Tagbilaran

9°39′N 123°51′E / 9.65°N 123.85°E / 9.65; 123.85CountryPhilippinesRegionCentral VisayasProvinceBoholDistrict 1st districtIncorporated

• Municipality
• City

9 February 1742
1 July 1966Barangays15 (see Barangays)Government • TypeSangguniang Panlungsod • MayorJane Cajes Yap • Vice MayorAdam Relson L. Jala • RepresentativeEdgardo M. Chatto • City Council • Electorate70,254 voters (2022)Area • Total36.50 km² (14.09 sq mi)Elevation39 m (128 ft)Highest elevation449 m (1,473 ft)Lowest elevation0 m (0 ft)Population • Total104,976 • Density2,900/km² (7,400/sq mi) • Households23,078Economy • Income class3rd city income class • Poverty incidence% (2018)^[4] • Revenue₱ 985.1 million (2020) • Assets₱ 2,634 million (2020) • Expenditure₱ 939.7 million (2020) • Liabilities₱ 512.8 million (2020)Service provider • ElectricityBohol Light Company (BLCI)Time zoneUTC+8 (PST)ZIP codePSGCIDD : area code +63 (0)38Native languagesBoholano dialect
Cebuano
TagalogWebsitetagbilaran.gov.ph

Tagbilaran, officially the City of Tagbilaran (Cebuano: Dakbayan sa Tagbilaran; Hiligaynon: Dakbanwa sang Tagbilaran; Filipino: Lungsod ng Tagbilaran), is a 3rd class component city and capital of the province of Bohol, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 104,976 people.^[3]

Encompassing a land area of 32.7 km² (12.6 sq mi), with a coastline of 13 km (8.1 mi) on the southwestern part of the island, the city shares its boundaries with the towns of Cortes, Corella, and Baclayon.

Tagbilaran is the principal gateway to Bohol, 630 km (390 mi) southeast of the national capital of Manila and 72 km (45 mi) south of the regional capital, Cebu City.^[5]

Etymology

According to oral tradition, the name is a Hispanicized form of "Tagubilaan", a compound of tagu, meaning "to hide" and "Bilaan", referring to the Blaan people, who were said to have raided the Visayan Islands. 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.^[6]

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. This early settlement had contact with the Spaniards in 1565, when the Spanish conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi and the native chieftain Datu Sikatuna 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. 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 during the Philippine–American War and by Imperial Japan during World War II.

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.^[7]

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.^[7]

Historic events

One of the most important events in Philippine history (immortalized on canvas by the famous Filipino painter Juan Luna) was the blood compact between Datu Sikatuna, 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 conquistadores on four ships chanced upon the shores of Bool during their trip to the province of Butuan 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.^[a] To honor this treaty of friendship, president Elpidio Quirino established the "Order of Sikatuna" 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.^[8] 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.^[9]

2013 earthquake

An earthquake with magnitude 7.2, with an epicenter near Sagbayan, Bohol, struck Bohol on October 15, 2013. Tagbilaran received four fatalities and 21 injuries, and damage to buildings, including the seaport, airport, and city hall.

Geography

Tagbiliran is shaped a strip with two hills, Elley Hull (100 meters) and Banat-i (145 meters), located on its southern and northern borders respectively.^[10]

Climate

Barangays

Tagbilaran is politically subdivided into 15 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

With a population of 104,976 for the year 2020 census,^[3] and an annual growth rate of 1.56%. However, 44% of the city's population reside in the four urban districts where trade and commerce are also concentrated.

PSGC Barangay Population ±% p.a. Area PD 2020 2020[3] 2010[12] ha acre /km2 /sq mi 071242001 Bool 5.8% 6,132 5,972 ▴ 0.26% 349 862 1,800 4,600   071242002 Booy 9.4% 9,838 8,800 ▴ 1.12% 146 361 6,700 17,000   071242003 Cabawan 1.7% 1,734 1,531 ▴ 1.25% 267 660 650 1,700   071242004 Cogon 16.9% 17,750 17,114 ▴ 0.37% 204 504 8,700 23,000   071242006 Dampas 9.4% 9,838 8,440 ▴ 1.54% 444 1,097 2,200 5,700   071242005 Dao 8.4% 8,858 6,772 ▴ 2.72% 391 966 2,300 5,900   071242008 Manga 6.9% 7,224 6,460 ▴ 1.12% 117 289 6,200 16,000   071242009 Mansasa 5.8% 6,069 6,156 ▾ −0.14% 83 205 7,300 19,000   071242010 Poblacion I 2.9% 3,057 3,072 ▾ −0.05% 26 64 12,000 30,000   071242011 Poblacion II 5.2% 5,431 5,029 ▴ 0.77% 70 173 7,800 20,000   071242012 Poblacion III 5.6% 5,873 6,051 ▾ −0.30% 71 175 8,300 21,000   071242013 San Isidro 5.2% 5,424 4,821 ▴ 1.19% 429 1,060 1,300 3,300   071242014 Taloto 7.0% 7,367 6,376 ▴ 1.45% 245 605 3,000 7,800   071242015 Tiptip 4.7% 4,882 4,360 ▴ 1.14% 282 697 1,700 4,500   071242016 Ubujan 5.3% 5,574 5,134 ▴ 0.83% 146 361 3,800 9,900   Total 104,976 96,792 ▴ 0.81% 3,650 9,019 2,900 7,400

Demographics

Population census of Tagbilaran

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1903 10,108 —     1918 12,305 +1.32% 1939 15,617 +1.14% 1948 16,051 +0.31% 1960 20,250 +1.96%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1970 33,005 +5.00% 1975 37,335 +2.50% 1980 42,683 +2.71% 1990 56,363 +2.82% 1995 66,683 +3.20%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 2000 77,700 +3.33% 2007 92,297 +2.40% 2010 96,792 +1.75% 2015 105,051 +1.57% 2020 104,976 −0.01%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[13][12][14]

Economy

• Holy Name University Medical Center Foundation, Inc.
• Borja Family Hospital Corporation
• Englewood Hospital
• Governor Celestino Gallares Memorial Regional Hospital (tertiary public)
• MMG Bohol Cooperative Hospital
• Ramiro Community Hospital (tertiary private)
• Bohol St. Jude General Hospital
• Tagbilaran Community Hospital
• Tagbilaran Maternity and Children's Hospital

• ACLC College of Tagbilaran
• Bohol Island State University (BISU)
• BIT International College (BIT-IC, formerly Bohol Institute of Technology (BIT))
• Bohol Technical Institute (BTI)
• Cristal e-College
• Holy Name University
• Holy Spirit School of Tagbilaran
• Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary (IHMS)
• PMI Colleges Bohol
• University of Bohol

Sports

• Mark Magsayo – Boxer^[24]
• Czar Amonsot – Boxer^[25]
• Vanessa Sarno – Medalist, Weightlifting

Academe

• José Abueva – Academician

Culture and Arts

• Napoleon Abueva – Artist

Entertainment and Media

• Rich Asuncion – Starstruck Finalist/TV Actress
• Maxelende Ganade – Singer-songwriter
• Luke Mejares – TV Personality/Singer
• Hazel Mae - sportscaster
• Marco Sison – Singer
• Isagani Yambot – Journalist

Politics

• Cecilio Putong – Secretary of Education (1952)
• Fermin Torralba – Secretary of the Philippine Senate (1931–1935)
• Nestor Principe - Martial arts instructor and activist martyred during the Marcos dictatorship and honored at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani

• Akpenodu, Erik; Saloma, Czarina (2011). Casa Boholana: Vintage Houses of Bohol. Manila: Ateneo de Manila UP. ISBN 978-9715506182.