La Castellana, Negros Occidental

La Castellana, officially the Municipality of La Castellana, is a municipality in the province of Negros Occidental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 79,492 people.^[3]

La Castellana
Municipality
Municipality of La Castellana
Kanlaon from Cabacungan
Flag Seal
Map of Negros Occidental with La Castellana highlighted
OpenStreetMap
La Castellana Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 10°21′N 123°04′E
Country	Philippines
Region	Negros Island Region
Province	Negros Occidental
District	5th district
Founded	January 1, 1918
Named after	Paseo de la Castellana
Barangays	13 (see Barangays)
Government  [1]
• Type	Sangguniang Bayan
• Mayor	Alme Rhummyla G. Nicor-Mangilimutan
• Vice Mayor	Alberto A. Nicor Jr.
• Representative	Emilio Bernardino L. Yulo III
• Municipal Council	Members Ryan F. Canoy Donato S. Dumaguit Añejo G. Nicor Patricio H. Estoya Jr. Alberto G. Nicor III Leonardo A. Bacquian Felipe Felix Martin P. Elumba Rudy A. Torres
• Electorate	51,604 voters (2025)
Area [2]
• Total	185.22 km2 (71.51 sq mi)
Elevation	77 m (253 ft)
Highest elevation	244 m (801 ft)
Lowest elevation	25 m (82 ft)
Population  (2020 census)[3]
• Total	79,492
• Density	430/km2 (1,100/sq mi)
• Households	5,398
Economy
• Income class	1st municipal income class
• Poverty incidence	26.45 % (2021)[4]
• Revenue	₱ 328.9 million (2022)
• Assets	₱ 359.6 million (2022)
• Expenditure	₱ 275.7 million (2022)
• Liabilities	₱ 216.9 million (2022)
Service provider
• Electricity	Negros Occidental Electric Cooperative (NOCECO)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	6131
PSGC	064517000
IDD : area code	+63 (0)34
Native languages	Hiligaynon Tagalog Cebuano

Etymology

The town is named after the Paseo de la Castellana in Madrid, Spain.

History

According to popular belief, the early settlers of the town came from Marayo (now Pontevedra), calling their place of settlement as the village of "Lapak".^[5]

During the Spanish conquest of the Philippines, the Spaniards named the place "La Castellana" due to its similarity in vegetation with Paseo de la Castellana, Madrid, Spain. Under Spanish colonization, the Spaniards established haciendas and sugar plantations. These improved heavily on the local economy and soon many nationalities and natives flocked to the place to find work and opportunities. La Castellana became one of the major center of trade and commerce in the region.^[5]

Under the American colonial government, the municipality was formally established on January 1, 1918.^[5] It became a municipality by virtue of Executive Order No. 101, as proclaimed by American Governor-General Francis Burton Harrison.^[6]

Geography

La Castellana lies at the base of Kanlaon Volcano, known for its natural springs and water falls. It is 65 kilometres (40 mi) from Bacolod and 22 kilometres (14 mi) from Pontevedra.

Barangays

La Castellana is politically subdivided into 13 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

• Biaknabato
• Cabacungan
• Cabagnaan
• Camandag
• Lalagsan
• Manghanoy
• Mansalanao
• Masulog
• Nato
• Puso
• Robles (Poblacion)
• Sag-Ang
• Talaptap

Climate

Climate data for La Castellana, Negros Occidental
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	28 (82)	29 (84)	30 (86)	32 (90)	31 (88)	30 (86)	29 (84)	29 (84)	29 (84)	29 (84)	29 (84)	28 (82)	29 (85)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	20 (68)	22 (72)	23 (73)	24 (75)	25 (77)	25 (77)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	23 (73)	24 (74)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	100 (3.9)	75 (3.0)	90 (3.5)	101 (4.0)	183 (7.2)	242 (9.5)	215 (8.5)	198 (7.8)	205 (8.1)	238 (9.4)	194 (7.6)	138 (5.4)	1,979 (77.9)
Average rainy days	14.9	11.3	14.5	17.4	26.4	28.4	28.5	27.5	26.9	28.4	24.2	17.2	265.6
Source: Meteoblue[7]

Demographics

Population census of La Castellana

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1903	5,329	—
1918	8,087	+2.82%
1939	16,861	+3.56%
1948	24,654	+4.31%
1960	35,630	+3.12%
1970	34,881	−0.21%
1975	41,821	+3.71%
1980	44,684	+1.33%
1990	54,368	+1.98%
1995	59,620	+1.74%
2000	59,102	−0.19%
2007	70,838	+2.53%
2010	71,013	+0.09%
2015	74,855	+1.01%
2020	79,492	+1.19%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[8][9][10][11]

Economy

La Castellana is an agricultural town engaged in sugarcane, rice, and banana farming.

Poverty incidence of La Castellana

10 20 30 40 50 60 2000 57.79 2003 36.14 2006 32.40 2009 29.70 2012 29.58 2015 26.11 2018 26.98 2021 26.45 Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]

Culture

La Castellana holds many festivals namely Bailes de Luces, Banana Festival and Senior San Vicente Ferrer Feast Day where devotees far and near attend to for healing. Caduhada Spring Resort is a popular tourist spot located in Sitio Mambangon, Barangay Cabacungan.