Bien Unido, officially the Municipality of Bien Unido (; ), is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Bohol Bohol (), officially the Province of Bohol (; ), is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region, consisting of the island itself and 75 minor surrounding islands. It is home to Bohola ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 26,666 people. Bien Unido is the youngest municipality in Bohol being founded in 1981 after it was carved out and separated from the municipalities of

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

and

Talibon Talibon, officially the Municipality of Talibon (; ), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Bohol, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 71,272 people, making it ...

. Among the principal industries in Bien Unido are rice farming,

seaweed farming Seaweed farming or kelp farming is the practice of aquaculture, cultivating and harvesting seaweed. In its simplest form farmers gather from natural beds, while at the other extreme farmers fully control the crop's biological life cycle, life c ...

, livestock raising,

algaculture Algaculture is a form of aquaculture involving the farming of species of algae. The majority of algae that are intentionally cultivated fall into the category of microalgae (also referred to as phytoplankton, microphytes, or planktonic algae ...

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

, and mat weaving. The town gained the nickname as the de facto ''Seaweeds Capital of the Visayas''. The "Bien Unido Double Barrier Reef Marine Park" is the first underwater pilgrimage in Asia, established in 2012. It is situated along the

Danajon Bank The Danajon Bank is the only double barrier reef in the Philippines, which is a very rare geological formation, which is located in the Camotes Sea. It comprises two sets of large coral reefs that formed offshore on a submarine ridge due to a comb ...

. The town of Bien Unido, Bohol celebrates its feast on December 28, to honor the town patron, the Holy Child.

History

"Bien Unido" is a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

phrase translating to "''well united''" in English. In 1935, two

sitio A ''sitio'' ( Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own barangay if its popu ...

s in northern

were united into one

barangay The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...

under an executive order and was given the name Bien Unido. Then-Barangay Bien Unido had aspired to become a separate municipality since 1965. On December 24, 1980, Batas Pambansa Blg. 93 was passed, providing for the creation of the municipality of Bien Unido comprising the barangay of Bien Unido and certain surrounding barangays in the municipalities of

and Trinidad. The creation of the municipality was approved by the majority of voters in a plebiscite on April 7, 1981. On June 7, 2017, Gisela Bendong-Boniel, mayor of Bien Unido at that time, was kidnapped and killed, allegedly masterminded by her husband, Board Member Niño Rey Boniel, who was the former mayor of the town. Her body was dumped between the waters of

Olango Island Group The Olango Island Group is a group of islands found in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. It comprises Olango island and 6 satellite islets namely: Caubian, Camungi, Caohagan, Gilutongan, Nalusuan, Pangan-an, and Sulpa. The island g ...

and

Mactan Mactan is a densely populated island located a few kilometers (~1 mile) east of Cebu Island in the Philippines. The island is part of Cebu province and it is divided into the city of Lapu-Lapu and the municipality of Cordova. The island is ...

. Her body has never been found.

Geography

Bien Unido is located in the northern part of the island province of Bohol.

Barangays

Bien Unido is politically subdivided into 15 barangays. Each barangay consists of

purok A ''purok'' () is an informal division within a barangay in the Philippines. While not officially considered a local government unit (LGU), a ''purok'' often serves as a unit for delivering services and administration within a barangay. ''Pur ...

s and some have

sitios A ''sitio'' (Spanish language, Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own bar ...

. Currently, only Barangays Bilangbilangan Diot and Hingotanan East are classified as rural and the rest are urban.

Climate

Demographics

The people in the municipality speak Cebuano and the Boholano dialect. Filipino and English are generally understood.

Economy

Fishes caught are brought and sold in

Cebu Cebu ( ; ), officially the Province of Cebu (; ), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 surrounding islands and islets. The coastal zone of Cebu is identified as a ...

while mats have markets in

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has been ...

and Cebu. Seaweed industry is recently the main livelihood in the municipality. The farmed seaweeds are used as essential ingredient for gel capsules, soap, toothpaste, slippers and other plastic wares.

Transportation

Bien Unido is (2 hours or more) from

Tagbilaran Tagbilaran, officially the City of Tagbilaran (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Bohol, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a popu ...

by road.

Cebu City Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu, is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 964,169 people, making ...

is approximately over 4 hours via the Cebu–

and Cebu–

Tubigon Tubigon, officially the Municipality of Tubigon (; ), is a municipality in the province of Bohol, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 47,886 people. Tubigon is well known for its "lambay" crabs. The municipality o ...

RORO Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or usi ...

routes, while it takes 3 hours via the Cebu–Tubigon ferry (

fastcraft A high-speed craft (HSC) is a high-speed water vessel for civilian use, also called a fastcraft or fast ferry. The first high-speed craft were often hydrofoils or hovercraft, but in the 1990s catamaran and monohull designs become more popu ...

) and over 2 hours via the Cebu–Talibon ferry (fastcraft). Moreover, it takes approximately 2 or 3 hours to reach Bien Unido via the Cebu–

Getafe Getafe () is a municipalities in Spain, municipality and a city in Spain belonging to the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 180,747, the region's sixth most populated municipality. Getafe is located 13 km south of Madrid's city c ...

ferry (fastcraft) or motor boat, while it takes 3 hours via the Cebu–Getafe RORO. Bien Unido can also be reached directly from Cebu City through Pasil-Suba fish port via pump boat in more than 3 hours.

Health and social services

* Number of Municipal Health Center: 1 * Number of Barangay Health Stations: 7 * Number of Day Care Centers: 15

Education

Secondary and High schools: * Bien Unido Academy Inc. * Holy Child Academy of Bien Unido, Bohol Inc. * Hingotanan National High School * Pres. Carlos P. Garcia Tech Voc School of Fisheries and Arts * Ponciano L. Padin National High School * Nueva Esperanza Integrated School Elementary schools: * Bien Unido Central Elementary School * Bilangbilangan Daku Elementary School * Hingotanan Elementary School * Malingin Elementary School * Mandawa Elementary School * Maomawan Elementary School * Montessori Educational Learning Centre of Ubay, Bien Unido Branch * Nueva Esperanza Integrated School * Nueva Estrella Elementary School * Pinamgo Elementary School * Sagasa Elementary School

References

External links

Philippine Standard Geographic Code The Philippine Standard Geographic Code (PSGC) is a systematic classification and coding for geographic areas in the Philippines. It classifies areas based on the country's four levels of administrative divisions: regions, provinces, municipalities ...

Bien Unido Profile
{{Authority control Municipalities of Bohol