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Sandugo Festival, Philippines

admin — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 02:53:40 +0000

The Sandugo Festival, otherwise known as the Blood Compact Commemoration is Bohol’s famous festivity. The “dugo” is a Visayan dialect put into a cup and then drinking the contents thereof. Henceforth the Boholanos celebrated this special event although not as consistently as being done now. It takes place every year which commemorates the celebration of a local Philippine leader Datu Sikatuna’s blood compact symbolizes the treaty of friendship between him and the Spanish king conquistador, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, a two people of different race and creed.

This native festivity usually begins in the month of March while the schedule of streetdancing competitions have been changed to July to coincide with the annual TBTK or Tigum Bol-anon Tibuok Kalibutan, translated into English, literally or otherwise as a gathering of Boholanos in the whole world.

Bohol’s capital the Tagbilaran City, celebrates its Charter Day on July 1 while the province of Bohol became a separate politico-military province on July 22, 1854, known as the “Bohol Day”, in commemoration of Bohol’s separation from Cebu’s governance. During the incumbency of Mr. Constancio Chatto Torralba as Provincial Governor of Bohol, from April 1975 to June 1992, the festival was given much attention and ever since gained impetus. Convinced of the importance of this historical event, Governor Torralba anointed the Sandugo Project and appointed Mr. Loy M. Palapos as Chairman.

Thousands of people in Philippines and foreigners gather for this special event which involves colorful costumes and loud drum beats, street parades, church services, fireworks, beauty pageants (Miss Bohol and Miss Tagbilaran), cockfighting tournaments and sport tournaments. The main highlights of the Sandugo Festival is a street parade with a street dancing competition, a re-enactment of the first sandugo or blood compact, and the Search for Miss Bohol Sandugo.

Bohol’s Chocolate Hills

admin — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 22:14:52 +0000

The Chocolate Hills is considered Bohol’s most popular tourist attraction. It composes approximately 1,268 perfectly cone-shaped hills of about the same size, spread over an area of more than 50 square kilometers. The domes vary in sizes from 30 to 50 meters (98 to 160 ft) high with the largest being 120 meters (390 ft) in height. They are covered in green grass that turns brown during the dry season, hence the name. These hills are scattered throughout the towns of Carmen, Batuan, and Sagbayan in Bohol.

There were some humors on how these beautiful hills originally formed. The first tells the story of two feuding giants who hurled rocks, boulders and sand at each other. The fighting lasted for days, and exhausted the two giants. In their exhaustion, they forgot about their feud and became friends, but when they left they forgot to clean up the mess they had made during their battle, hence the Chocolate Hills.

Others believed of its romantic legend which tells of a giant named Arogo who was extremely powerful and youthful. Arogo fell in love with Aloya who was a simple mortal. Aloya’s death caused Arogo much pain and misery, and in his sorrow he could not stop crying. When his tears dried the Chocolate Hills started to formed. Also, other legend tells of a town being plagued by a giant carabao, which ate all of their crops and also some might say it is about a Gluttonous giant named Dano that eats everything in his path.

However, up to this day, even geologists have not reached consensus on how they where formed. The most commonly accept theory is that they are the weathered formations of a kind of marine limestone on top of impermeable layer of clay. For example, if you climb the 214 steps to the top of the observation hill near the complex, you can read this explanation on a bronze plaque.

Bohol is rich of their eco-cultural tourism destination and considers a strong agro-industrial province with an empowered and self-reliant people who are God loving, law-abiding, proud of their cultural heritage and committed to the growth and protection of the environment. Bohol’s Chocolate Hills is cited as a Geological Movement of the country and is also known as the Eight Wonder of the World which every Boholano must proud of it. Aside from it, Bohol is also blessed with fertile soil and plentiful sea making it the farmland and fish pen of Central Visayas.

Beach Life in Panglao Island, Bohol

admin — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 03:36:07 +0000

An island mostly of Maribojoc coralline limestone, Panglao Island as a sightseeing spot is rich in cave formations. Limestone erosion creates sinkholes and crevices rampant in the island. We see them on land and under water. These wonders and many more make alluring Panglao Island as a sightseeing spot. This island is known as a sightseeing spot as well as a diving haven boasts of a wealth of marine biodiversity better than what Japan and the Mediterranean Sea can come up with.

Panglao Island is located in the Central Visayas Area. Politically, it is divided into two municipalities: Dauis and Panglao, both in Province of Bohol. It is located southwest of the island of Bohol and east of Cebu. An estimation of 1,500-2,500 mollusks are believed to be found in the waters of Panglao and Balicasag. Inventoried were about 1,200 decapods and 6,000 species of mollusks were identified in a study area of only about 15, 000 hectares. In comparison the Mediterranean Sea has yielded only 2,024 species in a 300 million hectare area.

The island was known to Chinese, Malay, Siamese, and Indonesian traders. In 1803, Spanish explorers came to the shores of Panglao in search of fresh water. At the time a couple of natives on the seashore were making fishing devices called “panggaw”. One of the Spaniards asked what the name of the island was. The natives–who thought the visitors were asking what they were making–then replied “panggaw”. Hence, from that term, was derived the name Panglao. Recently, Panglao is the one of the top tourist destinations in the Philippines.

The Panglao Island Nature Resort is a perfect getaway from the clutter of the urban jungle. Business conventions, extended vacations, weekend stays, and day-long sunbathing at the beach are just few of the activities there. It also offers superb service and exquisite cuisine as natural complements to the paradise that is Panglao Island. Starting with a pristine white sand beach, we built around the natural contour of the premises and dotted the resort with high-ceiling, thatched roof huts.

Let’s Visit the Island of Bohol

admin — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 03:06:43 +0000

Bohol is amongst the most attractive tourist destinations in the Philippines. It located in the Central Visayas Region with a land area of 4117.3 km² and a coastline 261 km long. Bohol is the tenth largest island of the Philippines. To the west of Bohol is Cebu, to the northeast is the island of Leyte, and to the south, across the Bohol Sea is Mindanao. Because it is surrounded by several islands, Bohol is thus shielded from the typhoons that often occur in the region, as well as from the heaviest rains.

The history of Bohol started in around 1200, when the Lutaos arrived from northern Mindanao. They build a settlement on stilts in the strait between mainland Bohol and the island of Panglao. This town later became a prospering local center of power, also known as the the “Kingdom of Dapitan.” It lasted until it was abandoned in 1563, out of fear for raids by the Portuguese and their allies from Ternate. The Spanish colonization had been a big influenced on their traditions and culture. They introduced Catholicism and established their headquarters in Baclayon, and started to further spread the Catholic faith on the island. The Spaniards founded the first parish on the island and followed by a school, the Seminario Colegio de Indios, a training school for the children of the local ruling class.

The province is a very famous tourist destination with its beaches and resorts. The Alona Beach in Panglao Island is probably the most beautiful, and surely the most developed beach in the island. It is lined with nice resorts, which are great to stay for a long time, a number of well equipped diving establishments and pleasant places to eat out, if you do not want to eat at your resort’s restaurant for a change. The Chocolate Hills are Bohol’s most famous tourist attraction. In fact, it is a strong candidate for the New 7 Wonders of the World. Most people who first see pictures of this landscape can hardly believe that these hills are not a man-made artifact. However, this idea is quickly abandoned, as the effort would surely surpass the construction of the pyramids in Egypt. The Philippine Tarsier, considered the second-smallest primate in the world, is also indigenous to the island.