Masbate City

Masbate City is a city of 95,000 (2015) and the capital of Masbate Province. The only city of the province, it is also a major transportation and commercial hub.

Understand


Masbate city was established as the capital of the Masbate islands, then a part of Ibalon (present Albay), but that designation was repeatedly moved to other towns in the island to protect the Spanish colonial administrators from pirate raids. The city dates back to 1569, the same year that Masbate province was colonized by the Spanish.

Masbate City became a city in 2000, but it is practically more of a large town. The city sits beside an inlet, and the downtown is within a peninsula facing the Burias Pass.

By ferry
2Go Travel has luxury ferries from Manila to Masbate, which takes 16-18 hours. RORO ferries operate between Pilar and Masbate. Masbate City is part of the Central Nautical Highway route.

From Visayas, ferries call at Cataingan or Cawayan.

Get around
Masbate's poblacion (downtown) is fairly small, and is walkable. Tricycles are available as well.

Festivals

 * Lapay Bantigue Dance Festival 30 Sep. Also the celebration of Masbate's cityhood, its main highlight is the Lapay Bantigue folk dance, which derives from a precolonia folk tale of a "Lola Felise" who imitated the graceful movements of a seagull (lapay). The dance has been known to the Spaniards, and is recognized by the Philippine government.
 * Pagdayao Festival 13 Jun. Honors the city's patron saint, St. Anthony of Padua.
 * Rodeo Festival The festival is first held in 1993 to showcase Masbate's cattle industry and promote tourism, and features 10 events, the most notable being the challenging "figure of eight" where the cowboy crisscrosses around barrels. Unlike American rodeo, the events features ranch practice turned into games.

Buy




Connect
There are internet cafés, with rates starting from /hour; most are open 8AM-9PM daily.