Tapaz | |
|---|---|
| Municipality of Tapaz | |
 Tapaz Government Center | |
 Flag  Seal | |
| Motto: Bakas Tapaz | |
| Anthem: "Tapaz, Banwang Nalulutan" | |
 Map of Capiz with Tapaz highlighted | |
OpenStreetMap  | |
.svg)  Tapaz Location within thePhilippines | |
| Coordinates:11°15′44″N122°32′13″E / 11.2622°N 122.5369°E /11.2622; 122.5369 | |
| Country | Philippines |
| Region | Western Visayas |
| Province | Capiz |
| District | 2nd district |
| Barangays | 58 (seeBarangays) |
| Government | |
| • Type | Sangguniang Bayan |
| • Mayor | Rex Dante L. Palomar (Lakas) |
| • Vice Mayor | Roberto O. Palomar (PDP) |
| • Representative | Jane T. Castro (Lakas) |
| • Municipal Council | Members
|
| • Electorate | 37,067 voters (2025) |
| Area | |
• Total | 517.18 km2 (199.68 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 259 m (850 ft) |
| Highest elevation | 2,069 m (6,788 ft) |
| • Rank | 0 |
| Population (2024 census)[3] | |
• Total | 57,684 |
| • Density | 111.54/km2 (288.88/sq mi) |
| • Households | 13,473 |
| Demonym | Tapaznon |
| Economy | |
| • Income class | 1st municipal income class |
| • Poverty incidence | 23.18 |
| • Revenue | ₱ 355.2 million (2022) |
| • Assets | ₱ 792.3 million (2022) |
| • Expenditure | ₱ 296.2 million (2022) |
| • Liabilities | ₱ 342.8 million (2022) |
| Service provider | |
| • Electricity | Capiz Electric Cooperative (CAPELCO) |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (PST) |
| ZIP code | 5814 |
| PSGC | |
| IDD : area code | +63 (0)36 |
| Native languages | Sulod Karay-a Capisnon Hiligaynon Tagalog |
| Website | www |
Tapaz, officially theMunicipality of Tapaz (Capiznon:Banwa sang Tapaz;Hiligaynon:Banwa sang Tapaz;Aklan:Banwa it Tapaz;Kinaray-a:Banwa kang Tapaz/Banwa ka Tapaz;Tagalog:Bayan ng Tapaz), is amunicipality in theprovince ofCapiz,Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 57,684 people.[5]
The festival in Tapaz are the Patabang Festival in September honoring Patron Saint Jerome, and Sirinadya Festival in January honoring Sr. Santo Niño. Other local festival is Tinuom Festival in Barangay San Nicolas celebrated in the Month of December honoring Patron Saint Nicholas of Myra.
The town is known for a small community of indigenous Panay-Bukidnon in Barangay Tacayan. The community is home to Feliza, abinukot who has expertise in chanting thesuguidanon, one of the most significant epic chants of the Western Visayas region. Feliza is the last known person who can speak theLigbok language in her community, making her the last bastion for the thousand-year old language in Tapaz. Her death would translate to the death of the language in Tapaz itself and thesuguidanon epic chant as well. Also, Feliza has traditional tattoos on her skin which were inscribed when she was chosen as abinukot. In 2016, after reports came out on the dyingLigbok language andsuguidanon epic chant, the government began documenting the language and epic chant and teaching the language to younger generations of Panay-Bukidnon in Tapaz.[6]
Marugo lake in Barangay San Antonio barangay is most popular tourist destination.
The first people who arrived and settled in what is now Tapaz are the Panay-Bukidnon people who speak the indigenousLigbok language.
When the Spanish arrived in Panay, they established Dumalag town. Eventually, Tapaz was founded in 1835 but it continued being a part of Dumalag town for many years. In 1862 and 1863 two letters were made to declare parish under the patronage of St. Jerome. Both were signed by Governor General Lemery, but they were never executed. Finally, in 1874, Tapaz was declared an independent parish by Jaro Bishop Mariano Cuartero.
In 2016, theLigbok language of the Panay-Bukidnon of Tapaz was confirmed to be dying out. This triggered a massive conservation program for the language and the epic chant spoken by the Panay-Bukidnon.[7]
Tapaz lies within the latitude 11° 09’ to 11° 09’ 42" and the longitude of 121° 11’ to 122° 34’ 45". It is 55 kilometres (34 mi) fromRoxas City.
| Climate data for Tapaz, Capiz | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 28 (82) | 29 (84) | 31 (88) | 32 (90) | 32 (90) | 30 (86) | 29 (84) | 29 (84) | 29 (84) | 29 (84) | 29 (84) | 28 (82) | 30 (85) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 22 (72) | 22 (72) | 22 (72) | 23 (73) | 25 (77) | 25 (77) | 25 (77) | 25 (77) | 25 (77) | 24 (75) | 23 (73) | 23 (73) | 24 (75) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 64 (2.5) | 44 (1.7) | 58 (2.3) | 83 (3.3) | 204 (8.0) | 304 (12.0) | 334 (13.1) | 291 (11.5) | 310 (12.2) | 281 (11.1) | 172 (6.8) | 97 (3.8) | 2,242 (88.3) |
| Average rainy days | 12.5 | 8.9 | 11.3 | 14.1 | 24.2 | 28.0 | 29.6 | 28.2 | 28.1 | 28.1 | 20.2 | 15.2 | 248.4 |
| Source: Meteoblue(modeled/calculated data, not measured locally)[8] | |||||||||||||
Tapaz is politically subdivided into 58barangays. [9]However, there are boundaries issues with neighboring municipalities of Jamindan, Capiz and Libacao, Aklan. The Sitio Maytaraw which is bordered to Calinog, Iloilo is occupied by Libacao, Aklan but within the territory of Tapaz, while the four Barangays, the Brgy Hilwan, Brgy Rizal Sur, Brgy Rizal Norte, and Brgy Maliao are within the Territorial Jurisdiction of Jamindan. Each barangay consists ofpuroks and some havesitios.
There are 36lowlands barangays and the rest of the 22 areupland barangays.
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1903 | 3,741 | — |
| 1918 | 11,242 | +7.61% |
| 1939 | 17,047 | +2.00% |
| 1948 | 16,376 | −0.45% |
| 1960 | 21,178 | +2.17% |
| 1970 | 26,482 | +2.26% |
| 1975 | 30,589 | +2.93% |
| 1980 | 35,129 | +2.81% |
| 1990 | 40,942 | +1.54% |
| 1995 | 40,809 | −0.06% |
| 2000 | 44,085 | +1.67% |
| 2007 | 47,059 | +0.90% |
| 2010 | 48,051 | +0.76% |
| 2015 | 51,313 | +1.26% |
| 2020 | 54,423 | +1.25% |
| 2024 | 57,684 | +1.41% |
| Source:Philippine Statistics Authority[10][11][12][13][14] | ||
In the 2020 census, the population of Tapaz was 54,423 people,[15] with a density of 110 inhabitants per square kilometre or 280 inhabitants per square mile.
The natives of Tapaz are mixture of several ethnic groups as the Malays, Spaniards, Indonesians, and the Aetas or Negritos who are the aborigines of Panay. In the recent years the residents are distincts group as the "Baludnons" those in lowland and "Bukidnons" those in upland.
As a Catholic Dominant Municipality. Tapaz has two parishes and three mission stations and many churches.
Parishes:
Mission Stations:
Poverty incidence of Tapaz
10 20 30 40 50 60 2000 59.09 2003 39.66 2006 47.90 2009 28.97 2012 33.83 2015 24.11 2018 12.41 2021 23.18 Source:Philippine Statistics Authority[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] |
Hospital in Tapaz:
The increasing population of school children made theDistrict of Tapaz into two districts. The Tapaz East District with 22 complete Elementary Schools and 14 Primary Schools. The Tapaz West District with 19 complete Elementary Schools and 3 Primary Schools. It has 8 Secondary Schools and one University Satellite Campus that caters the tertiary education of every Tapaznon.
High Schools in Tapaz:
College in Tapaz:
Places adjacent to Tapaz | |
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