Captivating Capiz is dubbed as “Seafood Capital of the Philippines”, “Garden Capital of Western Visayas” and soon to be the “Center of “Seafood Trip Tourism” in the Philippines” and even to those unfamiliar and unacquainted with this serene and special place, the reasons are obvious and well deserved for them to know what is enchanting Capiz.

CAPTIVATING CAPIZ – VISION
is the provincial governments’ development vision or battle cry to promote the province as a tourist destination and envisioned to be the “Eco-Cultural Tourism Hub in Central Philippines”. Tourism development and promotion is one of the major thrusts of the administration of Hon. Victor Tanco, Governor of Capiz.

CAPTIVATING CAPIZ – LOCATION

Capiz is one the five provinces of Panay Island, Western Visayas. Located 375 miles southwest of Manila, 136 kilometers northwest of Iloilo City and 86 kilometers east of Kalibo, Aklan, once a part of the early Malay settlement known as Aklan. It is composed of 16 municipalities, 1 chartered city (Roxas City) and 472 barangays. Its capital, Roxas City is the seat of the provincial and city governments and center of trade. Capiz’ topography varies from rolling lands and hills to mountain peaks and ranges. Entrancing Capiz was divided into two (2) districts:
1st District
Roxas City, Panay, Panit-an, Pontevedra, Pres. Roxas, Pilar, Maayon
2nd District
Ivisan, Sigma, Sapian, Mambusao, Jamindan, Dao, Cuartero, Dumalag, Dumarao, Tapaz

CAPTIVATING CAPIZ – TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION

Travel time to Roxas City is 45 minutes by plane and around 16 hours by ship from Manila. From Iloilo City, it is approximately 2 hours by bus or private car. It will take approximately 4 hours travel going to Boracay Island by land. There are two (2) airlines operating in Roxas City (RXS): Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Cebu Pacific. PAL has daily schedule flight from Roxas-Manila and Manila-Roxas, while Cebu Pacific has a schedule 3x a week. Approximately 2 to 3 hours travel would spent from Roxas City to Iloilo International Airport at Santa Barbara, Iloilo. The primary transportation vehicle used in Roxas City and other municipalities in captivating Capiz is the Tricycle. An P8.00 fare per passenger could be charged when you ride a tricycle within the City.

Capiz is part of the Strong Republic Nautical Highway, which is a major tourism gateway in Western Visayas, as well as the Central Philippines Super Region which has been acknowledge by President Arroyo as the country’s tourism belt. Roll On-Roll Off (Ro-Ro) buses are operating to fetch passengers from Roxas City to Manila (Cubao or Pasay) via Catiklan, Aklan-Mindoro-Batangas-Manila.

CAPTIVATING CAPIZ – FESTIVITIES

Sinadya sa Halaran is a merging of the Roxas City Fiesta “Sinadya” and the Province celebration of “Halaran”. “Sinadya sa Halaran” is a commemoration of the feast of the patroness of Roxas City which is the Immaculate Concepcion and a thanksgiving. It literally means “Joy in Sharing and Thanksgiving” . Rituals and festivities of every municipalities where captivated in this occasion. Fireworks, grand parade, fluvial processions, fair and food festival, street dancing, and exhibits are some of the things to see of this event.
Every municipalities has its own festivities and fiesta, such as Buylogonay of Ivisan, Capiz (1st Week of September) , Hil-o-hanay of Sigma, Capiz (June 24), Linga-anay of Panay, Capiz (May 4), Balintawakan of Pontevedra, Capiz (May 15), Dinagsa sa Dumalag of Dumalag, Capiz (Last Sunday of January), Padagyaw of Dumarao, Capiz (August 5), Inilusan Festival of Mambusao, Capiz (Nov. 20-25), Tilibyugan Festival of Sapi-an, Capiz (July 26) and Sina-ot Festival of President Roxas, Capiz.

Gov. Victor A. Tanco
Governor of Capiz, Philippines

Capiz is a very captivating place and there are a lot of options to see the true aura of the place as well as the true beauty of the said Philippine province. There is no limit and there is no end to all that Capiz can offer both to Filipinos and foreign tourists. Not just about the people but also the different sceneries, views, water and the eco-tourism attractions. All that makes Capiz a captivating place to go visit for a time worth spending with friends or families.

Let me name names even if I am really not from Capiz so just to be able to prove the inner and hidden beauty of the island and I will name a few man-made as well as numerous natural and cultural eco-tourism places that you wouldn’t want to miss visiting Capiz for. Also you will be able to find out where some of the most famous products we came to know about here in Metro Manila and the whole of the Philippines come from in the near provinces of Capiz. For one, the “baybay” or the sea shore beaches that line Capiz coasts are really one of the most breath-taking spots and sunset view that it boasts of. This alone is proof that there are a lot of sight pillars in the Panay Islands particularly in Capiz.

People from the Philippines love churches and it has become the most intriguing and most visited buildings in the land. In Capiz lies the Panay Church which is known to have the biggest Asian church bell, a pride of the people and the land. Who would even miss the gallery of sea foods to which Capiz is known for as it caters to all sorts of buyers from oysters, fresh water and sea water fishes, shrimps and “sugpo“, crabs, different varieties of mussels, the well known and recognized exotic sea creature “DIWAL” or the so-called angel’s wings, different varieties of “daing” or the locally called “bulad” or “tuyo” and more. Capiz is also known to sell the cheapest “daing” in the Philippines because of abundance in different varieties of dried fish in the province.

Sugarcane plantation also thread up the fields as the local call as Lutod-Lutod. While the land is filled with excitement from churches to sugarcane plantation fields to different sea treasures that Capiz is well known for who would forget the shores being featured in different television programs of eco-places like the “skim boarding” center at the Flatrock Beach Resort. This resort is very popular for the local as well as skim boarding fanatics to visit because of the shallow waters the spread like up to where one can span a sight in the whole of the shoreline. Skim boarding is now known to be a popular local sport in the land because of resorts that cater for such sport.

Paradise villas and resorts are also one the best captivating places that makes Capiz an interesting land and national heritage as well as an eco-tourism center in the Philippines. Numerous resorts and villas are open for rental and per person entrance 24/7 fee. Capiz is also known for the different festivities like the famous Balintawakan Festival that is celebrated every 15th of may each year. This is an affair given to the senior citizens and dedicated to them. There the local seniors (mostly) hold the tradition with a popular “binaylehan” (disco dancing) which is the main attraction of the event. People of Capiz also hold here the traditional search for the “Miss Balintawakan“or the queen of the festival to be crowned during the midst of the celebration. Capped by the “Rigodon de Honor“, the festivity will feature the native costume called as the “Balintaw” according to some local that I am able to talk to here in Manila. This special costume is worn by the local women during the event of participation. There is also one popular festival called and the “Sinadya sa Halaran” which I am not so lucky to find out about.

capiz window

Who wouldn’t recognize the beauty, elegance and durability of the well known Capiz shells that come only from the name itself, Capiz. These shells are used to make the most elegant designs for indoor beauty like lamp shades, “parol”, window covers, door windows, frames and other ornamental designs used for the house of local and foreign Filipinos. Capiz is also one of the highest earning and captivating products that the Philippines is able to export to many parts of the world.

guimaras mangoes

Did you know anything about the most delicious local Philippine variety of mango fruit also came from a native of the neighboring Capizeno island called as Guimaras, hence the Guimaras Mangoes, well known all over the world as one of the best variety of mango and also for its honey-sweet taste when ripe and very sour when green. Guimaras mangoes are trademark of the nearby neighbor of Capiz, Guimaras Island.

abalone jewelry

The abalone jewelry, perhaps one of the intriguing jewelries in the world which came naturally from mollusks of a kind or a sea shell from the family of clams and oysters is also found in the local island of Capiz. Unknown to many natives of the land, abalone is a highly regarded and treasured jewelry that is being sold worldwide today. This is present in the rich seas of Capiz and a part of the captivating Capiz beauty that cannot be seen by many eyes and not known to us local Filipinos for whatever reason. This jewelry is made up of the linings of the shell that produces diverse colors upon sunlight and this makes the abalone shell lining as a highly priced type of raw material for a jewelry for many centuries now lying hidden and unknown to us.

Capiz is truly a great place to visit any season of the year as there are a lot in store for those who want to come over for a weekend as well as a long term vacation. There are also a lot more of the popular and not so popular but exciting places to discover that makes Capiz a captivating eco-tourism place in the Philippine archipelago.