Silay City

Silay is known as the “seat of arts, culture and ecotourism” and is recognized by the Department of Tourism as one of the top destinations in the Philippines.Founded in 1760, Silay evolved from being an old Spanish settlement. Migrant families from Iloilo gave vigor to Silay, making it an important commercial and agricultural settlement during the Spanish era. In 1846, cultivation of sugarcane led by Yves Leopold Germain Gaston made the town prosperous. November 5, 1898 played a significant role in Silay’s history. Sugarcane workers attacked the Spanish garrison and made the Spaniards surrender peacefully. It was a bloodless revolution. The Philippine flag was raised for the first time at the public plaza. Silay, famous for its artists and cultural shows, became the “Paris of Negros”.Kahirup Theater was the center of these activities. Jose “Pitong” Ledesma, a Silaynon pianist, conductor and philanthropist was one of those responsible for inviting operatta and zarzuela performers from Europe. Silay is the seco
nd town in Negros Occidental to become a city on June 12, 1957.

The Silay International Airport

In the succeeding years, stubborn hopes for a new sugar bonanza have deprived Silay City of forward-looking leaders that looked beyond sugar production for its sustenance. Faced with non-expanding tax base, the city for the first time in history, eventually incurred a budget shortfall.

The centerpiece of the Master Plan is the development of a new city next to the infrastucture feature-the Silay International Airport. This metropolis is projected to grow around special economic zones and export processing points to be built in the airport's periphery. Access to the airport from the capital city of Bacolod will be through a light railway with a terminal station at Robinson's Place. This mass-transport system is expected to ease traffic congestion in thoroughfares linking the airport to the province's major arteries

Famous Landmarks

San Diego Pro-Cathedral is the only pro-cathedral outside of Metro Manila. The church has a dome that resembles St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. It was built in 1920 and designed by an Italian architect, Antonio Bernasconi.31 Ancestral Houses have been identified by the National Historical Institute as cultural landmarks.Steam Locomotives at Hawaiian Philippines Co. or known as “Iron Dinosaurs” are among the oldest in the world.

Balay Negrense is the ancestral mansion of the Gastons that was converted into a lifestyle museum showing how sugar planters lived at the beginning of the century.

Bernardino-Jalandoni House (Museum) was built in 1908. It is a perfect example of the affluent Filipino house of the late 19th-early 20th century still influenced by the nipa hut, and built smack by the side of the street since motor vehicles were still non-existence to smog the place. All items on display are authentic period pieces. It is located at Rizal Street

How to get there

Silay City can be reached in 15 minutes by private car from Bacolod City. Public utility vehicles plying the route abound and can reach the city at the same time.
Silay is the site of the new airport of international standard. Traveling to the city is made easier by its four-lane highway.