BOGO CITY, THE MAIN MARKET TOWN OF NORTHERN CEBU, PHILIPPINES

BOGO CITY, THE MAIN MARKET TOWN OF THE NORTH

Bogo City, Cebu, Philippines

The Land

Bogo is located in the northern part of Cebu province, in mainland Cebu. It is 101 kilometers away from the regional capital of Central Visayas, Cebu City. Bogo is accessible by land and sea transportation. The adjoining municipalities of Bogo and their approximate distances are as follows: Tabogon in the southeast, 18 kms. Via the provincial road; Tabuelan in the southwest, 40 kms. Via San Remegio; San Remegio in the  west, 9 kms; and Daanbantayan, 26 kms, in the north. Bogo Bay, which lies to the east facing Camotes Sea, separates  Bogo from Medellin.

Dr. Jose Rizal Park

Physical Features

Bogo has an area of 10,545 hectares, which constitutes 2.7% of the total land area of Cebu province. It has 29 barangays or villages, seven of which are located along the coast. The city belongs to the 4th Congressional District of Cebu. The city has a gentle rolling terrain to nearly level along the northeastern portion consisting of barangays Don Pedro Rodriguez, Polambato, Cayang, Poblacion, Dakit, Malingin, Gairan, and Nailon. It has a coastal line running approximately 27 kms., fringed with coral formations with pockets of sandy shores at Nailon, Siocon, and Odlot.

The city is characterized by nearly flat coastal plains at the central portion where the Poblacion barangays Gairan, Polambato, Don Rodriguez, Cayang, and Malingin are located. From the central coastal area, running through the interior is a rolling terrain, except along the eastern coastal portion, which is rugged and has a steep slope. Its highest elevation is 252 meters above sea level at Barangay Binabag. Steep slopes are approximately 3.2 kms. from the nearest foothill to the northeast.

Gaisano Department Store

History

Bogo's political community dates back to the arrival of the first waves of early Spanish colonizers in the capital city of Cebu. Settlements were already thriving along the shorelines of the town wherein seafaring tribes and traders from distant islands of the Visayas region and as far as the southern islands of Mindanao occasionally come to these settlements to sell or barter their products with the natives.The year 1600 ushered in the founding of real settlement which was subsequently transformed into a barangay where small huts made of cogon and bamboos squatted at the site where the Bogo Central Extension now stands. While the barangay was then a part of another bustling community of the north, now known as the town of Daan Bantayan. Hence, in January 1850 the Bishop of Cebu appointed Father Jaime Micalot, a Spanish friar, as the first Parish priest of Bogo and declared Saint Vincent Ferrer as the town's patron saint.

The first mass was celebrated in a hastily built structure made of cogon roofing, mixed with bamboo and lumber materials on April 5, 1850, which coincided with the death anniversary of the Patron Saint. Unfortunately, this chapel was gutted by fire of undetermined origin and a new stone church was constructed in the same place where the present Bogo Town Plaza is located.

Early historians aver that the town of Bogo derived its name from a lone Bogo tree which stood on the brink of the shore which is now part of Bogo wharf. Under its foliage, the natives of the place meet incoming traders who rode on frail sailboats loaded with goods to be sold or bartered with the natives of the town. Some of these traders, however, remained and married with the natives of the place.

Prince Warehouse, Bogo, Cebu, Philippines

The People

Per censal period as of 2007, the population of Bogo is recorded at 69,123 with ____ households. The population density of Bogo in that same year stood at 741.6 and with a population growth rate of 1.09 for the past 7 years.

Demographic Profile

There is a population increase of 8.22% from year 2000 to 2007 for a period of 7 years compared to a population increase from 1995 to 2000 which showed a population growth rate of 11.17%.

Geology and Vegetative Cover

The land form and geologic formations of the area reflect the relatively broad limestone plain/mountain landscape. The terrain characteristic of this particularly geomorphic mapping unit is level to nearly flat, with common to many rock outcrops and very thin soils.

San Vicente Parich Church, Bogo, Cebu, Philippines

Climate

Bogo enjoys the third type of climate. It is characterized by no pronounced wet period and a dry season lasting from one to three months. Its relatively dry months are from November to May. The rainy season of the locality usually starts in June and ends in October. The average rainfall data in the area show that heavy rains usually fall from June to November.

Bogo is firmly warmer than most places in whole of Cebu province. Its mean temperature of 27.4oC is 6oC higher than that of the entire province. March, April, and May are usually the warmest months while November, December, and January are the coolest months.

The town is well protected from the full force of wind blows. The northeasterly wind direction is most prevalent during the months of January to May. When the northeasterly wind starts to hit in June the town is well protected by the mountain ranges of Cayang and Banban. July and August is the onset of southwesterly winds (locally called habagat) where low level areas, including the greater urbanized barangays are protected by the mountains of Binabag, Anonang Norte and Anonang Sur. This condition makes Bogo a good shelter for sea vessels during typhoon season.

Capitancillo Island, Bogo, Cebu, Philippines

SCUBA DIVING CAPITAN CILLO ISLAND

100 km north of Mactan Island, 10 km southeast of Bogo; 2 ½ hr by banca from Mactan, 1 hr from Sogod or by road to Bogo on Cebu's east coast and 30 min by banca. You would not normally make this journey in bad conditions, but even in good conditions fierce currents can be a real problem. Advanced divers pick spring tides in the hope of spotting larger pelagic species, but less experienced divers should choose neap tides and be with an experienced divemaster.

There are three sites here with similar profiles: A) The Ormoc Shoal, 5 km to the northeast of Capitancillo; B) The Nunez Shoal, 3 km southwest of Calangaman Islet, which is to the northeast of Capitancillo Island; C) Capitancillo Island's own Southwest wall. All have shallow reef-tops at 33 ft leading to drop-offs with colorful soft corals, gorgonian sea fans, caves and black corals. The main interest of the dives are the walls, with their many caves and overhangs, small shoals of pelagic fish, all varieties of reef fish, Whitetip and Grey Reef Sharks and the ever present possibility of encounters with larger pelagic species. Shallow reef-flats extend 3km all around Capitancillo Island, but these three dive sites are the best in the area.

Virgin Mary Shrine, Bogo City, Cebu, Philippines

HERE IS WHAT AN EX-PAT WRITES ABOUT BOGO CITY:

About three hours by bus north of Cebu lies Bogo City. Bogo has over 50,000 people and a nice little shopping area featuring a Gaisano department store and supermarket, movies, Jollibee and many other shops around about. Not far away is the new market area and jeepney terminal and you can ride a tricycle there for a few pesos.

Nearby there is the port of Bogo, a long wharf that juts out into Bogo Bay where pump boats from other islands like Masbate and Leyte call in, fishing boats drop off their catch and at night, lovers seek solitude and darkness amidst the romantic backdrop of the sea. From the wharf you can look across the bay to Polambato where the vehicular ferry to Leyte pulls in. This is the vessel the bus to Manila uses to continue its 48 hour journey from Cebu City to the National Capital.

Around Bogo there are sugar cane plantations, coconut trees and mango farms. On the road in from Cebu you pass the imposing shrine on the hill. The best place to stay amongst several clean local style hotels is a way out of town at the Nailon Beach Resort. Otherwise head across the tip of the island of Cebu to San Remigio where there are several other resorts and the road south down the west coast to Toledo and MoalBoal. Just north of San Remigio is Hagnaya where you catch the ferry to Bantayan Island enarby.

North of Bogo is a bridge over the Dayhagon Channel. This make Daanbantayan province actually an island itself but few people realise that. The nearest small town, Medellin has a lovely modern marketplace and is very clean and tidy. Daanbantayan itself further to the north is the jumping off spot for Malapascua Island via the port of Maya. This is where the buses stop and start their daily runs to and from Cebu City.

South of Bogo most people go over the mountains to Sogod but you can follow the coast to Borbon and on to Sogod. That used to be the main route but the mountain road was updated some decades ago and since then time has passed by the coastal houses and compounds. Many of these are forever for sale, waiting the day people come flooding back.

Bogo is a great little town to retire to. Enough going on to keep boredom at bay but not so busy it drives you crazy.

Bogo City Seal, Bogo City, Cebu, Philippines

HISTORY OF CITYHOOD FOR BOGO

The plebiscite for the cityhood of Bogo was held on 16 June 2007. After few hours of canvassing, 97.82% of voters of Bogo voted for "yes" for cityhood. Former representative Clavel Asas-Matinez announced that the cityhood of Bogo has been ratified. It became the sixth component city of Cebu province.

On 19 November 2008, the City of Bogo was demoted along with 2 other cities in Cebu and 13 other cities in the Philippines. The Supreme Court ruled out that the 16 cities did not pass the requirements for cityhood.

On December 10, 2008, Bogo and the other 15 cities affected filed a motion for reconsideration with the Supreme Court. More than a year later, on December 22, 2009, acting on said appeal, the Court reversed its earlier ruling as it ruled that "at the end of the day, the passage of the amendatory law (regarding the criteria for cityhood as set by Congress) is no different from the enactment of a law, i.e., the cityhood laws specifically exempting a particular political subdivision from the criteria earlier mentioned. Congress, in enacting the exempting law/s, effectively decreased the already codified indicators." As such, the cityhood status of Bogo is effectively restored.