Remove Sandugo marker in Tagbilaran
NHCP APPEALS TO BOHOL OFFICIALS
TAGBILARAN CITY — The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) had appealed to Bohol provincial officials to remove the Sandugo marker located at Barangay Bo-ol in Tagbilaran City.
“May we request that the marker, Blood Compact Between Sikatuna and Legaspi in Tagbilaran City be removed,” according the NHCP letter, signed by its chairman Rene Escalante, and addressed to Governor Edgar Chatto.
The letter dated March 2017 was furnished to Tagbilaran City Mayor John Geesnell Yap and Loay town Mayor Rochelle Brigitte Lim Imboy.
If the marker is removed, “this will end the confusion among tourists and public in general as to where the blood compact truly occurred,” NHCP said. It added that the marker at the city is “inconsistent with the Loay marker.” The provincial government however has yet to act on the request.
Bohol is celebrating Sandugo this month in time for its 164th Foundation on July 22, since it — together with Siquijor province — separated from Cebu in 1854.
Loay has celebrated on March 25, the 452nd anniversary of the Blood Compact (Sandugo), which the NHCP had declared as the actual place of the historical event.
The controversy over which site was the blood compact was actually conducted has been hounding Boholanos for years but this has finally been resolved by the historical commission.
It can be recalled that the National HistoricaI Institute—the agency authorized under Presidential Decree 260 to take care of the historical, scientific or archaeological sites in the country—approved a resolution resolving the controversial issue on where the Blood Compact actually took place: At Barangay Bool in Tagbilaran City or in Loay town.
In Resolution 04 of 2005 (A Resolution Adopting The Recommendation of the Panel Resolving the Site of the Blood Compact between Sikatuna and Legaspi), the NHI declared Loay town as the place where the Blood Compact took place on March 25, 1565.
The NHI — after thorough investigations and interviews of divers, fisher folks and residents of both Tagbilaran and Loay, including documents presented by both sides —“concluded that the blood compact between Sikatuna and Legaspi took place in flagship San Pedro that was anchored off Hinawanan Bay or off the waters of Loay on March 25, 1565.”
The Resolution states that, “ocular inspection and interviews … were conducted on February 9 to 11, 2005 with the help of experts of the National Mapping and Resources Information Authority (NAMRIA), and the National Institute of Geological Sciences of the University of the Philippines.”
It was signed by NHI chairman Ambeth Ocampo, and its members: Jose M. Cruz, Benito L. Legarda Jr.; Corazon S. Alvina; Heidi K. Gloria; Serafin D. Quiason; and Prudenciana C. Cruz; as well as its director Ludovico D. Badoy.
The NHI panel, who probed into and studied the documents, consisted of Office of the Solicitor-General Judge Nestor Ballasillo, as chairman; and SolGen lawyer Edgardo Sison; and Manila Times editor Fred dela Rosa; and adviser, UP historian Dr. Ricardo T. Jose, as members.
Mayor Imboy, in her speech during the 492nd Sandugo celebration last March 25, told the crowd of guests, students, parents, and residents of Barangay Hinawanan of Loay that “appreciation of the historical significance of the event that took place here has the impact on the way people live today.”
Imboy said this year’s celebration of the Blood Compact—in Higalaay (friendship) re-enactment as performed by the students of Hinawanan National High School—showed that the people in this town and Bohol itself are friendly.
A tour guide, Doris Obena, added that she always introduce Loay to her visitors as the original site of the Sandugo or Blood Compact, as her way of helping promote the place.