Casa Rocha

Overview

Casa Rocha is a heritage structure in Sitio Ubos, Poblacion I, Tagbilaran City, Bohol, corresponding to the “Rocha Ancestral House” in the Philippines’ national list of cultural properties — built in 1831, a date inscribed in the house’s own kitchen wing. It is listed in the provincial tourist-attraction inventory under History and Culture — Unique Cultural Heritage.

The house is an example of Arquitectura Mestiza, a hybrid bahay-na-bato style pairing a coral-stone ground floor with a wooden upper floor built without the usual volada overhang. It was declared an Important Cultural Property in 2019 and elevated to National Cultural Treasure status in 2020. The National Museum of the Philippines purchased the property in October 2019 and, per its 2022 public update, was carrying out conservation work in preparation for a planned National Museum Bohol branch; no public visiting hours for Casa Rocha itself have been documented.

The Rocha family name appears in several Tagbilaran heritage sites, including the separate, later Rocha-Suarez House (built c.1840). Casa Rocha (1831) is the older of the two Rocha-linked properties, and one of the earliest-dated surviving houses in Tagbilaran’s Poblacion heritage cluster.

Location

Sitio Ubos, Poblacion I, Tagbilaran City, Bohol. Tagbilaran City is the capital of Bohol province and the main entry point via ferry from Cebu.

Getting There

Tagbilaran City is the gateway. From the Tagbilaran ferry port, proceed by tricycle or on foot into Poblacion I. Sitio Ubos is within the city center area.

Casa Rocha itself stands along Calle Franklin, a small street connecting to the Butalid Causeway, approximately 600 metres from Tagbilaran’s current commercial district. Source: Casa Rocha: “Balay na Tisa sa Bohol”, National Museum of the Philippines, accessed 2026-08-03.

Practical Info

• Gateway: Tagbilaran
• Municipality: Tagbilaran City
• Barangay: Sitio Ubos, Poblacion I
• Tourism type: History and Culture — Unique Cultural Heritage

No public visiting program has been established yet, since the National Museum is still carrying out conservation work at the site. General inquiries about National Museum of the Philippines properties in Bohol, including Casa Rocha, can be directed to the National Museum Bohol branch at (038) 501-9166 or infonmbohol@gmail.com. Source: Bohol – National Museum, National Museum of the Philippines, accessed 2026-08-03.

What to Expect

There is no public visiting program yet: the National Museum bought the house in 2019 and has been carrying out conservation work ahead of a planned Bohol branch, so for now this is a heritage property to view from the street rather than tour. The notable shift is in use — a private residence for close to two centuries, now on a path toward becoming public museum space, a transition most of Tagbilaran’s other Poblacion houses have not made.

The two-storey Arquitectura Mestiza structure pairs a coral-stone ground floor with a lighter wood upper storey; its sala ceiling holds an unexpected domed section with a trefoil-arch design, decorative corbels shaped like ocean waves, and an ornamental newel post on the main staircase, and the façade sits with a one-metre setback from the street. Conservation work by the National Museum is ongoing, and no public cultural events at the site have been documented. Source: Casa Rocha: “Balay na Tisa sa Bohol”, National Museum of the Philippines, accessed 2026-08-03.

Notes

• Listed in the BPTO Table 11 Inventory of Tourist Attractions (2025).
• The Rocha-Suarez House is a related, later heritage property also in Tagbilaran’s Poblacion area.
• Construction date (1831, per kitchen-wing inscription) per the List of Cultural Properties of the Philippines in Tagbilaran, Wikipedia, accessed 2026-07-17.
• 2026-08-03 research pass: resolved the three remaining authoring-enrichment gaps (street location/distance, visiting access/contact, façade/interior/preservation) using the National Museum of the Philippines’ own article on the property, Casa Rocha: “Balay na Tisa sa Bohol”, accessed 2026-08-03, plus the National Museum Bohol branch page, accessed 2026-08-03, for general contact details. That article explicitly distinguishes Casa Rocha from the separate, nearby Casa Rocha-Suarez (built by Julian Rocha), confirming this file’s existing note that the two are different properties.