Historical Background of the Parish

In 1596 a mission was founded in Inabanga by the Jesuits. Like Talibon, it was administered in Jesuit times from the Colegio de San Ildefonso in Cebu. La Iglesia de San Pablo de Inabanga was founded by Fr. Silvestre Puigvert, S.J. in 1726.[1] It was passed on to the Recollects in 1768 and they remained its pastors until 1898. One of the significant events in the history of this parish was the Dagohoy rebellion which is considered the longest revolt in the Philippine history. In the year 1744, Francisco Sendrijas alias Dagohoy started this revolt that was to last for eighty nine years. The cause of this was an incident, in which the brother of Dagohoy was killed. Father Gaspar Morales, the Jesuit curate of Inabanga ordered that his brother, who was a constable, to capture a man who had left the Christian religion. The constable pursued the fugitive, but then was killed by him in a duel. However, when his body was brought back to town, the Jesuit refused the constable a Christian burial. Infuriated at the priest, Francisco Dagohoy organized the people in an armed rebellion. The uprising started on 24 January 1744 with the killing of the Italian Jesuit curate of Jagna, Father Guiseppe Lamberti. Not long after that, Dagohoy also killed Father Morales, and the rebellion swept over the entire island. By 1829, the rebellion ceased.

The church is ideally situated on an elevated area beside the banks of the Inabanga River. Stone embankments protect the site. An earlier church of stone was built during Jesuit times but it was burnt probably during the Dagohoy revolt. The church was in bad condition and so was the adjoining convento. A new stone church was completed in 1899 but this was burnt by Americans in 1902 in retaliation for the attack on the garrison at Tubigon. The church is composed of various materials, the last being concrete, introduced by the secular priest Fr. Quiterio Sarigumba in 1931. The church uses gothic elements in the façade and has a portico in front of the entrance. The interior is disappointingly modern, except for the murals of the Garces brothers, done in the style of Canuto Avila and Ray Francia.

St. Paul Parish was part of the Diocese of Tagbilaran which was established on November 8, 1941 separating it from Cebu, its mother diocese. On January 9, 1986, the new Diocese of Talibon was created, separating half of Bohol from the Diocese of Tagbilaran. St. Paul Parish of Inabanga is located at the northwestern boundary of this diocese. At present it is composed of 33 barangays with and estimated 28,000 parishioners.

[1] Jose Maria Luengo, A History of the Philippines: A Focus on the Christianization of Bohol (Tubigon, Bohol: Mater Dei Publications, 1991), 229.

Population as of August 1, 2007

BARANGAY - POPULATION
Anonang - 699
Bahan - 434
Badiang - 1,128
Baguhan - 622
Banahao - 778
Baogo - 1,079
Bugang - 619
Cagawasan - 1,344
Cagayan - 420
Cambitoon - 918
Canlinte - 288
Cawayan - 1,013
Cogon - 890
Cuaming - 2,848
Dagnawan - 612
Dagohoy - 1,294
Dait Sur - 637
Datag - 645
Fatima - 627
Hambongan - 568
Ilaud - 939
Ilaya - 416
Ilihan - 401
Lapacan Norte - 388
Lapacan Sur - 937
Lawis - 2,067
Liloan Norte - 1,674
Liloan Sur - 1,074
Lomboy - 646
Lonoy Cainsican - 699
Lonoy Roma - 511
Lutao - 1,177
Luyo - 728
Mabuhay - 359
Maria Rosario - 443
Nabuad - 1,689
Napo - 962
Ondol - 889
Poblacion - 712
Riverside - 287
Saa - 547
San Isidro - 902
San Jose - 1,705
Santo Niño - 693
Santo Rosario - 915
Sua - 684
Tambook - 455
Tungod - 969
U-og - 1,057
Ubujan - 943

TOTAL = 43,331

Ang Santo Papa Nag-awhag sa Simbahan sa Pagkab-ot og Inspirasyon gikan sa Tuig ni San Pablo

Si Santo Papa Benedicto XVI naghangyo sa tibuok Simbahan sa pag-angkong og inspirasyo gikan sa tuig sa hubileyo nga gipahinungod kang San Pablo. Nag-awhag usab siya sa pagsunod ni Apostol Pablo nga maisogong naningkamot sa pagmisyon.

Gipakita ni San Pablo nga diha sa lig-ong pagtuo atong mabuntog ang bisan unsang matang sa kahadlok, matud pa sa Santo Papa atol sa iyang pagpanalangin niadtong Hunyo 22.

Ang Santo Papa opisyal nga mibukas sa tuig ni San Pablo pinaagi sa paghimo og prayer service niadtong Hunyo 28 didto sa Basilica ni San Pablo sa Roma diin mahimutang sa lubnganan sa maong apostol.

Sa iyang paghatag og panalangin sa Dominggo, ang Santo Papa mihisgot sa papel sa pagtuo diha sa pagbuntog sa kahadlok. Iyang gipunting ang hitabo sa malisod nga panahon sa pagsangyaw sa ebanghelyo nga gihimo ni Pablo. Mipakita ang Dios kaniya pinaagi sa usa ka panan-awon ug miingon: "Ayaw kahadlok. Padayon sa pagsulti, ug ayaw pagpakahilom, kay mag-uban ako kanimo."

Sa pagkatinuod, si San Pablo mipadayon sa pagsangyaw uban sa kaisog, ug pag-antos sa pagkamastir sa katapusan. Ang Simbahan karon nangandam sa pagsaulog sa iyang ika-2,000 nga sumad sa pagkatawo pinaagi sa usa ka tuig nga Hubileyo.

"Hinaut nga kining espirituhanon ug pastoral nga paghitabo maghatag kanato og kabag-ohan sa atong pagtuo kang Jesus, kinsa nagtawag kanato sa pagsangyaw ug pagsaksi sa Ebanghelyo sa walay kahadlok," nagkanayon ang Santo Papa.

Matud sa Santo Papa ang kahadlok may nagkadiyang matang diha sa kinabuhi. Naglakip kini sa binatang kahadlok nga mawagtang sa pagkahamtong ug tinud-anay nga mga kahadlok nga kinahanglan buntogon diha sa pagpaningkamot.

Aduna usa'y lawom mga mga kahadlok mga sarang makahatag og kasakitan. Nagagikan kini sa usa ka kahaw-ang, ug nadugtong sa usa ka matang sa matang sa kultura nga nakagamut pinaagi mikatap nga nihilismo. Kining maong matang sa kahadlok nagpatigbabaw diin ang mga tawo naghunahuna nga makahimo sila bisan walay Dios, ug nagtuo nga ilang makontrolar ang kinabuhi ug kamatayon, o maayo ug dautan, nagkanayon ang Santo Papa.

Sa laing bahin, ang matuohon dili kinahanglang mahadlok sa bisan unsa tungod kay nahibalo siya nga anaa siya sa mga kamut sa Ginoo, ug ang kadautan dili magmadaugon sa katapusan.

Aerial view of the town center

Remnant of an old municipal building

resources management of the Inabanga watershed

http://www.aciar.gov.au/project/LWR/2001/003
Project ID:
LWR/2001/003: Integrated watershed management for sustainable soil and water resources management of the Inabanga watershed, Bohol Island, Philippines
Collaborating Countries:
Philippines
Commissioned Organisation:
University of Western Sydney, Australia
Project Leader
Professor H. John BavorPhone: (02) 4570 1264Fax: 02 4570 1267Email: j.bavor@uws.edu.au
Collaborating Institutions:
· Bureau of Soil and Water Management, Philippines
· Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Philippines
Project Budget:
$754,155
Project Duration:
01/07/2002 - 30/06/2005
Project Extension:
01/07/2005 - 30/06/2006
ACIAR Research Program Manager
Dr Ian Willett

Project Background and Objectives
Bohol, the tenth largest island in the Philippines, is one of the country's most economically backward regions, with more than 80 per cent of the population dependent on agriculture. Poor land-use practices have caused soil erosion and runoff, leading to a decline in agricultural productivity. Bohol's fisheries and coastal mangroves have also been affected by these land degradation problems, as the quality and quantity of water in the rivers decline.
One of the most important sources of water for agriculture and domestic use in Bohol is the Inabanga watershed. The Inabanga watershed is the largest watershed in Bohol Island. There are plans to use the Inabanga River to provide the domestic water supply to Cebu, the Philippines' second largest city. The river is also necessary for planned agricultural and economic developments in Cebu. It is thus important to protect the Inabanga River; however, there is currently no quantitative information on soil erosion and runoff, and how these factors affect the quality and quantity of water in the river.
This project is providing information needed to plan strategies for reversing damage to the land and water resources, and restoring agricultural productivity, to assist in developing strategies for reviving agricultural productivity in the Inabanga watershed in Bohol Island, Philippines, whilst protecting soil and water resources.
The project team first analysed and described the current state of the natural resources in the Inabanga watershed. The approach involved data gathering from geographic information systems (GIS) as well as interviews with farmers, community groups, and local and national government and non-government organisations. The researchers gathered data on land characteristics, water use and water resources, and identified any problems associated with these resources. They could then link their information with satellite imagery to develop a database for pinpointing soil and water resource problems in the watershed.
The initial results enabled the team to decide which land-use practices would be subjected to more detailed examination over the following two years, to determine their effects on soil erosion and runoff. The team also collected information on the distribution of water from the Inabanga River to sectors such as agriculture, industry and domestic water supply, along with demographic information about farmers for use in analysing socioeconomic issues and their impact on agricultural water management.
Project Outcomes
The team completed maps showing estimates of current land-use areas that included six major agricultural crops (irrigated rice, rainfed rice, corn, cassava, coconut and oil palm) and forestry/grassland areas. The land-use cover percentages were: agriculture usage 52%; grassland and shrub land areas 33%; woodlands 12%; wetland areas 1%; miscellaneous/built-up areas 1%. Watershed maps developed showed the area in three soil-depth classes, slope maps in six different slope percentage classes (0-3, 3-8, 8-18, 18-30, 30-50 and above 50) and a general erosion map in five different classes. Maps were produced as both stand-alone maps and as GIS data-layers.
Technical information gathered was incorporated into a GIS framework and database to support better decision-making via data and trend evaluation and modelling, for application to a wide variety of watershed management decision-making issues. Cropping and land-use suitability was assessed in the watershed pedo-ecological zones with respect to soil type, with further evaluation incorporating specific agriculture practices, water source and slope characteristics. Local advisory teams provided technical assistance to support ongoing transfer of education and training to sustain good agricultural practices, conserve soil and water resources, improve farming practices and increase farm income.
Data gathered at the seven experimental erosion and runoff sites and three water sampling sites helped determine runoff volume, water quality and soil loss under a wide variety of rainfall and cropping conditions experienced through the year. Data for nitrogen and phosphorus losses were also determined. The sites include the following land-uses: agroforestry, woodland, cassava/corn, grassland, rainfed rice, irrigated rice and oil palm. Compiled in GIS format and linked database, the data provide a rich source of information for planning agencies and NGO groups when making presentations during farmer/community training activities.
A comprehensive dataset addressing agro-socio-economic issues in the watershed has been completed. It was compiled from farm surveys across the watershed - 932 households from 114 barangays of 14 municipalities in 2000 and another 126 household in five municipalities in 2003. The dataset also included interviews and collected data from farmer cooperators at five project sites. A picture emerged of high poverty levels, rising unemployment and low per capita income. Farm productivity, with the exception of irrigated rice, fell below the national average.
Alternative cropping scenarios and present/future water management practices were considered in developing strategies to reduce sediment transport. Through planned demonstration farms and learning centres, the team aims to create an enabling environment for stakeholders and others to protect and preserve watershed resources.
The project introduced scientific methods and instrumentation to deal with soil and water resources research at a watershed scale rather that the conventional plot scale. These technologies and approaches have bolstered local capacity to monitor and evaluate data, yielded information to produce maps and database sets, and lifted capacity for predictive evaluation of management options via modelling based on empirically derived data.
Outcomes Adoption
The knowledge gathered at both local and watershed scale to understand the fundamentals of soil erosion and runoff, water quality evaluation, crop production and water management is being transferred, with the help of national level management agencies, local government, NGOs and community farmer groups. Planned demonstration farms and learning centres, linked with ACIAR Landcare activities within Bohol, are anticipated to further strengthen better soil and water management.
Team members have increased their skills in monitoring and collecting data. These new data will allow others to use this information to study the impact of farming practices in the community. Extension of this new information is opening opportunities for locals to participate in decision-making, an empowerment involvement which has been lacking in the past. Several organisations are now working together to bring needed information to local decision-makers.

The Politics of Water

(INABANGA, BOHOL) LIKE CEBU'S other neighbors, Bohol's development has always been measured in terms of its contributions of manpower, agricultural produce and natural resources to the growth center.
The self-proclaimed pride of Central Visayas, Cebu is the center of commercial and industrial progress in the region. Metro Cebu now rivals Metro Manila in generating business, while Mactan Island has an international airport and a 250-hectare export processing zone in Lapu-Lapu City that accounts for half of the exports originating from the Visayas.
Flush with money, Cebu lords over all other Visayan provinces.
Many Boholanos, however, are less than impressed by their neighbor. Cebu may have the indus- trial zones, but at least Bohol still has a lot of natural wonders to boast of, they say. Bohol's forests, for instance, still shelter the rare and endangered tarsier. The province has also retained its rich fishing grounds and unpolluted beaches, as well as the best dive spots in the Central Visayas.
But traditional politics has a queer and nasty way of perpetrating patronage and patriarchal attitudes. The rich members of the family always tend to have their way. As it is in the clan, so it is in Central Visayas.
Unsurprisingly, when the memorandum of understanding for the multi-billion-peso Bohol-Cebu Water Supply Project was signed in Malacañang in September 1995, Bohol Gov. Rene Relampagos was invited only as an observer. The political affront, whether intended or not, would not be forgot- ten easily by the Boholanos.
Two years later, the Boholanos are building a fierce resistance against the proposed project.
That they are not inclined to generously supply Metro Cebu with water from Inabanga River is only partly due to Bohol's own increasing needs for the resource.
True, the Bohol provincial government recently served notice that the province would have greater need of the Wahig-Inabanga water supply than Cebu, now that four Boholano towns are about to form special economic zones.
But conversations with local townsfolk reveal that aside from this as well as envi- ronmental concerns, Boholanos are simply getting tired of being bullied, and they see the proposed deal as the last straw.
They may also be trying to avoid a repeat of unpleasant past experiences with Cebu. The last time Cebu needed beach sand for its five-star resorts, for instance, Bohol lost Tambulian and Macalingao islands off Clarin town to illegal quarrying.
This time around, even the province's neophyte governor, Rene Relampagos, has dared to stand up against the project's powerful backers, in a show of Bohol's increasing determination to control its own destiny.
The 33-year old governor has acknowledged pressure from Manila on the project. But Relampagos—a former seminarian—has tried to pull off a few tricks of his own. At one point, he announced a "Bohol First" policy that would have to be followed if his government were to partici- pate in any negotiations regarding the deal.
Relampagos then requested Malacañang to hasten the implementation of several delayed projects in Bohol that the national government was funding. He specifically cited the Panglao island airport and its component programs, the upgrading of the provincial circumferential road, the Bohol-Leyte power interconnection, and the long-term solution to the water problem of Tagbilaran City.
"Governor Relampagos was making the most out of a tight and disadvantageous situation," community development advocate Fr. Romeo Dompor now says. "He was bargaining."
But the governor's move also sent another message to the Boholanos. Says Dompor: "It became clear to us that the water project had the backing of very powerful people in government."
Many became more convinced of this during the July public hearing called here by the Depart- ment of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for the project.
A request for a show of hands to ascertain the political position of the assembly there had re- sulted in a resounding rejection of the Bohol-Cebu water deal. But the solitary endorsement for the project was considered significant by some people because it came from Rep. Erico Aumentado of the second district of Bohol. Aumentado belongs to the ruling Lakas party, and his vote was read by many as a clue on how Malacañang saw the project.
Meanwhile, it has not escaped the notice of many Boholanos that Cebu can very well tap other water sources aside from Inabanga River.
One of the striking observations of a DENR paper on the deal, in fact, is that Metro Cebu can get its water needs within its own borders.
This is supported by Herman van Engelen, director of the Water Resource Center based at Cebu City's University of San Carlos, who has long been disputing reports that Cebu province lacked the water resources to quench its own thirst.
Van Engelen points to the watersheds of Kotkot, Lusaran and Mananga in the upland borders of the Cebu metropolis as possible sources. "Once projects are fully developed in these areas," he said, "the Mananga facility can provide 120,000 cubic meters of water daily and Lusaran an additional 140,000 cu. meters daily-more than enough to fulfill the demands of Metro Cebu and Mactan Island in the next five or more years."
What has kept Cebu from developing the potentials of Lusaran and Mananga? A masterplan for Water Resources and Management, according to the Cebu Uniting for Sustainable Water, a coalition of civic groups and non-government organizations. A management and land use plan, said Gero Hilimer of the University of Hamburg, who was once involved in geological mapping of Cebu.
But Van Engelen said flatly: "The leaders of Cebu don't dare to act decisively." He cited the prob- lem posed by squatters in the watershed areas. "As early as April 1997 the Cebu City government allocated P100 million to resettle the squatters in these places," he said, "but nothing happened."
Mayor Antonio Dangoy of Compostela is another example of what van Engelen is talking about. Dangoy refuses to share the town's abundant water resource with the rest of Cebu. He insists that his town must first be allowed to convert 1,500 hectares of its watershed area for commercial and indus- trial purposes before Metro Cebu can access its water.
Yet the wells have already been drilled in Compostela and are ready to be pumped to downtown Cebu City some 30 kilometers away. This is approximately the length of the pipeline from Inabanga to Mactan in the Bohol-Cebu water deal.
To some observers, the Cebu leadership seems to prefer tangling with the Boholanos than trying to convince Mayor Dangoy to toe the line.
Others discern a harsher meaning. "Those in power in Cebu have become apostles of globalization," said Fr. Dompor. "They have little faith in local resources. They do not believe that their island environment will sustain them. It is development by default. Witness the rampant land speculation in Cebu."
Inspired by initial economic gains, Cebus local government units have enthusiastically opened many areas, including watersheds, to investors. Meanwhile, the Buhisam dam, a main water source, has become silted and neglected. All of those included in the Metro Cebu Water District CWD's extensive list of potential water sources are also threatened by an insidious kind of progress.
Observers have noted that the feasibility study submitted by the corporate alliance supposed to construct and manage the project failed to provide comparative cost estimates of Cebu and Bohol water sources. Critics of the project now say the political leaders of Cebu would rather buy water from Bohol than rehabilitate their degraded water sources.
Professor Resil Mojares of the University of San Carlos in Cebu City conceded, "Well, the project really tends to divert us from the sense of urgency of protecting the environment in Cebu."
Ironically, the proposed deal is making the Boholanos rally around their province's natural riches. An old Boholano saying conveys how the people feel about the province's waters in particular: The rivers of the island are the blood of Bohol.
But it is still money that is power. Bisayan wisecracks know that Imperial Metro Cebu dictates the tempo of development in the Visayas, just as economic imperatives for the country are dictated by Imperial Metro Manila.
"The Central Visayas region can be viewed as one planning unit," observed Mojares "The prob- lem is nothing has been done in fostering consensus on an overall regional plan and the role of each province in this plan. Did anybody ask Bohol if it is comfortable with providing the fresh water or white sand needs of Cebu?
To be sure, even as late as August, formal talks on the project involving the Bohol stakeholders had yet to take place.
Until now, several months later, the DENR has yet to decide whether or not to issue an Environ- mental Compliance Certificate (ECC) to the project.
If history were to be the gauge, however, the powers-that-be in Manila and Cebu should be forewarned. Cebu may be the place where the conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi began to fulfill Spain's colonial ambition in the Far East. But it was Bohol where Dagohoy led a rebellion against Spain that lasted for almost a century.

http://www.pcij.org/stories/1998/bohol2.html