Sights in Silay City

In one of our visits to Bacolod, we visited the relatives of Shing and went to interesting places in Silay for our side trip. The New Bacolod-Silay Airport is now open.

Silay City, located in the province of Negros Occidental is a second class city that has become the site of the new Bacolod-Silay International Airport. With its large collection of perfectly preserved heritage houses where thirty of these have been declared as historical landmarks, the city is often referred to as the “Paris of Negros”.  It has been declared a museum city, second to VIgan in Ilocos Sur. 

Facade of Silay Church

 The San Diego Pro-cathedral is an early 20^th century church in Silay, which is the only pro-cathedral outside Manila. It is formerly known as the San Diego Parish Church or the St. Didacus Parish Church before its declaration as a pro-cathedral in 1994. It is the only church in Negros Occidental that has a cupola or dome. 

Balay Negrense

Balay Negrense

Balay Negrense in Silay City is the first museum in the province of Negros Occidental that features lifestyle in the late 19^th-century Negrense. It was an ancestral house of Victor F. Gaston built in 1971 and acquired by Negros Cultural Foundation with the help of Department of Tourism to facilitate restructuring and repair that led to its inauguration as a museum in October 6, 1990.

Garden in Balay Negrense

 The recently opened Bacolod-Silay City International Airport has a primary runway of 45 meters (150 ft) wide and 2,000 meters (6,600 ft) long. 

New Bacolod-Silay Airport

FOOT NOTE:

I first visited Silay in 2004 during our Summer of Service in Brgy. Bagtic where we were partnered with local student volunteers and had immersion and leadership and arts and craft workshop. It is where we helped build a fence in one of the lands by mixing cement and piling up hollow blocks. It was tiring but it was fulfilling. We even helped the farmers remove grasses from the sugar cane plantation and till the land so they may plant their crops. On our way there, the new airport was still being constructed so there were tons of dust on our faces as we cross the construction area. But now, Bacolod has a new airport situated in Silay City which is a bit small compared to others but comfortable enough to accomodate passengers.