| City of Tagbilaran Dakbayan sa Tagbilaran Lungsod ng Tagbilaran |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Aerial view of Tagbilaran City | |||
|
|||
| Nickname(s): City of Peace and Friendship | |||
| Map of Bohol showing the location of Tagbilaran City | |||
|
City of Tagbilaran
|
|||
| Coordinates: | |||
| 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.
Contents |
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.
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.
One of the most important events in Philippine history and immortalized in canvass by the famous Filipino painter Juan Luna is 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 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]
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 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Booy |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Cabawan |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Cogon |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Dampas |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Dao |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Manga |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Mansasa |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Poblacion I |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Poblacion II |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Poblacion III |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| San Isidro |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Taloto |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Tiptip |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Ubujan |
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
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.
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 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) |
32.08 (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) |
24 (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 | |||||||||||||
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.
| Flag | Tagbilaran City Flag |
| Hymn | Tagbilaran Hymn |
| Dance | Kuradang |
| Bird | Tailor bird (Tamsi) |
| Flower | Bougainvillea |
| Tree | Acacia |
| Plant | Golden Duranta |
| Fish | Danggit |
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
| Cortes | Corella | |||
| Maribojoc Bay (Cebu Strait) | Baclayon | |||
| Tagbilaran City | ||||
| bridge to Dauis |
|
||||||||
|
|||||||||||
|
|||||||||||