The Panglao Watchtower is a five-storey, hexagonal tower with a pitched roof cover, erected in 1851 within the church complex of San Agustin Parish in Panglao. Considered the tallest Spanish Colonial Period Watchtower in the Philippines, it stands near the sea a few distances behind the church. Its six-sided design is considered rare in the country.
The National Museum Philippines in the manifestation of its commitment to protect and preserve heritage structures for posterity and effective promotion of the country’s heritage tourism has declared the watchtower of Panglao, along with that of Maribojoc, Dauis, Balilihan, Loay, and Pamilacan, as a National Cultural Treasure on August 29, 2011.
The watchtower of Panglao sustained damages during the 7.2 magnitude Bohol Earthquake in October 2013 and was restored under the National Museum of the Philippines’ Heritage Site Restoration and Reconstruction Program in Central Visayas. On December 13, 2017, the watchtower was turned over to the Diocese of Tagbilaran and the Municipality of Panglao.
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