HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Miagao (also written Miag-ao), officially the Municipality of Miagao (; ; ), is a
municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...
in the
province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
of
Iloilo Iloilo ( ; ), officially the Province of Iloilo (; ; ; ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital and largest city is Iloilo City, the regional center of Western Visayas and politically independen ...
,
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 68,115 people. Miagao is considered as the "Onion Capital of the Visayas". The town center of the municipality lies on the western bank of the Tumagbok River, the largest river in the municipality.Miagao Satellite Map
/ref> The poblacion is made up of eight barangays.
The town holds their patronal fiesta in honor of
St. Thomas of Villanova Thomas of Villanova, OSA (1488 – September 8, 1555), born Tomás García y Martínez, was a Spanish people, Spanish friar of the Order of Saint Augustine who was a noted preacher, asceticism, ascetic and religious writer of his day. He became ...
(more commonly known as Santo Tomas de Villanueva) every September 22 that lasts several days. The town is also the location of one of the
Baroque Churches of the Philippines The Baroque Churches of the Philippines are a collection of four Spanish Colonial architecture, Spanish Colonial-era baroque churches in the Philippines, which were included in UNESCO's World Heritage Site, World Heritage List in 1993. The chu ...
, the
Miagao Church Santo Tomás de Villanueva Parish Church, commonly known as Miagao Church, is a Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Church (building), church located in Miagao, Iloilo, Philippines. It is under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Jaro. The ...
, which was inscribed as a
UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
. The entire town of Miagao was later inscribed as a UNESCO
World Heritage City World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritage ...
and became a member of the
Organization of World Heritage Cities The Organization of World Heritage Cities (OWHC) is an international non-profit, non-governmental organization of 250 cities in which sites of the UNESCO World Heritage list are located. It was founded in 1993 in Fez, Morocco, during the second In ...
(OWHC).


Etymology

The name of Miagao has many disputed etymologies. One of the most popular, and probably the most widely accepted version is that the name of the town was derived from a plant named ''Miagos''. ''Miagos'' or '' Osmoxylon lineare'' is a flowering plant from the family
Araliaceae The Araliaceae are a family of flowering plants composed of about 43 genera and around 1500 species consisting of primarily woody plants and some herbaceous plants commonly called the ginseng family. The morphology of Araliaceae varies widely ...
that used to grow abundantly in the area when the Spaniards came. Because of its abundance in the area, the Spaniards named the place Miagos which later became Miagao. Another version, according to Rev. Fr. Lorenzo Torres of Igbaras, is that a native named "Miyagaw" was asked by the Spaniards for the name of the place but gave his name instead.Miagao History
/ref>


History

A settlement in Damilisan were recorded by Spanish Map early in 1700 with 13,493 people and 2,974 houses. Miagao gained its independence as a municipality in 1716 . Prior to that, it used to be a part of an ''arrabal'' of four different towns in southern Iloilo. Until 1580, Miagao was an arrabal of
Oton Oton, officially the Municipality of Oton (; , , ), is a municipality in the province of Iloilo, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 98,509 people making it as the most populous town in the province and the entire ...
. From 1580 until 1652, it was an arrabal of Tigbauan. It was an arrabal of Suaraga (now San Joaquin) from 1652 to 1703 and before becoming independent, it became an arrabal of Guimbal from 1703 to 1716. In 1731, Miagao had its first capitan and teniente mayor (now equivalent to mayor and vice mayor) after an election was held in Guimbal under the supervision of Victorino C. Ma., an authorized representative of the governor.


Geography


Topography

Miagao is a coastal town with a hilly to mountainous terrain. Most of the flat areas in the municipality are found either in coasts or along the town's major rivers which include the Naulid, Tumagbok, Oyaoy, Bacauan, Tabunacan, Oyungan, Lanutan, and San Rafael rivers. A mountain range forms a natural boundary between Miagao and the province of
Antique An antique () is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely to describe any object that i ...
to the north. The highest point in the municipality is the summit of Mount Tulajon, locally spelled as Tulahong, at 1,100 meters asl located in Barangay Ongyod.


Climate

The municipality has a type I climate based on
PAGASA The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (, abbreviated as PAGASA , which means "hope" as in the Tagalog language, Tagalog word ''pag-asa'') is the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHS ...
's climate classification chart. The climate of Miagao is greatly affected by north-east and south-west
monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...
s. The town experiences a pronounced wet season from May to October and a dry season from November to April. The coolest months are the months of December to February while the hottest months are the months of April and May.


Barangays

Miagao is politically subdivided into 119
barangay The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...
s. Each barangay consists of
purok A ''purok'' () is an informal division within a barangay in the Philippines. While not officially considered a local government unit (LGU), a ''purok'' often serves as a unit for delivering services and administration within a barangay. ''Pur ...
s and some have
sitios A ''sitio'' (Spanish language, Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own bar ...
. It has more barangays than any other municipality in the Philippines. The municipality has 22 coastal barangays and 97
landlocked A landlocked country is a country that has no territory connected to an ocean or whose coastlines lie solely on endorheic basins. Currently, there are 44 landlocked countries, two of them doubly landlocked (Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan), and t ...
barangays.


Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Miagao was 68,115 people, with a density of .


Languages

Almost all people in Miag-ao speak
Kinaray-a The Karay-a language (, or ; ) is an Austronesian regional language in the Philippines spoken by the Karay-a people, mainly in Antique. It is one of the Bisayan languages, along with Aklanon/Malaynon, Capiznon, Cebuano, and Hiligaynon. ...
as it is the primary language of the municipality. Hiligaynon is spoken as a second language by many and is especially useful when going to Iloilo City where Hiligaynon is the dominant language.


Healthcare

The municipality's healthcare services is under the management of the Miagao Municipal Health Office (MHO), headed by its Municipal Health Officer, Rural Health Physicians, Nurses, Midwives, and other allied health workers and staff. The MHO is directly under the administration of the Local Government Unit. The Municipal Health Office ensures that the delivery of basic services and provisions of adequate facilities relative to health services provided under Section 17 of the Universal Healthcare Law of the Philippines (Population-based Health Services) are effectively implemented. The main components of the Municipal Health Office include the following: *MHO Office including the headquarters of its different health programs *First-aid Clinic *Out-patient Clinic *Birthing Clinic *Animal Bite Treatment Center *DOTS Center and COVID-19 Swabbing Center *The 19 Barangay Health Stations (BHS) spread across the municipality **The Main Health Center (MHC) caters to three BHS, namely: MHC-A, MHC-B, and MHC-C There are also other private medical, dental and veterinary clinics, laboratories, and pharmacies located primarily in the poblacion area.


Economy


Agriculture

The municipality of Miagao is a largely agricultural town. Around 52% of the municipal land area is classified as agricultural and around 40% of the total land area is planted. Rice is the primary crop of the town while corn is considered as a secondary crop. Miagao is hailed as the "Onion Capital of the Visayas" because it is the largest producer of bulb onion not only in Western Visayas but in the whole Visayas and Mindanao. In 2022, 92% of the region's onion production was produced by the municipality of Miagao which targets to further increase production by expanding the plantation area. Other crops produced by the municipality include eggplants, peanuts, monggo, tomatoes, root crops, and bamboo.


Banks

Miagao is a financial center in southern Iloilo. The town has a total of five banks.


Infrastructure


Public Transport

Miagao is strategically located along the Iloilo-
Antique An antique () is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely to describe any object that i ...
road. Because of this, transportation is not a big problem in the municipality. The town proper is from
Iloilo City Iloilo City, officially the City of Iloilo (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region of the Philippines, located on the southeastern coast of th ...
and from
San Jose de Buenavista San Jose de Buenavista, officially the Municipality of San Jose de Buenavista (; ; ), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality and capital of the Philippine Province, province of Antique (province), Antique, Philippines. According ...
, the capital of Antique.


Buses

Several bus companies operate in Miagao. Buses that ply the Iloilo-Antique, Iloilo-Caticlan via San Jose, and Iloilo-Manila routes pass by the municipality every day. Ceres Liner by Vallacar Transit passes by Miagao almost every 30 minutes on its way to
Iloilo Iloilo ( ; ), officially the Province of Iloilo (; ; ; ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital and largest city is Iloilo City, the regional center of Western Visayas and politically independen ...
from
Antique An antique () is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely to describe any object that i ...
and vice versa.
Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
bound buses also pass by Miagao. Dimple Star Transport, Gasat/Valisno Transport, and Ceres Liner pass by Miagao every morning on their way to Manila. In addition, RM Liner also heads to Manila everyday but passes by Miagao early in the evening.


Jeepneys

Jeepney A jeepney (), or simply a jeep (), is a type of Public transport, public utility vehicle (PUV) that serves as the most popular means of Transportation in the Philippines, public transportation in the Philippines. Known for its crowded seating ...
s serve the Miagao-Iloilo City route more frequently than buses. The typical jeepney can contain around 22 to as many as 34 or more passengers. The town is mainly served by Miagao-Iloilo City bound jeepneys but San Joaquin-Iloilo City bound jeepneys also serve the area. These jeepneys generally pass by every 10–20 minutes so catching a jeepney bound for Iloilo City is not a problem. Several mountain barangays of Miagao are also served by jeepneys because smaller modes of transportation aren't usually strong enough to climb steep and unpaved roads. In that case, habal-habal or plain
motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...
s can also be used. Jeepneys serving the hinterlands of the municipality include regular routes from the
poblacion ''Poblacion'' (from Spanish '' población'', meaning "population"), sometimes abbreviated as Pob., is a term used in the Philippines to refer to the administrative center, downtown, old town, or commercial area of a city or municipality. It ...
area to the following barangays: *Miagao - Tiglawa/Banga via Banbanan/Cavite *Miagao - San Jose via Banbanan *Miagao - Tigmarabo via Banbanan/Oya-oy *Miagao - Tig-amaga/Pudpud via Ticdalan *Miagao - Tigmalapad/Igbita *Miagao - Bacolod (barangay) *Miagao - Dalije via Bacolod *Miagao - Alimodias via Olango/Bacolod (rainy season) or via Pudpud (dry season) *Miagao - Tigbagacay/Naclub *Miagao - Maricolcol/Baraclayan


Tricycles

Tricycle A tricycle, sometimes abbreviated to trike, is a Human-powered transport, human-powered (or gasoline or electric motor powered or assisted, or gravity powered) Three-wheeler, three-wheeled vehicle. Some tricycles, such as cycle rickshaws (for pa ...
s are the most common form transportation in the municipality. These are the Philippines' version of
tuk-tuk An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many other terms in various countries, including three-wheeler, Adaidaita Sahu, Keke-napep, Maruwa, auto, ...
in other Asian countries. Tricycles are often limited to operate within the municipality but special and private trips to other places are allowed. Miagao has established several tricycle routes in the municipality. Tricycles are color-coded to indicate the route assigned to them. Yellow ones are northbound while blue ones are southbound. Green tricycles are bound to the mountain barangays of the town passing through barangay Mat-y. Tricycles assigned to operate within the town proper are colored red. The following table shows the routes of all tricycles-for-hire within the municipality of Miagao.


Government

As with other municipal/city level political administration in the country, Miagao is governed by popularly elected Mayor, Vice Mayor, and eight Sangguniang Bayan (SB) Members. The current government officials of the municipality are listed below.


Elected officials

Members of the municipal council (2022-2028): * Mayor: ENGR. Oscar "Richard" S. Garin Jr. * Vice Mayor: Macario Napulan, M.D. * SB Members: ** Hon. Japhet Grace N. Moleta, RN, MPG ** Hon. Jun Carlu A. Napulan, MD. ** Hon. Gemma Rei S. Nismal ** Hon. Aaron M. Noble ** Hon. Cezar N. Florece ** Hon. Mario Thomas Nicolas P. Torrecampo ** Hon. Ma. Salve N. Pechayco, MD ** Hon. Richard E. Esposo * Ex-Officio Member ** Marlou R. Niones (LNB President) ** Carlo Miguel Paguntalan (SK Federation President)


Highlights


Miag-ao Church

The Miagao Church, or the Church of Santo Tomas de Villanueva, was built in 1786 by Spanish Augustinian missionaries and was declared as part of the
UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
"
Baroque Churches of the Philippines The Baroque Churches of the Philippines are a collection of four Spanish Colonial architecture, Spanish Colonial-era baroque churches in the Philippines, which were included in UNESCO's World Heritage Site, World Heritage List in 1993. The chu ...
" in 1993. On the front facade, which is flanked by two watchtower belfries, one can see the unique blending of Spanish and native influences. The central feature of the bas-relief facade is a large coconut tree which reaches almost to the apex. While an integral part of the Philippine landscape, the coconut tree is also the subject of lore. According to an old Philippine legend, the coconut tree was the only bequest from a loving mother to her two children, a tree which sustained them for life. On the church's facade the coconut tree appears as the "tree of life" to which St. Christopher carrying the
Child Jesus The Christ Child—also known as Baby Jesus, Infant Jesus, Child Jesus, Divine Child, Divine Infant and the Holy Child—refers to Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ during his early years. The term refers to a period of life of Jesus, Jesus' l ...
on his shoulder is clinging to. The lesser facades feature the daily life of Miagaowanons during the time. Also depicted are other native flora and fauna, as well as native dress. The church and its watchtowers were also built to defend the town and its people against raids by the
Moro people The Moro people or Bangsamoro people are the 13 Muslim-majority ethnolinguistic Austronesian groups of Mindanao, Sulu, and Palawan, native to the region known as the Bangsamoro (lit. ''Moro nation'' or ''Moro country''). As Muslim-majority ...
. It therefore has thick walls and, reportedly,
secret passage Secret passages, also commonly referred to as hidden passages or secret tunnels, are hidden routes used for stealthy travel, escape, or movement of people and goods. They are sometimes inside buildings leading to secret rooms. Others allow pe ...
s. Indeed, stretching along the
Iloilo Iloilo ( ; ), officially the Province of Iloilo (; ; ; ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital and largest city is Iloilo City, the regional center of Western Visayas and politically independen ...
coast are defensive towers, but none that equal the size of the Miagao. It is because of this defensive purpose that it is sometimes referred to as the Miag-ao Fortress Church.


Education

The primary and secondary education in the municipality of Miagao is under the jurisdiction of the Division of Iloilo under the
Department of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
Region 6. Miagao is subdivided into two school districts namely, Miagao East and Miagao West. The schools under each district as well as private, secondary, and tertiary schools in the municipality are listed below.


Elementary education

Miagao East elementary schools: Miagao West elementary schools: Private primary schools: *Kaunlaran Learning Center (KLC) *Acorn Dale Montessori * Jophiel the Archangel Academy


Secondary education

Secondary schools: * Alejandro Firmeza Memorial NHS * Bacolod NHS * Kirayan NHS * Miagao NHS * Palaca-Damilisan NHS * San Jose NHS * San Rafael NHS * Supt. Arsenio M. Napud Memorial NHS Private secondary schools: * Doanne Christian Fellowship Academy * Kaunlaran Integrated School Foundation INC * St. Louise de Marillac School of Miagao


Colleges and Universities

;University of the Philippines Visayas The Miagao campus of the
University of the Philippines Visayas The University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV or UP Visayas) is a public university, public research university in Iloilo, Philippines. A constituent university of the University of the Philippines system, it teaches management, accountancy, ...
(UPV) spreads out over 12 km2 on the outskirts of the town proper. This is the main campus of UPV which is composed of the UPV College of Management (CM) in
Iloilo City Iloilo City, officially the City of Iloilo (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region of the Philippines, located on the southeastern coast of th ...
, UPV High School in Iloilo (UPVHSI) in Iloilo City, UPV College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), UPV School of Technology (SoTech), and the flagship college of this campus, the UPV College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences (CFOS) which focuses on marine science, aquaculture, fish processing, natural products development, and post-harvest/food science. In the late 1970s and early 1980s,
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
and
Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...
sent exchange students to the school to study fish and rice production, and after graduating returned home where they began out-producing and out-exporting the Philippines in these commodities. ;Iloilo Science and Technology University - Miagao Campus The Iloilo Science and Technology University - Miagao Campus (formerly Southern Iloilo Polytechnic College) is one of the tertiary institutions in the municipality. The college started as Miagao Regional High School in 1945 and became the Miagao Vocational School in 1958. In 1984, Miagao Vocational School was converted to Southern Iloilo Polytechnic College (SIPC) to meet the demands of the changing times and for expansion purposes. SIPC was then integrated to Western Visayas College of Science and Technology (now Iloilo Science and Technology University) on November 24, 2000, by virtue of the Republic Act(RA) No. 7722, otherwise known as the “Higher Education Act of 1994 and RA No. 8292". Currently, the school offers courses in the fields of electronics and technology, hospitality, and primary and secondary education.


Media

*DYUP-FM 102.7 *DYUP-AM 873 *Hot-FM Miag-ao *Falconite – FM/AM Miagao


See also

*
Baroque Churches of the Philippines The Baroque Churches of the Philippines are a collection of four Spanish Colonial architecture, Spanish Colonial-era baroque churches in the Philippines, which were included in UNESCO's World Heritage Site, World Heritage List in 1993. The chu ...
*
Organization of World Heritage Cities The Organization of World Heritage Cities (OWHC) is an international non-profit, non-governmental organization of 250 cities in which sites of the UNESCO World Heritage list are located. It was founded in 1993 in Fez, Morocco, during the second In ...


References


External links

* *
Philippine Standard Geographic Code The Philippine Standard Geographic Code (PSGC) is a systematic classification and coding for geographic areas in the Philippines. It classifies areas based on the country's four levels of administrative divisions: regions, provinces, municipalities ...
br>Local Governance Performance Management System
* {{Authority control Municipalities of Iloilo