Miagao, Iloilo
Encyclopedia
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 60,498 people. It is located in the Western Visayas
Western Visayas
Western Visayas, one of the regions of the Philippines, is designated as Region VI. It consists of six provinces; Aklan, Antique, Negros Occidental, Capiz, Guimaras and Iloilo and 16 cities making it the region with the highest number of cities. Iloilo City is the regional center...
region of the Philippines.
Miag-ao the largest municipality in the country with a total of 119 barangay
Barangay
A barangay is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district or ward...
s. It is approximately 40 km southwest of Iloilo City
Iloilo City
The City of Iloilo is a highly urbanized city in the Philippines and the capital city of Iloilo province. It is the regional center of the Western Visayas, as well as the center of the Iloilo-Guimaras Metropolitan Area...
.
Every Easter Sunday, the Church conducts mass
Mass
Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...
and there is a town fiesta every September 22 that lasts several days.
Barangays
Miag-ao is politically subdivided into 119 barangayBarangay
A barangay is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district or ward...
s.
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History
This remote location of Miag-ao helped the town defend itself from the frequent raids by Moro pirates in the 16th to 19th century that plagued many neighboring towns and caused whole town-centers to relocate towards Iloilo CityIloilo City
The City of Iloilo is a highly urbanized city in the Philippines and the capital city of Iloilo province. It is the regional center of the Western Visayas, as well as the center of the Iloilo-Guimaras Metropolitan Area...
. Thus, Miag-ao and its surrounding area grew without hindrance and with little outside influence.
Miag-ao Church
The Miag-ao Church was built in 1786 by Spanish Augustinian missionaries and was declared as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Baroque Churches of the PhilippinesBaroque Churches of the Philippines
The Baroque Churches of the Philippines is the official designation to a collection of four Spanish-era churches in the Philippines, upon its inscription to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1993.The collection is composed of the following:...
" in 1993. On the front facade, which is flanked by two watchtower belfries, one can see the unique blending of Spanish and native influences.
The central feature of the bas-relief facade is a large coconut tree which reaches almost to the apex. While an integral part of the Philippine landscape, the coconut tree is also the subject of lore. According to an old Philippine legend, the coconut tree was the only bequest from a loving mother to her two children, a tree which sustained them for life. On the church's facade the coconut tree appears as the "tree of life" to which St. Christopher carrying the Child Jesus
Child Jesus
The Child Jesus represents Jesus from his Nativity to age 12. At 13 he was considered to be adult, in accordance with the Jewish custom of his time, and that of most Christian cultures until recent centuries.The Child Jesus is frequently depicted in art, from around the third or fourth century...
on his shoulder is clinging to. The lesser facades feature the daily life of Miagaowanons during the time. Also depicted are other native flora and fauna, as well as native dress.
The church and its watchtowers were also built to defend the town and its people against raids by the Moros
Moros
In Greek mythology, Moros is the personification of impending doom, who drives mortals to their deadly fate. He is one of the offspring of Nyx , who had conceived him without male intervention, and brother of the Moirae ....
. It therefore has thick walls and, reportedly, secret passage
Secret passage
Secret passages, also commonly referred to as hidden passages or secret tunnels, are hidden routes used for stealthy travel. Such passageways are sometimes inside buildings leading to secret rooms. Others allow occupants to enter or exit buildings without being seen...
s. Indeed stretching along the Iloilo
Iloilo
Iloilo is a province of the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Iloilo occupies the southeast portion of Panay Island and is bordered by Antique Province to the west and Capiz Province and the Jintotolo Channel to the north. Just off Iloilo's southeast coast is Guimaras Province,...
coast are defensive towers, but none that equal the size of the Miag-ao. It is because of this defensive purpose that it is sometimes referred to as the Miag-ao Fortress Church.
University of the Philippines in the Visayas
The Miag-ao campus of the University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) spreads out over 12 km² on the outskirts of the town proper. This is the main campus of UPV and includes the UP College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences which focuses on aquaculture, fish processing, natural products development, and post-harvest/food science. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, ThailandThailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
and Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
sent exchange students to the school to study fish and rice production, and after graduating returned home where they began out-producing and out-exporting the Philippines in these commodities.
Radio & Television Station
- DYUP-FM 102.7
- DYUP-AM 873
- Hot-FM Miag-ao
- Falconite - FM/AM Miagao