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Sikatuna History

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Many said that the Great Boholano Chieftain, Datu Sikatuna, who made a blood compact with Miguel Lopez de Legazpi has the political significance in the naming of the town. However, some said that it’s not true. The story of the town’s political past goes this way.

Before, Sikatuna was once a part of the municipality of Baclayon and was called as barrio Cambojod. When Alburquerque became a town, Sikatuna then became a part of its new territory and the name “Cambojod” was changed to “Cornago”. It was then after that change when the local political leaders craved for independence.

With this new vision, headed by Clemente Lacea, they sought the advice of a prominent political figure in the province commonly called as “Tan Igue” and who was also perceived by many as the political mentor of Clemente Lacea. According to Tan Igue, in order to achieve their dream of becoming a separate town, a sympathetic Municipal President that will be able to understand their desire is required. Thus, the only way for Cornago to achieve that dream is to first grab the Municipal presidency of Albur in the 1916 election. By this, the enactment of the required ordinance will be secured by the use of moral ascendancy.

With this advice, and with the full support of the people of Cornago, Clemente Lacea ran for the position as Municipal President of Albur in the 1916 election and was duly elected into office. During Lacea’s term, the municipal council was steered into enacting the ordinance suggesting the creation of Cornago into a separate town.

After achieving their dream came the problem of what name to be given to the new municipality. Tan Igue came up with the idea that the new name should have some connection with the number “three”, as this number had already manifested so much significance in the town’s political journey.

It was then that Tan Igue suggested that the town be called “SAIKATONA” which is then pronounced as “SA IKA TO NA”. By the application of the principle of Idem Sonans (which means “sounding the same or identically; names pronounced the same but varied in spelling), SAIKATONA which sounds like SIKATUNA, the latter was adopted.

SAIKATONA was a Visayan phrase which means “ON THE THIRD TIME”. This name was proposed in order to emphasize three things. First is the fact that the place became a town on the third time they have to adopt a new name. Second is the fact that as a town, the municipal territory was re-defined and changed by law for the third time also. This is the fact that the newly created town is actually the third mother-town after having been a part of Baclayon and Albur before.

Many think that the future of Sikatuna indeed lies in whatever there is an implication of the number “three”. Aside from the reasons above, there were three people who were responsible for the birth of the new municipality. First is Clemente Lacea who ran for Municipal presidency and guided the officials into enacting the ordinance that would make it into town. Second is Tan Igue who, as a Provincial Board Member, authored the provincial ordinance concurring to the creation of the municipality. And the third indispensable element of the history is Senator Jose A. Clarin, who was then the District Senator of the 11th Senatorial District comprising the provinces of Bohol, Surigao, Misamis Oriental, and Misamis Occidental. He was the one who sponsored for the municipal charter, which is Executive Order No. 88, dated 5th of December 1917.

During World War II, the town was a haven for evacuees from the neighboring towns and some from the province of Cebu despite the presence of Japanese soldiers.

The Town of SIkatuna, Bohol

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