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Zamboanga Travel Guide, Philippines

Zamboanga is found in the Mindanao area and is divided into four groups namely Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga Sibugay and Zamboanga City. These four regions contribute to the culture and heritage of the province and they are known for their various businesses, trade and industry.

Zamboanga City

There is an ongoing master plan for the city which aims at taking steps in order to make the city a good place where one would work, live and visit. The city’s local government has to see to it that they follow the guidelines within the master plan as this will serve as their inspiration in doing their work on public service.

Zamboanga City is the home of Zamboanga International Airport and Cargo terminal. It also has the International Cruise Ship Terminal considered as the main international seaport in the province.

Zamboanga del Norte

Zamboanga del Norte is subdivided into twenty five municipalities and two cities namely Dapitan and Dipolog, the latter being the city capital of the province. It is flanked by Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga Sibugay on the south, and Misamis Occidental on the west.

It has nearly 900,000 people and is ranked 27th among the provinces in terms of population and population density. Its native dialect is the Subanon and the other languages and dialects spoken are Cebuano, Tagalog and English.

Zamboanga del Sur

Zamboanga del Sur is home to 26 municipalities and it’s the capital city of Pagadian. It is bordered by Zamboanga del Norte in the north, Zamboanga Sibugay in its west, Misamis Occidental in the northeast, Lanao del Norte in the east and the Moro Gulf in the south.

Just like Zamboanga del Norte, it is densely populated and is ranked 20th and 16th in terms of population. Its main dialect is Cebuano, and other languages and dialects spoken are Chavacano (similar to Spanish), Ilonggo, Boholano, Tagalog and Ilocano.

Zamboanga Sibugay

Zamboanga Sibugay is subdivided into 16 municipalities which include Ipil as its capital municipality. It is less densely populated than the other provinces of Zamboanga composing only of around 550,000 people. It is flanked by Zamboanga del Norte in the north, Zamboanga del Sur in the east, Zamboanga City in the southwest and the Sibuguey Bay in the south.

The main dialects spoken are Cebuano and Ilonggo including Tagalog and Ilocano among others. It is the 79th province created in the Philippines.

Educational institutions

Zamboanga is the seat of some of the finest schools not just in the Philippines but in the whole of Asia. It has public elementary schools in each of its barangays and the local government is currently working on the same platform for secondary education. It has several colleges and universities and the home of Ateneo de Zamboanga, a branch of one of the well-renowned schools in the Philippines, the Ateneo de Manila University System.

With the wide coverage of Zamboanga in terms of land area, there are a lot of tourist spots, hotels and nightlife that would certainly cater to the visitors of the place, Filipinos and foreigners alike.

Zamboanga has many stories to tell along with the large number of people who lived, are living and will continue living in the province.

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