Roxas City: The Venice of Western Visayas

(written/published July 20, 2008, revised March 30, 2013)

Roxas City is the heart of Capiz. The city is dubbed at the Seafood Capital of the Philippines. And because of this distinction, Roxas City prides herself of having one of the richest and rarest of all the marine habitat in the Philippines. Much has been said about Roxas City. Take time to explore Roxas City and you'll see it's one place worth your visit.

Profile 

Roxas City is the capital and only component city of Capiz. It is a second class city, located in the northern part of Panay Island. The main source of livelihood here is agriculture and aquaculture. Roxas City is also a center for the copra and cut-flower industries. Tobacco, rice, hemp, and fruits are also grown in the city and the surrounding towns. The regional language spoken in Roxas City is Hiligaynon, although locals also speak English, Filipino, and Kinaray-a with relative fluency, if not mastery.


Seafood Capital of the Philippines

Because of its abundance in fish, clams, oysters, and other marine life, Roxas City earned the sobriquet "Seafood Capital of the Philippienes." Its marine wealth is owed to the fact that it is located near the sea. Aside from seafood, Roxas City is also home to dry-fish and smoke-fish businesses. These particularly thrive in the seaside barangays of Baybay and Dumulog, with the locals particularly engaged in this form of livelihood. Roxas City has, for all the development that continually invades her, maintains as being an environmentally friendly place. It has 16 miles of shoreline, which up to now, has remained untouched by development and continues to lure tourists and visitors, both local and foreign. Baybay, the name of the city's beach, according to Wikipedia.org, is the 15th largest natural bay in the world, with the beach’s cliff as one of the highest in Western Visayas. 



The Cleanest and Greenest of them all

If there is any award to official recognize the beauty of Roxas City, it is the Gawad Pangulo Para sa Kalikasan (The Presidential Honor for the Environment). The honor was conferred to the city for being the cleanest and the greenest component city in Western Visayas and it managed to score the Hall of Fame. 


Festival Hub 


 Roxas City is home to a number of festivals, namely The Sinadya sa Halaran, Kapistahan Festival and the now-defunct Diwal and  Aswang festivals. These festivals showcase the diverse ethnic and cultural diversities that thrive in Capiz up to the now, adding color to the kaleidoscope of tourist spots, exotic culinary flares, traditions, and culture that continue to abound despite the passing of  times.

Photo credits:


http://images.habagatcentral.multiply.com/image/5/photos/68/500x500/10/IM000115.JPG?et=1ylGVOxcT7o6BycEtJw1SQ

www.clickthecity.com/.../CTC-2195-image4.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/87/256086805_182eeacdbd.jpg?v=0 http://capiz.i.ph/photo/d/248-2/flatrock-bridge.jpg