Sagbayan
Sagbayan, officially the Municipality of Sagbayan, is a municipality in the province of Bohol, Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 25,329 people.
Its main attraction is Sagbayan Peak, a tourism site overlooking a scenic valley with an observation platform and children's playground. While some similar hill formations are visible, it is not within the main Chocolate Hills area.
Sagbayan is from Tagbilaran.
Sagbayan celebrates its feast on May 4/August 28, to honor the town patron San Agustin.
Etymology
The name Sagbayan came from the combination of the local words Sag which means nest, and Bay which means house. Therefore, Sagbayan means a place for making tree-houses.Long ago, the place was said to be plentiful of deer and wild pig. People often visit the place to hunt them. They constructed tree houses while waiting for their prey to appear. As time goes, these animals were depopulated, leaving only tree houses left by the hunters.
The proper pronunciation of word Ságbayan has a stress on its first syllable, not Sagbayán, which has stress on its suffix -an, therefore debunking the word Sagbayán which means a place to hang.
History
Sagbayan was formerly part of the surrounding municipalities of Clarin, Inabanga, Carmen, and Balilihan. It was created into a separate town through Executive Order No. 204 of President Elpidio Quirino on February 9, 1949, and named Borja, in honor of Salustiano Borja, the first elected civil governor of the province of Bohol.The original list of its barangays and sitios were Sagbayan, Canmaya Centro, Canmaya Diot, Canmano, San Antonio, and San Isidro, and the sitios of Santa Cruz, San Vicente Norte, San Vicente Sur, San Ramon, and Kalangahan, from Clarin; the sitios of Mantalongon and Katipunan from Inabanga, and the sitios of Cabasacan and Ubuhan from Balilihan. Barangay Sagbayan became its Poblacion which is the seat of government of the municipality.
Through the Republic Act No. 1741, it was reverted to its original name, Sagbayan on June 21, 1957, signed by President Carlos P. Garcia.
On October 15, 2013, Sagbayan was close to the epicenter of a magnitude 7.2 earthquake. The town suffered 12 fatalities and damage to almost 1,000 homes, as well as total destruction of its town hall.