Maysaysay Park (Rajah Sikatuna Protected Landscape)

Overview

Maysaysay Park is a recreational facility within the Rajah Sikatuna Protected Landscape, located in Barangay Riverside, Bilar, Bohol. The Rajah Sikatuna Protected Landscape is a NIPAS-designated protected area covering portions of central Bohol, named after the 16th-century Boholano chieftain who signed a blood compact with Spanish explorer Miguel López de Legazpi in 1565. Its officially proclaimed area is 10,452.60 hectares under Proclamation No. 287, s. 2000 (an earlier National Park declaration, Proclamation No. 129, s. 1987, preceded it); the Bohol provincial tourism office’s own visitor-facing site instead cites 9,023 hectares — the two figures do not agree and neither has been picked over the other without noting the conflict. The protected landscape spans Carmen, Sierra Bullones, Garcia Hernandez, Valencia, Dimiao, Bilar, Loboc, and Batuan.

[TO ENRICH: park area, facilities (picnic grounds, trails, viewpoints), management authority, entry fee, permitted activities — no source specific to Maysaysay Park itself (as distinct from the wider protected landscape) was located.]

Location

Barangay Riverside, Bilar, Bohol. Bilar is in central Bohol along the Tagbilaran–Carmen highway — the same road that passes the Bilar Man-Made Forest and leads to the Chocolate Hills in Carmen. It lies approximately 40 km from Tagbilaran City.

Getting There

From Tagbilaran City, take a bus or jeepney toward Carmen via the Bilar route — approximately 1 hour. Bilar is a regular stop on the Tagbilaran–Chocolate Hills route. [TO ENRICH: exact distance from Bilar Poblacion to Barangay Riverside]

Practical Info

• Currency: PHP
• Language: Cebuano, Filipino, English
• [TO ENRICH: entry fee, opening hours, ranger station contact, trail permits]

What to Expect

A park within a nationally protected landscape. The Rajah Sikatuna Protected Landscape encompasses secondary forest, springs, and upland terrain. Nearby Logarita Spring is within the same protected area. Bilar also has Duangon Cold Spring, Pangas Falls, the Bilar Man-Made Forest, and a tarsier sanctuary.

Notes

• Listed in BPTO inventory under Sports and Recreational Facilities / Other Natural Attractions (century old trees/forest, endemic species)

• Rajah Sikatuna Protected Landscape is a NIPAS-designated area

• Name note: Rajah Sikatuna was the Bohol chieftain in the 1565 blood compact; Maysaysay Park spelling from BPTO source (not Magsaysay)

• Rajah Sikatuna Protected Landscape - Wikipedia, accessed 2026-07-17.

• Proclamation No. 287, s. 2000, accessed 2026-07-17.

• Bilar - Behold Bohol, accessed 2026-07-17 (alternate area figure).