01/10/2020
Discover Balilihan: Splendor behind the Greens
Balilihan is an interior town located 22 km northeast of Tagbilaran City, Bohol’s capital. The place is a low rolling plateau dotted with verdant hills and green valleys beneath the ragged mountains. It is said to have been so named because of the grass “balili” which grew in abundance.
Formerly a part of the old municipality of Baclayon, Balilihan was established on September 29, 1828, with its seat situated in Datag particularly in sitio “bay sa iring.” Ceferino Pongase was then appointed as the first Kapitan.
Due to scarcity of water the seat of government was transferred to its present site.
On top of the Valdellon Hill now Mt. Carmel Hill in the Poblacion is a Spanish belfry built in 1835 and inaugurated in 1846. Serving as a watchtower, it is made of Adobe stones gathered on foot by villagers from Baclayon to the town.
With the guidance of appointed local leaders under the control of the Spanish friar, the town progressed but slowly yet peacefully until the revolution in 1898.
On November 12, 1900, American soldiers took control over the town and razed the place to the ground. They burned the church, the convent, the municipal building, the school buildings, and the houses. The only structure spared was the belfry on top of the hill.
Years later, for the first time, the locals witnessed the election of their local leaders. Manuel Diamante was then elected as President. It was during this period that remarkable progress was achieved. Streets were constructed, peace and order were restored, more houses were built, and the population increased.
In 1948, still recovering from the disastrous effects of the Second World War, Balilihan suffered a great loss of its territory and income when the big barrio of Catigbian was given a town charter of revival.
In the ensuing years, the town developed considerably under a succession of worthy local leaders in total cooperation with the Church. In 1967, then-Mayor Lino Ibarra Chatto was appointed Governor and eventually became the longest-serving Governor of Bohol.
Years after, Balilihan’s longest-serving mayor, Hon. Eladio Ibarra Chatto, Sr. garnered for Balilihan the Best Rizal Monument Award given by the National Government. He was later elected Assemblyman of the Batasang Pambansa in 1984, his Vice Mayor Lorenzo Baliong Sr. assumed briefly as Mayor until replaced by a series of OICs in 1986.
In 1986 Balilihan had a share of “People Power” with the reins of government placed in the hands of OIC Elias Baquero, Eduardo Bodota then Cirila Nazareno who turned over leadership of Balilihan in 1988 to Edgardo Migriño Chatto after winning the Election.
1988, under the leadership of a young Mayor, fresh from Law School, Edgardo Migriño Chatto, marked the birth of a community newsletter “the Belfry” and identified the town’s symbolic hymn, flag, tree, flower, bird, fruit, and animal. It also marked the groundbreaking of the Hanopol Mini Hydro Electric Power Plant.
1990 gave way to the Countryside Action Program (CAP) Balilihan Model - a holistic approach for socio-economic development in the municipality, with the introduction of the “Purok Power Movement” in the local system. This sustainable approach to development has been replicated provincewide and nationwide and has garnered various national recognitions.
Through the years, more development projects and programs were brought in from the time of Mayor Dominisio Chatto to Mayor Victoria Migriño-Chatto, and the incumbent Mayor Maria Pureza Veloso-Chatto with the strong support of Atty. Edgar Chatto in various capacities as former Mayor of the town, Board Member, Vice Governor of Bohol, Member of the House of Representatives, Governor of Bohol, and now as Congressman in the 18th Congress of the Republic of the Philippines.
DEVELOPMENT LANDMARKS: Projects and Programs
1. Municipal Gymnasium
2. Municipal Public Market
3. Municipal Building
4. Municipal Health Center
5. Municipal Plaza
6. Municipal Park
7. Evacuation Center
8. Farmers Training Center
9. BAWOD Skills and Livelihood Training Center
10. TESDA
11. CPMNHS
12. BISU BALILIHAN CAMPUS
13. CONGRESSIONAL LIBRARY
14. HANOPOL SUBSTATION BUILDING
15. BFP BUILDING
16. MUNICIPAL CIRCUIT TRIAL COURT/HALL JUSTICE BUILDING
17. LYING IN CENTER BUILDING ongoing construction
18. Children’s Playground KOICA
19. Farm to Market Road
20. Falls improvements (Kawasan Falls, Camugao Falls)
21. Potable water supplies
22. Irrigation canals
23. Agricultural equipment for rice farmers and
vegetable growers
24. Skills training on agriculture, technology in coordination
with DSWD, DOLE, TESDA, DTI
OUR DREAMS AND ASPIRATIONS FOR DEAR BALILIHAN
To soar to greater heights we continue to work as one to improve the economic, social, cultural, spiritual, and moral life of our people. We dream to see all Balilinhons as empowered people, industrious, honest, freedom-loving, friendly, and hospitable.
And as ever, we challenge the youth of today and the future generation to hold high our banner as we fly to keep our dear Balilihan shine brightly behind the greens and to shout our battle: AIM HIGH, BALILIHAN FOREVER!!!
