The first thing you see as you near Capiz, besides the runway, is a long strip of beach stretching all the way to the land's edge - a dramatic linning of foam and sand surrounding what appears as a gigantic clump of green. In the distance, a small hill juts out from from rows of trees. In the category of first impressions, this place certainly gets a high score.
Emerging from the Roxas City airport, you see a sign proudly announcing that th eplace has been named "The Cleanest and Greenest' City" in Western Visayas, a distinction that obviously needs no further elaboration. Nothing stressful or hurried in the flow of things here. No pesky cab drivers bugging you - as taxis have yet to ply the streets of Roxas, a fact that might reassure the traveler avoiding the trappings of a highly urbanized destination. The aural background that greets you is the distant trill of tricycles and motorbikes.
Welcome to Roxas City, the capital of the province of Capiz, which has recently laid claim to the title "Seafood Capital of the Philippines"
In a country of more than 7,100 islands, that's a rather tough act to banner. They, however, have the stats to back it up, according to officials in the provincial capital. Well, even if they don't, you can simply swallow the statement in a gustatory frame of mind: the vast expanse of fish ponds teem with the promise of sticks of sinfully grilled milkfish, steamed oysters, and basins full of oversized crabs from its shorelines. Capiz is home to 50 percent of the region's fish breeding grounds, having about as much bodies of water inland the way Negros Occidental has sugarcane fields. The capital city of Roxas alone has several ports, and one of them, the Libas, generates a dynamo of fishing trade activity everyday, gathering ships and traders from as far away as Masbate and Iloilo. Whatever the actual records hold, several high-end restaurants in Manila need no convincing: everyday, morning flights from Roxas haul ice-packed Styrofoam boxes of lapu-lapu (grouper), prawns, and king-sized crabs straight into steaming kitchens. In addition, Roxas City is also gunning for the tag "The Garden City of Panay" because of its burgeoning cutflower industry.
The province of Capiz lies on the Northeastern part of the Western Visayan island of Panay, ringed by the Sibuyan Sea on the northm by Iloilo on the east and south, by Antique on the west, and by Aklan on the Nortwest. On the map, Capiz looks like an open palm. With a total land area of 1,817.9 square kilometers, it ranks as the second largest province among the four provinces in the island. It is also the birthplace of Manuel A. Roxas, the First President of the Republic of the Philippines, after whom the provincial capital Roxas City was named (Roxas City used to be known as Capiz as well, but had a name change in the 50's during the term of President Magsaysay). By plane, Capiz is only 45 minutes from Manila, and is 86 kilometers away from a world-renowned neighbor, Boracay.
Like most places in Visayas, Capiz has a rich history. In pre-Spanish times, it was home to Malayan settlers, as part of the Confideration of Madjaas, formed after the purchase of Panay by the Bornean datus from the Negrito king Marikudo. Historical documents record that in the middle of the 18th century, Capiz was a famous seaport and capital odf the province.
Efforts to promote Capiz as a tourist destination were stepped up just this year. The place certainly has the potential for that, as it is blessed with generous amounts of coastal sceneries and picturesque countrysides. That is, if the word "seafood" isn't enough of a come-one already. Capiz is completely self-sufficient in terms of food production, needing no importation from neighboring provinces. It has an abundance of coastlines and ponds, while the southern territories teem with rice fields and other croplands.
The capital cityhas been regional champion (Region VI) and First Runner - up in the national level of Gawad Pangulo sa Kapaligiran (Presidents environmenatal Award) for 2000-01, same competition of the same year. Last year, Roxas won the regional honor once more.Thats because it shows a fine balance between urban development and environmental maintenance- sparkling clen boulevards, manageable traffic flow (the streets buzz mostly with tricycles and motorbikes), available internet access, and- this is music to the ears of the modern filipino - cell sites. There is a major mall here, and smatterrings of the usual fastfood chains, although thankfully limited.
Roxas city is one of the few places in the philippines where you can wallow in a fishpond,cross the street, and then head straight into a bar or discotheque, in the afternoon, street corners teem with smokey makeshift stands selling roasted chicken and barbecue.That people her love to eat is an understatement.
The province already has tourism infrastructures in place.in the capital city, there are small hotels and inns for every and available budget. But for a taste of the small but elegant ,there's the President's Inn, a stone's throw away from the actual birthplace of the President Roxas and the town center.The Baybay beach front also has good inns and lodges that rarely go beyond the 1,000-peso mark. A lush spot called Capiz Bay Resort (Tel [6336] 621-2856) is perched between a beach and a zone of fishponds,where you can actually fish for your own bangus and have cooked it too,
Roxas also has convention facilities that can handle hundreds of guest,the most popular of which is the Gerry Roxas Foundation Resource Center- named in honor of the late, beloved governor who also hails from the prestigious lineage.
Capiz has several famous old churches dating back to the Spanish period, a nunber of which has been documented in Fr.Pedro Gallende's book 'Angels in Stone'.The Church of Santa Monica in the neighboring municipality of Panay is home to what has been recorded as the largest bell in Asia,measuring seven feet in both diameter and height, and weighing 10,400 kilograms.When the bell rings- along with eight other smaller ones-the sound can be heard even from several towns away.This church, presently undergoing massive structural renovation,was first built in 1774 using ash,limestone, and egg yolk. it had since undergone several renovations and in 1997, was declared a National Historical Landmark by the national government. One curios matter about the church is that its cavernous ceiling has become home to bats, with the guano droppings producing an unmistakably acrid smell. Truly a gothic experience.
An hour away from Roxas is the sleepy Southern town of Dumalag, also known for its old-church and for a number of caves One of its major attractions is the Suhot Cave, which regularly attracts spelunkers and has resort/picnic grounds nearby. The town Balisong, several kilometers opposite the capital city, is also home to a cou[le of other smaller caves.
Roxas City and the rest of Capiz celebrate its annual thanksgiving fiesta from December 4 to 8 which, in the Catholic calendar,coincides with the Feast of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception. Dubbed Sinadya sa Halaran, the affair is marked by colourful merry-making, parades of papier-mach'e giants called 'Higantes' and lavishly decorated tricycles; beauty peagents art and sporting events,product showcases, and seafood festival (which includes, among others, an oyster-eating contest). With the shorelines and the ponds ever so generous with their crabs, oysters, milkfish,lapulapu, etc; the bountiful ricefields, vegetables plantations, it is said that the fiesta reflects the gratitude of the people of capiz for the abundance that they enjoy up to now. And rightly so.
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