Roxas City in Capiz is popularly known as the seafood capital of the Philippines. With the bounty and abundance of the surrounding bodies of water, Roxas has produced variety of fresh seafood at its best quality and distributed to the rest of the country. Some of those can only be seen in the waters of Capiz including the famous crustaceans such as Diwal (Angel’s wing), Talaba (Oysters), Scallops, Tahong among others.

Baybay beach in Roxas City is the one-stop destination for seafood gourmands to savor the pride of Capiz. It has an array of seafood restaurants that serve nothing but the fresh catch of crustaceans and famous fish favorites such as blue marlin. They have comparably lower prices and they’ll cook your choice of seafood into your liking whether steamed in broth or just simply grilled. Feel the fresh clean sea breeze while dining at Baybay or watch the sun goes down at La Playa de Roxas (People’s Park) nearby before plunging into a dose of seafood fares.

Seafood restaurants in Baybay are open for meals from breakfast ’til dinner.

History of Roxas City

Capiz became the second Spanish settlement after Cebu when Captain Diego de Artienda, sent by Legaspi landed in the town of Pan-ay and proclaimed it the capital of the province. The capital was then moved to the present location of Roxas City.

Folk history recorded in the Maragtas by Pedro Monteclaro says ten Bornean datus landed at a site now known as San Joaquin town in Iloilo province. They purchased Panay Island from the Aeta, cultivated the land, and renamed the island Madya-as. They divided it into three communities: Irong-irong, Akean (which includes the Capiz area), and Hamtik.

It is said that in Capiz in 1570, the Datu Bankaya’s wife of the Aklan district gave birth to twin daughters. Twin is "Kapid" in the local dialect, so the Spaniards adopted the name Capiz (Kapid) as inadvertently miscommunicated to them by the natives.

Capiz, which was part of Aklan in pre-Spanish times, was one of the early settlements of the Malays, centuries before the coming of the Spaniards to the Philippines. It was part of the Confederation of Madjaas, formed after the purchase of Panay by the Bornean datus from the Negrito king named Marikudo.

When the Spaniards led by Miguel López de Legazpi came to Panay from Cebu in 1569, they found people with tattoos, and so they called it Isla de los Pintados. How the island itself came to be called Panay is uncertain. The Aeta called it Aninipay, after a plant that abounded in the island. Legend has it that López de Legazpi and his men, in search of food, exclaimed upon the island, pan hay en esta isla!. So they established their first settlement in the island at the mouth of the Banica River in Capiz and called it Pan-ay. This was the second Spanish settlement in the Philippines, the first being San Miguel, Cebu.

In the same year of 1569 Captain ('Capitan') Diego de Artieda who was sent by Legaspi landed in the Town of Panay and proclaimed it as the capital of the province. Later, they moved the Capital to its present site upon discovering the town of Capiz (not the province, and now Roxas City) which was near the sea and provided docking facilities.

In 1942, the region was occupied by the Japanese troops. In 1945, the region was liberated by the joint Filipino and American troops with Filipino guerrillas from the defeated Japanese Imperial forces during Second World War.

Capiz and Aklan were united under one province until April 25, 1956, when President Ramon Magsaysay signed into law Republic Act 1414 separating the two entities.

St. Therese of Avila Parish – Loctugan, Roxas City

Fr. Santiago Losada founded Loctugan, a district of Roxas City, in 1834 but it continued being a part of Capiz (now Roxas City).  On June 6, 1840, it was declared a parish by decree of General Lardizabal.  However, this decree was annulled because the people were not able to comply with the conditions imposed on constructing public buildings.  In 1844, it was definitely created a parish under the patronage of Sta. Teresa de Avila.

Since its foundation, it served the spiritual and moral needs of its parishioners. This was briefly interrupted during the Second World War when the Japanese Imperial Army used the church as a fortress while being besieged by the USAFFE guerillas.

During and after the Japanese occupation, Fr. Jesus Patino, Fr. Jose Buenaflor, Fr. Rosendo Militar, and Fr. Marcos Doloso successively administered the parish.

The late Fr. Marcos Doloso was the parish priest when Capiz became a diocese in 1951.  Fr. Felipe Almosa, Fr. Roque Laserna. Msgr. Benjamin Advincula, Msgr. Guillermo Belvis and Fr. Teodoro Tanalgo were also assigned parish priests successively.  The present parish priest is Fr.  Roque Ortencio.

Besides Fr. Losada these Augustinians also served the parish:  Fr. Mariano Ruiz (1852), Fr. Mariano Fabregas (1855), Fr. Jose Ojanguren (1873), Fr. Jose Ma. Velasco (1885), Fr. Bernardino Hernando (1892), Fr. Jose Gutierrez (1894), and Fr. Juan Corzos (1895).

Pan-ay Church ( Sta. Monica Parish Church)

Pan-ay Church ( Sta. Monica Parish Church)

The island of Panay specifically the city of Iloilo is home to centuries-old churches with the famous church in Miag-ao among others. But on the northern part of the island in the province of Capiz is another heritage church that everyone should drop by if you happen to be in Roxas City or from Boracay Island.

Built in 1774, it is one of the oldest in the Philippines with its signature Baroque architecture ( common during those times). At present, Sta. Monica Parish Church is famous for its bell. Yes, the bell of Pan-ay Church is its main attraction.

Weighing a total of more than 10 tons, this bell was constructed way back in the early 19th century. From the 70 sacks of coins collected from the locals ( imagine the agony and so-called “Spanish cruelties), this bell is the biggest in the country, in Asia and the third in the world. The great bell is surrounded with 8 smaller bells which are also dated as early as 1822. What is more impressive is that these bells are still used until today .

The rest of the church is very striking with its designs courtesy of the Baroque architecture that it adheres.

The entrance door of Pan-ay Church has a floral designs sculptured with complexity.

I’m not sure who this persona is but my guess is that he is the Pope/ Bishop or any high church official during the construction of Pan-ay Church.

The belfry of the Church with clocks sourrounding the 4th tier.

Roxas City

Roxas City is a medium-sized city in the province of Capiz, Philippines. It is the provincial capital and a component city.The city is a center of copra and aquaculture production. The surrounding area grows sugarcane, rice, coconut, fruit, hemp, and tobacco. The language spoken in Roxas City are Capiznon and Hiligaynon.

The abundance of marine life makes Roxas City the "Seafood Capital of the Philippines." This environment-friendly city is home to one of the richest fishing grounds in the country.[citation needed] Roxas City's Baybay Beach is just over 7 kilometers long. The tallest sea cliffs in Western Visayas can be found on the city's north side. Roxas City has been a Hall of Famer of the Regional Cleanest and Greenest Component City in Western Visayas Award of the Gawad Pangulo sa Kapaligiran Program of the national government

PHOTOS OF ROXAS CITY