Garcia Hernandez Logo Solo 1a

Brief Municipality Profile

Political Subdivision
No.  of Barangays : Thirty (30)
11 – Coastal barangays
19 – Inland barangays
Physical Features
Land Area : 13,575 hectares
Boundaries :
North: Municipality of Sierra- Bullones
South : Mindanao Sea
East : Municipality of Jagna
West : Municipality of Valencia
Land Uses No. of Has.
Agricultural : 6,242.00
Residential : 132.59
Industrial : 162.43
Commercial : 3.64
Institutional : 3.48
Tourism : 20.00
Mining : 640.00
Topography

The general topography of the municipality is characterized by broken hills pushing their way towards the sea, leaving small valleys between them, allowing little patches of level land to nestle close to the shoreline. A narrow fertile valley meanders along the course of the Manaba River which originates from highlands of barangay Cambuyo.

Garcia- Hernandez, popularly known today as “LIMESTONE COUNTRY” is located 54 kilometers east of Bohol Provincial Capital, the City of Tagbilaran. It is approximately one and a quarter of an hour ride by passenger bus and takes only one hour by private vehicle. It falls on a longitude of 124.5 degrees North.

Major Rivers : Manaba River
Major Mountains : Punta Gorda, Ampo and “Rajah Sikatuna”
Cambuyo Area
SOCIAL/ECONOMIC SECTOR
Population : 21,829 PDMS survey as of 2009
Male : 11,208
Female : 10,621
Population : 21,306  “2007 Census”
Population Density : 1.6 person per has.
Population Growth Rate : 1.09%
Birth Rate : 2.06%
Death Rate : 0.50%
Malnutrition Rate : 1.0%
Language Dialect
Major : Visayan (Cebuano)
Secondary : English, Tagalog
Ethnic Group : None
No. of Household : 4,489
Ave. Household size : 5
Male – Female Ratio : 1: 0.96
Classification : 4th class Municipality (2002)
Annual Income (2008) : P 41,792,219.01
Internal Revenue allotment
(2008) :
P 35,454,921.06
Local Income (2008) : P 5,498,523.58
Other sources of income
(2008) :
P 838,774.37
Main sources of income : Farming, Fishing
Government and Private Employee
Self-employed
Main products : Rice/corn, vegetables
Limestone ore, hollow blocks
Employment :  
Labor Force : + 7,500
Employment Rate : Five Percent (5%)
Average Family Income : P 48,000.00 per annum
Average Family Expenditure : P 48,000.00 per annum
 
Infrastructure :  
Transportation  
Road Network
(By Classification)
 
National Road : 11.5 kilometers concrete
Provincial Road : 30 kilometers (24.5 kms. Gravel: 5.5 kms. Concrete)
Municipal Road : 4.955 kilometers (1.2kms. Gravel:3.75kms. Concrete)
Barangay Road : 93.219 kilometers
(61.14kms. Gravel: 8.85kms. Concrete: 23.229kms: earth)

FMR needs improvement/concreted particularly the provincial road. New opening of FMR is prioritizing particularly the Candanas-Cambasi-Lungsodaan road.

Heavy Equipments

2 Dump trucks; 1 Backhoe & 1 Mini dump truck

Service Vehicles

2 units – 4 Wheels drive; 1 Ambulance; 1 Patrol car & 4 Motorcycles

Major Bridges
Cuenco Bridge : Manaba
Flores- Camena Bridge : Calma
Togbongon Bridge : Togbongon
Secondary Bridges
Bailey Bridge : Antipolo
20 Box Culvert : Scattered
10 RC Pipe Culvert : Scattered
1 Foot Bridge (Hanging) : Tabuan – Anito Link
Seaport :

 

1- Private Dolphin Type
Wharf owned & operated By PMSC catering foreign
and Domestic vessels
Airport : None
Utilities
Power
Generator : National Power Corporation
Distributor : Bohol Electric Cooperative II
Production : Uncertain
Power Demand : Uncertain
Household/Barangay Served :
Barangays : 30
Household : 3,814
Establishment  : 91
Water Type of Water System Used
Level III : 3,867 HH
Level II : 382    HH
Level I : 240    HH

Existing water supply needs major repair to meet the demands of existing and growing population. Further, most if not all water supply needs to be augmented from other water source especially during summer.

Telecommunications

  1. Bohol Law Enforcement Communication System (BLECS) – Operated by PNP
  2. PLDT – Private used by PMSC
  3. Globe Telecom – Res./Comm’l Phone System
  4. Smart / Globe Cellular phone signal – Individual

There is a need to provide additional cell site in the upper barangays, particularly barangay Tabuan and Abijilan.

Table IV – Educational Facilities as of SY 2008-2009
Level of
Education
No. Of
Enrollees
No. Of
Teachers
No. Of
Classrooms
Student
Teacher-Ratio
Remarks
Day Care (Government)
457
30
30
1:15
Day Care (Private)
84
2
2
1:42
Elementary
2,897
108
98
1:27
Secondary-Govt. Tabuan
622
20
12
1:31
Garcia-Hernandez High Sch.
402
17
10
1:24
Secondary-Private (SJBA)
488
14
8
1:35

No. of Pre-Schools : 30 Public, 3 Private
No. of Elementary Schools : 5 Public Primary Schools, 13 Public Elementary Schools
No. of Secondary Schools : 2 Public, 1 Private
Literacy Rate : 99.44%

Most of the school buildings needs repair/improvement.

Health Services

The Municipality of Garcia-Hernandez has one main health center located at the Poblacion and barangay health stations located in 7 clusters of barangays of Garcia-Hernandez manned by one permanent midwife each station.  This station will serve as the focal point of all barangay health centers within the cluster.

In terms of mobility, the municipality has one ambulance and two utility service vehicles that can be used in case of emergency.

The Rural Health Unit is completed by the following medical personnel.

1 Physician

1 Registered Nurse

8 Midwives

2 Sanitary Inspectors

1 Dentist

1 Medical Technologist

 

Supplementing the foregoing medical personnel are the following:
  • 15 Trained Hilots, and
  • 146 Barangay Health Workers who assist RHU personnel in their routinary field work
  • 30 Barangay Nutrition Scholars

Vision & Mission

VISION:

A premier agro-industrial town and eco-tourism destination with God-loving and self-reliant people committed to a sustainable progress and environment.

MISSION:

To persistently work for development of the socio-economic, political and moral values through harmonious relationship with all sectors of society, implementation of sustainable livelihood programs and effective legislation.

History

The Old Town: Sinogboan
What is known as Garcia-Hernandez today was Sinogboan two centuries ago.

The term Sinugboan comes from a Visayan rootword “sogbo” which means “to immerse,” or “to plunge.” Oral history has it that there were several mud pools in the said place which made it an ideal place for deers and other animals, particularly the carabao which is the local farm animal, to wallow-in after a hot and tiring day of plowing the fields. Hence, the natives called the place Sinogboan. It was one of the cabeccerias or political districts of Jagna during the 18th century.

Through the initiatives of Fr. Alonzo de San Juan Bautista, an Augustinian Recollect missionary, and with the approval of Bishop Mateo Joaquin Rubio de Arevalo of the Diocese of Cebu where Bohol belonged, the Visita de San Juan Bautista de Sinogboan was established on June 24, 1768. The very first place of worship in Sinogboan was a wooden structure. Here, the residents of Sinogboan and its neighboring barangays gathered for worship for almost half a century.

In 1813, the construction of a new church made of stone started under the leadership and teamwork of the following Cabezas de Barangay: Don Ponciano Cadiz, Pedro Bajan, Baldomero Bajan, Lazaro Ladaga, Regino Galendez, Andres Madelo, Custodio Naldoza, Veranio Jamero, Santiago Virtudazo, Miguel Fagaran and Felipe Edo. The visiting priest from Jagna at that time was Fr. Blas Dios de la Merced.

The distance, the rough roads, and the occasional floods of Rio de Manaba made it difficult for the residents of Sinogboan and its neighboring barangays to participate in the politico-religious affairs at the town center of Jagna. This inconvenience led the community leaders of Sinogboan to think of creating a separate pueblo for and among themselves. Thus, the movement for townhood began.

In 1844, the expansion of Sinogboan church started. In 1848, a big oil painting of St. John the Baptist in the Jordan River was installed as the Church’s retablo mayor. And the perimeter of the old Sinogboan cemetery was enclosed. Then in 1850, the political leaders of Sinogboan and its surrounding barangays forwarded their petition for townhood to the authorities in Manila. However the petition was not granted.

The rejection of the petition was a demoralizing blow on its proponents. But the inspiring and dynamic leadership of Cabeza Don Alberto Cadiz kept the desire for townhood alive. Instead of snuffing out the dream, the rejection of the petition motivated the natives to work harder. Thus, efforts towards its realization gained momentum.

Not one to leave a stone unturned in the attainment of his civic endeavor, Don Alberto ‘Cabeza Belto’ Cadiz together with his constituents sought the support of two Recollect missionaries: Padre Narciso Hernandez de Jesus y Maria, the parish priest of Guindulman; and Padre Jose Garcia de la Virgen de los Remedios, parish priest of Loon. The latter was a Spaniard while the former was a Filipino.

In retrospect, it may be assumed that the combination of Indio-Español sponsors for the townhood was a brilliant psychological strategy. Cabeza Belto et al got rapport and sympathy from Fr. Hernandez, the Filipino; the influence and necessary connections with church and civil authorities through Fr. Garcia, the Spaniard.

1854 was a momentous year. Major projects such as the construction of La Escuela Publica and La Casa Tribunal were undertaken in compliance with the requirements for townhood. Then in March of the same year, a consultative assembly was convened in Sinogboan where the natives categorically declared their commitment to assume, without any reservations, all the responsibilities attendant to self-governance. This commitment was made before Don Rafael Cervero de Valdez, Alcalde Mayor de Cebu who presided over the assembly. On the same occasion, it was also agreed by all and sundry that the envisioned town would be called Garcia-Hernandez to honor the two friars whose sympathy and support shall henceforth remain enshrined in the history of the town and in the hearts of its people.

With the following major reasons, the official petition for townhood was ripe for submission to higher authorities:

 

  1. There would be 780 “tributos de naturales” in Sinogboan;
  2. Jagna was too large for one governadorcillo; and
  3. The depth and dangers of Rio de Manaba especially when flooded rendered travel to Jagna difficult, if not impossible.

 

On the 27th of May, 1854, the Superior Decree Creating the Municipality of Garcia-Hernandez was issued by Don Manuel Pavia y Lay, Governador Capitan General de Novaliches. To the great joy and pride of the natives, a grand inauguration was held on June 24, 1854, the feast day of St. John the Baptist. Oral history has it that a resounding standing ovation occurred when Cabeza Belto entered the church for the inaugural ceremony.

While the idea of creating a new town was conceived metaphorically, in the cerebral womb of the prominent residents of Sinogboan, it was the church, particularly her Recollect missionaries who facilitated the birthing of the Sinogboan brainchild.

Since La Visita de Sinogboan needed a choir master who would teach and conduct liturgical music for religious services, the community leaders requested Mariano Cuadra, a music teacher from Can-upao, Jagna to answer this need. To entice him to accede to their request, the Sinogboan community leaders offered Maestro Mariano “Nanoy” Cuadra sizeable parcels of land in Sinogboan. Thus “Maestro Nanoy” transferred residence from Can-upao to Sinogboan and eventually rose to prominence in his new residence. He not only used his time and talents in the service of the church but also in the local civil government. He became the first gobernadorcillo of Garcia-Hernandez.

The New Town: Garcia-Hernandez
Spanish Era

On the eastern side of Sinogboan was a vast plain called Manaba. It had a number of springs, brooks and a river. The natives considered it an ideal site for their new town because, aside from being generously favored by nature, it was geographically located at the center of the new town. It was equidistant to Ulbujan, the town’s eastern boundary, and Punta Gorda (locally known as Balitbiton), the town’s western boundary.

So in 1880, during the administration of Capitan Laureano Galeon and Teniente Mayor Geronimo Dagani, the church, the seat of government and the public school were transferred from Sinogboan into temporary structures in Manaba. From then on, Sinogboan was called Lungsodaan (old town) while the new town site in Manaba was called Central or Poblacion.

Slowly and painstakingly, the construction of durable and permanent public buildings began the following year. Worth mentioning is the construction of the church which stands today the way it did more than a century ago. It was in 1884 when its construction started. The parish priest when the work began was Fr. Bernardo Muro.

It took twelve years of forced labor, enduring sacrifice, and loving solicitude for posterity to build the edifice that it is today. Tablets of stone had to be chiseled from rocks and corals, logs had to be hauled from the mountain forests with bare hands and raw strength. During those twelve years, Garcianhons who either resented or could not endure the psycho-physical pain of forced labor migrated to Leyte, Surigao, Camiguin, Misamis and other places in the Visayas and Mindanao regions.

Finally in 1896, the church was completed and Padre Jose Lazala who was the parish priest at that time “gifted” the town folks with a pipe organ which was made by “Roque Hernanos” of Zaragoza, Aragon, España. As of this writing, what remains of the “gift” at the choir loft is a forlorn skeleton which stirs memories among the elders of the town and curiosity among the young about a past long gone and almost forgotten.

In 1898, the flag of Spain was lowered, symbolizing the end of the Spanish regime. On June 12 of the same year, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed the independence of the Philippines. In Garcia-Hernandez, the end of the Spanish regime concluded the term of Capitan Narciso Galendez. Subsequently, the first Filipino civil government was installed on December 25, 1898 with Don Juan Cadiz as the “Capitan Municipal” of the town and Don Benito Cadiz as its “Teniente Municipal”.

Free from foreign domination at last! But alas, the euphoria of freedom was short-lived!

In 1899, the first Philippine “Malolos” Republic under Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo which was inaugurated on January 23, was starting to shake with political upheavals. Meanwhile, the peace and quiet of Garcia-Hernandez was broken by the intrusion of bandits headed by a certain Tomas Talisayon. They raided the town and robbed the people of their possessions. The town hall, the church, and the convent were not spared.

The bandits left the town as swiftly as they plundered it. Robbed but relieved by the immediate disappearance of the bandits, the town was peaceful once again. However, without an organized armed force, the town was an easy prey to still another pillage. A group of highwaymen, headed this time be a certain “Amoy” otherwise known as “Pareng-pareng” came to town on horseback and carted away their loot.

In 1901, the Filipino-American war was all over the Philippines. In order to force the people to surrender, everyone in sight was shot to death, human beings and livestock alike. Countless victims of the invaders’ atrocities lay dead at every turn. The decaying corpses of human beings and beasts alike polluted the waters of brooks and river.

Implementing their “scorched-earth” policy the Americans burned the whole town. The houses, the market, the convent, school buildings, and the rice fields which were already ripening went up in smoke.

Worth mentioning here is Mariano “Cabeza Anong” Jamero who refused to step down from his residence to manifest his refusal to submit to foreign domination.

He chose to be burned in and with his house, because for him, surrendering his domicile to a foreigner was simply unthinkable and repugnant to his personal dignity.

SPARKS
(of a native’s dignity)

Unsa…?

Ikaw, usa ka langyaw

mopahawa nako

sa akong pamuyo?

Que horror…

Sinverguenza…

Que barbarida…!

(What…?

You, a stranger

will eject me

from my abode?

How horrible…

how shameless…

how barbaric…!)

To those who heard his wail of pain and the story of his death, a blood-stirring call-to-arms for dignity and liberty thundered in their hearts.

 

[Excerpt from the Commemorative Book of Garcia-Hernandez entitled “Garcia-Hernandez: Where We Live” which is also available for sale at the Office of the Municipal Mayor at P1,000.00 per copy.]

Garcia-Hernandez Hymn

SINUGBU-AN
Music and Lyrics by Timmy Borja

 

Sa minglabay nga mga katuigan
Sinugbuan pa ang atong katilingban
Mga grasya sa kahitas-an
Atong nadawat ug natagamtaman

 

Pasalamatan ta ang Gamhanan
Sa mga bunga ug kalampusan
Apog sa bukid ug bato sa iyang lapyahan
Mga langitnong gasa sa buhilaman
Amo ka gayud nga silbihan
Lungsod mauswagon ug buotan
Kahiusa banwag sa kauswagan
Damgo’g pangandoy nangatuman
Busa maghugop kitang tanan
Sa gihandum ta’ng tingusbawan
Garcia-Hernandez, Lungsod namong natawhan
Mahal ka sa among dughan
Mabuhi ka! GARCIA-HERNANDEZ!

 

Municipal Symbols

 

Municipal Seal

The eight (8) rays of the sun in the center represents the eight original barangays of Sinogboan, namely, Abijilan, Canayaon, Ulbujan, Cayam, Tabuan, Cambuyo and Pasong. The thirty (30) small stars which surround the sun represent the thirty barangays presently comprising the municipality.

Municipal Flag

Color blue and white with a dove portrayed at the center symbolic of its peace loving people. The twin branch bearing thirty (30) leaves represent the thirty barangays comprising the town. The four (4) arms holding on firmly and squarely symbolize the bond of unity and strength of the people to a common goal of peace andprogress.

Municipal Animal - Carabao

Municipal Flower - Santan

Municipal Sport - Paro

Municipal Dance - Bato-ayag

Previous Municipal Officials

Awards Received

2010

  • Third Place – Search for Outstanding Municipal Nutrition Council in the Province

2009

  • Second Place – Search for Outstanding Municipal Nutrition Council in the Province

2008

  • Second Place – Search for Outstanding Municipal Nutrition Council in the Province

  • Awardee – National Literacy Award

2007

  • Regional Awardee – Nutrition Program Implementation

  • First Place – Search for Outstanding Municipal Nutrition Council in the Province

2006

  • Third Place – Search for Outstanding Municipal Nutrition Council in the Province

  • Third Place – Outstanding Barangay Livestock Volunteer Award – BALA

2005

  • Eighth Place – Search for Outstanding Municipal Nutrition Council in the Province

  • Outstanding Barangay Livestock Volunteer Award – BALA

2004

  • Most Outstanding Regional Winner for the Local Government Unit (Category B) – Regional Literacy Awards

  • Fifth Place – Search for Outstanding Municipal Nutrition Council in the Province

  • Non-Formal Education (NFE) Regional Awardee

Accomplishment Report

June-September 2011