Topography

Miagao is a coastal town with a hilly to mountainous terrain. Most of the flat areas in the municipality are found either in coasts or along the town's major rivers which include the Naulid, Tumagbok, Oyaoy, Bacauan, Tabunacan, Oyungan, Lanutan, and San Rafael rivers. A mountain range forms a natural boundary between Miagao and the province of Antique to the north.^[10]

The highest point in the municipality is the summit of Mount Tulajon, locally spelled as Tulahong, at 1,100 meters asl located in Barangay Ongyod.^[11]

Climate

The municipality has a type I climate based on PAGASA's climate classification chart. The climate of Miagao is greatly affected by north-east and south-west monsoons. The town experiences a pronounced wet season from May to October and a dry season from November to April. The coolest months are the months of December to February while the hottest months are the months of April and May.^[10]

Barangays

Miagao is politically subdivided into 119 barangays. ^[13] Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

It has more barangays than any other municipality in the Philippines.^[14] The municipality has 22 coastal barangays and 97 landlocked barangays.

Agriculture

The municipality of Miagao is a largely agricultural town. Around 52% of the municipal land area is classified as agricultural and around 40% of the total land area is planted.^[10] Rice is the primary crop of the town while corn is considered as a secondary crop.

Miagao is hailed as the "Onion Capital of the Visayas" because it is the largest producer of bulb onion not only in Western Visayas but in the whole Visayas and Mindanao.^[30][31][32] In 2022, 92% of the region's onion production was produced by the municipality of Miagao which targets to further increase production by expanding the plantation area.^[33]

Other crops produced by the municipality include eggplants, peanuts, monggo, tomatoes, root crops, and bamboo.^[34][35]

Banks

Miagao is a financial center in southern Iloilo. The town has a total of five banks.

The instance of these ATMs being offline is quite high due to poor maintenance, overuse (due to proximity from UP Visayas, 4Ps beneficiaries and people here withdrawing huge sums of money), and faulty Internet and power connections. Avoid withdrawing near and after the 15th and 30th days of the month because people will drain the machines with cash because it is payday, also avoid the Land Bank ATM during the 2nd-3rd week of the month because of 4Ps beneficiaries claiming their monthly government dole out. If it is a real necessity to use ATMs at these times, prepare for queues that may last for hours, people holding "reservations" in their spot, people cutting in line, and the tinge of disappointment when the machine suddenly switches offline after the business day either because it ran out of cash or overused.

Public Transport

Miagao is strategically located along the Iloilo-Antique road.^[5] Because of this, transportation is not a big problem in the municipality. The town proper is 40 kilometres (25 mi) from Iloilo City and 57 kilometres (35 mi) from San Jose de Buenavista, the capital of Antique.^[36]

Elected officials

Members of the municipal council (2022-2028):

• Mayor: ENGR. Oscar "Richard" S. Garin Jr.
• Vice Mayor: Macario Napulan, M.D.
• SB Members:
  • Hon. Japhet Grace N. Moleta, RN, MPG
  • Hon. Jun Carlu A. Napulan, MD.
  • Hon. Gemma Rei S. Nismal
  • Hon. Aaron M. Noble
  • Hon. Cezar N. Florece
  • Hon. Mario Thomas Nicolas P. Torrecampo
  • Hon. Ma. Salve N. Pechayco, MD
  • Hon. Richard E. Esposo
• Ex-Officio Member
  • Junjun Galvez (LNB President)

Miag-ao Church

The Miagao Church, or the Church of Santo Tomas de Villanueva, was built in 1786 by Spanish Augustinian missionaries and was declared as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Baroque Churches of the Philippines" in 1993. On the front facade, which is flanked by two watchtower belfries, one can see the unique blending of Spanish and native influences.

The central feature of the bas-relief facade is a large coconut tree which reaches almost to the apex. While an integral part of the Philippine landscape, the coconut tree is also the subject of lore. According to an old Philippine legend, the coconut tree was the only bequest from a loving mother to her two children, a tree which sustained them for life. On the church's facade the coconut tree appears as the "tree of life" to which St. Christopher carrying the Child Jesus on his shoulder is clinging to. The lesser facades feature the daily life of Miagaowanons during the time. Also depicted are other native flora and fauna, as well as native dress.

The church and its watchtowers were also built to defend the town and its people against raids by the Moro people. It therefore has thick walls and, reportedly, secret passages. Indeed, stretching along the Iloilo coast are defensive towers, but none that equal the size of the Miagao. It is because of this defensive purpose that it is sometimes referred to as the Miag-ao Fortress Church.

Elementary education

Miagao East elementary schools:

Miagao West elementary schools:

Private primary schools:

• Kaunlaran Learning Center (KLC)^[40]
• Acorn Dale Montessori

Secondary education

Secondary schools:

• Alejandro Firmeza Memorial NHS
• Bacolod NHS
• Kirayan NHS
• Miagao NHS
• Palaca-Damilisan NHS
• San Jose NHS
• San Rafael NHS
• Supt. Arsenio M. Napud Memorial NHS

Private secondary schools:

• Doanne Christian Fellowship Academy
• Kaunlaran Integrated School Foundation INC
• St. Louise de Marillac School of Miagao^[41]

Colleges and Universities

University of the Philippines Visayas

The Miagao campus of the University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) spreads out over 12 km² on the outskirts of the town proper. This is the main campus of UPV which is composed of the UPV Tacloban College (UPVTC) in Tacloban City, UPV College of Management (CM) in Iloilo City, UPV High School in Iloilo (UPVHSI) in Iloilo City, UPV College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), UPV School of Technology (SoTech), and the flagship college of this campus, the UPV College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences (CFOS) which focuses on marine science, aquaculture, fish processing, natural products development, and post-harvest/food science. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Thailand and Cambodia sent exchange students to the school to study fish and rice production, and after graduating returned home where they began out-producing and out-exporting the Philippines in these commodities.

Iloilo Science and Technology University - Miagao Campus

The Iloilo Science and Technology University - Miagao Campus (formerly Southern Iloilo Polytechnic College) is one of the tertiary institutions in the municipality. The college started as Miagao Regional High School in 1945 and became the Miagao Vocational School in 1958. In 1984, Miagao Vocational School was converted to Southern Iloilo Polytechnic College (SIPC) to meet the demands of the changing times and for expansion purposes. SIPC was then integrated to Western Visayas College of Science and Technology (now Iloilo Science and Technology University) on November 24, 2000, by virtue of the Republic Act(RA) No. 7722, otherwise known as the “Higher Education Act of 1994 and RA No. 8292". Currently, the school offers courses in the fields of electronics and technology, hospitality, and primary and secondary education.^[42]