The Decision to Leave

The search for greener pasture

Apparently, as early as the 1870s, a group of Boholanos under the leadership of a certain Toribio Acaac and his wife Rita left their fishing village at Loay in the island of Bohol. With them were their children, nephews, nieces and some relatives.

The chief causes of their departure were the increasing scarcity of fish resources and the low productivity of the land. Fishing, which was the principal occupation, was no longer sustainable due to resource depletion, stiff competition and overfishing of the fishing ground around Bohol. Then too, the soil in the area could no longer yield abundant food production — considering the size of the land suitable to farming, only about a third of the island was arable, and that land had been overused.

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The promise land

As a consequence of the scarcity they faced, many Boholano families and some inhabitants of nearby islands migrated elsewhere. From returning soldiers, they learnt of the economic potentials of Mindanao, which they referred to as the “Promise” land. They had eyed some numerous areas in Mindanao, thinly populated, with climate and soil fitted for agriculture — areas which were hitherto victims of Moro depredations and depopulation, located in Northern Mindanao.

More migrants

The Boholanos most active in migrating to Mindanao were coming from the towns of Loboc, Loon, Loay, Tagbilaran, Maribojoc and many others.

Toribio and Rita’s expedition was part of this migration. As with other Boholano families, they braved the Southern seas to seek new lands and “greener pasture” beyond their immediate seas, where they could build new homes and live a better life.