Zamboanga City

Zamboanga City is in the Mindanao region of the Philippines. Known as the "City of Flowers" (the etymology of Zamboanga comes from the Malay word jambangan means garden of flowers), it is now one of the most important and busiest port cities in the Philippines.

Zamboanga is often called "Asia's Latin City", partly because the Chavacano language, a Spanish-based creole, is common and partly because is shares other Spanish traditions; it even has the same patron saint as Spain, Our Lady of the Pilar.

Understand
Zamboanga City is one of the largest cities in the Philippines by land area, with a size of about 1,500 sqkm, coming third after Puerto Princesa (about 2,300 sqkm) and Davao City (2,400 sqkm). It is also the second largest city in Mindanao (after Davao City) and the sixth largest in the Philippines. by population, with about 860,000 residents as of 2015.

The city is an important seaport, being the main transportation to the south. During Spanish times, Zamboanga provided protection to the rest of the Philippines from menacing Muslim pirates (which remains a threat until today).

Orientation
Zamboanga City is large sizewise, around as large as Davao City. With its vast area, mostly rural, it is much more of a province with an urbanized area at the southern end and towns and villages surrounding it. It is subdivided into 98 barangays, 30 being urbanized. Zamboanga City is bordered to the north by the provinces of Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga Sibugay, and Basilan Island to the south.

People
Zamboanga City natives mostly belong to the Zamboangueño ethnic group, a result of marriages between Spaniards and Austronesian peoples brought to the city to build forts. Zamboangueños speak the Spanish-based creole language Chavacano, which is widely spoken across the city, and are proud of their Spanish ancestry. Due to migration out of the insurgency-ridden Sulu Archipelago, Muslim-majority Yakan, Samal, and Badjao (Sama-Bajau) are also widespread.

Climate
Compared to the majority of Mindanao, Zamboanga City has a tropical wet and dry climate with an average of. Daily highs range between and lows between. There is rather a short dry season, running between January to March; it is mostly rainy for the rest of the year.

Talk
The two commonest languages in the city are Cebuano (Bisaya) which is spoken in many nearby areas and Chavacano (Zamboangueño), a creole language whose vocabulary is 80% Spanish but whose grammar is mostly from Philippine languages.

The national government promotes Tagalog as a national language, but it is not indigenous to this region. Both Tagalog and English are taught in all schools, so many people speak one or both though the levels vary hugely.

There are some people in the city whose native tongue is that of some nearby area &mdash; Hiligaynon in some parts of Mindanao, Tausug in the Sulu Islands &mdash; but most of them will also speak one or more of the languages mentioned above.

By plane

 * Philippines Airlines has flights from Manila, Cebu, and Davao.
 * Cebu Pacific has flights from Manila, Cebu and Davao. Cebgo has flights from Cotabato City.
 * Philippines AirAsia has flights to Cebu and Clark
 * Philippines AirAsia has flights to Cebu and Clark

By boat
The Port of Zamboanga has a scheduled international passenger ferry from Sandakan in Malaysia. In addition, it is served by several shipping lines offering regular trips from Dipolog, Dapitan, Jolo, Bongao, Isabela City, and Dumaguete, Cebu City, Iloilo City and Manila.


 * 2GO Travel has a ferry from Manila once per week via Dipolog and Dumaguete.
 * Aleson Shipping Lines operates a ferry from Sandakan in Malaysia. There are departures from Sandakan every Tuesday and Friday at 5PM.

By bus


Rural Transit has services from Ipil, Dipolog, Pagadian, Ozamiz, Iligan and Cagayan de Oro. A trip from Cagayan de Oro to Zamboanga takes about 8-9 hours.

From the Visayas, Ceres Liner has one air-conditioned luxury bus from Cebu City via Dumaguete and Dipolog. From Luzon, Ceres Transport has one bus from Manila to Zamboanga City via Batangas City, Iloilo City, Bacolod and Dumaguete.

By car
Zamboanga serves as the southern end of Asian Highway 26, or the Pan-Philippine Highway.

By jeepney
Jeepneys are widely available, with routes connecting the downtown from the airport and bus terminal. Routes are numbered (as of 2022), but are not visible; you generally find their destination from markings on the side and signs on the windshield. Route of interest to visitors are between Sevilla Street downtown and the bus terminal in barangay Divisoria, and Reyes Street downtown and the airport at Canelar.

By taxi
The taxi fare for a 5-km trip would be less than, but there aren't that many available. Most taxis congregate around the bigger malls and the airport.

By tricycle
Tricycle fares start at. Zamboanga City tricycles are mostly motorcycles with a sidecar body and a windshield extending into the passenger side, but Bajaj auto rickshaws are taking over

Buy

 * Bargain-priced goods - ranging from various Chinese, Malay and local food, delicacies and imported items.
 * Fruits and vegetables - Try visiting Bagsakan Center (just across Sta. Cruz Market) at night for easy access to a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables that are on season at a knock-down price. Seasonal fruits vary from the famed durian, sweet lanzones, mangosteen and a lot of locally harvested fruits.
 * Lokot-lokot - a roll that looks like a bunch of golden brown hair intertwined together. You may purchase one at the airport or even at some local delicacy stores around the city.
 * Pearls - the home of the South Sea Pearls- you can buy different kinds of pearls at Lantaka Hotel or at various malls within the Business District like the Sophia Jewellery at the 3rd level of Mindpro Citimall.
 * Sardines- there are many popular sardine brands in the Philippine market today. Most of these brands are canned and packed in Zamboanga City's west coast areas, where the sardines are freshly caught.
 * Seafood - you can buy fresh fish at the waterfront of the Main Public Market, Aderes Flea Market (in Guiwan), or at the weekend makeshift market at the Cawa-cawa Boulevard or at Sinunuc. The catch ranges from the famous Curacha to Freshwater and Saltwater Crabs to Yellow-fin and Bluefin Tuna, to unusual looking fishes and seaweeds.
 * Souvenir items - You can choose a number of souvenir items at the Home Products store along Ledesma St.( near San Jose Rd. corner Climaco Ave.).
 * Yakan-weaved Cloth - you can purchase this from the Yakan Village Weaving Center at Upper Calarian-just across the famed La Vista del Mar Beach Resort. The clothes are intricately woven to creat an ethnic pattern. Visitors usually use the clothes as table lining, tapestries or even as accessories to their formal wear.

Eat






Stay safe
Zamboanga City lies just north of the Sulu Islands, and the risk of the insurgency there spilling over into the city remains high. In September 2013, Zamboanga was besieged by the then-Islamic nationalists Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), which flattened parts of the city, but hostilities have hardly affected the downtown.

Stay healthy

 * Zamboanga City Medical Center. Veterans Avenue. +63 62-9910573 (Government Hospital).

Cope

 * Bureau of Immigration Zamboanga Office. 1st Floor. Radja Building. Gov Cains Avenue. Phone +63 62-9912234.

Go next

 * Ipil
 * Dipolog
 * Pagadian
 * Iligan
 * Cagayan de Oro
 * Davao
 * Metro Cebu