Bohol Philippines

Bohol is the 10th largest island in the country, nestled securely at the heart of the Visayas, between southeast of Cebu and southwest of Leyte.

Bohol is very accessible by air and sea travel, it is the closest province to Cebu city, with travel time of 1 hour and 30 minutes by fastcraft and 20 minutes by plane.


Typhoons and earthquakes are very rare.

Origin of the Name

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.

History of Bohol

Created by virtue of Act 2711 on 10 March 1917, this island province of Bohol is the 10th largest island of the Philippines. Its people are said to be descendants of the last group of inhabitants of the country called "pintados", meaning the tattooed ones.

The name Bohol was supposedly derived from the word Bool, the place where a treaty of friendship between two people of different races, culture, religion and civilization occurred in 1565 between Datu Sikatuna, a native chieftain and Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, representing the King of Spain through a blood compact known today as the "Sandugo". In honor of this occasion, the late Pres. Elpidio Quirino established the Order of Sikatuna, a presidential decoration conferred upon diplomats.


During the Spanish regime, two significant revolts occurred in Bohol. One was the Tamblot Uprising in 1621 led by a native priest or babaylan. The other was the Dagohoy Rebellion, considered as the longest uprising recorded in the annals of Philippine history, led by one Francisco Dagohoy from 1744 lasting until the year 1829. It was also during the Spanish era that Bohol was politically part of Cebu and was called a residencia. It became a separate politico-military province on July 22, 1854 together with the island of Siquijor. In 1879, Bohol was composed only of 34 municipalities with a population of 253,103. The Americans, led by Major Henry Hale of the 44th Infantry Battalion, arrived in Tagbilaran on March 17, 1900. The Japanese also occupied Bohol several years later during World War II. The American forces "liberated" Bohol on April 11, 1945.

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.