Tagbilaran
Component city
City of Tagbilaran
Plaza Rizal
Flag Seal
Map of Bohol with Tagbilaran highlighted
OpenStreetMap
Tagbilaran Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 9°39′N 123°51′E / 9.65°N 123.85°E / 9.65; 123.85
Country	Philippines
Region	Central Visayas
Province	Bohol
District	1st district
Incorporated Municipality City	9 February 1742 1 July 1966
Barangays	15 (see Barangays)
Government  [1]
• Type	Sangguniang Panlungsod
• Mayor	Jane Cajes Yap
• Vice Mayor	Adam Relson L. Jala
• Representative	Edgardo M. Chatto
• City Council	Members Jose Esteban Timoteo B. Butalid Adam Relson L. Jala Agustinus V. Gonzaga Jonas R. Cacho Eliezer L. Borja Vicente N. Polinar Joseph T. Bompat Dulce C. Glovasa Philipp S. Besas Nerio D. Zamora II Commission on Elections
• Electorate	70,254 voters (2022)
Area [2]
• Total	36.50 km2 (14.09 sq mi)
Elevation	39 m (128 ft)
Highest elevation	449 m (1,473 ft)
Lowest elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population  (2020 census)[3]
• Total	104,976
• Density	2,900/km2 (7,400/sq mi)
• Households	23,078
Economy
• Income class	3rd city income class
• Poverty incidence	10.46 % (2021)[4]
• Revenue	₱ 985.1 million (2020)
• Assets	₱ 2,634 million (2020)
• Expenditure	₱ 939.7 million (2020)
• Liabilities	₱ 512.8 million (2020)
Service provider
• Electricity	Bohol Light Company (BLCI)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	6300
PSGC	071242000
IDD : area code	+63 (0)38
Native languages	Boholano dialect Cebuano Tagalog
Website	tagbilaran.gov.ph

Tagbilaran, officially the City of Tagbilaran (Cebuano: Dakbayan sa Tagbilaran; Hiligaynon: Dakbanwa sang Tagbilaran; Filipino: Lungsod ng Tagbilaran), is a component city and capital of the province of Bohol, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 104,976 people making it the most populous in the province.^[3]

Encompassing a land area of 32.7 km² (12.6 sq mi), with a coastline of 13 km (8.1 mi) on the southwestern part of the island, the city shares its boundaries with the towns of Cortes, Corella, and Baclayon.

Tagbilaran is the principal gateway to Bohol, 630 km (390 mi) southeast of the national capital of Manila and 72 km (45 mi) south of the regional capital, Cebu City.^[5]

According to oral tradition, the name is a Hispanicized form of "Tagubilaan", a compound of tagu, meaning "to hide" and "Bilaan", referring to the Blaan people, who were said to have raided the Visayan Islands. This explanation seems to correlate with the government's explanation. According to the official government website of Tagbilaran, it is said to have been derived from tinabilan meaning shielded, as the town was protected by Panglao from potential invaders.^[6]

A hundred years before Spaniards arrived in the Philippines, the settlement which eventually became Tagbilaran was already involved in trading with China and Malaya. Tagbilaran Strait was the location of the Precolonial kingdom of the Kedatuan of Dapitan. 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 9 February 1742, by General Don Francisco Antonio Calderón de la Barca, Governor of the Visayas, who separated it 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 18 July 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.

Sitio Ubos (Lower Town) is Tagbilaran's former harbor site and is considered to be the city's oldest portion, having been a busy trading center since the seventeenth century until the early twentieth century. As such, the place houses the oldest and largest number of heritage houses in Bohol. Sitio Ubos declined as a major port towards the end of the Spanish era when the causeway to Panglao Island was constructed. Since then, the area lost its former glory and its old houses were either demolished or neglected.^[7]

In 2002, in recognition of its cultural and historic significance, Sitio Ubos was declared a "Cultural Heritage Area". Some of the surviving heritage houses to this day include the Rocha–Suarez House, Rocha House, Hontanosas House, Beldia House, and Yap House.^[7]

One of the most important events in Philippine history (immortalized on canvas by the famous Filipino painter Juan Luna) was the blood compact between Datu Sikatuna, a local native chieftain, and Captain Miguel López de Legazpi, the Spanish explorer and colonizer. It was believed that it took place in the coast of Bool, now a district of Tagbilaran, on 16 March 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.

But in March 2006, the National Historical Institute (now National Historical Commission of the Philippines) installed a stone marker with an iron plaque at Villalimpia, Hinawanan Bay, Loay, to rectify the error once and for all. The historical marker states that:

Ang Sandugo

Sa look ng Hinawanan, Loay naganap ang sandugo sa pagitan nina Miguel Lopez de Legazpi at Datu Sikatuna ng Bohol sa loob ng barkong San Pedro ng Espanya, 25 Marso 1565. Isinagawa sa pamamagitan ng pag-inom ng alak na inihalo sa dugo mula sa hiwa sa dibdib ng dalawang pinuno. Naging simula ng pagkakaibigan ng mga Espanyol at mga Boholano at Kristiyanisasyon ng Pulo.

Tagbilaran was occupied by Imperial Japanese forces on 17 May 1942, after the fall of the Philippines during World War II.

During the Japanese occupation, the municipal government of Tagbilaran, whose mayor at the time was Manuel Espuelas, moved from the Poblacion to Tiptip.^[8] Another significant event was the Battle of Ubujan wherein a guerrilla unit under the command of Captain Francisco Salazar (aka Vicente Cubello) engaged Japanese troops against overwhelming odds.^[9]

An earthquake with magnitude 7.2, with an epicenter near Sagbayan, Bohol, struck Bohol on October 15, 2013. Tagbilaran received four fatalities and 21 injuries, and damage to buildings, including the seaport, airport, and city hall.

Tagbiliran is shaped a strip with two hills, Elley Hull (100 meters) and Banat-i (145 meters), located on its southern and northern borders respectively.^[10]

Tagbilaran is politically subdivided into 15 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

With a population of 104,976 for the year 2020 census,^[3] and an annual growth rate of 1.56%. However, 44% of the city's population reside in the four urban districts where trade and commerce are also concentrated.

PSGC Barangay Population ±% p.a. Area PD 2020 2020[3] 2010[12] ha acre /km2 /sq mi 071242001 Bool 5.8% 6,132 5,972 ▴ 0.26% 349 862 1,800 4,600   071242002 Booy 9.4% 9,838 8,800 ▴ 1.12% 146 361 6,700 17,000   071242003 Cabawan 1.7% 1,734 1,531 ▴ 1.25% 267 660 650 1,700   071242004 Cogon 16.9% 17,750 17,114 ▴ 0.37% 204 504 8,700 23,000   071242006 Dampas 9.4% 9,838 8,440 ▴ 1.54% 444 1,097 2,200 5,700   071242005 Dao 8.4% 8,858 6,772 ▴ 2.72% 391 966 2,300 5,900   071242008 Manga 6.9% 7,224 6,460 ▴ 1.12% 117 289 6,200 16,000   071242009 Mansasa 5.8% 6,069 6,156 ▾ −0.14% 83 205 7,300 19,000   071242010 Poblacion I 2.9% 3,057 3,072 ▾ −0.05% 26 64 12,000 30,000   071242011 Poblacion II 5.2% 5,431 5,029 ▴ 0.77% 70 173 7,800 20,000   071242012 Poblacion III 5.6% 5,873 6,051 ▾ −0.30% 71 175 8,300 21,000   071242013 San Isidro 5.2% 5,424 4,821 ▴ 1.19% 429 1,060 1,300 3,300   071242014 Taloto 7.0% 7,367 6,376 ▴ 1.45% 245 605 3,000 7,800   071242015 Tiptip 4.7% 4,882 4,360 ▴ 1.14% 282 697 1,700 4,500   071242016 Ubujan 5.3% 5,574 5,134 ▴ 0.83% 146 361 3,800 9,900   Total 104,976 96,792 ▴ 0.81% 3,650 9,019 2,900 7,400

Poverty incidence of Tagbilaran

The city has the advantage of being the province's main business capital and center of governance, education and transportation. Local and international visitors to Bohol pass through the city via the Port of Tagbilaran.

Alturas Group (operator of Alturas Mall, Island City Mall and Plaza Marcela), Bohol Quality Corporation and Alvarez Group are some of the notable locally owned companies based in the city.

The city is governed locally by a mayor, although historically by a gobernadorcillo and presidente municipal afterwards.

The city is a start-off point to Bohol province's attractions: the Chocolate Hills, tarsiers, 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.

Saulog-Tagbilaran Festival is a celebration every April 20 to May 2. This includes street-dancing, fluvial procession, nightly activities, novena masses and beauty pageant. Tagbilaranon families invite relatives and friends for a lunch or dinner during desperas (visper) and katumanan (grand feast day May 1).

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.

Tagbilaran's land network consists of sealed and unsealed roads. Local transport plying the routes within the city are tricycles, multicabs, taxis, and jeepneys. Buses, taxis and vans are usually hired for out-of-town travel. The Integrated Bus Terminal (IBT) located in the city district of Dao serves as the terminal point for public transport vehicles serving the inter-city routes within the province and also serves as the embarkation point for passengers taking the Pan-Philippine Highway (AH26) bus route from Tagbilaran to Metro Manila. There is also a long-distance bus station within Cogon market.

The city is linked by sea to the major port cities in the Visayas Islands and Mindanao, which of major commercial importance is its link to the regional capital of Cebu City. A fastcraft ferry ride to Cebu City's Pier 1 takes approximately 2 hours depending on weather and sea conditions.^[23] The route is served by Ocean Jet exclusively as of June 2024 several times daily, with Weesam Express and SuperCat having suspended operations.

Bohol–Panglao International Airport is situated at the Panglao Island southwest of the city. It replaced Tagbilaran Airport on November 27, 2018.^[24] It serves as the principal gateway airport to the rest of the province. Airlines using the airport serve primarily the Tagbilaran-Manila route, Tagbilaran-Clark route, and also Mindanao. The route is served by Cebu Pacific, PAL Express, and AirAsia Philippines using Airbus A319, Airbus A320 and ATR 72 planes. Flight time to Manila is approximately 1h:15.

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 limited facilities.

Health 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.

Colleges and universities:

• Philippine Standard Geographic Code
• Official website
• Provincial Government of Bohol