Plaza Libertad, formerly known as Plaza Alfonso XII, is a historic ''plaza'' or

town square A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Relat ...

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 ...

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 ...

. It is considered the site where the flag of the first Philippine Republic was raised in triumph after

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

surrendered

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 ...

, the last Spanish capital in Asia and the Pacific, to the revolutionary forces led by Gen. Martin Delgado on December 25, 1898. Plaza Libertad is located in front of

Iloilo City Hall The Iloilo City Hall is the official seat of government of the City of Iloilo, Philippines, located in Plaza Libertad, Iloilo City Proper. It is where the Mayor of Iloilo City holds office and the chambers of the Iloilo City Council. It also hos ...

Iloilo City Proper Iloilo City Proper, also known as Downtown Iloilo or simply Iloilo among locals, is an Districts of Iloilo City, administrative district in Iloilo City, Philippines, located on the southeastern coast of the island of Panay in the Western Visayas ...

and is one of the six district plazas in Iloilo City.

History

Plaza

Alfonso XII Alfonso XII (Alfonso Francisco de Asís Fernando Pío Juan María de la Concepción Gregorio Pelayo de Borbón y Borbón; 28 November 185725 November 1885), also known as ''El Pacificador'' (Spanish: the Peacemaker), was King of Spain from 29 D ...

, named after a king of Spain, was constructed in the 1800s and is one of the oldest plazas in the Philippines. It was surrounded by most of the government offices in Iloilo. On Christmas Day of 1898, Governor-General Diego de los Ríos of Spain surrendered to the Filipino revolutionary troops led by

General Martin Delgado A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED Online. Mar ...

in the Plaza, thus ending the 333-year-old Spanish colonization of the Philippines. After the surrender, the triumphant revolutionaries for the first time raised the flag of the First Philippine Republic in Iloilo City, the last bastion of Spanish power in the country. It was later renamed Plaza Libertad to reflect the event that happened on the plaza. On November 17, 2003, the

National Historical Institute The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP; ) is a government agency of the Philippines. Its mission is "the promotion of history of the Philippines, Philippine history and culture of the Philippines, cultural heritage through ...

declared Plaza Libertad a national historical landmark.

Rehabilitation

On February 4, 2021, the rehabilitation of the plaza started with a cost of

₱ The Philippine peso sign (₱) is the currency symbol used for the Philippine peso, the official currency of the Philippines. The symbol resembles a Latin script, Latin letter P with two horizontal strokes. It differs from the currency symbol u ...

19 million, funded by the national government through the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) of the Department of Tourism. The rehab includes trimming of trees, landscaping, improvement of facilities, and lighting, among others.

Gallery

File:Plaza Libertad, Iloilo City, Aug 2024.jpg, Plaza Libertad Sign File:Rizal Shrine Marker in Plaza Libertad, Iloilo City.jpg, Rizal Shrine Marker File:Center of Plaza Libertad with a statue of José Rizal - 2024.jpg, José Rizal statue File:Facade of the Iloilo City Hall as seen from Plaza Libertad.jpg, Iloilo City Hall as seen from Plaza Libertad File:Iloilo City Hall, Plaza Libertad night view (JM Basa, Iloilo City; 10-20-2022).jpg, Plaza Libertad night view File:Engine Panay Railways 2.JPG, Preserved locomotive formerly used by Panay Railways

References

{{Iloilo City Plazas in Iloilo City Tourist attractions in Iloilo City History of Iloilo City Buildings and structures in Iloilo City Proper Spanish Colonial architecture in the Philippines Marked Historical Structures of the Philippines National Historical Landmarks of the Philippines