Buenavista, officially the Municipality of Buenavista ( hil, Banwa sang Buenavista; tl, Bayan ng Buenavista), is a 2nd class

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

and the largest settlement in the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

Guimaras Guimaras , officially the Province of Guimaras ( hil, Kapuoran sang Guimaras; tl, Lalawigan ng Guimaras), is an island province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital is Jordan while its largest local government ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 52,899 people. The town acts as a cheaper link between

Panay Panay is the sixth-largest and fourth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of and has a total population of 4,542,926 as of 2020 census. Panay comprises 4.4 percent of the entire population of the country. The City o ...

and

Negros Negros is the fourth largest and third most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of . Negros is one of the many islands of the Visayas, in the central part of the country. The predominant inhabitants of the island region a ...

, as opposed to taking a ship directly between the two islands. Buenavista is a part of the

Metro Iloilo–Guimaras Metropolitan Iloilo–Guimaras ( hil, Kaulohan nga Iloílo–Guimarás; fil, Kalakhang Iloílo–Guimarás), also shortened as Metro Iloilo–Guimaras or simply MIG, is a metropolitan area in the Visayas in the Philippines. It consists of the ...

area, centered on

Iloilo City Iloilo City, officially the City of Iloilo ( hil, Siyudad/Dakbanwa sang Iloilo; fil, Lungsod ng Iloilo), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines on the island of Panay. It is the capital city of t ...

History

Buenavista is the oldest municipality on

. It was established in 1775, during the Spanish colonial period. A Spanish governor general was reputedly impressed by the scenery of the location, and called the place ''Buenavista'', Spanish for "beautiful view". Santo Rosario was formerly known as Baybay, while Salvacion's old name was Ambulong, and furthermore Old Poblacion's name was Daan Banwa.

Geography

Buenavista is located at the northern tip of

Guimaras Island Guimaras , officially the Province of Guimaras ( hil, Kapuoran sang Guimaras; tl, Lalawigan ng Guimaras), is an island province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital is Jordan while its largest local government ...

, and is one of the five towns comprising the province of Guimaras. The northern and north-west part of the town overlooks

Panay Island Panay is the sixth-largest and fourth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of and has a total population of 4,542,926 as of 2020 census. Panay comprises 4.4 percent of the entire population of the country. The City ...

and the north-east portion faces

Negros Island Negros is the fourth largest and third most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of . Negros is one of the many islands of the Visayas, in the central part of the country. The predominant inhabitants of the island region a ...

Iloilo Strait The Iloilo Strait is a strait in the Philippines that separates the islands of Panay and Guimaras in the Visayas, and connects the Panay Gulf with the Guimaras Strait. It is the location of the Port of Iloilo, the third-busiest of the ports in the ...

lies between the town and Panay, and

Guimaras Strait Guimaras Strait is a strait in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines, connecting the Visayan Sea with the Panay Gulf and Sulu Sea beyond. To the north and west are Panay and Guimaras Islands, while Negros Island is to the south and east. B ...

lies between the town and Negros. MacArthur's Wharf serves as the municipal wharf for Buenavista and part of

San Lorenzo San Lorenzo is the Italian and Spanish name for Lawrence of Rome, Saint Lawrence, the 3rd-century Christian martyr, and may refer to: Places Argentina * San Lorenzo, Santa Fe * San Lorenzo Department, Chaco * Monte San Lorenzo, a mountain on t ...

is used by passengers from the neighboring Panay Island in going to Negros Province and vice versa. This transportation route serves as a cheaper link, rather than taking a ship. Buenavista's terrain ranges from plains (nearly level in the central and north-west coastal areas) to mountains (north-western part).

Climate

The climate is mild and cool, due to its being bounded by the sea on the three directions.

Barangays

Buenavista is politically subdivided into 36

barangay A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolitan ...

s. * Agsanayan * Avila * Banban * Bacjao (Calumingan) * Cansilayan * Dagsaan * Daragan * East Valencia (Mantangingi) * Getulio (Ili) * Mabini * Magsaysay * McLain * Montpiller * Navalas * Nazaret * New

Poblacion ''Poblacion'' (literally "town" or "settlement" in Spanish language in the Philippines, Spanish; ) is the common term used for the administrative center, central, downtown, old town or central business district area of a Philippines, Philippi ...

(Calingao) * Old Poblacion (Daan Banwa) * Piña * Rizal * Salvacion (Ambulong) * San Fernando * San Isidro * San Miguel * San Nicolas (Tabao) * San Pedro (Bating) * San Roque * Santo Rosario * Sawang * Supang * Tacay * Taminla(Sambag) * Tanag * Tastasan * Tinadtaran * Umilig * Zaldivar

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Buenavista, Guimaras, was 52,899 people, with a density of .

Economy

Transportation

Buenavista Guimaras ferry terminal from pump boat

There are passenger ferries, utilizing

pump boat A pump boat (usually variation as ''pambot'' in local languages) is an outrigger canoe (') powered by a small gasoline or diesel engine. Smaller pump boats might be powered by the sort of small single-cylinder engine used to drive a water pump. ...

s to

. The ferry terminal in Iloilo is on the

Iloilo River The Iloilo River is an estuary river located in the province of Iloilo, in Western Visayas, Philippines. The river starts in Oton, Iloilo, Oton at the Batiano estuary, then traverses through the Iloilo City districts of Lapuz, Iloilo City, Lapuz, ...

Education

Buenavista is the center of higher education. In fact, the main campus of Guimaras State University, only state university in Guimaras, is found in Barangay Mclain. Furthermore, the municipality has 19 public elementary schools, 5 public high schools, and 1 vocational technical school. It has a literacy rate of 98.4%, the highest in the whole of Guimaras.

References

External links

* Philippine Standard Geographic Codebr>Philippine Census Information
{{Authority control Municipalities of Guimaras