Proem

Congratulations to all the elected officials on the start of their terms of offices. May you serve the people well.

July 4, 1776 is considered the Independence Day of the United States of America. The American Revolution was not yet finished when it was declared.

July 4, 1946 was the date when the United States granted Independence to the Philippines. However, during the term of President Diosdado Macapagal he transferred it to June 12. It refers to June 12, 1898, the date when Don Ambrosio de Rianzares read the declaration of Philippines Independence of Kawit, Cavite. [Note: Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo did not sign the declaration. However, it was supposed to be ordered by Gen. Aguinaldo.]

Do you know that on July 4, 1744 Francisco "Dagohoy" Sendrijas declared the independence of Bohol from the Spaniards?

Start of Dagohoy Revolution

A revolution is a successful revolt. Since Dagohoy was successful in his revolt then it should be called Dagohoy Revolution.

There is no specific historical date that would indicate the start of the Dagohoy Revolution. There is only a date of the end of the revolution declared by Major Manuel Sanz on August 31, 1829.

However, basing on historical date we can reconstruct the date of the start of the Dagohoy Revolution.

The Apostate Ibong

The Patron Saint of Inabanga, Bohol is Saint Paul. The feast day of St. Paul is June 29. However, in modern times it was transferred to June 30 because June 29 is also the feast day of St. Peter who is the Patron Saint of Loboc, Bohol. To avoid conflict of activities by important people who must attend both feast days, the feast day of Inabanga, Bohol was transferred to June 30.

On June 29, 1744, Fr. Gaspar Morales discovered that Ibong, an important leader in the highlands of Inabanga, was absent during the Holy Mass. Fr. Gaspar Morales ordered his constable, Sagarino Sendrijas to arrest Ibong. Sagarino Sendrijas was an elder brother of Francisco Sendrijas, alias Dagohoy.

Early the next day, June 30, 1744 Sagarino and his companions went to the hinterlands to arrest Ibong. However, Ibong refused to be arrested and a fight ensued. During the fight, Constable Sagarino Sendrijas was killed. Due to the distance and difficulty of the terrain we can surmise that it occurred on the afternoon of June 30.

Ibong escaped and the companions of Sagarino tried to bring the dead body back to Inabanga. Since it is not easy to bring a dead body along the forested area at night, they must have rested along the way. Meanwhile, a runner was sent back to Inabanga to inform the priest and the people what has transpired.

Dagohoy Fetched His Dead Brother

Early morning of July 1, 1744, Dagohoy with some companions went to fetch the dead body of his brother. Before noon of July 1, 1744 Dagohoy would already be back in Inabanga because the companions of Sagarino were already bringing his dead body back to Inabanga.

Dagohoy requested Fr. Morales for a proper burial of Constable Sagarino. However, Fr. Morales refused to bury the body with proper religious rites because, according to Fr. Morales, Sagarino died in a duel.

Dagohoy got angry and left the dead body in front of the church. It lay there for three (3) days rotting in the sun.

On the fourth day, Francisco "Dagohoy" Sendrijas, who was a Cabeza de Barangay, relinquished his allegiance to the Church and Spanish crown and declared war.

Francisco Dagohoy brought his barangay to the hinterlands. It is recorded that about three thousand people followed Dagohoy to the hills.

Reconstructing the Date

The dead body of Sagarino was presented for burial on July 1. Counting July 1 as the first day, then the third day would be July 3. So the next day when Dagohoy declared his independence together with his barangay and followers, must be July 4, 1744.

Therefore we can say that JULY 4 is the independence day of Bohol by virtue of the declaration of Dagohoy and his followers to be free from Spanish domination.

Bohol therefore declared its independence exactly 32 years ahead of the American Declaration of Independence.