It is Bohol Day today, Bohol 's 153 rd anniversary to be exact. Of course, it does not take much to realize that the focus of the celebration is the Sandugo commemoration. Over the years, the Sandugo has taken on an identity that makes it synonymous with Bohol . The event immortalizes the blood compact between Boholano chieftain Sikatuna and Spanish conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi. It supposedly took place approximately 442 years ago although this has remained inconclusive. Again, there are claims to the contrary but the generally accepted belief is that the event was the first major pact sealed between Spain and the Philippines.

There is little reason to believe that it was intended to be that way. At the very least, Sikatuna was well aware of his statutes of limitation. While Legazpi knew right from the start that he was taking command in the name of the king of Spain , Sikatuna did not share this presumption. For all the pageantry that is attached to it now, Sikatuna could have merely accommodated the ritual thinking that it was the invader's way of expressing gratitude for the favors he received from his host. Legazpi had cleverly, if not cunningly, led Sikatuna to believe that he came as a friend. The pact therefore was for friendship's sake. Future events would show that Legazpi – and Spain – had other things in mind. Bohol and the Philippines would subsequently be subjugated by the Spanish empire that decreed the domination of the world on its own accord.

It would be 333 years before the Philippines would be free from the yoke and tyranny of Spanish rule. After the Spaniards would come the Americans and the Japanese, but that is a different story. The point is that Sikatuna did not see the danger coming. He thought all along that the blood compact would signal the start of an enduring friendship. What a price to pay for friendship. It would be unfair though to indict Sikatuna for trusting Legazpi. If one looks closely, Legazpi behaved while he was in Bohol . He only showed his true colors when he had crossed the sea to Cebu . There is a lesson that people need to learn. It is the need to balance one's belief in humanity and friendship with the need to be wary of Greeks bearing gifts. It is friendship that make opposite poles attract. People can still work together in harmony for as long as they know the boundaries and set the limits.

Those who differ much have so much to share. That's what friends are for.