Bohol
Bohol is an island
province of the
Philippines located in the
Central Visayas region. Its capital is
Tagbilaran City. To the west of Bohol is
Cebu, to the northeast is the island of
Leyte and to the south, across the
Bohol Sea is
Mindanao.
Bohol is a popular tourist destination with its beaches and resorts. The
Chocolate Hills, numerous mounds of
limestone formations, is the most popular attraction. The island of Panglao, located just southwest of Tagbilaran City, is home to some of the finest beaches in the country. The
Philippine Tarsier, considered by some to be the smallest
primates, is indigenous to the island.
The Boholanos refer to their island homeland as the 'Republic of Bohol' with both conviction and pride. A narrow strait separates the island of Cebu and Bohol and both share a common language, but the Boholanos retain a conscious distinction from the Cebuanos.
Bohol lies between the islands of Cebu on the northwest, Leyte on the northeast and Mindanao to the south.
The hills dominate the island of Bohol. Two ranges run roughly parallel on the northwest and the southeast. An interior plateau is dominated by limestone hills. In Carmen, Batuan and Sagbayan, these hills form near perfect cones in great numbers and are collectively referred to as the Chocolate Hills.
Bohol's climate is generally dry, with maximum rainfall between the months of June and October. The interior is cooler than the coast.
Carlos P. Garcia, the country's fourth
president, was from Bohol.
Population
According to the
2000 census, there are a total of 1,137,268 Boholanos or
Bol-anon, as the residents of Bohol call themselves. The same census also states that Bohol has 209,588 households with an average household size of 5.41 persons, significantly higher than the national average of 4.99. The annual growth rate is 2.92%, higher than the national growth rate of 2.36%. With this growth rate, Bohol's population will double in 24 years.
Life expectancy at birth is estimated at 68.19 for the males and 72.93 for the females for the period 2000–2005. This is lower than that of
Cebu but higher than that of
Negros Oriental and
Siquijor.
Native Languages
The main language spoken in Bohol is
Boholano, a dialect of
Cebuano.
Tagalog is also spoken by many of the residents.
Religion
The majority of the population is
Roman Catholic. Adherents of other
Christian denominations like the
Protestants and
Iglesia ni Cristo account for a significant part of the remainder.The Philippine Independent Church that was founded by a native, Gregorio Aglipay, started its roots in Bohol. The main difference between the Aglipay Church and the Roman Catholic Church is the former does not recognize the authority of Rome. The two are very similar in structure and form. Another distinct difference is an Aglipay priest is allowed to marry in stark contrast with the Roman Catholic Church.
Tourism is playing an increasing role in the island's economy. An international airport is currently planned for Panglao which houses the most-visited and pristine beaches in the province. It is hoped that this will increase Bohol's reputation as an international tourist destination.
The Chocolate Hills are considered one of Philippine's natural wonders and Bohol is often referred to as the
Jewel of the Philippines. They are hills made of limestone leftover from coral reefs during the ice age when the island was submerged. They turn brown during the summer, hence their name.
Most beaches are of white sand. The sand is often of such high quality that it is exported to other beaches in the world. The most well known of these beaches are in
Panglao Island, and there, numerous islets have similar, yet untouched and pristine beaches.
The
Loboc River is the most famous, running from the southeastern coast to the center of the island. It is famous for its River Cruise going up to its water source. The largest, Inabanga River, runs in the northern part of the province.
Numerous waterfalls and caves are scattered across the island, including the beautiful Mag-Aso falls in Antequera. Mag-Aso means
smoke in the native tongue. The water is cool and often creates a mist in humid mornings which can hide the falls.
Panglao is a small island southwest of the main island, connected by a causeway to
Tagbilaran.
Political
Bohol is subdivided into 47
municipalities and 1
city.
|
The municipal building of Bilar, a town in central Bohol |
Cities
*
Tagbilaran CityMunicipalities
Physical
Location. Bohol is an island province in the
Visayas. It lies southeast from
Cebu across
Cebu Strait (in some references called Bohol Strait) and southwest from
Leyte, separated by the
Camotes Sea and
Canigao Channel. Bohol is also located north of
Mindanao with
Bohol Sea between them.
Features. With a land area of 4117.3 km² and a coastline 261 km long, Bohol is the tenth largest island of the Philippines. The main island is surrounded by about 70 smaller islands, the largest of which are
Panglao Island facing
Tagbilaran City in the southwest and
Lapining Island in the northeast.
The terrain of Bohol is basically rolling and hilly and about half the island is covered in
limestone. Near the outer areas of the island are low mountain ranges. The interior is a large
plateau with irregular landforms.
Near
Carmen can be found the major tourist draw of the province, the
Chocolate Hills. The more than 1,200 uniformly cone-shaped limestone hills were named that way because in the summer, the grass growing on the hills turn brown, making the landscape look like it had chocolate mounds all over. The Chocolate Hills is found on the provincial seal of Bohol.
Panglao is famous for its diving locations and routinely listed as one of the top ten diving locations in the world. Numerous tourist resorts dot the southern beaches and cater to divers from around the world.
Climate. Unlike
Luzon and the northern part of
Visayas, Bohol is mostly unaffected by the numerous
typhoons that hit the country. The weather is mostly mild all year round. When typhoons do hit the island, they usually cross quickly and are no longer powerful, their energy dissipated by the mountains in
Leyte and
Samar.
From November to April, the northeast monsoon (
amihan) prevails. Except for a rare shower, this is the mildest time of the year. Daytime temperatures average 28°C, cooling down at night to around 25°C. The summer season from May to July brings higher temperatures and very humid days. From August to October is the southwest monsoon (
habagat). The weather during this season is not very predictable, with weeks of calm weather alternating with rainy days. It can rain any day of the year, but you wil have more chance for a heavy shower from November to January. If you want to see the Chocolate Hills in their "Chocolate" color, you will have to go their during the "Summer".
Early history
The people of Bohol are said to be the descendants of the last group of inhabitants who settled in the Philippines called
pintados or "tattooed ones." Boholanos had already a culture of their own as evidence by the artifacts dug at Mansasa, Tagbilaran, and in Dauis and Panglao.
Bohol, derived from the word Bo-ho or Bo-ol, is the seat of the first international treaty of peace and unity between
Datu Sikatuna, a native chieftain and
Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, a Spanish conquistador on March 16, 1565 through a blood compact known today as
Sandugo.
Spanish Colonial Period
The earliest significant contact of the island with
Spain occurred in
1565. In that year on
March 25 (March 16 in the Julian Calendar), a Spanish explorer named
Miguel López de Legazpi arrived in Bohol to look for
spices and
golds. After convincing the native chieftains that they were not
Portuguese people (who raided the islands of
Mactan in 1521), he made a peace pact with
Datu Sikatuna. This pact was signified with a blood compact between the two men. This event, called the
Sandugo (one blood), is celebrated in Bohol every year during the
Sandugo Festival. The
Sandugo is also depicted on Bohol's provincial seal.
Two significant revolts occurred in Bohol during the Spanish Era. One was the
Tamblot Uprising in
1621, which was led by
Tamblot, a
babaylan or native priest. The other was the famous
Dagohoy Rebellion, considered as the longest rebellion in Philippine history. This rebellion was led by
Francisco Dagohoy, also known as Francisco Sendrijas, from
1744 to
1829.
Politically, Bohol was administrated as a
residencia of Cebu. It became a separate politico-military province on
July 22,
1854 together with
Siquijor. A census in
1879 found Bohol with a population of 253,103 distributed among 34 municipalities.
U.S. Intervention and Occupation
After the
United States defeated Spain in the
Spanish-American War, the U.S. bought the entire Philippine islands. However, under the newly proclaimed independent government established by
Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, which was not recognized by the US, Bohol was governed as a
Gobierno de Canton.
During the resulting
Philippine-American War, American troops under
Maj. Henry Hale landed in
Tagbilaran and took over the island. He hired and outfitted
Pedro Samson to build a police force for the island. Instead Samson took his troops and equipment into the interior of Bohol and began an insurgency.
After being massacred in their first battle, Samson turned to
guerrilla tactics and influenced the interior of the island while Hale's forces controlled the outer edge and
Tagbilaran City. In January, 1901 the fighting had reached a lull. In May, 1901 an American soldier was murdered by the fiance' of a woman he had assaulted. In retaliation, Capt. Andrew S. Rowan [
1], the soldier's commander, ordered the burning of the town of
Jagna. This infuriated the population of Bohol and reignited the insurrection.
At first Rowan was suspended from duty for this decision. But eventually support for burning villages increased in the military command. The burnings continued, usually as a reaction to collaboration. In addition, livestock was destroyed and prominent civilians tortured.
Water cure was a commonly used torture technique. By the end of the fighting, American troops had burned 16-20 villages. Major Edwin F. Glenn, who had personally approved the tortures, was later
courts-martialed for the crime.
Samson and his men surrendered on December 23, 1901 after being granted amnesty and taking a loyalty oath. The war largely ended at this time. However, a month later Samson had rearmed and ordered the killing of J. R. Hegg, the provincial supervisor. This inflamed passions and almost restarted the war. But war did not resume and the last American troops left in February, 1902.
On
March 10,
1917, the Americans made Bohol a separate province under Act 2711 (which also established most of the other Philippine provinces).
Japanese occupation
The
Japanese Imperial Army landed in Tagbilaran on
May 17,
1942. Boholanos struggled unsuccessfully to provide resistance against the Japanese forces. Bohol was later liberated by American troops on
April 11,
1945.
HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS
In 1622, a revolt led by a 'babaylan', named Tamblot rocked the island of Bohol. The revolt was in reaction to the continued incursions of the Roman Catholic religion and its assault on the ancient way of life.
In 1744, another revolt against clerical abuses erupted and engulfed the entire island. Led by a member of the native elite named Francisco Dagohoy, the rebels conquered the island's interior and held out against the Spaniards until 1828.
In the 19th century, Boholanos left the island in great numbers to settle in northern Mindanao. As a result of this migration, many residents of northern Mindanao speak Cebuano and trace their ancestry to the island.
Source: Website of League of Provinces of the Philippines (www.leagueofprovinces.org.ph)
*
Official Website of the Provincial Government of Bohol*
Open Directory Project: Bohol
