Northern Iloilo

The northern portion of the province of Iloilo comprises the 5th Congressional District of the province, of the eleven (11) municipalities, Balasan, Batad, Carles and Estancia, compose the northern most part of the province.

A Three-hour travel by land from Northern-Central Iloilo Transport Terminal in Tagbak, Jaro District in Iloilo City will refresh you with good food, cool resorts, great accommodations at reasonable prices, while an hour trip from Roxas City, Capiz will bring you to these wonderful destinations.

Entry Points:

Iloilo City - the capital of the province of Iloilo and the regional center of Western Visayas, is the primary entry point to northern Iloilo, you can travel to Iloilo from other parts of the country in style. By air, there are four airline companies (Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific, Air Philippines and Zest Air) currently serving Iloilo-Manila flights and vice-versa via the Iloilo International Airport which will take about an hour. Cebu is only 35 minutes by plane. Cebu Pacific is serving Iloilo-Davao route trhree times a week, or you can have a connecting flight to Zamboanga. By sea, sailing time is about 20 hours from Manila; from Zamboanga or Cagayan de Oro, 14 hours once a week; from Cebu, 12 hours. Fastcrafts from Bacolod City take 45 minutes while travel by regular ferry takes 2 hours. A Roll on-Roll off (RORO)buses also cater direct transport from Cubao to Iloilo.

Roxas City - the seafood capital is a secondary entry point to northern Iloilo. From Manila the trip lasts for a maximum of eighteen hours by sea. For a lesser price, there is also a Roll on-Roll off (RORO) option that passes by Roxas City straight from Cubao in Manila. For the jet setter, both Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines have flights that fly to Roxas daily, every morning. The plane ride costs a little more, but will only take you 40-45 minutes.

A direct travel by sea from Masbate or Romblon would take you to the Port of Estancia, Carles also serves as an alternate route to and from Masbate or Romblon.

Plans For Northern Iloilo

During the 1st investment forum held in Estancia, former Estancia Mayor Cordero said their are plans to make the Municipalities of Batad, Balasan, Carles and Estancia a “metro municipalities” in Northern Iloilo , utilizing the Integrated Area Development approach to hasten development in this part of the country.

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Municipality of Estancia

Location:

Estancia is located in the northern part of the Iloilo Province approximately 135 kilometers from the capital of the province Iloilo City.

Estancia is known around the country as a center for commercial fishing, so much so that it carries the name "Alaska of the Philippines" as a testament to its bountiful marine resources. The reason for this is that Estancia lies in the Visayan Sea triangle, an imaginary triangle extending from the provinces of Iloilo, Negros, Cebu, Samar, and Masbate.

This triangle is a part of the "Sulu-Sulaweisi Triangle" of the Sulu Sea and neighboring Indonesia where a large concentration of marine organisms coupled with climate conditions support a massive marine ecosystem. Various commercial species are harvested along Estancia's waters, namely mackerel, barracuda, sardines, shad, pompano, grouper, squid, cuttlefish, shrimp, prawns, shells, seaweed and others.

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Municipality of Carles

Location:

Carles is the northernmost town of Iloilo. It is located in the northeastern tip of the triangular shaped Panay Island. It lies in the coordinates of 11 01’30" latitude and 128 ’01’00" longitude.

It is bounded on the north by Jintotolo channel; on the northeast by the Visayan Sea. On the west by Municipality of Pilar, Capiz; and in the south by the Municipality of Balasan, Iloilo. It is 146 km away from Iloilo City and 13 km away from Balasan, Iloilo, the nearest town to Carles.

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Municipality of Batad

Location:

The municipality of Batad is located in the northern tip of Iloilo Province, about 120 kilometers from the City of Iloilo.

Prior to its becoming a municipality on October 30, 1949, Batad was an arabal of Balasan. Batad is composed of 24 barangays, 19 are inland while 5 are coastal area. It is bounded on the North by the municipalities of Balasan and Estancia on the West by the municipality of Pilar Capiz, on the south by the municipality of San Dionisio and by the Visayan Sea on the East.

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Municipality of Balasan

Location:

Approximately a hundred and thirty three (133) kilometers away from the heart of the city lies the Municipality of Balasan, the 2nd to the last town of the Province of Iloilo.

The exact location of Balasan is at coordinates 123 degrees 5’ 10" latitude 11 degrees 28’ 30’ longitude. It is bounded on the North by the Municipality of Carles, on the South by the Municipality of Batad, on the East by the Municipality of Estancia, on the West by the Municipality of Pilar, Province of Capiz.

Balasan is the furthest Municipality on the northern portion of Iloilo Province. It serves as the boundary between the province of Capiz and the Province of Iloilo. Furthermore, the town is accessible to Iloilo City the provincial Capital as well as the regional center of the Western Visayas, and Roxas City, the Capital of the province of Capiz.

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