A drawing from the Boxer Codex depicting the Pintados.

BOHOLJewel of the Philippines

1st Income Class Island Province of the Philippines

HISTORY

March 25, 1565● The province was founded with the city provincial capital, Tagbilaran City.

Bohol was first settled by Australoid people, like the rest of the Philippines. They still inhabit the island today and are known as the Eskaya tribe. Their population also was absorbed into the Austronesian or Malayo-Polynesian peoples who later settled the islands and form the majority of the population. The Austronesian people living on Bohol traded with other islands in the Philippines and as far as China and Borneo.

The people of Bohol are said to be the descendants of a group of inhabitants who settled in the Philippines called pintados or “tattooed ones.” Boholanos already had a culture of their own as evidenced by artifacts unearthed at Mansasa, Tagbilaran, and in Dauis and Panglao.

Bohol is derived from the word Bo-ho or Bo-ol. The island was the seat of the first international treaty of peace and unity between the native king Datu Sikatuna and Spanish conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi on March 16, 1565 through a blood compact alliance known today by many Filipinos as the Sandugo.

October 15, 2013● The province suffered a severe earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 on the

Richter scale. Its epicentre was at 9°52′N 124°04′E (6 km S 24° W of Sagbayan and 629 kilometres from Manila), and its depth of focus was 12 kilometres. It was the deadliest earthquake in the Philippines.

LOCATION

ABSOLUTE LOCATION09° 50´ N 124° 10´ E

RELATIVE LOCATIONW CebuE Southern Leyte and Canigao ChannelN Camotes IslandS Mindanao Sea

GEOGRAPHY AND TOPOGRAPHY

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TOTAL LAND AREA411,726 hectares (4,117.3 km²)

10th largest island in the Philippines

DISTRICT CITY MUNICIPALITY

1st Tagbilaran City

Alburquerque, Antequera, Baclayon, Balilihan, Calape, Catigbian, Corella, Cortes, Dauis, Loon, Maribojoc,

Panglao, Sikatuna, Tubigon

2nd -Bien Unido, Buenavista, Clarin, Dagohoy, Danao,

Getafe, Inabanga, Pres. Carlos P. Garcia, Sagbayan, San Isidro, San Miguel, Talibon, Trinidad, Ubay

3rd -

Alicia, Anda, Batuan, Bilar, Candijay, Carmen, Dimiao, Duero, Garcia Hernandez, Guindulman, Jagna, Lila, Loay, Loboc, Mabini, Pilar, Sevilla, Sierra Bullones,

Valencia

DIVISIONSComponent City 1Municipalities 47Barangays 1,109Districts 3

*Surrounded by 75 minor islands

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS● 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● With a coastline of 261 kilometres (162 mi) long● Ringed in eastern, western and southern coastlines by steep mountains● Interior region are haycock hills (Chocolate Hills are more than 1,200 uniformly

cone-shaped limestone hills)

ATTRACTIONS

Chocolate Hills

Butterfly Garden

Floating Restaurants

Tarsiers

Hanging Bridge

Blood Compact Statue

Baclayon Church and Museum

*The Philippine Tarsier is the 2nd smallest primate in the world and it is indigenous to the

island

FESTIVALS AND FIESTAS

Sandugo Festival – July 1 – 31

Tagbilaran City Festival – May 1

Others:

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TABLE 2. List of Municipalities of Bohol

Chocolate Hills Festival CarmenAlimango Festival MabiniHumay Festival CandijayBolibong Kingking Festival Loboc, May 23 – 24Suroy sa Musikero Loboc, December 25 – February 2SidlaKasilak or Festival of Lights Loon, August 30 to September 8 Hudyaka sa Panglao Panglao, August 27 – 28Sinuog- Estokada Festival Jagna, September 28 – 29Sinulog Festival Valencia, 3rd Saturday of JanuaryDujan Festival Anda, 3rd to last week of JanuarySambat Mascara y Regatta Festival Loay, 1st Saturday of December

*Loboc in Bohol celebrates three different fiestas aside from Bolibong Kingking Festival they have Pana-ad sa Loboc every Holy Thursday & Good Friday and Suroy sa

Musikero every December 25 to February 2

DEMOGRAPHY

POPULATION1,255,128 (as of 2010 by NSO)

LANGUAGEBoholanoCebuanoFilipinoEnglishSpanish

* Boholano is a variant of Cebuano spoken in the province of Bohol in the Philippines and eastern parts of Southern Leyte. It is sometimes described as a separate language

RELIGION● The majority of the population is Roman Catholic adherents and other Christian

denominations like Protestants and Iglesia Ni Cristo account for a significant part of the remainder.

CLIMATE

● Bohol's climate is characterized by having no pronounced maximum rain period and no dry season. It is typically warm and dry along the coasts and cold and humid in the interior. 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 (82 °F), cooling down at night to around 25 °C (77 °F). 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 a higher chance of heavy showers occurs from November to January. Typhoons are not a frequent occurrence and maximum precipitation occurs in June to October. Average annual temperature is 28°C (82°F).

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