Victorias
Victorias, officially the City of Victorias (Hiligaynon: Dakbanwa sang Victorias; Filipino: Lungsod ng Victorias), is a 4th class component city in the province of Negros Occidental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 90,101 people.[3]
Victorias | |
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City of Victorias | |
| |
Nickname(s): "The Sugarlandia of Negros" "The Sweet and Green City of Negros" | |
OpenStreetMap | |
Victorias Location within the Philippines | |
Coordinates: 10°54′N 123°05′E | |
Country | Philippines |
Region | Western Visayas |
Province | Negros Occidental |
District | 3rd district |
Founded | October 2, 1906 |
Cityhood | March 21, 1998 |
Barangays | 26 (see Barangays) |
Government | |
• Type | Sangguniang Panlungsod |
• Mayor | Javier Miguel L. Benitez |
• Vice Mayor | Abelardo D. Bantug III |
• Representative | Jose Francisco B. Benitez |
• City Council | Members |
• Electorate | 61,877 voters (2022) |
Area | |
• Total | 133.92 km2 (51.71 sq mi) |
Elevation | 166 m (545 ft) |
Highest elevation | 1,568 m (5,144 ft) |
Lowest elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
Population (2020 census)[3] | |
• Total | 90,101 |
• Density | 670/km2 (1,700/sq mi) |
• Households | 22,268 |
Economy | |
• Income class | 4th city income class |
• Poverty incidence | 12.86 |
• Revenue | ₱ 742.2 million (2020) |
• Assets | ₱ 2,554 million (2020) |
• Expenditure | ₱ 581.6 million (2020) |
• Liabilities | ₱ 1,003 million (2020) |
Service provider | |
• Electricity | Northern Negros Electric Cooperative (NONECO) |
Time zone | UTC+8 (PST) |
ZIP code | 6119 |
PSGC | |
IDD : area code | +63 (0)34 |
Native languages | Hiligaynon Tagalog |
Website | www |
Victorias is notable for the St. Joseph the Worker Chapel, which was declared as an Important Cultural Property of the Philippines[5] in December 2015.
It is also the site of Victorias Milling Company, the world's largest integrated sugar mill,[6] sitting on a 7,000 hectares (17,000 acres) compound that makes it the Philippine's largest sugar refinery.
Victorias City also serves as the access point to the Northern Negros Natural Park, popular among hikers visiting Mount Mandalagan and Mount Silay.
Victorias City is 34 kilometres (21 mi) from Bacolod.
Geography
Barangays
Victorias City is politically subdivided into 26 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.
- Barangay I (Poblacion)
- Barangay II (Quezon; Pob.)
- Barangay III (Poblacion)
- Barangay IV (Poblacion)
- Barangay V (Poblacion)
- Barangay VI (Estrella Village/Salvacion; Pob.)
- Barangay VI-A (Boulevard/Villa Miranda/Sitio Cubay/Pasil)
- Barangay VII (Poblacion)
- Barangay VIII (Old Simboryo)
- Barangay IX (Daan Banwa)
- Barangay X (Estado)
- Barangay XI (Gawahon)
- Barangay XII
- Barangay XIII (Gloryville)
- Barangay XIV
- Barangay XV West Caticlan
- Barangay XV-A East Caticlan
- Barangay XVI
- Barangay XVI-A
- Barangay XVII
- Barangay XVIII
- Barangay XVIII-A (Florencia, Kubay, Golf)
- Barangay XIX
- Barangay XIX-A (Canetown Subdivision)
- Barangay XX
- Barangay XXI
Climate
Climate data for Victorias | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Average high °C (°F) | 28 (82) |
29 (84) |
30 (86) |
32 (90) |
32 (90) |
31 (88) |
30 (86) |
29 (84) |
29 (84) |
29 (84) |
29 (84) |
28 (82) |
30 (85) |
Average low °C (°F) | 23 (73) |
23 (73) |
23 (73) |
24 (75) |
25 (77) |
25 (77) |
25 (77) |
24 (75) |
24 (75) |
24 (75) |
24 (75) |
23 (73) |
24 (75) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 57 (2.2) |
37 (1.5) |
41 (1.6) |
42 (1.7) |
98 (3.9) |
155 (6.1) |
187 (7.4) |
162 (6.4) |
179 (7.0) |
188 (7.4) |
114 (4.5) |
78 (3.1) |
1,338 (52.8) |
Average rainy days | 12.0 | 7.7 | 9.2 | 10.2 | 19.5 | 24.6 | 26.9 | 25.1 | 25.5 | 25.2 | 18.0 | 13.0 | 216.9 |
Source: Meteoblue[7] |
Demographics
Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
---|---|---|
1903 | 8,372 | — |
1918 | 7,557 | −0.68% |
1939 | 19,547 | +4.63% |
1948 | 27,858 | +4.02% |
1960 | 34,290 | +1.75% |
1970 | 48,829 | +3.59% |
1975 | 53,994 | +2.04% |
1980 | 55,959 | +0.72% |
1990 | 69,892 | +2.25% |
1995 | 78,283 | +2.15% |
2000 | 81,743 | +0.93% |
2007 | 88,149 | +1.05% |
2010 | 88,299 | +0.06% |
2015 | 87,933 | −0.08% |
2020 | 90,101 | +0.48% |
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[8][9][10][11] |
The people in the city speak the Hiligaynon language (often called Ilonggo). Filipino and English are generally understood.
Economy
Religion
Notable religions include:
- Roman Catholicism
- Philippine Independent Church
- United Pentecostal Church International
- Baptist Bible Fellowship International
- Seventh-day Adventist Church
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Philippines
- Iglesia ni Cristo
- Jehovah's Witnesses
- Apostolic Pentecostalism
- Evangelical Protestantism
- IKTHUS
Churches
Notable churches include:
- St. Joseph the Worker Chapel, also known as the Angry Christ Church
Ultrafidian
- Ultrafidian Center
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Victorias City
- IFI Mission Church of St. Andrew the Apostle
St. Joseph the Worker Chapel
Within the Victorias Milling Company's complex is the St. Joseph the Worker Chapel, a masterpiece considered the first example of modern sacral architecture in the Philippines[19] and raised to the status of Important Cultural Property by the National Museum of the Philippines in 2015. The chapel was designed by the famous Czech Architect Antonín Raymond.[5]
Its mural of the Angry Christ was painted by international artist Alfonso Ossorio.[5] The mural has been featured in various publications such as Life Magazine. Its fierce, vivid colors gave the church its most known name, the "Angry Christ Church".[5]
Festivals
The city celebrates the annual Kadalag-an Festival, a charter anniversary held on March 21, and the annual Malihaw Festival on April 26.
The city also celebrates the Kalamayan Festival every December. The word "Kalamayan" depicts what Victorias is known for, its “kalamay” or refined sugar and its sugar industry, the Victorias Milling Company.
Notable personalities
- Noven Belleza - first champion of Tawag ng Tanghalan; born in Victorias[20]
- Alfonso A. Ossorio - Filipino-American abstract expressionist artist; though born in Manila in 1916 to a Negros Occidental family, his Angry Christ Mural is connected to Victorias City[5]
- Albee Benitez - politician, business magnate[21]
Education
Notable educational institutions include:
- Central Philippines State University – Victorias City Campus
- Don Bosco Technical Institute, Victorias
- La Salle College–Victorias
- Negros Occidental National Science High School
- Colegio de Santa Ana de Victorias[22]
- Victorias National High School
- Victorias Elementary School
- Laura Vicuña Women Development & Training Center (Hda.Malihao, Barangay XX, Victorias City)
- Jack & Jill School/Castleson High
References
- City of Victorias | (DILG)
- "2015 Census of Population, Report No. 3 – Population, Land Area, and Population Density" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. Quezon City, Philippines. August 2016. ISSN 0117-1453. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 25, 2021. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
- Census of Population (2020). "Region VI (Western Visayas)". Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
- "PSA Releases the 2018 Municipal and City Level Poverty Estimates". Philippine Statistics Authority. December 15, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
- "Inside the church with an angry-looking Christ". RAPPLER. November 1, 2019. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
- Andres, Tomas Donato (2005). Understanding Ilonggo Values, Book 19. Giraffe Books. ISBN 978-971-0362-22-6.
- "Victorias: Average Temperatures and Rainfall". Meteoblue. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
- Census of Population (2015). "Region VI (Western Visayas)". Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
- Census of Population and Housing (2010). "Region VI (Western Visayas)" (PDF). Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. National Statistics Office. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
- Censuses of Population (1903–2007). "Region VI (Western Visayas)". Table 1. Population Enumerated in Various Censuses by Province/Highly Urbanized City: 1903 to 2007. National Statistics Office.
- "Province of". Municipality Population Data. Local Water Utilities Administration Research Division. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
- "Poverty incidence (PI):". Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
- "Estimation of Local Poverty in the Philippines" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. November 29, 2005.
- "2003 City and Municipal Level Poverty Estimates" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. March 23, 2009.
- "City and Municipal Level Poverty Estimates; 2006 and 2009" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. August 3, 2012.
- "2012 Municipal and City Level Poverty Estimates" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. May 31, 2016.
- "Municipal and City Level Small Area Poverty Estimates; 2009, 2012 and 2015". Philippine Statistics Authority. July 10, 2019.
- "PSA Releases the 2018 Municipal and City Level Poverty Estimates". Philippine Statistics Authority. December 15, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
- Sayer, Derek (November 1, 2022). Postcards from Absurdistan: Prague at the End of History. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-23951-4.
- "Noven Belleza: his singing career before the scandal". PEP.ph. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
- "Bacolod court dismisses appeal to exclude Albee Benitez from voter's list". RAPPLER. February 14, 2022. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
- Colegio de Santa Ana de Victorias