Talisay, Negros Occidental

Talisay
Component city
City of Talisay
View of The Ruins of the Mariano Ledesma Lacson Mansion, Talisay City at dusk
Flag
Map of Negros Occidental with Talisay highlighted
OpenStreetMap
Talisay Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 10°44′N 122°58′E / 10.73°N 122.97°E / 10.73; 122.97
Country	Philippines
Region	Negros Island Region
Province	Negros Occidental
District	3rd district
Founded	1788
Chartered	September 29, 1850
Cityhood	February 11, 1998
Named for	Terminalia catappa (locally called Talisay)
Barangays	27 (see Barangays)
Government  [1]
• Type	Sangguniang Panlungsod
• Mayor	Nilo Jesus Antonio Neil E. Lizares III
• Vice Mayor	Jose Nicolas V. Jalandoni III
• Representative	Jose Francisco B. Benitez
• City Council	Members Angel Gabriel C. Villacin Charles Amelo Ramon C. Lizares Kenn Thomas P. Tirthdas Stephen V. Siote William L. Malan Rolin Albert S. Meliton Ivan Randy T. Ereñeta Gorgonio T. Treyes III Rosalinda S. Tuvilla II Remus G. Gulmatico
• Electorate	66,445 voters (2022)
Area [2]
• Total	201.18 km2 (77.68 sq mi)
Elevation	176 m (577 ft)
Highest elevation	2,413 m (7,917 ft)
Lowest elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population  (2020 census)[3]
• Total	108,909
• Density	540/km2 (1,400/sq mi)
• Households	25,771
Economy
• Income class	4th city income class
• Poverty incidence	10.93 % (2021)[4]
• Revenue	₱ 819.4 million (2020)
• Assets	₱ 2,271 million (2020)
• Expenditure	₱ 734 million (2020)
• Liabilities	₱ 675.7 million (2020)
Service provider
• Electricity	Central Negros Electric Cooperative (CENECO)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	6115
PSGC	064528000
IDD : area code	+63 (0)34
Native languages	Hiligaynon Tagalog
Website	www.talisaycity.gov.ph

Talisay, officially the City of Talisay (Hiligaynon: Dakbanwa sang Talisay; Cebuano: Dakbayan sa Talisay; Filipino: Lungsod ng Talisay), is a fourth class component city in the province of Negros Occidental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 108,909 people.^[3]

It is part of the metropolitan area called Metro Bacolod, which includes its neighbors, Silay to the north and Bacolod to the south.^[5] It has a total land area of 20,118 hectares (49,710 acres).

Talisay is often confused with another Visayas city also named Talisay, which is a component city in the neighboring province of Cebu.

Indigenous people settled in the cogon-lined lowlands of northwest Negros long before Spanish conquest. The settlement was called Minuluan, but was also known as Talisay by the province and neighboring communities in Panay. Its residents were either lowlanders or part of the Aetas who usually resided up in the highlands of northern Negros. ^[6]

The Augustinian Recollects arrived in Negros Island in 1848 and converted the settlement into a parish in 1849, separating it from Silay.^[7] Fray Fernando Cuenca, a Recollect and the town's parish priest from 1850 to his death in 1902, spearheaded the development of Minuluan's land into agricultural farms. The town became a monocrop farm for sugarcane, which eventually become the dominant cash crop in the whole of Negros Island. ^[8]

Negros Island's cheap land attracted settlers from Iloilo, Cebu and Bohol.^[9] Four major haciendas came to being: Minuluan, Bago, Bacolod and Silay. In 1850, these four haciendas produced 150 tons of sugar. Coupled with the opening of Iloilo Port to world trade, demand for sugar from Negros soared, and the island's sugar output continued to rise through the 1860s until the end of the century.^[10]

With the sugar boom, the local hacienderos amassed great wealth and began to build extravagant homes for their families.^[11] Balay ni Tana Dicang of the Lizares clan is one of the first, and still-extant bahay na bato from this period, characterized by ground floors made from stone and second floor made from wood. It was built in 1872.^[12] In the early 1890s, the largest property owner in Minuluan was Isidro de la Rama with around 1,260 hectares of landholdings.^[10]

During the Revolution, Minuluan became a battleground for Philippine independence. In November 3, 1898 the local hacienderos (landlords) of Negros banded together to revolt against the Spaniards.^[13] After two days of preparation, wealthy landowners and local leaders Aniceto Lacson led the troops north of Bacolod including Minuluan, while Juan Araneta of Bago led the troops south of Bacolod. They successfully ended Spanish control in the island, remarkably without much bloodshed. This also led to the establishment of the Republic of Negros. Today, the day of the revolt is called Cinco de Noviembre, and is a local holiday commemorated in Negros Island.^[14]

Around 1901, Minuluan was formally renamed Talisay, as it started to appear in US records of the war.^[15]

The local elementary school was established in 1912. It is now known as the Talisay South Elementary School.

Another local land baron, Don Mariano Ledesma, built a ten-room Italianate manor for his family in 1920. This became a local landmark renown for its luxurious exterior. During World War II, the American and Filipino forces torched the place, only leaving its concrete skeleton. While it was never restored to its original grandeur, it has been turned into a tourist attraction called The Ruins and has since become one of the most visited spots in Negros Occidental.^[16]

In 1954, the Negros Occidental School of Arts and Trades was established in the town. Later on, this school will become the main campus of the Carlos Hilado Memorial State University.^[17]

Two years later, in 1956, A.S. Diaz Electric Service was founded to provide power, lighting and heating in Talisay and nearby Bacolod. It was eventually folded into CENECO in 1975.^[18]

A cholera pandemic hit Negros Island in 1961, starting explosively in Bacolod and Talisay.^[19]

World prices of sugar fell in the mid-1970s as Western European nations became self-reliant on sugar production. Meanwhile, the United States' demand for sugar also fell from 1980s onwards. This, combined with a monopoly sponsored by the Marcos administration created a massive surplus of sugar, driving down prices and devastating the economy of Negros island. In 1985, the sugar prices hit rock-bottom.^[20][21]

Talisay was affected greatly and caused the closure of its sugar mills in the late 1980s, displacing thousands of workers.^[22]

On February 11, 1998, by virtue of Republic Act No. 8489, Talisay was finally elevated into a city through the efforts of its local officials led by Mayor Amelo Lizares.^[23]

In 2024, Talisay received a Php250K Philippines' Department of Interior and Local Government to fund a program it had created for local coconut farmers.^[24]

Talisay City is 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) north of Bacolod, facing the Bacolod–Silay Access Road in the east.

Talisay City is politically subdivided into 27 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

Poverty incidence of Talisay

In 2016, business process outsourcing (BPO) company iQor opened its call/contact center in Talisay, making it the first BPO company in the city.^[38]

Talisay is also known for its two major tertiary institutions: The Technological University of the Philippines – Visayas and Carlos Hilado Memorial State University, Main Campus. Talisay also has two private schools that offer K-12 Education which are the: Colegio San Nicolas de Tolentino-Recoletos and Notre Dame of Talisay City.

• 
  The Lacson Ruins, Iconic Philippine mansion and a popular tourist spot
• 
  Statue of Andres Bonifacio
• 
  The District - North Point at Ayala North Point, is the major shopping place in the city
• 
  Campuestohan Highland Resort in Sitio Campuestohan, Barangay Cabatangan
• 
  Aniceto Lacson House

• Metro Bacolod
• Bacolod
• Negros Revolution

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Talisay, Negros Occidental.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Talisay, Negros Occidental.

• Official website
• Talisay City Profile at the Official Website of Negros Occidental
• Philippine Standard Geographic Code
• 2007 Philippine Census Information Region VI - Western Visayas
• Local Governance Performance Management System