Barbaza

Long after the discovery of the Philippines by the Spaniards led by Ferdinand Magellan on March 16, 1521, there was already an established settlement in a place presumably now Barangay Esparar. In later years however, the Moros from Palawan and Mindoro started coming to raid and plunder the inhabitants, and often abducted beautiful maidens and men to be made slaves. Because of fear, the inhabitants moved to a much safer place, in a narrow strip of land at the foot of Mount Dumangsal. The site of the new settlement up to this day is called Igtara. The population rapidly increased. When the Moros stopped coming, they decided to move down to a much wider plain. The settlement started to flourish and later a church and a town hall were built out of bamboo and cogon grass. Today, it is where Barangay Binanu-an stands. Binanu-an means "Ginbanwahan or Binanwahan".^[6]

The formation of a formal government which was headed either by a Teniente or a captain, started at Binanu-an. The settlement in Binanu-an lasted so long until sometime in the 17th century when the inhabitants, again, found a much better place to live in because it is nearer to the sea which yields fish in abundance. They decided to transfer from Binanu-an to the seashore by the bank of the once deep river called Nalupa. The new settlement was named Nalupa Nuevo. Permanent structures like a church and a Municipal Hall were built.^[6]

Unfortunately, sometime in the 18th century the settlement suffered another drawback. Dalanas River, one of the bigger rivers in Antique, used to overflow during heavy rains causing destruction to properties and lives of people living near the area. Alarmed by the situation affecting the settlement at Nalupa Nuevo, the Spanish Governor Enrique Barboza ordered to transfer the people to another site called Otngol which was at that time, part of what is now the town of Laua-an.^[6]

During the transfer of the settlement from Nalupa to Otngol the Municipal Government was already run by a Capitan. The first Capitan was ('Tan) Julian Flores. He was later succeeded by ('Tan) Roman Francisco, then by Capitan Justiniano Ogatis-Barrientos. It was during his administration sometime in 1886 when he worked out for the separation of the town from the Municipality of Laua-an. The town's name was changed to Barboza in honor of Spanish Governor Enrique Barboza of Antique. The spelling was later changed to Barbaza because of the difficulty in pronouncing the former name. To this day the town is officially named the Municipality of Barbaza.^[6]

The 1818 Spanish census then recorded 2,342 native families in the area, living in harmony with 19 Spanish-Filipino families, back when Barbaza was called by its chief Barangay, San Antonio de Nalupa.^[7]: 329

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the municipality has a land area of 154.36 square kilometres (59.60 sq mi) ^[8] constituting 5.66% of the 2,729.17-square-kilometre- (1,053.74 sq mi) total area of Antique. Located in the central portion of Antique, Barbaza is 62 kilometres (39 mi) north from the provincial capital, San Jose de Buenavista. Barbaza has a total coastline of 8.5 km (5.3 mi) along the Sulu Sea.

The mighty Dalanas River is the longest and largest river system in Barbaza with a total length of 34.6 km (21.5 mi) long and has a Drainage basin area of 192 km² (74 sq mi), followed by Binangbang River 10.4 km (6.5 mi) and Nalupa River 5.3 km (3.3 mi).

Mount Nangtud is the second highest mountain in Panay Island located in the south west of Jamindan bordered in the North East of Barbaza, with an elevation of 6,804 feet (2,074 meters) above sea level. It is the second highest peak of Central Panay Mountain Range the longest and the largest mountain range in Western Visayas.

In the 2024 census, Barbaza had a population of 24,925 people.^[17] The population density was 160 inhabitants per square kilometre (410/sq mi).

About 94% of the total population have access to potable water.

Poverty incidence of Barbaza

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority^{[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]}

Major sources of income of the people are derived from agriculture, fishing, trade and commerce, employment and remittances from abroad.^[6]

• Mount Nangtud – is the second-highest peak in Panay island and shared with the border of Jamindan, Capiz with an elevation of 6,804 ft (2,074 m) above sea level. Mount Nangtud is rich for its diverse flora and fauna and a Mossy forest. It is one of the most difficult and technically challenging mountain in Panay. Alongside with Mount Madja-as in Culasi and Mount Baloy in Valderrama.
• Batabat and Punta Coral Reefs – feature diversities of tropical fishes and distinct coral formations in vibrant colors
• Dalanas River - is Barbaza largest river with a total length of 33 km (21 mi) long from it source located in Mount Madjaas to its mouth in Sulu Sea. Its provides large amount supplies of water for Agricultural land area in Barbaza lowland. Dalanas Bridge is a 1,512 ft (461 m) is Antique second longest Bridge.
• Camp Eupre Forest and Orchard Resort - Located in Bgy. Cadiao
• Macalbag Waterfalls – 50-foot waterfalls with uncharted caves
• Cadiao Falls - Located in Bgy. Cadiao
• Sigbungon Falls - Located in Bgy. San Ramon
• Sayay Falls - Located in Bgy. San Ramon
• Barbaza Catholic Church – considered^{[by whom?]} as the most modernly designed church in the province of Antique^{[citation needed]}

Transportation services are generally provided by tricycles, jeepneys, vans and buses. There are also daily buses available going back and forth to Manila that pass by Barbaza via the roll-on/roll-off nautical highway. Barbaza has a total road length of 52.7 km (32.7 mi), including a 10.2 km (6.3 mi) National Highway. Dalanas Bridge, with a length of 1,530 ft (470 m), is the second longest bridge in Antique. Other bridges are the Binangbang Bridge (130 ft (40 m)) and Ipil Bridge (105 ft (32 m)).

There are five health centers that serve 39 barangays. The town also has a government hospital with 10 beds and 27 health workers.

The Barbaza Schools District Office governs all educational institutions within the municipality. It oversees the management and operations of all private and public, from primary to secondary schools.^[26]

• Felimon Espares, Filipino politician