Tubigon, officially the Municipality of Tubigon (; ), is a municipality in the province of Bohol, Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 49,275 people.
Tubigon is well known for its "lambay" crabs.
The municipality of Tubigon, Bohol celebrates its feast on May 15, to honor the town patron San Isidro Labrador.
History
Origins and Early Settlement The first settlers in Tubigon settled along the shores of the river that flows through the community. Their exact origins are unknown but they are thought to be early Malays from southeast Asian countries, migrating to the Philippines in small bangkas. Seasonal overflowing of the river flooded the community and led the place to be called "Tubigan" (meaning "place having water" or "watery"), which later morphed into "Tubigon" (meaning "place abounding in water"). The first record of the town of Tubigon dates from the early part of the 17th century.
Civil Organization as a Visita (1816-1819) In 1816, the community organized itself under a recognized headman, Yguiz Hutora, who was succeeded by teniente Mijares and by teniente Matong in 1818. A chapel was built on an elevated site of the settlement but had no officiating priest. A coadjutor of the Spanish friars from the Calape parish would perform the religious ceremonies, as Tubigon operated as a visita—a dependent administrative and spiritual sub-territory—governed entirely by its older mother town (matriz) of Calape.
In 1819, by authority of the Spanish Governor of Cebu, Tubigon was formally organized into an independent town by separating from the town of Calape, with Capitan Teniente Matong becoming the first gobernadorcillo. .
Territorial Conception (1852) On February 9, 1852, the Governor-General Juan Antonio de Uzbiztondo decreed the spiritual separation of Tubigon from its mother parish of Calape, forming the Parish of Tubigon under the patronage of San Isidro Labrador. This decision was built upon the petitions from the Principalia (local elite) of Tubigon, and backed by the Parish Priest of Calape, the Governor of Cebu, and the Bishop of Cebu. Tubigon was qualified because it had a sufficient number of tributos (taxpayers) for the proper sustenance of its Parish Priest and possessed the required public buildings mandated by the imperial law. To bolster the new parish, the visita (tributary village) of Canogon, which historically under the jurisdiction of Inabanga, was annexed to Tubigon due to geographical proximity National Archives of the Philippines. Erección de Pueblos: Bohol. SDS No. 013935, Expediente 11 (1832–1891), pp. 133–162. Manila, Philippines.
The Parish Priest of Calape named Fray Pedro Polo del Carmen, an Augustinian Recollect, requested the Governor-General that he wished to be transferred to the new Parish of Tubigon, and Manila approved, which makes him its first parish priest.
On March 1, 1852, the provincial authorities–as Manila ordered–had to define the physical boundaries between Tubigon and its neighboring towns of Calape and Inabanga. The border between Calape and Tubigon was proposedly established at the mouth of the Mandaug River, crossing its riverbed at the desembarcadero (landing site), and continuing in a straight line through the Magboc hillock until reaching the interior mountains. The boundary between Tubigon and Inabanga was also established from the seashore directly fronting the ravine (quebrada) on Mount Alimono, extending inland in a straight line through the ravine to the island's interior jurisdiction.
The Gobernadorcillos (town mayors) and the Principales (local elites) of both affected towns, as ordered by the Alcalde Mayor (Governor) of Cebu to ensure these borders are legally binding, they had to physically meet at the borders together to witness the placement of the stone markers. They were also required to draft three identical acts (agreements): one copy for the main provincial court, and one copy for each towns involved. The governor ends with an appeal for order and harmony and commanding them to return the signed order once the stones were firmly in place.
On 8 March 1852, sitio Bacane was made as the northern boundary between Tubigon and Inabanga.
Tubigon - Calape Border Dispute (1852)
The Grievance of Calape The boundary line that was proposed by provincial government of Cebu immediately ignited a fierce diplomatic protest from the principales (local elite) of Calape. On March 15, 1852, the Común de principales (council of prominent citizens) of Calape submitted an emotional petition to the Alcalde Mayor. They argued that the Mandaug River mouth was an unfair midpoint. According to their measurements, the distance from Calape's church to the Mandaug mouth was only 2,500 brazas (approx.4.1 kilometers), while the distance from the church of Tubigon to the same point spanned around 4,500 brazas (approx. 7.1 kilometers). The leaders of Calape also expresses deep offense and heartbreak over losing land to a former visita (dependent village), finding it inherently unjust and painful that the "daughter" town is being granted a massive, sweeping territory while the "mother" town is being choked out.
Calape claimed that if this border stands, they will be reduced to nothing more than "a sad piece of land", that could force their local residents to beg Tubigon for farmable land just to feed their families or fully pay their tributes to the Spanish Crown. They also state they cannot stay silent while hearing the murmur of their starving citizens. They also boldly asserted that the Alcalde Mayor had been severely deceived and misinformed, and to settle this gridlock they asked for an official surveyor (agrimensores), arguing that a scientific survey can neutrally map the land and hit upon the true middle ground between the two municipalities.
The Counter-Argument of Tubigon On March 22, 1852, Tubigon's Gobernadorcillo (Municipal Governor), Benedicto Huerbana, and his council countered Calape's allegations with a detailed defense of their territory. Tubigon admitted that the Mandaug River was technically closer to Calape's church (a 1.5-hour walk) than Tubigon's (a 2-hour walk), but they argued that Calape possessed significant geographical advantages.
Tubigon mentioned Panggangan Island as a highly fertile and productive island part of Calape. They claimed that the island is accessible by foot during low tide and was home to more than 100 tributos (taxpayers) families. Tubigon also insisted that its interior growth was strictly limited to a two-hour distance before running directly into the boundaries of Catigbian. Calape, conversely, faced no interior towns to its west and could freely expand to six to eight hours into the interior mountains.
Tubigon described their own territory as highly unyielding covered in thick forests and choked with rocks. Tubigon also states that Calape's claim of impending starvation are outright false, and accused the leaders of Calape acting out of pure malice, stating that their true agenda was to "destroy and annihilate" the newly independent town of Tubigon out of jealousy and spite.
They also argued that the lands of Mandaug were the only reason that 200 of their residents could survive, noting that Tubigon farmers had spent 20 years clearing, draining, and cultivating the area through "sweat and resources". They also claimed that Calape only started to encroaching on this territory for the past five years prior. In contrast, they claimed Calape possessed the finest, stone-free, easily irrigated agricultural plains, due to its abundant natural springs and estuaries, in all of Bohol.
The Controversial Mapmaker The officials of Tubigon also exposed the mastermind behind Calape's protest map: Enrique de Piña, a Spanish schoolmaster residing in Calape. According to Huerbana, de Piña had drawn a highly distorted and ridiculous map out of personal interest. De Piña, as Tubigon claimed, had acquired a large tract of farmland in the disputed area of Mandaug while he was a registered resident of Tubigon. After four years, he relocated to Calape and engineered the boundary protest so that his private estate would be legally annexed into the jurisdiction of Calape instead of Tubigon.
Administrative Sabotage The local clergy was also entangled in the feud. On March 22, 1852, that same day Tubigon countered the arguments of Calape, Fray Pedro Polo del Carmen, who previously served in Calape and was transferred to Tubigon as its first parish priest, formally sided with Tubigon. He informed the Alcalde Mayor of Cebu that Calape's leaders were acting deceptively, stating that Calape possessed enough land, larger than the town of Baclayon and Tagbilaran combined which sustains a massive population of approximately 4000 tributos (taxpayers), and he believed that Calape can comfortably support 6,000 tributes–though it only had about 800 tributes at the time. He asked the governor of Cebu to completely discard and ignore everything Calape has submitted, calling their argument "false". Instead, he urges to accept Tubigon's counter-petition as the absolute truth.
On March 26, 1852, the Governor of Cebu received both the town councils and the parish priest petition. He accepts the physical reality presented by Tubigon and Fray Pedro Polo del Carmen. The Governor notes that even with the new borders enforced, Calape will still walk away with a massive amount of land, and reiterates that Calape's land is undeniably "of the best quality on the entire island". In grounding his decision, the Governor cites Ley 7, Titulo 12, Libro 4 of the Leyes de Indias, he stated that Calape already possesses far more land than the absolute maximum required by the Spanish Crown. Therefore, they have no legal leg to stand on regarding "land deprivation".The Governor explain as well that the map drawn by Enrique de Piña, which Calape used, was legally worthless, stating that the schoolteacher lacks any professional training or knowledge as a surveyor.
The Alcalde Mayor clarified that a fundamental rule of colonial administration that boundary lines delineate civil and spiritual jurisdictions; they do not alter private land ownership. Even if a citizen's land fell into Tubigon's territory, they remained the rightful owner of their property and would suffer no financial loss. He also gave both towns 15-day deadline to establish the boundary markers at the mouth of Mandaug River under a threat of a 10-peso fine for the leaders and they will also be forced to pay all the court costs, travel expenses, and daily wages of a government-appointed Commissioner, who will be sent from Cebu to physically force the placement of the boundary markers. The Governor also warned them sternly to maintain good harmony and act as honorable neighbors, hinting that the state will criminally prosecute them if they will stir riots, moving boundary stones, or harassing Tubigon's farmer as a serious crime against the Spanish Crown.
Calape attempted to raise an appeal on April 8, 1852, stating that losing the river can be burdensome and harmful to their side, both in civil as well as in the spiritual, and in the well-being of their residents. They beg the Governor to grant a formal suspension of the boundary-marking order until a deep review can be made, but it was dismissed by the Governor of Cebu. While the Governor closes the door on Calape at his court in Cebu, he leaves them one final legal avenue for their appeal, which is the Governor-General and the Royal Audiencia (Supreme Court) in Manila