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35-480: 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 74 kilometres (46 mi) from Tagbilaran . Sagbayan celebrates its feast on May 4/August 28, to honor the town patron San Agustin. The name Sagbayan came from

70-426: A combination of the dissolution of limestone by rainfall, surface water, and groundwater, and their subaerial erosion by streams after they had been uplifted above sea level and fractured by tectonic processes. These hills are separated by well developed flat plains and contain numerous caves and springs. The Chocolate Hills are considered to be a remarkable example of conical karst topography. The origin for

105-655: A new front , known as the Chocolate Hills Command. To some farmers, the proclamation is a government scheme which suppresses their right to own lands. As such, conflicts between the New People's Army group and government military forces escalated, culminating in two major engagements. Being alienable and disposable lands, the Chocolate Hills are seen as quarrying assets and source of income for small-scale miners, as well as quarry materials for

140-535: A patron saint as well as a Spanish name, who are celebrated in an annual barangay fiesta. In World War II, Carmen served as the stronghold of the guerrilla resistance movement and the local civil government because of its strategic location. In 2013 a magnitude 7.2 earthquake shook Central Visayas region, with its epicenter within Carmen municipality. Carmen is located in the heart of Bohol Island. The Chocolate Hills , composed of 1,776 cone-shaped karst hills, are

175-462: Is politically subdivded into 24 barangays . Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios . Poverty incidence of Sagbayan Source: Philippine Statistics Authority Chocolate Hills The Chocolate Hills ( Cebuano : Mga Bungtod sa Tsokolate , Filipino : Mga Tsokolateng Burol or Mga Burol na Tsokolate ) are a geological formation in the Bohol province of

210-471: 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. Sagbayan

245-471: The Philippines . There are at least 1,260 hills, but there may be as many as 1,776 hills spread over an area of more than 50 square kilometers (20 sq mi). They are covered in green grass that turns into a chocolate-like brown during the dry season, hence the name. They are featured in the provincial flag and seal to symbolize the abundance of natural attractions in the province. They are in

280-473: The province of Bohol , Philippines . According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 49,191 people. Carmen celebrates its fiesta on January 17, to honor the town patron Saint Anthony de Abbot . Carmen was originally part of the municipality of Bilar and called Imbaya, after the name of a stream in the settlement. During the Spanish time, it was inhabited by not more than fifty families. In 1868,

315-580: The Chocolate Hills area include: obtaining the national government's sanction for the project; persuading landowners to sell; convincing the Protected Areas Management Board, which has jurisdiction over the hills, not to use its veto power over any investment requiring physical facilities. A resort was seen built between the Chocolate Hills, sparking controversy in March 2024 . In response, Congress launched inquiries which led to

350-420: The Chocolate Hills of Bohol a National Geological Monument on June 18, 1988, in recognition of its special characteristics, scientific importance, uniqueness, and high scenic value. As such, this included the Chocolate Hills among the country's protected areas. More protection was provided by Proclamation No. 1037 signed by President Fidel V. Ramos on July 1, 1997, which established the Chocolate Hills and

385-515: The Chocolate Hills' viewing deck was destroyed. In October 2018, the Provincial Development Council’s (PDC) Executive Committee proposed ₱ 200 million in funding for the repair work, and restored the viewing deck and the surrounding facilities, including the pathways, parking space, water features, trellis, stairs, ramps, food court, museum, activity center, lamp posts, signages and landscaping works. On April 30, 2024, two of

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420-793: The Philippine Tourism Authority's list of tourist destinations in the Philippines; they have been declared the country's third National Geological Monument and proposed for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The Chocolate Hills form a rolling terrain of haycock -shaped hills—mounds of a generally conical and almost symmetrical shape. With an estimated 1,268 to 1,776 individual mounds, these cone-shaped or dome-shaped hills are actually made of grass-covered limestone . The domes vary in size from 30 to 50 metres (98 to 164 ft) high with

455-458: The Philippine islands. A young and powerful giant named Arogo once fell in love with a human named Aloya, and lived together for sometime until Aloya became ill and died. Arogo mourned, and his tears fell to the ground culminating into mounds that would later become the hills. The flatlands of Carmen were once a playground for giant children. One day they initiated a contest on who can bake

490-526: The Philippines in the interiors of Siquijor and Cebu , southestern Leyte , along the western coast of Guimaras , the northwestern tip of Masbate , and in the Bicol region comprising southern Albay and western Sorsogon . Carmen, Bohol Carmen , officially the Municipality of Carmen ( Cebuano : Munisipalidad sa Carmen ; Tagalog : Bayan ng Carmen ), is a 1st class municipality in

525-596: The areas within, around, and surrounding them located in the municipalities of Carmen , Batuan , Sagbayan , Bilar , Valencia and Sierra Bullones as a natural monument to protect and maintain its natural beauty and to provide restraining mechanisms for inappropriate exploitation. As such, they are covered under the National Integrated Protected Areas System with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) as

560-473: The challenges faced by the Chocolate Hills. Before they were designated national geological monuments, some of the hills (about 310,455 ha (1,200 sq miles)) were classified as alienable and disposable or private lands such that they were titled to some locals. The declaration consequently caused some social unrest, resulting in almost simultaneous civil uprising, led by the long-established New People's Army (generally described as Maoist guerrillas) establishing

595-422: The combination of the local words Sag which means nest, and Bay (short of Balay) 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

630-448: The conical karst of the Chocolate Hills is described in popular terms on the bronze plaque at the viewing deck in Carmen, Bohol. This plaque states that they are eroded formations of a type of marine limestone that sits on top of hardened clay. Self-published, popular web pages present a variety of fanciful and less credible explanations about how these hills formed. They include sub-oceanic volcanism ; limestone covered blocks created by

665-417: The destruction of an active volcano in a cataclysmic eruption; and tidal movements. The lack of any exposed or associated volcanic rocks in the Chocolate Hills refutes the popular theories involving volcanic eruptions. The theories involving either a sudden, massive geologic shift, coral reefs being erupted from the sea, or tidal movements lack any corroborating evidence and support among geologists. Two of

700-401: The famous tourist spot to be developed by the provincial government and other entities that have control over the area. Further, the amended proclamation ensures that the areas that have to be preserved are preserved, while those that could be developed would be excluded from the national monument area and classified as alienable and disposable by the government. The president initially decided on

735-631: 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 (Calangahan), from Clarin; the sitios of Mantalongon and Katipunan from Inabanga, and the sitios of Cabasacan (Kabasacan) and Ubuhan (Ubojan) from Balilihan (note: Catigbian wasstill part of Balilihan until its reorganization on June 17, 1949 ). Barangay Sagbayan became its Poblacion which

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770-540: The hills have been developed into tourist resorts. The main viewing point of the Chocolate Hills is the government-owned Chocolate Hills Complex in Carmen, about 55 km (34 miles) from the capital Tagbilaran . The other main point to view the Chocolate Hills is at Sagbayan Peak, in Sagbayan , 18 km (11 miles) away from the Complex in neighboring Carmen . The National Committee on Geological Sciences declared

805-410: The hills were burned in a grassfire in Carmen after Bohol's heat index reached 41 °C (106 °F). The Chocolate Hills inspired many geomyths , most of which revolve around their formation and figures of giants. There were once two giants, each dwelling in the northern and southern edges of the island. During a rainy day when the ground became muddy, a hostile encounter between them prompted

840-555: The hills, the flat lands are cultivated with rice and other cash crops. However, the natural vegetation on the Chocolate Hills is now threatened by quarrying activities. The Chocolate Hills are conical karst hills. These hills consist of Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene , thin to medium bedded, sandy to rubbly marine limestone . These limestones contain the abundant fossils of shallow marine foraminifera , coral , mollusks , and algae . These conical hills are geomorphological features called cockpit karst, which were created by

875-497: 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. 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,

910-764: The issue during the joint meeting of the Regional Development Council-Regional Peace and Order Council of Region VII which was conducted at the Bohol Tropics Resort. Bills have been filed aiming to strengthen protection of the hills. On July 6, 2004, the Philippine House of Representatives introduced House Bill No. 01147 entitled "an act declaring the Chocolate Hills as national patrimony and geological monuments, penalizing their plunder, destruction or defacement, and for other purposes." The house bill

945-481: The largest being 120 metres (390 ft) in height. One of Bohol's best known tourist attractions, these unique mound-shaped hills are scattered by the hundreds throughout the towns of Carmen , Batuan and Sagbayan . During the dry season , the grass-covered hills dry up and turn chocolate brown. The vegetation is dominated by grass species such as Imperata cylindrica and Saccharum spontaneum . Several Compositae and ferns also grow on them. In between

980-459: The lead implementing agency for its protection. Land-use conflict prompted President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to sign an amendment to Proclamation 468 dated September 26, 1994, declaring the land around or in between Chocolate Hills as no longer part of the national monument during the Sandugo celebration on July 17, 2002. This amendment allowed the tracts of land surrounding and within

1015-408: The most mud cakes, gathering mud and "baking" them under coconut half shells flat on the ground. Before the contest could end, however, the children were called home. After a while, they returned to the area to witness their finished creations, and left them undisturbed out of admiration - the baked cakes thus became the hills. Outside of Bohol, similar karst hill ranges are found elsewhere throughout

1050-521: The people of Carmen petitioned for its independence since its population grew to an unprecedented number. The town of Carmen was founded on 1 March 1869 by final order of Governor General Jose de la Gandara and renamed at the same time in honor of the Lady of Carmel of Spain. In 1874, Carmen had its separate parish with Father Pedro Nolasco San Juan as the first parish priest. Due to the influence of Spanish culture and tradition, all barangays of Carmen have

1085-419: The province's construction projects. The challenge is how the national and local officials can harmonize the current needs of small-scale miners, the construction sector and the tourism sector with the preservation of the Chocolate Hills. Even with their protected status, mining permits continue to be granted by DENR and local government units. Hence, mining and quarrying are still taking place. Because of this,

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1120-655: The provincial government of Bohol has requested jurisdiction over the Chocolate Hills from the DENR. Meanwhile, the provincial government has suggested that the legislation defining the Natural Monument should be changed, which will require that the proclamation be redrafted and ratified by both the Philippine House and Senate. This is a cumbersome and costly process, on which no progress has been made to date. Future development and investment challenges within

1155-415: The resort being built despite the hills' protected status and the subsequent six-month suspension of 68 local officials including Bohol governor Erico Aristotle Aumentado . One of the largest earthquakes to hit Bohol struck the island at 8:12 a.m. ( PHT ) on October 15, 2013. The center of the M 7.2 earthquake was near Sagbayan, Bohol . Due to the earthquake, a portion of one of the hills gave way and

1190-440: The worried people to vacate to other parts of the island, and the giant from the north instigated a mud throwing fight. After a while, the battle climaxed into a fist-fight between the giants and ended with both knocking each other to the ground, and both died. What was left of the mud thrown that fell on the ground became the hills. This legend may also have been a local derivation of the larger precolonial Visayan creation myth of

1225-724: Was authored by Congressman Eladio "Boy" Jala and co-authored by Congressman Roilo Golez and Edgar Chatto . Though this has not been passed into law. On May 16, 2006, the DENR submitted the Chocolate Hills to the UNESCO World Heritage for inclusion in the list of Natural Monuments because of its outstanding universal value: Chocolate Hills was declared a national park under Republic Act No. 11038 (Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 2018) signed by President Rodrigo Duterte in July 2018. Balancing their protection, resource utilization and tourism are

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