Tubigon

Tubigon is a 2nd class municipality and seaport in the province of Bohol, Philippines. It is on the western coast of Bohol, fifty four kilometers from the capital. It has a population of 44,434 people according to the 2007 census. Situated along the coast, it is well known for its “lambay” crabs. It is the nearest seaport in Bohol to Cebu, and has recently expanded its seaport to accommodate additional sea traffic.


View Larger Map

The town is otherwise known as the loom weaving center of the province. The loom weavers are put together in a common service facility located in the Barangay of Pinayagan Norte. They utilize raffia fibers from buri leaves found in their locality and neighboring towns. The center is open everyday and all their products like raffia rolls, place mats, beach mats, and table runners with different designs and colors, are displayed for tourists and visitors to see and buy from.

Tubigon's attraction is the popular Mt. Ilihan where the popular Princess Analiza has been practising her hermit passion for the past 25 years. Princess Analiza lives at the top of the hill with her daughter Batong Orange Luningning and with the members of the Subano Group Catholic of Holy God Spirit. This group was featured of the then ABS-CBN's Magandang Gabi, Bayan, GMA 7 and in 2006 with On-Foot team of Living Asia Channel hosted by Tim Tayag and produced by Leo Udtohan.

Another attraction is the old stone church of Tubigon which is massive and perched on a hill overlooking the public plaza, the town market and the coast in the distance. The church has a grand concrete approach and an old stone archway in front. Tubigon celebrates its feast day on May 15, honouring San Isidro Labrador.

Tubigon is politically subdivided into 34 barangays: Bagongbanwa, Bunacan, Banlasan, Batasan (Batasan Island), Bilangbilangan, Bosongon, Buenos Aires, Cabulihan, Cahayag, Cawayanan, Centro (Poblacion), Genonocan, Guiwanon, Ilihan Norte, Ilihan Sur, Libertad, Maca-as, Mocaboc Island, Matabao, Panadtaran, Panaytayon, Pandan, Pangapasan (Pangapasan Island), Pinayagan Norte, Pinayagan Sur, Pooc Occidental (Poblacion), Pooc Oriental (Poblacion), Potohan, Talenceras, Tan-awan, Tinangnan, Ubay Island, Ubojan, and Villanueva.

History

The recorded existence of the town of Tubigon dated as far back as the early part of the 17th century. Perhaps attracted by the richness of nature’s gift bestowed to the place, early settlers came and settled along the banks of a river that traversed the community. No written records would show their origin, but it can be surmised that they were the descendants of early Malays from the countries of Southeast Asia who migrated to the Philippines in small bancas called “Barangay”.

Municipal Services

The municipality of Tubigon offers a variety of municipal services through the different department of the local government.

Finance and Administration:

Real Property Assessment, Tax Collection, Accounting, Civil Registry, Treasury, Human Resource Development

Public Safety:

Building Code Enforcement, Fire Department, The Philippine National Police, The Municipal Health Office

Economic and Community Development:

Social Services, Planning and Development, Municipal Agricultural Services

Infrastructure:

The municipality infrastructure is similar to most rural communities in the Philippines. Link to the major business centers in Cebu City is provided by the municipal port with 14 regular trips to the City and five fast craft state of the art passenger ferries.

A roll-on-roll-off facility is also operational making two trips daily.

Up grading of the port is now going-on and an expansion program are already drawn up for the port to accommodate more and bigger vessels. The Tubigon port is the 2nd largest and busiest port in the province of Bohol.

Major road network link Tubigon to all destinations in the province. The completion of the Bohol Circumferential road project will reduce travel time to the capital city of Tagbilaran to one hour and easy access to neighboring communities.

Water is being distributed through the municipal waterworks system. Although serving only 75%.

Investment Policy:

The municipality of Tubigon has adopted an investment policy that is attractive to investors and entrepreneurs. For one thing, the municipal government has caused the passage of an ordinance that offers tax and other incentives for investors and entrepreneurs alike.

The incentives come in the form of tax holidays ranging from three to six years starting form the start of the business, depending on the size of the capital investment, but not less than five hundred thousand pesos.

The tax incentives are applicable to industries engaged in manufacturing, processing, assembly plants, and home and cottage industries all of which should be labor intensive.

Another incentive to boost attraction of investors is the representation made by the local government with power distributors for a special reduced power rate for these kind of economic activity.

Transportation

Boats/Ferries: Tubigon - Cebu City route is being served by 6 conventional vessels and two state of the art fast crafts with a total of 20 trips daily. Average daily outgoing and incoming traffic record for 2004 was 4,400 passengers.

Buses: Public utility buses are available daily on routes to any point within the province of Bohol. Trips to the capital city of Tagbilaran are on a 30 minute interval. Car and van rentals are available 24 hours.

Air: Cebu-Mactan International Airport is accessible through Cebu City. Flights to domestic destinations are available daily as well as international destinations. Daily flights to Manila are also available at Tagbilaran Airport with a flight.

Banking and Finance:

The municipality has two banks in operation namely; the Philippine National Bank and the First Consolidated Bank of Bohol that caters the banking and financial needs of the community. These are supported by a couple of lending institutions operating in the municipality.

Several commercial banks have signified their intention to open an office or branch in Tubigon to service the financial and banking needs of the community.

For your immediate cash needs, Automated Teller Machine (ATM) is already available at the Philippine National Bank.

Agriculture:

Agriculture and fishing are the backbone of the Tubigon economy. Sixty percent (60 %) of the total land area of the municipality is devoted to agriculture and other related industries.

The town’s main agricultural products include among others rice, corn, coconut, bananas and different variety of vegetables. Aquatic resources are also a major component in the agri-based economy.

Cut flower and cottage industry is also thriving in the upland barangays due to the favorable climate and suitable soil of these areas.

Communication:

The Philippine Long Distance Company (PLDT), Globelines, and CRUZTELCO provide telephone services for both domestic and international calls on direct dialing system.

Internet connection is also available from local internet providers in Tagbilaran through the Globelines and other Internet providers.

Smart and Globe Cellular Sites are also established in the municipality.

Energy:

The Bohol Electric Cooperative I (BOHECO I) provides full service to Northwest Bohol including the municipality of Tubigon for commercial, industrial and residential uses. To augment the present capacity of the National Power Corporation that supply power to the Electric Cooperatives, negotiations are now on-going to link Bohol to the Leyte-geothermal plant providing an additional 50 mega watts of reserve power supply for the province.


See also:

Tubigon Seaport | Tubigon Church

Top of Tubigon