Roxas City, Philippines

Roxas City is a medium-sized city in the province of Capiz, Philippines. It is the capital and component city of Capiz. The current city mayor is former provincial governor Vicente Bermejo who was elected during the 2007 election. It 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 is Hiligaynon, otherwise known as Ilonggo. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 126,352 people in 25,126 households.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.Roxas City's Baybay Beach is 16 miles long, one mile wide and is the 15th largest natural bay in the world. The tallest sea cliffs in Western Visayas can be found on the city's north side. Roxas City has been a three-time recipient of the Regional Cleanest and Greenest Component City in Western Visayas Award of the Gawad Pangulo sa Kapaligiran Program of the national government. Originally founded as the town of Capis in 1693, Roxas City is the site of Miguel Lopez de Legaspi's settlement when he arrived from Cebu. Panay used to be the capital of the province. Capiz, the name of the province, was the old name of Roxas City. The settlement was accepted as a visita of the town of Panay. The settlement was originally named El Puerto de Capiz. It is a former seat of a royal kingdom during the Indo-Malay era. According to a 1732 census, there were 327 inhabitants. In 1746, Capiz was made the seat of the military government, although it was still theoretically controlled by the Bishopric of Cebu. According to a 1760 census, there were 17,683 inhabitants. On May 31, 1847, a Royal Decree turned the province into an alcadia. Roxas City was once known as the "Municipality of Capiz" and it became a city on May 12, 1951 with the issuance of the city charter, Republic Act No. 603, with Lorenzo Arnaldo as its first mayor. This city was named Roxas City in honor of President Manuel Roxas