Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Dauis, Bohol

I have just came from a brief vacation in Bohol. Before I went home, I listed a few sites I planned to visit during my stay. One of them is Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Dauis, Bohol.

I was not able to visit many of the sites I listed, but Dauis Church I did. I would like to share with you some pictures I took of the very amazing place recently declared by the National Historical Institute as a "national historical landmark".

Bohol Towns Online

I took the time to search for all working official websites of the various Bohol towns or municipalities and ended up with the following list. Some of the websites are clearly still being constructed but a few are quite well developed. All except one are using gov.ph domains. Batuan is still using a .com domain.

• Anda - http://anda-bohol.gov.ph/
  
• Antequera - http://antequera-bohol.gov.ph/
  
• Baclayon - http://www.baclayon.gov.ph/
  
• Batuan - http://www.lgubatuanbohol.com/
  
• Bien Unido - http://www.bienunido.gov.ph/
  
• Calape - http://calape-bohol.gov.ph/
  
• Carmen - http://www.carmen-bohol.gov.ph/
  
• Catigbian - http://www.catigbian.gov.ph/
  
• Cortes - http://www.cortes.gov.ph/
  
• Dimiao - http://www.dimiao.gov.ph/
  
• Guindulman - http://www.guindulman.gov.ph/
  
• Inabanga - http://www.inabanga.gov.ph
  
• Jagna - http://www.jagna.gov.ph/
  
• Loboc - http://www.lobocbohol.gov.ph/
  
• Loon - http://www.loon.gov.ph/
  
• Mabini - http://www.mabini.gov.ph/
  
• Maribojoc - http://www.maribojoc.gov.ph/
  
• Pres. Carlos P. Garcia - http://www.carlospgarcia.gov.ph/
  
• Talibon - http://www.talibon-bohol.gov.ph/
  
• Trinidad - http://www.trinidad-bohol.gov.ph/
  
• Tubigon - http://www.tubigon.gov.ph
  

May 1, Feast of St.Joseph, Patron Saint of Tagbilaran

Elsewhere in the Philippines, May 1 will always be known as Labor Day. But in Tagbilaran and in the rest of Bohol, we know it as the feast of St. Joseph, patron saint of the city.

But in the church's calendar, March 19 is really the original feast of St. Joseph. They say that the reason why we celebrate it on May 1 is that the people want to celebrate it after Lent. I guess no one wants to hold a feast during that period.

Jes Tirol, our dear Boholano historian, tells us there is a deeper story behind it. According to him, the May 1 feast was designed to lessen the rivalry between Poblacion 1 and 2 who before were celebrarting different fiestas.

There is hardly no hint of such rivalry in the May 1 fiesta of Tagbilaran these days. The residents of the city, at least those living in the poblacion and in the adjacent barangays, celebrate it with as much pomp as everybody else.

It is really our way of thanking the Lord and our patron saint, St. Joseph, for all blessing received during the year. Advance happy fiesta everyone.

Tigum Bol-anon Tibuok Kalibutan (TBTK) 2009

Come July 16 to 26, the province of Bohol will again host Tigum Bol-anon Tibuok Kalibutan, a gathering of Boholanos from around the world, a continuing testament for our love for home and for going home.

The gathering will commence with an audience with the President at Malacañang on July 14 but will officially start in Bohol only on July 16. The ten-day program includes school reunions, pageants, a medical mission, a tree-planting activity, even an international cockfighting derby, and the famous Sandugo Festival.

The Sandugo Festival Street Dancing which will be held on Sunday, July 19, promises to be a really grand event not only because of the expected influx of foreign tourists but also with the presence of hundreds, if not thousands, of our province-mates who will be coming home in time for the TBTK.

For details of the activities, visit www.tbtk.org, the official website of the ten-day event. (Photo from www.tbtk.org)

Bohol telephone directory online

Finding a the phone number of a friend or an establishment in Bohol used to be a hassle. Each of the telephone companies operating in Bohol has their own directory. Someone looking for a phone number usually ended up checking all the available directories.

Now, thanks to BoholDirectory.info, it is already very easy to find phone numbers of friends and acquaintances in Bohol. In fact, the site is very helpful to people searching for someone in Bohol or planning trips or vacations to the province.

Just by searching, one can immediately get the telephone numbers of the taxi company in Bohol, some van-for-rent establishments, pension houses, hotels and resorts, and many others. Isn't that a great thing? Try the site out to better appreciate it.

List of Bohol Town Fiestas

They say that the island of Bohol sinks about an inch in May due to the thousands of Bol-anons who come home to attend the many town and barrio fiestas celebrated during the month. You can almost feel this once you disembark from those overloaded ships docking at the Tagbilaran Port in May.

Fiestas in Bohol are occasions of great joy and merry-making, as well as lots of free food. Almost every household in town or in the barrio is on a welcome mode and, yes, you can literally go to any house, even if you do not know the owner, and eat your heart out.

Experience this to believe. The following is a list of Bohol town fiestas in chronological order and with their corresponding patron saints.

January 16 - Cortes - Santo Niño
January 16 - Pres. Garcia - Holy Child
January 16 - Valencia Sr. - Santo Niño
January 17 - Carmen Saint - Anthony de Abbot
January 29 - Ubay - Holy Child
Last Saturday of January - Getafe - Holy Infant
February 11 - Dagohoy - Our Lady of Lourdes
April 27 - Corella - Nuestra Señora del Villar
May 1 - Tagbilaran City - Saint Joseph the Worker
May 4 - Alburquerque - Santa Monica
May 4 - Mabini - Santa Monica
May 4 - Sagbayan - San Agustin
May 8 - San Miguel - Saint Michael
May 10 - Calape - Saint Vincent Ferrer
May 15 - Bilar - Saint Isidore the Farmer
May 15 - Trinidad - Saint Isidore
May 15 - Tubigon - San Isidro Labrador
May 19 - Candijay - Saint Joseph
May 29 - Talibon - Blessed Trinity
June 13 - Sikatuna - Saint Anthony de Padua
June 24 - Garcia Hernandez - Saint John the Baptist
June 29 - Loboc - Saint Peter the Apostle
June 30 - Inabangga - Saint Paul
July 16 - Balilihan - Virgin of Carmel
July 25 - Batuan - Saint James
July 26 - Alicia - Saint Joachim
August 15 - Dauis - Our Lady of Assumption
August 28 - Sagbayan - San Agustin
August 28 - Panglao - San Agustin
First Saturday of September - Guindulman - Our Lady of Consolation
September 8 - Loon - Our Lady of Light
September 10 - Dimiao - Saint Nicolas de Tolentino
September 29 - Clarin - Saint Michael
September 29 - Jagna - Saint Michael
October 7 - Buenavista - Santo Rosario
October 7 - Lila - Holy Rosary
October 11 - Pilar - Virgen del Pilar
Last Saturday of October - Antequera - Virgin of the Most Holy Rosary
November 24 - Maribojoc - Saint Vincent
December 8 - Baclayon - Immaculate Conception
December 8 - Catigbi-an - Immaculate Conception
December 8 - Duero - Immaculate Conception
December 8 - Sierra Bullones - Immaculate Conception
December 12 - Sevilla Virgen - of Guadalupe
December 30 - Danao - Holy Family
Movable - Anda - Holy Infant
Movable - Bien Unido - Holy Child
Movable - Loay - Santisima Trinidad

Inquirer.net explores Panglao

Here is another report on Panglao, one of the best tourist attractions of the province of Bohol. Marjorie Gorospe of Inquirer.net explores the island and discovers locals (Bol-anons) and tourists savoring the peace and quite of the island laced by beautiful white-sand beaches.