Tapaz, officially the Municipality of Tapaz (
Capiznon/
Hiligaynon: ''Banwa sang Tapaz'';
Aklanon: ''Banwa it Tapaz''; krj, Banwa kang Tapaz/Banwa ka Tapaz; tl, Bayan ng Tapaz), is a 1st 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 ...
in the
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
of
Capiz
Capiz, officially the Province of Capiz (Capiznon/ Hiligaynon: ''Kapuoran sang Capiz''; tl, Lalawigan ng Capiz), is a province in the Philippines located in the central section of Western Visayas region. Its capital is the city of Roxas. It ...
,
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 54,423 people.
The festival in Tapaz are the Patabangay Festival in September honoring Patron Saint Jab, and Sirinadya in January honoring Sr. Santo Niño. Other local festival is Tinuom Festival in San Nicolas celebrated in the Month of December honoring Patron Saint Nicholas of Myra.
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.
The town is known for a small community of indigenous Panay-Bukidnon in Barangay Tacayan. The community is home to Feliza, a ''binukot'' who has expertise in chanting the ''suguidanon'', one of the most significant epic chants of the Western Visayas region. Feliza is the last known person who can speak the ''Ligbok 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 the ''suguidanon'' epic chant as well. Also, Feliza has traditional tattoos on her skin which were inscribed when she was chosen as a ''binukot''. In 2016, after reports came out on the dying ''Ligbok'' language and ''suguidanon'' epic chant, the government began documenting the language and epic chant and teaching the language to younger generations of Panay-Bukidnon in Tapaz.
Marugo lake in San Antonio barangay is most popular tourist destination.
History
The first people who arrived and settled in what is now Tapaz are the Panay-Bukidnon people who speak the indigenous ''Ligbok'' 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, the ''Ligbok'' 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.
Geography
Tapaz lies within the latitude 11° 09’ to 11° 09’ 42" and the longitude of 121° 11’ to 122° 34’ 45". It is from
Roxas City.
Climate
Barangays
Tapaz is politically subdivided into 58
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 metropolita ...
s. Thirty Six (36)
lowlands
Upland and lowland are conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level. In studies of the ecology of freshwater rivers, habitats are classified as upland or lowland.
Definitions
Upland and lowland are portions of p ...
barangays and Twenty Two (22)
upland barangays.
Demographics
In the 2020 census, the population of Tapaz was 54,423 people, with a density of .
Religion
As a Catholic Dominant Municipality. Tapaz has two parishes and three mission stations and many churches.
Parishes:
*St. Jerome Parish (Poblacion, Tapaz)
*St. Nicholas of Myra Parish (San Nicolas, Tapaz)
Mission Stations:
*St. Andre Besette Mission Station (Taft, Tapaz)
*St. Juan Diego Mission Station (Cristina, Tapaz)
*St. Julian of Cuenca Mission Station (San Julian, Tapaz)
Economy
Healthcare
Hospital in Tapaz:
*Tapaz District Hospital
Education
The increasing population of school children made the
District
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...
of Tapaz into two distincts. 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 that caters the tertiary education of Tapaznon.
High schools
High Schools in Tapaz:
*Bag-ong Barrio National High School
*Camburanan National High School
*Candelaria National High School
*Col. Patrociño Artuz National High School
*Rev. Tomas Conejar National High School
*Roxas National High School
*San Nicolas National High School
*Tapaz National High School
College
College
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...
in Tapaz:
*Capiz State University -Tapaz Campus
References
External links
*
Philippine Standard Geographic Codebr>
Philippine Census Information
{{Authority control
Municipalities of Capiz
1835 establishments in the Spanish Empire