Philippine Tarsier Foundation, Inc.

Overview

The Philippine Tarsier Foundation, Inc. (PTFI) is a non-profit conservation organization founded April 17, 1996, and registered with the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission. Its incorporators were Rev. Florante Camacho (SVD, then president of Divine Word College), Anos Fonacier (Panglao municipal councilor), Col. Zosimo Angan, Richard Uy, and Marlito Uy. Its stated mission is to conserve the Philippine tarsier, promote research, and maintain a sanctuary for the species. PTFI is headquartered in Tagbilaran City and operates its sanctuary and visitor site in Barangay Canapnapan, Corella, Bohol, about 14 km from Tagbilaran City.

PTFI’s core sanctuary and forest reservation covers roughly 8.4 hectares (20.7 acres), set within a larger protected-forest area for the tarsier population — reported at approximately 134 hectares in one source and 167 hectares in another — spanning Corella and neighboring municipalities. An estimated 1,000 tarsiers live in that wider protected forest, with roughly 100 individuals under closer, semi-captive care for research and viewing. PTFI’s long-time field supervisor is Carlito Pizarras, nicknamed “the Tarsier Man,” who has worked with the organization since 1998; Fr. Florante S. Camacho has continued as chairman.

Location

Barangay Canapnapan, Municipality of Corella, Bohol, approximately 14 km from Tagbilaran City (multiple independent sources — the Foundation’s own Facebook video captions and Wikipedia — confirm Canapnapan as the barangay).

[FACT NEEDED: precise GPS coordinates of the visitor entrance/gate, beyond the general barangay location.]

Getting There

From Tagbilaran City: habal-habal or multicab to Corella (approximately 15–20 minutes), then on to Barangay Canapnapan. Corella is one of the closest interior municipalities to Tagbilaran.

[FACT NEEDED: specific turn-by-turn directions to Canapnapan barangay; whether signage for the Foundation is visible from the main road.]

Practical Info

• Organization type: non-profit conservation foundation, SEC-registered 1996
• Functions: tarsier sanctuary operations, research, and public conservation education
• Entrance fee: ₱60 per person (per PTFI’s own visitor information)
• Hours: 9:00 AM–4:00 PM
• Guided tours are included with admission; no advance reservation required
• Visitor rules: no flash photography, minimal noise, no touching tarsiers, roughly 5 minutes of viewing per animal, nothing removed from or left at the site, animals handled only by sanctuary staff
• Afternoons are recommended for a quieter visit, since organized tour groups typically arrive in the morning

What to Expect

Visitors move through a natural forest area on set paths, watching tarsiers roost by day rather than handling or photographing them up close. The enclosure is left open at its perimeter so animals can leave to forage after dark, protected from predators only during their daytime rest. Underfoot is forest floor, muddy after rain and uneven in places — a rain jacket does the job better than an umbrella here.

The Philippine tarsier (Carlito syrichta), endemic to the southern Philippines, weighs 4–5 ounces and carries eyes fixed in their sockets, so the animal rotates its whole head rather than shifting its gaze. It is Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, and Corella is one of the island’s primary sites for regulated viewing.

Notes

• The PTFI, the Philippine Tarsier Sanctuary entry, and the Philippine Tarsier & Wildlife Sanctuary (Corella) entry in this database all describe the same organization and the same general Corella site, at different levels of detail and framing — they have been kept as separate files per the source inventory rather than merged.
• Philippine Tarsier Foundation – Wikipedia, accessed 2026-07-17.
• Visiting the Tarsiers – Philippine Tarsier Foundation, Inc., accessed 2026-07-17.
• Editorial: Tale of two ‘sanctuaries’ – SunStar Cebu, accessed 2026-07-17.