Corella, Bohol

The municipality's former name was Nug‑as before it obtained its present name, Corella. It was then a barrio of Baclayon. The adoption of the name Corella was made at the behest of Fr. Jose Maria Cabañas del Carmen, then the parish priest of Baclayon, and endorsed by Fr. Felix Guillen de San Jose, the first Spanish priest. Corella was a name of a village in Navarra, Spain where this town's patroness, Nuestra Señora del Villar, showered miracles.

The creation of this town was due to the efforts of its inhabitants including Isidoro Ramo, who became its first gobernadorcillo.

The stone church and the convent were constructed during the tenure of Fr. Felix Gullen and completed by later priests, one of them being Fr. Dionisio Llorete who also spearheaded the erection of two stone school buildings and the municipal building during the term of the gobernadorcillo, Celedonio Sayon. But the construction of Corella's present concrete church began in 1924 under Fr. Pedro Montelbon, the parish priest of Tagbilaran who took over the administration of the Corella parish after the incumbent, Fr. Eugenio Desamparados, left.

In 1920, a conflict arose in the municipality between parish priest Simeon Sambola and municipal president Nicanor C. Tocmo over the administration of local schools. From the pulpit, Fr. Simeon publicly criticized the municipal government and denounced the school curriculum, which he claimed was improper. As a result, school enrollment declined significantly, with attendance largely limited to the families and close associates of President Tocmo. The local civil authorities subsequently raised the issue with provincial and national officials. Following a fact-finding investigation by the Department of Public Instruction, the report was submitted to the Governor-General, leading to the removal of Fr. Simeon from the parish.

During the Japanese occupation, the area at a distance halfway between Corella and Gaboc was "no-man's land". Several civilians were arrested there by the Japanese and executed on the spot. Honorio Butawan, a bolo volunteer, was caught by the enemy, and taken to Tagbilaran never to return. Other civilians of Corella suffered instant death from the Japanese as the latter tried to escape the US army of liberation.

In October 1944, Capt. Martin Maliwanag, a guerrilla leader under Major Ismael Ingeniero, established his headquarters in Corella, making the convent his command post and the primary school building east of the town plaza his detention cell. Several Filipino JCs (Japanese Constabulary) surrendered voluntarily. The first to surrender on 29 October 1944 was Lt. Victorio Sumodabila. He was shot on the spot by Capt. Maliwanag. Four other JCs from Corella who were killed and buried in the common grave of Corella were Dandong Lamayo, his brother Fermin Lamayo, Felicisimo Guscal, and his brother-in-law, Celistino Formentera. In all, there were nine Filipino JCs who met their violent deaths in Corella on orders of Capt. Maliwanag, who met his own death when he attacked the Japanese garrison in Gaboc. His body was buried in the same cemetery as his victims. It was Maliwanag's men who captured the puppet Japanese governor Agapito Hontanosas.

During the guerrilla period, Corella had four mayors closely succeeding each other:

• The Commonwealth-elected mayor Catalino C. Vale, who was suspected to be a Japanese puppet, was detained in Behind The Clouds (San Jose) in Batuan, where the Bohol Area Command (BAC) of the guerilla forces had its headquarters.
• Roman Calotes Tocmo who was named acting vice mayor by the guerillas and Tiburcio Aranas who was the acting mayor.
• After Aranas's death, Jose Clarin replaced him.
• When Clarin went on leave, he was substituted by Isaac Filo.

From 1990, a marked decrease in population is noted. Groups of people migrated to other parts of the country, such as Mindanao, where they founded a new municipality, "New Corella".

Poverty incidence of Corella

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority^{[15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]}

Corella does not have any major industry. A great majority of the people of the town are engaged in small-scale home businesses.

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  Public market
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  Church of Nuestra Señora del Villar
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  Philippine tarsier
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  A rice field in Corella
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  Philippine Tarsier Sanctuary entrance