Lazi

Visayas Siquijor Lazi

It is a class municipality in the province of Siquijor, Philippines.

Orliginally, Lazi was known as Tigbawan, a name derived from a type of plant that grew in the bay.

This name was changed when the Spaniards established a parish there in the middle of the 19th century.

How Lazii became a parish was documented by Bro. D, Felipe Redondo Y Sendino in a manuscript entitled "Breve Resina de Lo Gue Y o Gue Es La Diocesis de Cebu en Las Islas Pilipinas: - published by the Colegio de Santo Tomas in 1886 with copies now available in the library of the University of San Carlos in Cebu City.

In the book " The Philippine Island," 1843-1898, vol. XXII, it was mentioned that Laci with 1,180.5 tributes and 5,403 souls was once a town of the recollect Province of Bohol with the village of Siquijor, Cano-an and San Juan all on the Island of Siquijor. It was further mentioned in the book that from the year 1768 when the first recollect went to Bohol, they were received by the people without any position, obeyed without repugnance, and love and respected, mutual relatives have continued without any lapse until the present time.

The St. Isidore Parish Church is Lazi's most prominent landmark, it was completed in 1884, and the Convent, said to be one of the largest in the Philippines, was finished in 1891. Both of these are still intact and are attractions to tourists. They were recently declared national historical landmarks.

The Lazi wharf is visited by boats from Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental and Northern Mindanao. Copra, peanuts, tobacco, livestock, maguey and kapok are exported from the island through this port.

Lazi is politically subdivided into 18 barangays.