Century old school (BCES)

Overview

The Century Old School (BCES — Baclayon Central Elementary School) is a heritage-listed structure in Poblacion, Baclayon, Bohol. It is recorded in the provincial tourist-attraction inventory under History and Culture — Structures and Buildings.

The abbreviation BCES refers to Baclayon Central Elementary School, which the source record identifies as a structure over 100 years old. Public school buildings from the early American colonial period (post-1900) are present in many Bohol municipalities — typically constructed of wood or mixed materials under the American Thomasite education program that rapidly expanded public schooling across the Philippines from 1901 onward.

[FACT NEEDED: exact construction year and architectural style — not confirmed by any source checked. The school’s social-media handle references “1913,” which would be consistent with the early Thomasite public-school building programme, but this could not be corroborated with an independent primary source, so it is not stated here as fact.]

The building was damaged in the October 2013 Bohol earthquake and is included among the ten Bohol sites in the National Historical Commission of the Philippines’ (NHCP) post-earthquake heritage restoration programme; NHCP has run the restoration in phases (a “Phase II” restoration project for Baclayon Central Elementary School is documented on the NHCP site). It remains an operating public elementary school (Baclayon Central Elementary School, Poblacion, Baclayon).

Location

Poblacion, Baclayon, Bohol. Baclayon is approximately 6 km east of Tagbilaran City along the coastal road toward Panglao.

Getting There

From Tagbilaran City, take a jeepney or multicab bound for Baclayon — approximately 15 to 20 minutes. The poblacion area of Baclayon, which contains the municipal hall, church, and school, is within walking distance of the main road stop.

Practical Info

• Gateway: Tagbilaran
• Municipality: Baclayon
• Barangay: Poblacion
• Tourism type: History and Culture — Structures and Buildings

[TO ENRICH: whether the school premises are accessible to visitors, contact at municipal tourism office.]

What to Expect

The building’s most visible history is recent rather than colonial: earthquake damage from October 2013 put it on the National Historical Commission’s restoration list, part of the same phased heritage program covering Baclayon’s old stone bridges and its coral-stone church down the road. It remains a functioning public elementary school rather than a preserved landmark — a working campus, not a static heritage display.

[TO ENRICH: facade description, whether any interior spaces or historical records are on view, condition of the structure.]

Notes

• Listed in the BPTO Table 11 Inventory of Tourist Attractions (2025).
• Baclayon’s poblacion heritage cluster includes the Old Stone Bridges and the Baclayon Church (one of the oldest stone churches in the Philippines).
• BCES stands for Baclayon Central Elementary School.
• The building was damaged in the October 2013 earthquake and is part of the NHCP’s ongoing (phased) National Heritage Reconstruction and Restoration Program for Bohol.
• [FACT NEEDED: exact founding/construction year — not independently confirmed; the school’s Facebook page handle suggests “1913” but this is not corroborated elsewhere.]

Restoration of Baclayon Central Elementary School Phase II - NHCP, Heritage, church restoration tackled - Bohol Chronicle, accessed 2026-07-17.