Calape

Calape, formally the Municipality of Calape, is a local government municipality in the province of Bohol in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. It occupies part of the western side of Bohol Island and includes mainland territory, the island of Pangangan, the island of Mantatao, and the uninhabited islets of Poom and Basihan. The town center faces the Cebu Strait and lies approximately 42 kilometres from Tagbilaran, Bohol's provincial capital. The municipality is bordered by Loon to the west and Tubigon to the east. Its geography combines a relatively level coastal plain with inland rolling hills formed largely from coralline limestone. Mount Candungao, in the eastern part of the municipality, is the highest point in the area at about 150 metres above sea level. Several waterways cross Calape, including the Tultugan and Liboron Rivers, which drain toward Calape Bay, and the Calunasan and Abucayan Norte Rivers, which flow toward Tipcan Bay. The extensive coastline and island jurisdictions are important elements of the municipality's physical and economic identity. A native settlement was already present in the area before Spanish colonization. In 1802, the Spanish governor of Cebu established Calape as an independent municipality. The name is associated in historical explanations with kalapi, a rattan formerly abundant in the locality, although it has also been interpreted as referring to a customary meeting or trading place used by traders and fishermen. These explanations connect the municipality's name with both its natural environment and its coastal role. Calape is administratively divided into 33 barangays, including numerous coastal communities. Its local territory includes eight barangays on Pangangan Island. During the postwar period, additional barangays were formally established or reorganized. In 1957, Abucayan Norte was created from the sitios of Cabulihan and Cabinong, while Abucayan Sur was formed from Rama and Bino. Binogawan, Masonoy, Bentig, Cahayag, and Lawis were also constituted as barrios during the same period. The municipality's economy is associated with its coastal setting, agricultural and rural communities, fisheries, local commerce, and public services. Education is represented by public elementary and secondary schools, private schools, and a campus of Bohol Island State University. The university's listed programs include teacher education, computer science, industrial technology, midwifery, and fisheries. A 2007 survey cited for the municipality reported a literacy rate of 93.09 percent. Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion, accounting for approximately 92 percent of the population according to the referenced municipal profile. Calape's recorded population was 33,022 in the 2024 census. Its civic identity is also associated with notable people from the locality, including novelty singer Yoyoy Villame and Ernesto Falar Herrera, who served as a Philippine senator and represented Bohol's first congressional district. As an active Philippine municipality, Calape is governed through the country's local-government system rather than functioning as a commercial brand. The supplied reference material does not identify a corporate owner, commercial product portfolio, public listing, or standalone municipal website.

Calape had an established native settlement before the arrival of Spanish forces and administrators in the Philippines. Historical accounts connect the place-name with kalapi, a rattan said to have been plentiful in the area. Another explanation associates the name with a traditional meeting or exchange place used by traders and fishermen. Both interpretations reflect the area's natural resources and its position along the coast of western Bohol. In 1802, the Spanish governor of Cebu recognized Calape as an independent municipality. This act placed the settlement within the formal municipal structure of the Spanish colonial administration. As elsewhere in the Philippines, local administration evolved through offices and titles that included the Capitan Municipal and later the Presidente Municipal, before the office of municipal mayor became standard. Early leadership arrangements were not always recorded consistently, and some earlier appointments or selections are difficult to reconstruct from surviving documentation. During the American colonial period, municipal elections were placed within a more regular legal framework through the Municipal Code associated with Act No. 82 of 1901. Municipal chief executives were initially chosen for three-year terms, a pattern that continued in later Philippine local-government arrangements and remains reflected in the Local Government Code of 1991. During the Japanese occupation and other wartime or transitional periods, local leadership could involve appointed officials. After the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution, elected local officials were removed and replaced temporarily by officers in charge appointed by the national government; regular local elections resumed in 1988. Calape's administrative territory developed further in the postwar period. In 1957, Abucayan Norte was organized from the sitios of Cabulihan and Cabinong, and Abucayan Sur from the sitios of Rama and Bino. Other sitios, including Binogawan, Masonoy, Bentig, Cahayag, and Lawis, were also elevated into barrios. The municipality subsequently became organized into 33 barangays, with 18 identified as forming part of the coastal area. Eight barangays are located on Pangangan Island, while the municipality also has jurisdiction over Mantatao and the uninhabited islets of Poom and Basihan. The physical setting has shaped Calape's modern identity. The municipal center faces the Cebu Strait, while rivers drain to Calape Bay and Tipcan Bay. Coastal plains rise inland into limestone hills, with Mount Candungao as the highest local elevation. Education and public administration are prominent civic functions. The municipal school system includes numerous elementary and secondary institutions, private schools, and Bohol Island State University's Calape-based offerings in education, technology, computer science, midwifery, and fisheries. The municipality's population reached 33,022 in the 2024 census. Its public profile also includes figures such as singer Yoyoy Villame and legislator Ernesto Falar Herrera.

• 2024

  Population recorded at 33,022

  [1]Calapeen.wikipedia.org

  The 2024 census recorded 33,022 residents in Calape.

• 1988

  Regular local elections resume

  [1]Calapeen.wikipedia.org

  Regular local elections resumed after the transitional post-1986 administrative period.

• 1986

  Temporary change in local administration

  [1]Calapeen.wikipedia.org

  Following the EDSA People Power Revolution, elected local officials were replaced temporarily by nationally appointed officers in charge.

• 1957

  Postwar barangay reorganization

  [1]Calapeen.wikipedia.org

  Abucayan Norte and Abucayan Sur were created, and several additional sitios were constituted as barrios.

• 1901

  Municipal elections enter a formal legal framework

  [1]Calapeen.wikipedia.org

  The American-era Municipal Code, associated with Act No. 82, provided a legal basis for regular municipal elections and three-year terms.

• 1802

  Calape becomes an independent municipality

  [1]Calapeen.wikipedia.org

  The Spanish governor of Cebu established Calape as an independent municipality.

A coastal local-government municipality in western Bohol, distinguished by its Cebu Strait frontage, island territories, historical settlement, public institutions, and fisheries-related educational infrastructure.

1. 1Calapeen.wikipedia.org