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Bohol belongs to the Central Visayas region (Region VII) of the Philippines. It is located 803 km south of Manila and 79 km southeast of Cebu with a total land area of 4,117.26 km². In 2000, the population was 1,139,130 with a growth rate of 1.83%. There are 47 municipalities in Bohol plus the capital, Tagbilaran City.

Official Seal of Bohol		Awit sa Bohol   Yuta kon’g minahal, hatag ni Bathala sa adlaw’g gabi-i, taknan’g tanan dinasig sa kinaiyahan Sa mga bayani yutawhan imong kalinaw gi-ampingan. Lungsod sa bungtod nga matunhay ug matam-is nga kinampay. Puti ang kabaybayonan, walog sa suba binisbisan. Bahandi ang dagat ug kapatagan, Gugma ang tuburan. Sa kagawasan sa tanan, panalanginan ka. Ihalad ko, lawas ug kalag Sa mutya kong Bohol. Cebuano translation by Maxelende Ganade
Official Flag	The blue stands for nobility, the white for purity and red for courage. The bolos commemorate the Tamblot and Dagohoy rebellions. The two arms in the middle depict the blood compact between Sikatuna and Legazpi, and behind that are shown the world famous Chocolate Hills. The lone star in the top left is to honour Carlos P. Garcia, the Boholano president of the Philippines.
Provincial Bird	Antolihaw or Dimodlaw (Oriolus chinensis), a bright yellow bird	Bohol Hymn This is the land I love, the land God gave to me, caressed by the sun, bathed by the sea, and kissed by the cool breeze night and day. Here’s where the early heroes lived, here’s where they wrought peace and here they bled; here’s rise the marvelous cone-shaped hill, here’s sweet kinampay grows. Blessed with white sandy beaches, rivers that water valleys, seas teem with fish and cows graze on the plains, in ev’ry home love reigns, God keep my homeland always free, let her forever be, I pledge my strength, my heart and soul, to my dear home, Bohol.   Words and Music by Justino R. Romeo
Provincial Tree	Molave (Vitex parviflora) a.k.a. “tugas”
Provincial Fruit	Mangga or mango (Mangifera indica Linnaeus) – About a half million mango trees grow in Bohol
Provincial Plant	Ubi kinampay or the purple Boholano yam (Dioscorea alata Linnaeus)
Provincial Flower	The white gumamela (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis Linnaeus)
Provincial Hero	Francisco Sendrijas, better known as Francisco Dagohoy or Dagohoy who led what was probably the longest revolt in the Philippine history.
Provincial Dance	Kuratsa Boholana

Tagbilaran is the capital and a component city of the island paradise of Bohol.

FACTS AND FIGURES

• Situated some 630 km southeast of Manila and 72 km south of Cebu City.

• Lies on the southwestern part of the province.

• Has a total land area of 3,270 hectares, including about thirteen kilometers of coastline.

• Forms an elongated strip, with ridges and rolling hills, two peaks rise on both ends, Elley Hill (100 meters) on the north and Banat-i (145 meters) on the south.

• Estimated population in 2003: 89,000 with an annual growth rate of 3.6%. 41% of the entire population reside in the 4 urban barangays where trade and commerce are concentrated.

• The 15 barangays comprising Tagbilaran: Poblacion I, Poblacion II, Poblacion III, Cogon (these are 4 urban barangays), Bool, Booy, Cabawan, Dampas, Dao, Manga, Mansasa, San Isidro, Taloto, Tiptip, Ubujan

NAME ORIGIN

TAGBILARAN was derived from the word TAGUBILAAN, a contraction then of two local dialect terms TAGU, meaning “to hide” and BILAAN, referring to a Muslim marauder tribe (Moros) who were feared by the early settlers because they pillaged and looted the place. In brief, TAGBILARAN means “to hide from the Moros.”

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CITY

February 9, 1742 - Governor-General Gaspar dela Torre signed a decree establishing the

separate town of San Jose de Tagbilaran from the town of Baclayon.

July 1, 1966 – It became a Chartered City by virtue of Republic Act No. 4660

Source: www.tagbilaran.gov.ph

Many people of Boholano origin who are now living anywhere of the globe are still wondering on the facts and myths of how the province of Bohol came about. Asking themselves what their culture used to be and how the people lived before colonialism. I am even asking myself the same questions. As i was having these thoughts in my mind i finally hit google and tried to find answers. I got an excerpt written by a UP professor depicting the revolts all over the Philippines and one of it was the Visayan revolts. ” … that there are three types of revolt characterized movements during the period: 1. the essentially agrarian uprisings in 1745 in the Tagalog regions; 2. the political revolts which took place mainly in Northern Luzon; 3. the culturally-controlled rebellion in Bohol which lasted for almost 80 years.

…that in 1621 – TAMBLOT REVOLT of 2,000 men led by the babaylan Tamblot, called for the rejection of Catholic religion, people to rise up against the Spaniards. Tamblot reported the appearance of a diwata who promised the natives of a life of happiness and abundance ” without paying tribute to the Spaniards or dues to the churches”

….and in 1744 – 1829 – DAGOHOY, assisted by some members of the principalia: Calixto Sotero of Tagbilaran, Captain Miguelillo and Yslao of Baclayon, Pedro COrtez Flores, Lazaro Sotario, and Narciso delos Santos of Dauis, Bohol has a heroic tradition – although situated on the seashore, the Moros neves infested it.”

Then a few more articles says that the people of Bohol are said to be the descendants of the last group of inhabitants who settled in the Philippines, called Pintados (the tattooed ones). Before the Spaniards came in 1521, Boholanos already had a culture of their own, as evidenced by the artifacts dug at Mansasa, Tagbilaran, and in Dauis and Panglao, using designs associated with the Ming Dynasty (960-1279). They had already a system of writing although most materials used were perishable, like leaves and bamboo barks. They spoke a language similar to that of the nearby provinces.

The name Bohol is thought to be derived from the name of the barrio of Bo-ol, a barangay found in Tagbilaran City, which was among the first places toured by the Magellan expedition. History has it that one of the Spanish ships of Magellan (the Concepcion) was burned in this province after Magellan was killed by Lapu-Lapu in Mactan. In 1565, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi anchored in Jagna, one of the eastern municipalities of Bohol. He made a blood compact with Chiefs Sikatuna and Sigala in a small village near the present capital of the province, Tagbilaran City, signifying that they were blood brothers.

The province became a Jesuit mission in 1595. At this time, Bohol was a part of the province of Cebu and was called a residencia. It became a separate politico-military province on July 22, 1854, together with the island province of Siquijor. In 1879, there were 34 towns belonging to the province, with a total population of 253.103.

Two significant revolts that occured in Bohol were recorded during the Spanish regime: the Tamblot Uprising in 1621 led by a Babaylan (native priest), and the Dagohoy Rebellion from 1744 to 1829 led by Francisco Dagohoy, which is considered as the longest revolt recorded in the annals of Philippine history. American forces seized the province in March 17, 1900.

Bohol is the home province of the fourth President of the Republic of the Philippines, Carlos Polistico Garcia (1957-1960), who was born in the municipality of Talibon. And created by virtue of Act 2711 of March 10, 1917, the island province of Bohol is the tenth largest island in the country. This oval-shaped province is located in the central portion of the Visayas lying between Cebu to the northwest and Leyte to the northeast. To its south is the big island of Mindanao, which is separated from Bohol by the wide Mindanao Sea. Aside from the mainland, Bohol has 61 smaller offshore islands and islets. Bohol is about 700 kilometers directly south of Manila.