Santa Barbara as Iloilo capital? Lawmaker files House bill

By Joseph Bernard A. Marzan

ILOILO CITY — The race for Iloilo’s new capital intensified Monday, Nov. 9, as an Ilonggo lawmaker filed a bill to transfer the provincial capital to Santa Barbara, a town in her district.

Iloilo 2nd District Rep. Kathryn Joyce Gorriceta filed House Bill 11820, which seeks to establish Santa Barbara as the official capital of the province of Iloilo.

The bill had not been posted on the House of Representatives’ website as of Tuesday, but Gorriceta shared its first page on her Facebook page.

Iloilo City is the current provincial capital and hosts the Iloilo Provincial Capitol, although it is politically independent of the province.

In the explanatory note, the lawmaker highlighted the town’s historical and geographical significance.

She cited Santa Barbara’s place in the history of the province and the country, noting the Cry of Santa Barbara on Nov. 17, 1898, when the Philippine flag was raised for the first time outside Luzon, and the town’s role as the military headquarters of Gen. Martin Delgado.

She also emphasized its status as a first-class municipality and its proximity to Iloilo City and the Iloilo International Airport.

“Designating Santa Barbara as the official provincial capital would provide lasting institutional recognition to this important chapter in Iloilo’s history and its contribution to the country’s struggle for independence,” the bill’s explanatory note read.

“[Santa Barbara’s] location provides a practical setting for strengthening access to provincial government services while complementing the existing functions of Iloilo City,” it added.

Gorriceta said designating the town as the provincial capital would boost its growing profile in transportation, commerce, and agriculture.

“Its agricultural resources, growing commercial activity, and strategic location provide opportunities for further development in agribusiness, manufacturing, tourism, and other investments. Its development as a provincial center may likewise support a more balanced distribution of economic activity and infrastructure across Iloilo,” the explanatory note stated.

Gorriceta told RMN Iloilo on Tuesday, Nov. 10, that she also cited the transfer of regional government offices to Santa Barbara, including those of the Department of Health and the Department of the Interior and Local Government, as well as Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr.’s plans to establish government centers in the town.

The provincial government is developing the Iloilo Government Center on a 6.3-hectare provincial lot spanning Barangays Bolong Oeste and Inangayan in Santa Barbara.

The project received PHP 100 million under the 2024 General Appropriations Act for the building’s first phase, according to the provincial government.

On geography, she highlighted the town’s access to the Iloilo International Airport in neighboring Cabatuan, as well as to nearby towns.

“We have to look at a capital’s proximity. It should be a gateway. The airports, seaports, Iloilo City, and other towns could take advantage of [Santa Barbara being a capital]. We really have to look at the economic boost, that if ever [Santa Barbara would become a capital], it would really help many [Iloilo] towns,” she said.

Gorriceta has filed other bills that would benefit Santa Barbara.

Also on Monday, she filed House Bill 11812, which would designate 2027 as the “National Golf Tourism Year,” coinciding with the 120th anniversary of the Iloilo Golf and Country Club in Santa Barbara, the country’s oldest golf course.

Together with Iloilo 3rd District Rep. Lorenz Defensor, she filed House Bill 7614 in February, which aims to establish two Regional Trial Court branches in Santa Barbara.

Cases arising in the town, along with those from other 2nd District towns and the 1st District town of Oton, are currently under the jurisdiction of the Regional Trial Court in Iloilo City.

She also addressed the Oton municipal council’s recent resolution seeking recognition as the provincial capital, saying the town was well within its rights.

“Everyone is open. [Oton] also has the right to apply and express their intention, because they also believe that their town can,” she said.

The bill must pass the House and the Senate and be signed by the president to become law.