How Bohol Island’s Locals Are Protecting Its Geoheritage

For Bohol’s locals, their thriving landscapes are more than just a backdrop.

Driving into Tagbilaran, the capital city of Bohol, one will immediately register the center’s resemblance to a colonial-era poblacion. Churchgoers linger outside the cathedral after Sunday mass, waiting for their friends or families. Together, they walk out of the lawn, past the vendors clutching colorful plastic balloons, and cross the street.

They might wander into the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP)-Bohol, located in what was formerly the Provincial Capitol Building, with its coral stone walls that hold vestiges of ancient Boholano traditions and artifacts. Other groups might prefer to grab a bite nearby, while there are those who will surely want to head straight home, if only to avoid the oncoming barrage of men and women fresh from their market runs, bags of vegetables in tow. 

There are places to be in Bohol, yet no one seems to be in a rush. Over our week-long stay, we would come to learn that a leisurely pace is the norm. It’s true when we take our time hiking up Alicia Panoramic Park’s Binabaje Hills; when we lunch then lounge in the shade at Candijay with a view of the Cadapdapan Rice Terraces; and when we walk barefoot on the white sands along Quinale Beach in Anda, a coastal town at the island’s edge.

Coupled with the unhurried way of life, the beauty of these naturescapes might give off the illusion that it has always been this way. However, the locals are proud to share that their thriving land is a result of their collective, concerted efforts to preserve it; efforts that have led to Bohol Island earning a distinction as the Philippines’ first and only UNESCO Global Geopark.

“When you talk of Geoparks, it’s not just about the landscapes,” clarifies Joanne M. Pinat, Bohol Island Geopark Program Manager. “It’s about how people utilize our resources, our geoheritage, to sustain communities and to raise awareness to the younger generations. It’s a global designation, so it brings pride, of course, to the province and to the people of Bohol. However, it also comes with great responsibility to sustain the designation.”

From Neil Gerard P. Reyes, Information Officer II at NMP-Bohol, we learn that the Visayan province held its first revalidation mission in early August, and is currently pending assessment results to be finalized next summer. In the lead-up, Pinat enumerates the safeguarding efforts in place to engage locals in protecting their tangible and intangible heritage, including geoeducation and geofilmmaking.

“For a lot of people, Bohol is a tourist spot, Bohol is a paradise. For us locals, it’s home,” says Christian Kent Paglinawan, one half of the design duo behind Noel Estopito Couture. Following the devastating 7.2-magnitude earthquake that struck the island in 2013, Reyes narrates how NMP turned its focus to “built heritage” by restoring Bohol’s affected churches, watchtowers, bridges, mortuaries, and other civic buildings such as the museum. Over in Antequera, which is known for its woven wares, tourism officer Lorna Jadulco remarks that the local government owns a lot where they culture rattan, therefore nurturing the municipality’s raw material supply and plant population.

In Anda, Pinat adds, “It’s the locals who really encourage the visitors to be responsible. They have shifted their mindset; instead of being too hospitable, they are more assertive of their right as a community, as owners of their place.”

It’s because as a Geopark, nature doesn’t merely serve as a backdrop. “We want to make our geoheritage a collaborator of arts, culture, even couture. The inspirations of nature: the shells, the weaves, the tides, the flow of the water… those are really in the art forms that we do,” Pinat asserts. “That’s not just landscape in the background. That’s landscape as a collaborator of our culture.” 

By TICIA ALMAZAN. Photographs by BORGY ANGELES. Creative Direction & Styling by NEIL DE GUZMAN. Fashion Editor: DAVID MILAN. Art Direction by MCAINE CARLOS. Producer: Bianca Zaragoza. Models: Melsi Sarigumba and Clover Morris of The Art Nouveau Models. Makeup: Kenn Bantugan. Hair: Lhord Enriquez. Photography Assistant: Rojan Maguyon.

Special thanks to National Museum of the Philippines Bohol, Neil Gerard P. Reyes, Information Officer II, Bohol Island UNESCO Geopark, Joanne M. Pinat, Program Manager, Municipalities of Alburquerque, Antequera, Alicia, Candijay, and Anda of the Province of Bohol, Kapunungan sa mga Mang-asinay sa Alburquerque (KASAMA) together with the Saltpotters, Tubigon Loomweavers Multipurpose Cooperative, Tubigon Raffia Gallery, The Bellevue Resort Panglao, Tamper Coffee & Brunch, Animula.ph, The Chocolate Chamber Panglao.