Tagbilaran Tricycles

After a week in Bohol, it was time to move on.  We took a trike to Tagbilaran from our beach resort on Panglao Island where we would then take a fast ferry to Siquijor.

Among land transportation options (jeepney, taxis, buses), for-hire tricycles are plentiful and a cheap way to get around.  It’s a motorbike attached to a sidecar which seats 2 adults.  Common throughout the Philippines, the trikes in Tagbilaran City deserve some special attention…


In the late 80s the politicians in Tagbilaran were looking for an inventive way to edify the populace.  So they produced around 150 plywood panels with preprinted religious sayings such as “Hail Mary, Pray for Us”, “Ask and you shall receive” or “The Lord is my Shepherd”.  These were handed out to be affixed to the exterior of the tricycles’ sidecar. The remaining 2000 trike drivers were then encouraged to create their own messages.  Driving through town, often bumper to bumper, one is exhorted to “Love God” or “Trust in the Lord”.

It became a game to try to find unusual quotes, sort of like a kid counting out-of-province license plates on a long drive.  “Educate a woman, educate a family”  (okay…)  But my all-time favorite ones were those with grammatical errors or poorly translated English: “Jesus still the Answer” or “Faith can move mountainous hearts”!