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Sevilla Bohol Travel Guide

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The town of Sevilla, situated in the interior part of the province of Bohol, is about 36 kilometers away from the province’s lone and capital city, Tagbilaran City, through the Loay-Interior Road and about 28 kilometers away from the city through the Sevilla-Sikatuna PRIP Road.

Sevilla is considered a fifth class municipality with a population at approximately 11, 289 people basing on the 2007 census. With a land area of 6,486 hectares, the town was subdivided into 13 barangays, to wit: Bayawahan, Cabancalan, Calinga-an, Calinginan Norte, Calinginan Sur, Cambagui, Ewon, Guinob-an, Lagtangan, Licolico, Lobgob, Magsaysay, and Poblacion.

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Surrounding its territory is the town of Balilihan in the north, Loboc in the south, Bilar in the east, and Sikatuna in the west. Travel time from the province’s capital city to the town may take approximately 1 hour.

The town celebrates its fiesta every 12th of December in commemoration of their patron saint, the Our Lady of Guadalupe. Discos, different contests and games are done during the celebration.

History of the Town

Historians believed that the name of the town was taken after the Spanish city of Seville being one of the towns established during the Spanish regime.

Before it was made into a town, the place was known as Panas, a barrio of Loboc, Bohol. The word Panas is a Sugbuanon-Bisaya word which means a smooth rock-cliff, especially which is made after a rockslide and it usually occur at riverbanks. This meaning was taken as the town of Sevilla has a river.

The town of Sevilla was founded in the year 1872. The towns of Loboc in the south, Balilihan in the west and Bilar in the east were under its territory during that time.

The town-center or commonly called Poblaceion was formerly located in Bentig, a place on the other side of the Loboc River. It was during 1900-1901 when Boholano-American war emerged. Boholano patriots who retreated from Balilihan to Sevilla were pursued by the Americans. Unluckily, the Americans were not able to find these patriots and, thus, burned the town center on November 3, 1901.

When peace was declared in the town, the town center was relocated at Sitio Maraag which is now the present Poblacion.

The word maraag is not a standard Bisayan word. The nearest equivalent meaning of this is “being weary or tired of waiting for someone or something”. This meaning was adapted by the people as it means or refers to the people getting tired of waiting for the reestablishment of Bintig, thus making Maraag the new town center.

Meaning of Binting

Bentig, the place where the former town center was located, is a Bisayan word which has many meanings.

Bentig may refer to the chipping off or cutting the tail end of seashells so that the contents of the shell could be sucked out.

It may also refer to a certain tree whose lumber is a good material for making guitars.

Another meaning which could not be found in old Bisayan dictionaries is that it refers to the natives of Bohol before the coming of the Eskaya in 667 A.D.

It was believed that true Bintig people were not the Aetas who were short and black. When the Eskayas arrived, they described the Bintigs as having a complexion which is reddish in color, similar to the American Indians.

This belief cannot be considered strange because Miguel de Loarca, in 1592, wrote that most Boholanos were white in complexion, most especially the women. And a white complexion turns to tan or “reddish” in color when exposed to the sun.

So, if you find someone in Sevilla, Bohol who has reddish complexion, do not be surprised because they are the descendants of the original Boholanos described by the Eskaya.

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