San Joaquin, officially the Municipality of San Joaquin (; ; , ), is a

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

in the

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

Iloilo Iloilo ( ; ), officially the Province of Iloilo (; ; ; ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital and largest city is Iloilo City, the regional center of Western Visayas and politically independen ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 52,617 people.

Geography

San Joaquin is located in the southern tip of Iloilo Province. One of the rivers that traverse the town is the Siwaragan River with Barangay Siwaragan and Bucaya situated in its mouth. It is the southernmost municipality in the province and is from the provincial capital,

Iloilo City Iloilo City, officially the City of Iloilo (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region of the Philippines, located on the southeastern coast of th ...

, and is from

San Jose de Buenavista San Jose de Buenavista, officially the Municipality of San Jose de Buenavista (; ; ), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality and capital of the Philippine Province, province of Antique (province), Antique, Philippines. According ...

, the capital of Antique.

Climate

Barangays

San Joaquin is subdivided into 85

barangay The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...

s. Each barangay consists of

purok A ''purok'' () is an informal division within a barangay in the Philippines. While not officially considered a local government unit (LGU), a ''purok'' often serves as a unit for delivering services and administration within a barangay. ''Pur ...

s and some have

sitios A ''sitio'' (Spanish language, Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own bar ...

. * Amboyu-an * Andres Bonifacio * Antalon * Bad-as * Bagumbayan * Balabago * Baybay * Bayunan, also known as Panday Ora * Bolbogan * Bonga * Bulho * Bucaya * Cadluman * Cadoldolan * Camia * Camaba-an * Cata-an * Crossing Dapuyan * Cubay * Cumarascas * Dacdacanan * Danawan * Doldol * Dongoc * Escalantera, also known as Dawis * Ginot-an * Huna * Igbaje * Igbangcal * Igbinangon * Igburi * Igcabutong * Igcadlum * Igcaphang * Igcaratong * Igcondao * Igcores * Igdagmay * Igdomingding * Iglilico * Igpayong * Jawod * Langca * Languanan * Lawigan * Lomboy * Lopez Vito, also known as San Pedro * Mabini Norte * Mabini Sur * Manhara * Maninila * Masagud * Matambog * Mayunoc * Montinola * Nagquirisan * Nadsadan * Nagsipit * New Gumawan * Panatan * Pitogo * Purok 1 (

Poblacion ''Poblacion'' (from Spanish '' población'', meaning "population"), sometimes abbreviated as Pob., is a term used in the Philippines to refer to the administrative center, downtown, old town, or commercial area of a city or municipality. It ...

) * Purok 2 (Poblacion) * Purok 3 (Poblacion) * Purok 4 (Poblacion) * Purok 5 (Poblacion) * Qui-anan * Roma * San Luis * San Mateo Norte * San Mateo Sur * Santiago * Sinogbuhan * Siwaragan * Lomboyan, also known as Santa Ana * Santa Rita * Talagutac * Tapikan * Taslan * Tiglawa * Tiolas * To-og * Torocadan * Ulay * Guibongan Bayunan

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of San Joaquin, Iloilo, was 52,617 people, with a density of .

Languages

Kinaray-a The Karay-a language (, or ; ) is an Austronesian regional language in the Philippines spoken by the Karay-a people, mainly in Antique. It is one of the Bisayan languages, along with Aklanon/Malaynon, Capiznon, Cebuano, and Hiligaynon. ...

is the main language of San Joaquin. Hiligaynon is spoken as a secondary language and is also understood by the residents.

Economy

Landmarks

San Joaquin Church

The main church in town, a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

was constructed in 1859 and completed in 1869 by

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

friar Tomas Santaren, of the Augustinian Order. The church is unique among those in the Philippines for its large

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

featuring a military scene, the Spanish victory over the

Moors The term Moor is an Endonym and exonym, exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslims, Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a s ...

in the Battle of Tetuan. The

National Museum of the Philippines The National Museum of the Philippines () is an umbrella government organization that oversees a number of national museums in the Philippines, including Ethnography, ethnographic, Anthropology, anthropological, Archaeology, archaeological, an ...

listed the church as a National Cultural Treasure.

San Joaquin Cemetery

The San Joaquin Cemetery is located along the main highway in San Joaquin Town. The construction of San Joaquin Cemetery was commenced by Fray Mariano Vamba, the last Augustinian parish priest of the town in 1892. A statue of Jesus with his arms outstretched stands on top of a baroque style gate, and on each side of Christ, two columns with angelic figures are poised as guards. In addition, sculpted heads of two cherubs and a skull representing death marks the entrance of the cemetery. Twenty stone steps after entering the gate and you will be greeted by the Baroque designed mortuary chapel standing on the center.

Culture

The Bayluhay Festival, celebrated every third week of January, reflects the town's unique mixture of races and cultures. Historical and religious themes, mostly anchored from the Barter of Panay, such as efforts with the preservation of rituals, are reflected through the dances presented in the festivity. Accentuated every annual municipal fiesta is the “Pasungay” or bull fight. During this affair, the best bulls from the different barangays are pitted against each other by weight category in a “bull derby”.

Tourism

The Talisayan Beach Resort is a privately owned beach resort located in the Poblacion. The Cata-an Cove and Tobog Beach Resort in Barangay Cata-an, about 10 kilometers from the Poblacion, is a place perfect for scuba diving and weekend outings. Garin Farm, a 15 hectare privately owned farm resort in Purok 2, Poblacion which showcases agriculture, leisure and pilgrimage theme. Practical and intelligent farming are imparted to the visitors through the agricultural techniques and innovative technologies applied in the demo farm. The resort leisure amenities include a swimming pool, a 5,000 sq.m man-made lagoon located on a hilltop, with fishes and lilies which offers fishing, boating and kayaking, and a 300 meters zip line which goes over the lagoon and through the trees. On the top of the hill sits the 101 Feet Divine Mercy Cross, which can be accessed by a 456 step stairway. Along the stairway are life-size and lifelike statues depicting the Creation, Noah's Ark, Ten Commandments, and the 9 Major Events of the Life of Jesus Christ.

Education

The town has 11 high schools. Two (2) of which are located in Poblacion. * Don Felix Serra National High School (Mother School)(

) * San Joaquin School of Fisheries (

) * Tiolas National High School * Lawigan National High School * Valverde National High School * Escalantera National High School * Sinogbuhan National High School * Bad-as National High School * Ginot-an National High School * Pitogo National High School * Sta. Ana National High School

References

External links

Philippine Standard Geographic Code The Philippine Standard Geographic Code (PSGC) is a systematic classification and coding for geographic areas in the Philippines. It classifies areas based on the country's four levels of administrative divisions: regions, provinces, municipalities ...

Philippine Census Information

San Joaquin on Local Governance Performance Management System
* {{Authority control Municipalities of Iloilo