Bilar

IJsselstein, Monday, 14 February 2011 00:30:00

The Man Made Forest

Butterfly

Bilar is an interior town northeast of Loboc. This town used to occupy a big area and included what are now known as the municipalities of Sevilla, Batuan and Carmen. They were formerly sitios of this municipality. In 1879, it had a population 5,669. The native word bilar is derived from the infinitive nagbilad. During the Spanish regime, the Spaniards, in their effort to spread Christianity, toured the interior villages and somehow chanced to pass a plateau where a group of women were drying palay. When the women were asked as to the name of the place, the immediate reply was nagbilad, meaning drying, thinking that the foreigners were asking their activity. The Spaniards shorten the term to "bilad" and later on to "bilar" due to their difficulty in pronouncing the word. By virtue of a royal decree, the name Bilar was adopted as the official name of the municipality.

Fiesta

Bilar celebrate its town fiesta on the 15th of May in honor of Saint Isidore the Farmer.

Bilar Police Station: +63 38 535-9076

Bilar at a glance
Population (2010):	17098
Population (2000):	16628
Number of households (2000):	2967
Land area:	13315 ha
Number of barangays:	19
Distance from Tagbilaran:	41 km

Barangay	Population (2010)	Population (2000)	Households (2000)
Bonifacio	262	218	39
Bugang Norte	650	620	100
Bugang Sur	940	778	136
Cabacnitan (Magsaysay)	745	755	141
Cambigsi	689	737	124
Campagao	1284	1216	231
Cansumbol	1235	1145	199
Dagohoy	836	882	160
Owac	975	923	179
Poblacion	1500	1497	265
Quezon	668	683	128
Riverside	886	807	119
Rizal	456	526	106
Roxas	1011	1180	193
Subayon	1200	1162	226
Villa Aurora	731	729	122
Villa Suerte	269	269	45
Yanaya	1123	991	187
Zamora	1638	1510	267

(Based on figures from the census of 2000 and 2010 from NSO)

Jeroen Hellingman and Rodelyn Gallo Hellingman