Tagbilaran

City of Tagbilaran Dakbayan sa Tagbilaran Lungsod ng Tagbilaran
Aerial view of Tagbilaran City
Flag Seal
Nickname(s): City of Peace and Friendship
Map of Bohol showing the location of Tagbilaran City
City of Tagbilaran Location in the Philippines
Coordinates: 9°39′24″N 123°51′0″E / 9.65667°N 123.85°E / 9.65667; 123.85
Country	Philippines
Region	Central Visayas (Region VII)
Province	Bohol (capital)
District	1st
Barangays	15
Incorporated (Town)	February 9, 1742 by General Don Francisco Antonio Calderon de la Barca, Governor of the Visayas
Incorporated (City)	July 1, 1966 by virtue of Republic Act No. 4660
Government
– Type	Strong Mayor-Council
– Mayor	Atty. Dan Neri Lim
– Vice Mayor	Atty. Nuevas Montes
– Councilors	John Geesnell Yap II Edgar Bompat Leonides Borja Atty. Nerio Zamora II Genesyl Balbin Lucille Lagunay Alberta Torralba Atty. Doni Piquero Anne Mariquit Oppus Bebiano Inting
– Councilors (ex-officio)	Faro Cabalit (LnB) Rammy June Alturas (SK)
Area
– Land	32.70 km2 (12.6 sq mi)
Population (2007)[1]
– Total	92,297
– Density	2,822/km2 (7,308.9/sq mi)
Time zone	PST (UTC+8)
Postal Code	6300
Area code(s)	38
Website	www.tagbilaran.gov.ph

Tagbilaran City is a 2nd class^[2] component city in the island province of Bohol, Philippines and serves as its capital. Tagbilaran lies on the southwestern part of the province, and has a total land area of 32.7 km², with about 13 km of coastline. The city is on the south of Cortes, southwest of Corella west of the town of Baclayon and is about 630 km southeast of Manila and 72 km south of Cebu City.

It is the principal gateway to Bohol and is known as the "City of Friendship". Tagbilaran is considered by the Institute for Solidarity in Asia as one of the eight Philippine Dream Cities, along with Samal, San Fernando, La Union, Cebu City, Iloilo City, Marikina, Naga, Calbayog City and Surigao City. It was also recognized as one of the 20 "Most Competitive Cities in the Philippines" and "Pinoy Cities on the Rise" in 2005 and 2007, and first in the Quality of Life Category for the same two years, awarded by the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) Policy Center.

Geography

The city lies on the southwestern part of Bohol and has a total land area of 32.7 km², with about 13 km of coastline. It is south of the town of Cortes, southwest of Corella, west of the town of Baclayon and is about 630 km southeast of the Philippine capital, Manila and 72 km south of the regional center, Cebu City.

History

A hundred years before Spaniards arrived in the Philippines, the settlement of which eventually became Tagbilaran City was already involved in trading with China and Malaysia. 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, when it was separated 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.

Historic events

One of the most important events in Philippine history and immortalized in canvass by the famous Filipino painter Juan Luna is the blood bompact 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 Bool 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. To honor this treaty of friendship, the late President Elpidio Quirino established the "Order of Sikatuna", a presidential award and decoration conferred upon visiting dignitaries. A marker now stands on the very spot where Sikatuna and Legaspi sealed that famous compact.

Another significant event that took place during the Japanese Occupation was the Battle of Ubujan wherein a guerrilla unit under the command of Captain Francisco Salazar (a.k.a. Vicente Cubello) engaged Japanese troops against overwhelming odds. It was a display of Boholano bravery against the well-equipped, well-trained Japanese soldiers.^[3]

List of mayors of Tagbilaran

see Mayor of Tagbilaran

Political subdivision

There are 15 barangays comprising Tagbilaran, with a population of 92,297^[4] for the year 2007 census, with an annual growth rate of 3.6%. However, 41% of the entire population reside in the four urban districts where trade and commerce are concentrated.

Barangay	Area (km²)	Area rank	Population (2007)	Population rank	Pop. density (per km²)	Pop. density rank
Bool	3.488	4	4,929	10	1413.13	12
Booy	1.464	9	7,896	2	5393.44	6
Cabawan	2.673	6	1,550	15	579.87	15
Cogon	2.044	8	17,266	1	8447.16	3
Dampas	4.437	1	7,210	3	1624.97	11
Dao	3.909	3	6,772	4	1732.41	10
Manga	1.173	11	6,081	7	5184.14	7
Mansasa	0.829	12	5,396	9	6509.05	5
Poblacion I	0.259	15	3,323	14	12830.12	1
Poblacion II	0.702	14	5,856	8	8341.88	4
Poblacion III	0.707	13	6,511	5	9209.34	2
San Isidro	4.294	2	4,500	12	1047.97	14
Taloto	2.445	7	6,176	6	2525.97	9
Tiptip	2.821	5	3,956	13	1402.34	13
Ubujan	1.456	10	4,875	11	3348.21	8

Transportation

One of Cebu Pacific's Airbus A319s landing at Tagbilaran City.

CPG Avenue, Tagbilaran City

Air

The city and the entire province of Bohol is mainly served by Tagbilaran Airport. Cebu Pacific Air using Airbus A319 have two flights daily, Philippine Airlines using Airbus A320 have three flights daily, Zest Airways using Airbus A320 have two flights daily and Airphil Express using Airbus A320 have two flights daily to Manila. Flights to and from Tagbilaran to Manila takes around 1 hour and 15 minutes. Mid-Sea Express have flights to and from Tagbilaran City to Cebu City and Camiguin in the Philippines.

Sea

The Tagbilaran City Tourist Port serves boats plying the busy Cebu-Bohol sea traffic and major port cities in Mindanao. A fastcraft ferry ride from Cebu takes about 2 hours. OceanJet with five trips daily, SuperCat with three trips daily and Weesam Express with four trips daily are the fastcraft companies plying the Tagbilaran City to Cebu City route.

Land

Transportation within the city consists of tricycles, multicabs, jeepneys, buses, taxis and vans. Multicabs and jeepneys ply the longer routes while taxis and vans-for-hire are usually used for out-of-town travel. All of them are found in the Tagbilaran City Integrated Bus Terminal in Dao District. Bolanios Bus Lines, Mega Bus Lines, UltraBus Lines and Silver Star Bus Lines are the bus companies driving the Tagbilaran City to Metro Manila (Pasay City / Cubao, Quezon City) route with each bus line having at least one daily trip.

Climate

Climate data for Tagbilaran City, Bohol, Philippines
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	31 (87)	31 (88)	32 (90)	33 (91)	33 (92)	33 (91)	32 (90)	33 (91)	32 (90)	32 (90)	32 (89)	31 (88)	{{{year high C}}} (89.75)
Average low °C (°F)	23 (73)	23 (73)	23 (74)	24 (75)	25 (77)	25 (77)	24 (76)	25 (77)	25 (77)	24 (76)	24 (75)	23 (74)	{{{year low C}}} (75)
Precipitation mm (inches)	54.9 (2.16)	64 (2.5)	89.2 (3.51)	53.8 (2.12)	62.2 (2.45)	96 (3.78)	92.7 (3.65)	84.6 (3.33)	74.9 (2.95)	117.9 (4.64)	124.7 (4.91)	101.1 (3.98)	1,015.5 (39.98)
Source: http://weather.msn.com/local.aspx?&wealocations=wc%3a7544788&q=Tagbilaran%2c+PHL&setunit=F

Economy

The City of Tagbilaran has that relative advantage as Bohol's main business capital and center of governance, education and transportation. It is on this climate that commerce and trade is very promising in the city, and business activities thrive in port towns (e.g. Ubay, Tubigon, Talibon, Jagna) known to be growth centers of the province.

Many residents of Tagbilaran City are considerably moneyed, but when it comes to business development, they become investment-shy. It is observable that dollar earners and entrepreneurs would rather save and bank their money rather than invest them for business endeavor. In the light of this situation, the inflow of investments from foreign investors are steadily pouring in to finance business ventures especially in the area of tourism.

The two local food delicacies, "Peanut Kisses" and "Edelweiss torta", were started and promoted by the Alvarez family.

For a city its size, Tagbilaran has more than 20 banking institutions serving its populace as well as the entire province. This is due to the "thriftiness" of Bol-anons and remittances received from locals working abroad who hail from the city and other towns in Bohol. The average household income is P 141,028.00/annum in 12,876 households.

Symbols of the City of Tagbilaran

Flag	Tagbilaran City Flag
Hymn	Tagbilaran Hymn
Dance	Kuradang
Bird	Tailor bird (Tamsi)
Flower	Bougainvillea
Tree	Acacia
Plant	Golden Duranta
Fish	Danggit

Island City Mall

View of the city from Bohol Plaza Resort in Panglao Island

St.Joseph the Worker Cathedral

Banking institutions

• Allied Bank
• Banco de Oro (formerly Equitable PCI Bank)
• Bank of Calape
• Bank of Commerce
• Bank of the Philippine Islands - Main CPG Ave
• Bank of the Philippine Islands - BQ Mall Branch
• Bank of the Philippine Islands - Island City Mall Branch
• China Banking Corporation
• City Savings Bank
• Cooperative Bank of Bohol
• Development Bank of the Philippines
• First Consolidated Bank
• Greenbank
• Kauswagan Bank
• Land Bank of the Philippines - Main Capitol Commercial Complex
• Land Bank of the Philippines - Island City Mall Branch
• Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company - Main CPG Ave
• Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company - CPG Ave Cogon Branch
• Philippine National Bank - Main CPG Ave
• Philippine National Bank - Island City Mall Branch
• Philippine Postal Savings Bank
• Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank)
• Philippine Veterans Bank
• Queen City Development Bank
• Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation
• RCBC Savings Bank
• Security Bank Corporation
• UnionBank of the Philippines
• United Coconut Planters Bank
• WealthBank

Major shopping centers and malls

• Alturas Supermarket
• Bohol Quality Mall
• Island City Mall
• NOVO Jeans & Shirts
• Plaza Marcela Discount Store
• Shoppers' Mart
• Tagbilaran City Square
• Unitop
• Tagbilaran North Town Center

Health

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 due to lack of facilities.

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

Education

As the capital of Bohol, 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.

Colleges and universities

Holy Name University (Lessage Street)

University of Bohol (Maria Clara Street)

• AMA Computer Learning Center
• BIT International College (BIT-IC, formerly Bohol Institute of Technology, BIT)
• Bohol Island State University (BISU, formerly Central Visayas State College of Agriculture, Forestry and Technology / CVSCAFT)
• Bohol Technical Institute (BTI)
• Bohol Wisdom School
• Holy Name University
• Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary (IHMS)
• Informatics Computer Institute
• PMI Colleges Bohol
• Systems Technology Institute (STI Colleges)
• University of Bohol

Secondary and high schools

• Bohol Deaf Academy
• Bohol Island State University - Main Campus
• Bohol Wisdom School
• Cogon Night High School
• Dr. Cecilio Putong National High School (formerly the Bohol National High School, BNHS)
• Grace Christian Military High School
• Holy Name University (formerly Divine Word College of Tagbilaran)
• Holy Spirit School of Tagbilaran
• Holy Trinity Foundation School
• Manga National High School
• Mansasa National High School
• Tagbilaran Accelerated Christian School (TACS)
• Tagbilaran City Science High School (TCSHS)
• University of Bohol (Day & Evening High School Departments)
• Victoriano D. Tirol Advanced Learning Center (VDT-ALC)

Elementary schools

Private

• Bohol Wisdom School
• Grace Christian School
• Bohol Holy Academy
• Holy Name University
• Holy Spirit School of Tagbilaran
• Holy Trinity Foundation School
• Merne Graham Memorial School
• Royal Christian School
• St. Therese Elementary School
• St. Joseph Academy
• Tagbilaran Accelerated Christian School (TACS)
• University of Bohol
• Victoriano D. Tirol Advanced Learning Center (VDT-ALC)

Public

The public school system, under the Department of Education, has one elementary school in every barangay in the city with the exception of the four urban barangays and Booy. Booy has two elementary schools: Booy and Booy South. Cogon, an urban barangay, also has two with Cogon and Cogon East Elementary Schools, located at Calceta Street and San Jose Street, respectively. The three Poblacion barangays are served by the City Central, City East, and [[Special Science Elementary School],taloto elementary school.

Pre-elementary schools

• Bohol Wisdom School
• D M L Montessori School
• Grace Christian School
• Holy Trinity Foundation School
• Merne Graham Montessori School
• Prodigy Discovery Playschool
• Royal Christian School
• St. Mary Montessori
• St. Therese Kindergarten School
• Tagbilaran Accelerated Christian School
• Uptown Montessori School
• Victoriano D. Tirol Advanced Learning Center

Tourism

Bohol Tropics Resort Club

The city is a start-off point to Bohol province's attractions: the Chocolate Hills, Tarsier, 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

The Sandugo Festival is an annual celebration in Tagbilaran in commemoration of the blood compact between Miguel López de Legazpi and Datu Sikatuna 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.

May 1 is celebrated as the city's fiesta in honor of its patron saint, St. Joseph the Worker.

Notable Tagbilaranons

• Jose A. Clarin (1879-1935) - Senator & Senate President ProTempore, Republic of the Philippines (1916–1935)
• Juan S. Torralba - Senator, Republic of the Philippines (1931–1937)
• Fermin S. Torralba - Secretary of the Philippine Senate (1931-1935)
• Cecilio K. Putong - Secretary of Education (1952)
• Oscar Butron Glovasa - 1st Placer, 1968 Bar Exams
• Gabriel Torero Ingles - Associate Justice, Court of Appeals of the Philippines (2011-present)

References

1. ^ "Philippine Census August 1, 2007 Official Count". http://census.gov.ph/data/sectordata/2007/region%207.pdf. 
2. ^ About Tagbilaran. City Government of Tagbilaran, Bohol, Philippines.
3. ^ History of Tagbilaran http://www.tagbilaran.gov.ph Retrieved December 6, 2009.
4. ^ Philippine Census August 1, 2007 Official Count Retrieved April 4, 2010

External links

Bohol portal

• City Government of Tagbilaran
• Provincial Government of Bohol
• City of Tagbilaran
• Philippine Standard Geographic Code
• 2000 Philippine Census Information
• 2007 Philippine Census Information

Coordinates: 9°39′N 123°51′E / 9.65°N 123.85°E / 9.65; 123.85