Sandugo Blood Compact Site

Overview

The Sandugo Blood Compact Site in Barangay Hinawanan, Loay, marks what the National Historical Institute (NHI) identified in 2005 as the authentic location of the sandugo — the blood compact ceremony between Spanish explorer Miguel Lopez de Legazpi and Datu Sikatuna, chieftain of Bohol, on 16 March 1565.

The ceremony is regarded as the first formal treaty of friendship between Spaniards and Filipinos. In the ritual, each man cut his left arm, mixed his blood into a cup of wine, and drank it. The Visayan word sandugo translates as “one blood.”

The compact was conducted aboard Legazpi’s flagship San Pedro, anchored off what is now Hinawanan Bay. The NHI’s resolution cited the historical account in the Collection de Documentos de Ultramar — General Legazpi’s expedition records — which described a deep well between two rivers near the anchorage. This well, known as Sikatuna’s well and dated to around 1200 AD, still exists in Barangay Hinawanan and can be visited. Legazpi’s men drew water from it and brought it back to the galleon; a documented, datable water source near a matching river confluence was among the strongest pieces of physical evidence weighed in the NHI’s 2005 review, since the ceremony itself left no built structure behind.

The ritual carried weight beyond a handshake or a signed paper: blood-mixing was already a recognised binding custom among pre-colonial Visayan communities, used to seal alliances between local datus before Spanish contact. Legazpi’s submission to that existing custom, rather than a demand for submission, is why the event is still taught as a founding moment in Filipino-Spanish relations rather than a conquest narrative.

Every March 25, Loay celebrates the Higalaay Festival in commemoration of the sandugo.

Location

Barangay Hinawanan, Loay, Bohol. The site is situated along the coast of Hinawanan Bay, approximately 18 km east of Tagbilaran City by road.

Note on the competing Bool site: A well-known commemorative monument sculpted by National Artist Napoleon Abueva — five life-sized bronze figures around a table — stands in Barangay Bool, Tagbilaran City. That monument draws the majority of visitors, but the NHI delisted Bool as the definitive site in 2005 because the historical evidence pointed to Loay. As of 2024, development of the Loay-Villalimpia site was underway to establish a proper heritage marker at the location supported by documentary evidence.

Getting There

From Tagbilaran City, take a bus or jeepney heading toward Jagna or Loay. Alight at Loay proper, then hire a habal-habal to Barangay Hinawanan. Travel time from Tagbilaran is approximately 30–40 minutes.

Specific habal-habal fares and whether a formal historical marker or visitor infrastructure has been built at the site are not consistently documented; confirm current details locally in Loay before making the trip.

Practical Info

• Entry fee: Free entrance. Open 24/7. Public historical landmark located in Tagbilaran City.
• Best visited: during Higalaay Festival (around March 25) when Loay holds commemorative events
• Nearest town center: Loay poblacion
• The historic well in Barangay Hinawanan is a tangible remnant accessible to visitors

What to Expect

The Loay site is a historically significant but relatively undeveloped heritage location compared to the Bool monument in Tagbilaran. Visitors come primarily for its documentary authenticity. Sikatuna’s well — the physical feature cited in Legazpi’s expedition records — can be seen in the barangay.

The Higalaay Festival in late March brings street events and commemorative programs to Loay, making that period the most active time to visit.

A Note on the Two Sandugo Sites

Two Bohol sites carry the “Sandugo” name for different reasons, and they should not be confused. This Hinawanan site in Loay is what the National Historical Institute designated in 2005 as the documented location of the 1565 ceremony, based on Legazpi’s expedition records and the well described in them. The Blood Compact Shrine and its companion Friendship Park, in Barangay Bool, Tagbilaran City, hold the bronze monument by National Artist Napoleon Abueva — five life-sized figures around a table — and remain the far more visited landmark. Bool commemorates the event with a purpose-built monument at a city-adjacent site; Hinawanan is the place the documentary record points to.

Notes

• Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandugo