting of the island itself and 75 m ...
,
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 104,976 people. Encompassing a land area of , with a coastline of on the southwestern part of the island, the city shares its boundaries with the towns of
Cortes Cortes, Cortés, Cortês, Corts, or Cortès may refer to: People * Cortes (surname), including a list of people with the name ** Hernán Cortés (1485–1547), a Spanish conquistador Places * Cortes, Navarre, a village in the South border of ...
, Corella, and
Baclayon Baclayon, officially the Municipality of Baclayon ( ceb, Munisipalidad sa Baclayon; tgl, Bayan ng Baclayon), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Bohol, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 22,461 people. ...
. Tagbilaran is the principal gateway to Bohol, southeast of the national capital of
Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
and south of the regional capital,
Cebu City Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Sugbo; fil, Lungsod ng Cebu; hil, Dakbanwa sang Sugbo), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas Regions of the P ...
.


Etymology

According to oral tradition, the name is a
Hispanicized Hispanicization ( es, hispanización) refers to the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by Hispanic culture or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-Hispanic becomes Hispanic. Hispanicization is il ...
form of "''Tagubilaan''", a compound of ''tagu'', meaning "''to hide''" and "''Bilaan''", referring to the
Blaan people The Blaan people, are one of the indigenous peoples of Southern Mindanao in the Philippines. Their name could have derived from "bla" meaning "opponent" and the suffix "an" meaning "people". According to a 2021 genetic study, the Blaan people als ...
, who were said to have raided the
Visayan Islands The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands (Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; tl, Kabisayaan ), are one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao. Located in the central part of the archipelago, it ...
. This explanation seems to correlate with the government's explanation. According to the official government website of Tagbilaran, it is said to have been derived from ''tinabilan'' meaning ''shielded'', as the town was protected by Panglao from potential invaders.


History

A hundred years before Spaniards arrived in the Philippines, the settlement which eventually became Tagbilaran was already involved in trading with China and Malaya. Tagbilaran Strait was the location of the Precolonial kingdom of the
Kedatuan of Dapitan Dapitan Kingdom (also called as Bool Kingdom) is the term used by local historians of Bohol to refer to the Dauis– Mansasa polity in the modern city of Tagbilaran and Panglao Island. The volume of artifacts unearthed in the sites of Dauis and ...
. This early settlement had contact with the Spaniards in 1565, when the Spanish conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi and the native chieftain
Datu Sikatuna Datu Sikatuna (or ''Catunao'') was a Datu or chieftain of the Bool Kingdom (or Kedatuan of Dapitan) in the island of Bohol in the Philippines. He made a blood compact (''sanduguan'') and alliance with the Spain, Spanish explorer Miguel López de Le ...
pledged peace and cooperation through the famous blood compact. (San Jose de) Tagbilaran was established as a town on February 9, 1742, by General Don Francisco Antonio Calderón de la Barca, Governor of the Visayas, who separated it from the town of
Baclayon Baclayon, officially the Municipality of Baclayon ( ceb, Munisipalidad sa Baclayon; tgl, Bayan ng Baclayon), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Bohol, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 22,461 people. ...
. The town was dedicated to St. Joseph the Worker. Since then it was part of the province of Bohol until it became a chartered city on July 1, 1966, by virtue of Republic Act No. 4660. The city was occupied by the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
during the
Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War or Filipino–American War ( es, Guerra filipina-estadounidense, tl, Digmaang Pilipino–Amerikano), previously referred to as the Philippine Insurrection or the Tagalog Insurgency by the United States, was an arm ...
and by
Imperial Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent forma ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Sitio Ubos (''Lower Town'') is Tagbilaran's former harbor site and is considered to be the city's oldest portion, having been a busy trading center since the seventeenth century until the early twentieth century. As such, the place houses the oldest and largest number of heritage houses in Bohol. Sitio Ubos declined as a major port towards the end of the Spanish era when the causeway to Panglao Island was constructed. Since then, the area lost its former glory and its old houses were either demolished or neglected. In 2002, in recognition of its cultural and historic significance, Sitio Ubos was declared a "Cultural Heritage Area". Some of the surviving heritage houses to this day include the Rocha–Suarez House, Rocha House, Hontanosas House, Beldia House, and Yap House.


Historic events

One of the most important events in
Philippine history Earliest hominin activity in the Philippine archipelago is dated back to at least 709,000 years ago. ''Homo luzonensis'', a species of archaic humans, was present on the island of Luzon at least 67,000 years ago. The earliest known anatomically ...
(immortalized on canvas by the famous Filipino painter
Juan Luna Juan Luna de San Pedro y Novicio Ancheta (, ; October 23, 1857 – December 7, 1899) was a Filipino painter, sculptor and a political activist of the Philippine Revolution during the late 19th century. He became one of the first recogniz ...
) was the
blood compact Blood compact (Spanish: ''Pacto de sangre''; Filipino: ''Sanduguan'') was an ancient ritual in the Philippines intended to seal a friendship or treaty, or to validate an agreement. The contracting parties would cut their hands and pour their blood ...
between
Datu Sikatuna Datu Sikatuna (or ''Catunao'') was a Datu or chieftain of the Bool Kingdom (or Kedatuan of Dapitan) in the island of Bohol in the Philippines. He made a blood compact (''sanduguan'') and alliance with the Spain, Spanish explorer Miguel López de Le ...
, a local native chieftain, and Captain Miguel López de Legazpi, the Spanish explorer and colonizer. It took place in the coast of Bool, now a district of Tagbilaran, on March 16, 1565, a day after Legazpi and his crew of
conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...
es on four ships chanced upon the shores of Bool during their trip to the province of
Butuan Butuan (pronounced ), officially the City of Butuan ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Butuan; Butuanon: ''Dakbayan hong Butuan''; fil, Lungsod ng Butuan), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the region of Caraga, Philippines. It is the ''de facto'' ca ...
from Camiguin Island because of strong southwest monsoon winds and low tide. On that day, March 16, 1565, Legazpi with Fray Andres de Urdaneta and some of his crew set foot on land for an audience with the local chieftain Sikatuna. The two bands of different race and creed met a few hundred meters from the beach and, after a few pleasantries, the Basque seafarer and the chieftain of Bohol sealed and strengthened their treaty of friendship in a historic blood compact. Sikatuna and Legazpi each made a cut on the left arm and collected the drop of blood into a single vessel mixed with wine. A marker now stands on the spot where Sikatuna and Legaspi allegedly sealed that famous compact. To honor this treaty of friendship, president
Elpidio Quirino Elpidio Rivera Quirino (born Elpidio Quirino y Rivera; ; November 16, 1890 – February 29, 1956) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the sixth president of the Philippines from 1948 to 1953. A lawyer by profession, Quirino ente ...
established the "
Order of Sikatuna The Order of Sikatuna ( fil, Orden ng Sikatuna) is the national order of diplomatic merit of the Republic of the Philippines. It is conferred upon individuals who have rendered exceptional and meritorious services to the Republic of the Philippin ...
" in 1953, a presidential award and decoration conferred upon visiting dignitaries. Tagbilaran was occupied by Imperial Japanese forces on May 17, 1942, after the fall of the Philippines during World War II. During the Japanese occupation, the municipal government of Tagbilaran, whose mayor at the time was Manuel Espuelas, moved from the Poblacion to Tiptip. Another significant event was the Battle of Ubujan wherein a guerrilla unit under the command of Captain Francisco Salazar (aka Vicente Cubello) engaged Japanese troops against overwhelming odds.


2013 earthquake

An earthquake with magnitude 7.2, with an epicenter near
Sagbayan, Bohol Sagbayan, officially the Municipality of Sagbayan ( ceb, Munisipyo sa Sagbayan; tgl, Bayan ng Sagbayan), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Bohol, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 24,335 people. Sag ...
, struck Bohol on October 15, 2013. Tagbilaran received four fatalities and 21 injuries, and damage to buildings, including the seaport, airport, and city hall.


Geographic


Climate


Barangays

There are 15 barangays comprising Tagbilaran, with a population of 104,976 for the year 2020 census, and an annual growth rate of . However, 44% of the city's population reside in the four urban districts where trade and commerce are also concentrated.


Demographics


Economy

The city has the advantage of being the province's main business capital and center of governance, education and transportation. Local and international visitors to Bohol pass through the city via the Port of Tagbilaran. Alturas Group (operator of Alturas Mall, Island City Mall and Plaza Marcela), Bohol Quality Corporation and Alvarez Group are some of the notable locally owned companies based in the city.


Government


Chief Executives since 1742

The city is governed locally by a mayor, although historically by a
gobernadorcillo The ''gobernadorcillo'' (, literally "little governor") was a municipal judge or governor in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial period, who carried out in a town the combined charges or responsibilities of leadership, economic, and jud ...
and
presidente municipal A ''presidente municipal'' (English: "municipal president") is the chief of government of municipios in Mexico. This title was also used in the Philippines under the Spanish and American colonization; it is comparable to a mayor of the town or city ...
afterwards.


Tourism

The city is a start-off point to Bohol province's attractions: the Chocolate Hills, tarsiers, white sandy beaches, dive spots, heritage sites and old stone churches. Home to several hotels, resorts, and restaurants, the city has recently become a venue for national conventions and gatherings.


Festivals

Saulog-Tagbilaran Festival'' is a celebration every April 20 to May 2. This includes street-dancing, fluvial procession, nightly activities,
novena A novena (from Latin: ''novem'', "nine") is an ancient tradition of devotional praying in Christianity, consisting of private or public prayers repeated for nine successive days or weeks. The nine days between the Feast of the Ascension and Pe ...
masses and beauty pageant. Tagbilaranon families invite relatives and friends for a lunch or dinner during desperas (visper) and katumanan (grand feast day May 1). The
Sandugo Festival The Sandugo Festival is an annual historical celebration that takes place every year in Tagbilaran City on the island of Bohol in the Philippines. This festival commemorates the Treaty of Friendship between Datu Sikatuna, a chieftain in Bohol, a ...
is an annual celebration in Tagbilaran in commemoration of the
blood compact Blood compact (Spanish: ''Pacto de sangre''; Filipino: ''Sanduguan'') was an ancient ritual in the Philippines intended to seal a friendship or treaty, or to validate an agreement. The contracting parties would cut their hands and pour their blood ...
between Miguel López de Legazpi and
Datu Sikatuna Datu Sikatuna (or ''Catunao'') was a Datu or chieftain of the Bool Kingdom (or Kedatuan of Dapitan) in the island of Bohol in the Philippines. He made a blood compact (''sanduguan'') and alliance with the Spain, Spanish explorer Miguel López de Le ...
in March 1565. The festival is celebrated every July to coincide with the month-long activities celebrating the city's Charter Day on July 1 and the Province's (Bohol) Day on July 22.


Transportation

Tagbilaran's land network consists of sealed and unsealed roads. Local transport plying the routes within the city are
tricycle A tricycle, sometimes abbreviated to trike, is a human-powered (or gasoline or electric motor powered or assisted, or gravity powered) three-wheeled vehicle. Some tricycles, such as cycle rickshaws (for passenger transport) and freight trikes ...
s, multicabs, taxis, and
jeepney Jeepneys (), sometimes called jeeps (), are minibus-like public transportation, public utility vehicles, serving as the most popular means of Transportation in the Philippines, public transportation in the Philippines. They are known for their ...
s. Buses, taxis and vans are usually hired for out-of-town travel. The Integrated Bus Terminal (IBT) located in the city district of Dao serves as the terminal point for public transport vehicles serving the inter-city routes within the province and also serves as the embarkation point for passengers taking the Pan-Philippine Highway (AH26) bus route from Tagbilaran to Metro Manila. There is also a long-distance bus station within Cogon market. The city is linked by sea to the major port cities in the
Visayas The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands (Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; tl, Kabisayaan ), are one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao. Located in the central part of the archipelago, ...
Islands and
Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...
, which of major commercial importance is its link to the regional capital of
Cebu City Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Sugbo; fil, Lungsod ng Cebu; hil, Dakbanwa sang Sugbo), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas Regions of the P ...
. A fastcraft ferry ride to Cebu City's Pier 1 takes approximately 2 hours depending on weather and sea conditions. The route is served by Ocean Jet,
Weesam Express SRN Fast Seacrafts, Inc. which operates the Weesam Express ferry line, is a company based and founded in Zamboanga City, Philippines. The company was founded and headed by Hadji Ahmad W. Sakaluran as President and Hadji Wahab A. Amil his nephew in ...
and SuperCat several times daily. Bohol-Panglao International Airport is situated at the
Panglao Island Panglao is an island in the north Bohol Sea, located in the Central Visayas region of the Visayas island group, in the south-central Philippines. Geography The island has an area of . It is within Bohol Province, and comprises two municipalit ...
southwest of the city. It replaced Tagbilaran Airport on November 27, 2018. It serves as the principal gateway airport to the rest of the province. Airlines using the airport serve primarily the Tagbilaran-Manila route, Tagbilaran-Clark route, and also Mindanao. The route is served by Cebu Pacific Air,
Cebgo Cebgo, Inc., operating as Cebgo (stylized in all lowercase as cebgo), is the regional brand of Cebu Pacific. It is the successor company to SEAIR, Inc., which previously operated as South East Asian Airlines and Tigerair Philippines. It is now o ...
,
PAL Express Air Philippines Corporation, operating as PAL Express and formerly branded as Air Philippines and Airphil Express, is a wholly owned subsidiary airline of Philippine Airlines which is under its ownership. It is PAL's regional brand, with servic ...
, and
AirAsia Philippines Philippines AirAsia, Inc. is a low-cost airline based at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Metro Manila in the Philippines. The airline is the Philippine affiliate of AirAsia, a low-cost airline based in Malaysia. The airline started as a jo ...
using
Airbus A319 The Airbus A319 is a member of the Airbus A320 family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger twin-engine jet airliners manufactured by Airbus. The A319 carries 124 to 156 passengers and has a maximum range of . Final assem ...
,
Airbus A320 The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France. The first member of the famil ...
and
ATR 72 The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR (french: Avions de transport régional or it, Aerei da Trasporto Regionale), a joint venture formed ...
planes. Flight time to Manila is approximately 1h:15.


Healthcare

The city is served with a mix of public and private health care institutions that also cater to the health needs of the rest of the province. Complex major cases and services are sent to nearby
Cebu City Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Sugbo; fil, Lungsod ng Cebu; hil, Dakbanwa sang Sugbo), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas Regions of the P ...
due to limited facilities.


Education

As the capital of
Bohol Bohol (), officially the Province of Bohol ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Bohol; tl, Lalawigan ng Bohol), is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region, consisting of the island itself and 75 m ...
, Tagbilaran is the main center for education in the province. All of the province's universities are located in the city as well as other well-known institutions of learning.


Notable personalities

*
Mark Magsayo Jessel Mark Araula Magsayo (born June 22, 1995) is a Filipino professional boxer who held the World Boxing Council, WBC featherweight title in 2022. As of March 2022, Magsayo is ranked as the second best featherweight in the world by ''The Ring ...
– Boxer *
José Abueva José Veloso Abueva (May 25, 1928 – August 18, 2021) was a Filipino political scientist and public administration scholar who served as the 16th president of the University of the Philippines. A Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) awardee for poli ...
– Academician *
Napoleon Abueva Napoleon "Billy" Veloso Abueva (January 26, 1930 – February 16, 2018) was known as the "Father of Modern Philippine Sculpture" Through Proclamation No. 1539. He was proclaimed National Artist for Sculpture in 1976 when he was 46, making him th ...
– Artist *
Czar Amonsot Augusto Caesar Amonsot (born August 30, 1985), more commonly known as Czar Amonsot, is a Filipino professional boxer. He challenged once for the WBO interim world title in 2007. Boxing career Early career On January 18, 2004, at the Gaisano Cou ...
– Boxer *
Rich Asuncion Richell Pacaldo Angalot Asuncion-Mudie (born January 22, 1989) is a Filipino actress who became the First Princess of '' StarStruck: The Next Level''. Asuncion was also First Runner-up of Binibining Pilipinas 2009. Biography and career Richell ...
– Starstruck Finalist/TV Actress *
Maxelende Ganade Maxelende Bag-ao Ganade (Tagbilaran, November 24, 1937–Tagbilaran, October 11, 2020) was a Filipino musician, lyricist and composer. She translated the original English lyrics of the " Bohol Hymn" into Binisaya (Awit sa Bohol). The Bohol ...
– Singer-songwriter *
Luke Mejares Michael Luke Mejares (born June 26, 1975) is a Filipino singer and songwriter of African-American descent. Life Mejares was born in Manila, to a Boholana mother, Elvira P. Mejares, and an African-American father named Robert Davis. His biologic ...
– TV Personality/Singer * Cecilio Putong – Secretary of Education (1952) *
Nestor Principe Nestor Labastilla Principe, also called "Ka Wadi" (March 15, 1945 - May 7, 1973) was a Filipino people, Filipino activist, writer, and sikaran, martial arts instructor best known for his student activism at the Lyceum of the Philippines, his commu ...
- Martial arts instructor and activist martyred during the
Marcos dictatorship At 7:17 pm on September 23, 1972, President Ferdinand Marcos announced on television that he had placed the entirety of the Philippines under martial law. This marked the beginning of a 14-year period of one-man rule that would effectively last ...
and honored at the
Bantayog ng mga Bayani The Bantayog ng mga Bayani (), sometimes simply referred to as the Bantayog, is a monument, museum, and historical research center in Quezon City, Philippines, which honors the martyrs and heroes of the struggle against the dictatorship of for ...
* Marco Sison – Singer * Fermin Torralba – Secretary of the Philippine Senate (1931–1935) *
Isagani Yambot Isagani M. "Gani" Yambot (November 16, 1934 – March 2, 2012) was a Filipino journalist who served as the publisher of the ''Philippine Daily Inquirer'' from 1994 until his death in 2012. Yambot was born in Tagbilaran City, Bohol, in 1934. Both h ...
– Journalist * Vanessa Sarno – Medalist,
Weightlifting Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various types of competition; promo ...


Notes


References


Sources

*


External links

* Philippine Standard Geographic Code*
Provincial Government of Bohol
{{Authority control Cities in Central Visayas Populated places in Bohol Provincial capitals of the Philippines Port cities and towns in the Philippines Component cities in the Philippines