Silay City

The Paris of Negros

Social
Vision
Silay-a city of an emerging economy that nestles an enduring arts and
cultural ingenuity teem with the essential, suitable and vibrant growth
centers of development that harmonize a sustainable community and
boost a better quality of life of the people and its environs.

Mission
To attract and support private sector investors, donor agencies and other
development partners to expand livelihood opportunities and/or
introduce or improve essential infrastructure services in order to enhance
economic productivity and upgrade the overall quality of life for all
Silaynons.

History and Festivals

Kansilay is Silay Citys festival about a folktale showing the bravery of beautiful Princess Kansilay
who offered her life for justice and freedom. The dance-drama is the highlight of the week-long
city fiesta that ends on November 13.

The Legend of Princess Kansilay

A local legend tells of how Silay City got its name. It is said that in the days of the datus and rajahs,
there once lived a princess named Kansilay. An attack on the settlement by pirates was thwarted
when the princess bravely led the people in the village's defense. The fight was furious and the
princess fought like a seasoned warrior. Murals that used to grace some of the city's public

buildings depict her as a fierce fighter wielding a huge talibong, a short native single-edged sword.
The pirates were routed, but at the cost of the princess' life. Her paramour arrived in time to see
her die. In grief, the people lovingly buried her. To their surprise, a tree grew right over her grave,
the first Kansilay tree, a final gift from the brave princess.

The 9-day celebration starts with the celebration of "El Cinco de Noviembre", a one-day bloodless
revolution in Silay which caused the surrender of the Spanish civil guards. Commemorative rites in
remembrance of "El Cinco de Noviembre" open the 9-day festival. Every 12th of June, the streets of
Silay City, Negros Occidental are filled with excited people to witness the Kansilay streetdancing
competition in celebration of the city's
charter day.
Groups from the sixteen barangays of the
city are clad in colorful and artistic
costumes as they dance along the music of
"Hugyaw Silay", the city's slogan. Each
group is led by a maiden who represents
Princess Kansilay, a main character in the
folktale of how Silay came up with its name.

HISTORY
It is said that in the early days, pirates invaded the land but Princess Kansilay defended her people
and fought courageously with her life. They were successful in driving out the pirates but the
princess died in the battle. Her people were surprised after a tree grew from the ground where
they buried her body. Thus, her name was shortened to Silay.
Special events include a food festival, quiz contest, Ilonggo poetry reading, agro-industrial trade
fair, and a street dance-drama competition named after a forest tree with purplish pink flowers, the
"Kansilay."
The streetdancing competition is not only a spectacle for the people to behold but a tribute to the
ancestors of this old city in Negros Occidental.

Silaynon Talents

Kabataang Silay Rondalla Ensemble (KSE) Founded in 1993 with 36 primary school students and
through the years, the KSE served as advocates in the promotion not only of Silay City's cultural
and tourism potentials but also the rich culture of the province and the country through traditional
folk dances and music.
The group has won several regional and national music competitions. Together with the KSE
performing arts dancers, the group has participated in international festivals. They represented
Philippines to the 2nd Asian Children's Folklore Festival in Guandong, China in August 2000 where
they received the "Performance Memento". A year after, they were given the "Award of Excellence"
for their participation in the 2001 Aberdeen International Youth Festival held in Aberdeen, Scotland.
The group has also been a consistent delegate to the National Commission for Culture and the
Arts' Kwerdas ng Pagkakaisa (Strings of Unity) - The International Rondalla Festival since the 1st in
2004 held in Naga City, 2nd in 2007 in Dumaguete City, 3rd in 2011 in Tagum City and 4th in 2014
in the Cultural Center of the Philippines.
Presently, the KSE Rondalla has gone from folk and traditional music to classical contemporary,
pop and modern songs. Their group is under the guidance of Rondalla Master and Conductor, Mr.
Jegger C. Anjao.

Cultural
The City of Silays love for history and beauty can be traced
back to the roots of a tree, the Kansilay, from which it owes
its name. Legend has it that the first Kansilay tree grew over
the grave of a beautiful maiden who lived during the days
of the rajahs and datus, way before the Spaniards arrived.

A folktale vividly narrates the events of that fateful day.

While the gentlemen of the village were away, hunting,
bandits attacked the settlement, burned the houses, and
raped the women. Kansilay, the daughter of the village
chief, sought the help of a diwata (fairy), who gave her a
talibong (sword). She led the people to fight the bandits
and avenge the death of some of them. The bandits were
defeated, but the princess paid the price with her life. Her body was buried, and on her grave grew
the first Kansilay tree.

In June, the people of Silay celebrate her bravery during the Hugyaw Kansilay Festival, a day filled
with street dancing and competitions. On ordinary days, however, Silay is very quiet, relaxed, and
laid-back. Its streets, sandwiched by elegant ancestral houses, make for a good sightseeing trail.
Thirty one of these houses have been named as historical landmarks, making Silay is the second
museum city in the Philippines, after Vigan, Ilocos Sur.
If youre bound for Bacolod, theres a big, big chance that youll find yourself in Silay. (The airport is
here!) And if you do, here are the five most notable heritage houses and landmarks in Silay City
that are worth a bit of your time and attention.

Also

called

the

Victor

F.

Gaston

House,

Balay Negrense was built during the height of Silay as the

regions cultural and economic center. Victor Gaston, son
of

Frenchman

Yves

Leopoldo

Germain

Gaston

(considered the first to popularize sugarcane cultivation

on a commercial scale in the region), began the
construction of the house in 1898.
The house has 12 bedrooms and two floors, making it one of the biggest colonial houses in the
city. Inside the house is a living room the size of a basketball court. But more than the size, what
makes this house special are the exquisite details like the intricately etched windows, delicately
carved wooden ventilation panels and spacious gardens.

The oldest bakeshop in the city, El Ideal is not just a historical

place but a completely functional one at that. El Ideal
continues to offer delicious pastries and other local delicacies.

First owned by Don Bernardino and Dona Ysabel

Jalandoni, the Bernardino Jalandoni house was
completed in 1908. Whats remarkable about this
house is that it is a great mixture of native and foreign
inspirations. While it follows the usual nipa hut design,
French influence is also very evident. It is built of
hardwood shipped from Mindoro while the tin ceiling
tray was shipped from Hamburg, Germany. Capiz
shells and wooden louvers were also used.
The San Diego Pro-Cathedral is the center of Catholic
faith in Silay City, and is also the only church with a
dome in Negros Occidental, and the only pro-cathedral
in the Philippines outside Metro Manila. Sugar baron
Don Jose Ledesma donated the funds to build the
church in 1925 and commissioned Italian architect Lucio
Bernasconi for its Romanesque design.

Economic
SUGAR PRODUCTION
Silay City, just like the rest of Negros
Occidental, is highly reliant on the sugar
industry. Therefore, its economic situation is
determined by the general performance of the
sugar industry in both national and
international markets. In terms of business
profitability in the city, the peak season of the
sugar industry or during the milling season
could prove to be highly profitable and could
cover up losses of the past off-peak season.

COMMERCIAL ESTABLISHMENT
Aside from the sugar industry of Silay City, there are manufacturing sub-sectors that are existent,
namely: Ceramics, Food Processing, Metalworking, Garments and Fish Processing. These subsectors are mostly home-based and micro-asset-sized firms (PhP1.5 Million and below) and are
unregistered(informal).In 2005, trade in Silay City had a total of 2,190 commercial establishments
ac-cording to the City License Division (CLD) and City Planning and Development Office (CPDO). A
large number of the said establishments are in the retail trad-ing business mostly based in the
Poblacion area.

PARIS DE NEGROS
In the tourism sector, Silay City has tourist resources that are characterized by its rich history,
culture and arts, as well as its natural environmental amenities. Known as the Paris de Negros,
Silay City boasts of a number of ancestral houses, the historic San Diego parish church, and cultural
activities, all of which providing a great potential to attract prospective domestic and foreign
tourists.

In addition, the natural amenities and historic sites in the outlying barangays of Kapitan Ramon and
Patag present potentials for adventure tourism, such as white-river rafting, mountain trekking, and
camping. Patag in particular has a rich diversity of flora and fauna as well as numerous springs and
water-falls. A number of caves used by Japanese soldiers during World War II can also be found in
Patags forested mountains. But in spite of all these tourism potentials, Silay City has not been able
to generate substantial share of tourist arrivals. The apparent lack of a tourism development
program, tourist accommodations and other related facilities in Silay City poses a hindrance to
further development of the tourism industry potentials of Silay City.

COST OF DOING BUSINESS

Silay Citys attractiveness for business is good. Some quantitative factors, particularly, the average
rent of commercial space and the average cost of acquiring telephone service, contributed largely
to the Citys pull for businesses. Moreover, the non-existence of informal fees (bribes) for securing
business permits, licenses and clearances, specifically, in national government agencies and local
government offices in the City posted points for the Citys appeal to businessmen. However, a
qualitative factor which pertains to the general profitability of doing business in the City is very
high, only ranked 18TH out of the 37TH cities that were ranked. This implies that Silay City is not
readily the top choice of local businessmen thinking about investing in the City. But with the
completion of the New Bacolod Airport, this particular economic feature of the Survey for Silay City
will definitely change.

HUMAN RESOURCE AND TRAINING

The quantitative feature number of vocational institutions per 100,000 population ranked high at
4TH in this driver for Silay City. This is further sup- ported by the qualitative feature workers from
the local pool are eager to develop skills with a score and rank of 7.07 and 18th , respectively.
These factors imply the rich potential of human resource in Silay City. With proper training and
educational support, human resources in Silay City can be further developed and improved and
thus sustain the economic and social benefits of the New Bacolod Airport. It is also worthwhile to
emphasize that in terms of the quantitative factor number of tertiary educational institutions per
population ranks Silay City at 34th with allow score of 2.00. This can be attributed to the proximity
of Silay City to the capital city of Bacolod where there are a lot of tertiary schools that Silaynons
can enroll in. However, it would be very important to supplement the current number of tertiary
educational institutions in Silay City to spread and further extend human resource development in
the area.

Political
Cinco de Noviembre is Negros Day in Negros
Occidental that Negrenses is celebrate every
year, to commemorate the Negros Revolution
that happened during the Spanish colonial rule
of the island. Thus, its significance in history was
that the political movement had created the
revolution which peaked on November 5, 1898,
thereby ending the Spanish rule in Negros Island.
Therefore, it was on the Cinco de Noviembre of 1898 that resulted to the establishment of the shortlived Negros Republic, a government run by the Negrense leaders composed of the elite landowners,
led by Aniceto Lacson and Juan Araneta.
The Negros Republic, though historical, existed for about three months only, as it ended abruptly
when the American forces landed on Negros Island unopposed by the Negros Republic leaders on
February 2, 1899, as they welcomed the Americans. The arrival of the American forces ended Negros
independence.
The Cinco de Noviembre revolution in Negros Occidental was a culmination of secret planning by
the Negrenses to throw Spanish rule in the island.
POST-WAR SILAY.
Rehabilitation during the early days of liberation was the biggest problem in Silay. Unemployment
was rampant. Thousands of Silaynons were starving and suffering from diseases. Atty. Ricardo
Ledesma was appointed mayor of Silay right after the liberation. His vice-mayor was Alfonso
Severino. They tried to provide temporary shelter, employment and medical care to the residents.

In 1946, President Manuel Roxas appointed Antonio G. Gaston, mayor of Silay. With the help of a
loan of Php 48,000.00 from the Rehabilitation Finance Corporation, he was able to construct a
meat and fish market to provide for an easy flow of commodities. His successor Lope Severino
(1951-1955) continued the development of Silay, expanding the market in Central Hawaiian and
extending the old one in the town proper.
SILAY BECAME A CHARTERED CITY.
In 1951, Dr. Jose C. Locsin won a seat in the Senate and in 1955 Romulo Golez became the mayor of
Silay. In that same year, Jose Puey of Sagay and Carlos Hilado of Bacolod also won seats in the
House of Representatives.
The two congressmen with the help of Mayor Golez and Sen. Locsin worked of the passage of
House Bill No. 6096 which became Republic Act No. 1621, otherwise known as the Charter of Silay
City. The day of the Charters approval was June 12, 1957. Silay was the second town in Negros
Occidental to become a city.