Central Visayas, Region VII, Philippines

Last modified: 2004-03-06 by rob raeside
Keywords: central visayas | visayas | bohol | cebu | negros oriental | siquijor | tagbilaran | lapu-lapu | toledo | mandaue | bais | canlaon | dumaguete |
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The Philippine Republic's Region VII, Central Visayas, encompasses four provinces, namely Bohol, Siquijor, Cebu, and Negros Oriental, with nine cities.

Flag images here drawn after Symbols of the State, published by the Philippines Bureau of Local Government.

• Bohol
  • Tagbilaran
• Cebu
  • Lapu-Lapu
  • Mandaue
  • Toledo
• Negros Oriental
  • Dumaguete
  • Canlaon
  • Bais
• Siquijor

See also:

• Philippines
• Philippines: index of all pages
• Philippines provincial flags

Bohol

by Jaume Ollé, 12 January 2001

The island province of Bohol, 4117 sq.km., has a population of 1,102,000 in forty-eight towns and one city, Tagbilaran (population 78,000), which is the provincial capital. The island seems to have even more history than usual of long and bitter fighting against foreign invaders, Spanish, American, and Japanese. Nevertheless both Bohol and Tagbilaran represent on their seals the concept of blood-brotherhood. This ceremony, cementing unity and friendship by mingling a small amount of blood specially drawn for the occasion, was a native tradition. Magellan entered into blood-brotherhood with Kolambu, King of Limasawa Island, on March 28, 1521, and that is probably the subject of the shield of Bohol. Tagbilaran's civic seal probably represents the blood-brotherhood of Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, representing King Philip II of Spain, with another Boholan chief, Sikatuna. Both seals also offer friendship between the natives and those who come from elsewhere.  John Ayer, 17 February 2001

On this site http://www.bohol-island.com/seal-f~1.htm is a "provincial flag" for Bohol which is blue-white-red vertical triband (about 1:2:1) with part of the seal on the middle of the white band. On this site, I see that the blood-brotherhood commemorated on the provincial shield is that between Legazpi and Sikatuna, that the hills near the top of the shield are the Chocolate Hills, a popular resort area, symbolizing the dignity of labor, and that the green field below the hills represents agriculture, on which the Boholanos depend for their livelihood.
John Ayer, 22 May 2001

Alternate flag?