Sariaya, Province of Quezon Province, Calabarzon, Philippines

🇵🇭 Sariaya, officially the Municipality of Sariaya (Tagalog: Bayan ng Sariaya), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Quezon, Philippines.

As the only Mount Banahaw town in both Quezon and Laguna Provinces that has a sea coast, the town is famous for its pristine beach resorts and nature-trekking activities that lead adventurous hikers to the peak of mythical Mount Banahaw. With more than a hundred of cultural properties and ancestral houses mostly built in Art Deco architecture within the municipality, Sariaya is considered as the Heritage Town of Quezon and the Art Deco Capital of Southern Luzon. This heritage town has been branded by various cultural experts as a 'cultural gem worthy of a UNESCO designation.' The local government of the municipality with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts of the Philippines were designated to work for the heritage town's inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Sariaya is the most populous municipality in the province of Quezon and the 19th most populous municipality in the Philippines. Cityhood might be coming to Sariaya in a matter of years.

Geography Sariaya is an inland municipality in the province of Quezon, located 120 km (75 mi) south of Metro Manila and 10 km (6.2 mi) from the provincial capital Lucena. The municipality is bordered by Tayabas City on north-east side, the city of Lucena on its south-east, the municipality of Candelaria on its west, and the town of San Juan in Batangas on its south-west. Mount Banahaw flanks it on the north and Tayabas Bay on the south side.

Barangays Sariaya has a total land area of 24,530 hectares and composed of 43 barangays. Six barangays are urban barangays located at the Poblacion, one barangay is classified as sub-urban and six barangays are coastal barangays: Antipolo; Balubal; Bignay 1; Bignay 2; Bucal; Canda; Castañas; Concepcion 1; Concepcion Banahaw; Concepcion Palasan; Concepcion Pinagbakuran; Gibanga; Guisguis San Roque; Guisguis Talon; Janagdong 1; Janagdong 2; Limbon; Lutucan 1; Lutucan Bata; Lutucan Malabag; Mamala 1; Mamala 2; Manggalang 1; Manggalang Bantilan; Manggalang Kiling; Manggalang Tulo-Tulo; Montecillo; Morong; Pili; Poblacion 1; Poblacion 2; Poblacion 3; Poblacion 4; Poblacion 5; Poblacion 6; Sampaloc 1; Sampaloc 2; Sampaloc Bogon; Santo Cristo; Talaan Aplaya; Talaan Pantoc; Tumbaga 1; Tumbaga 2.

Geography: Topography Sariaya is situated on a flat land except for a portion on the north occupying a part of the foot of Mount Banahaw. The municipality has the highest point of elevation on 3,800 feet above sea level at Barangays Concepcion Banahaw and Sampaloc Bogon.

Commerce The trade and commerce in Sariaya is heavily concentrated at General Luna Street (Maharlika Highway), which is the town's central business district where majority of the town's commercial establishments are situated such as retail, supermarkets, banks, drugstores, bakeries, merchandising, grocery, hardware, fastfood chains, shopping centre, convenience stores and others.

Income Agriculture is one of the major sources of income in Sariaya. According to the 2016 Competitiveness Index of the National Competitiveness Council or NCC, the municipality belongs to the Top 50 most competitive municipalities in the Philippines. According to the annual Audit Report of Commission on Audit (COA), Sariaya is also one of Quezon's top grossing municipalities when factoring annual income.

Culture Agawan Festival Celebrated every 15th day of May, this religious festivity pays tribute to San Isidro Labrador, the patron saint of farmers. This much-anticipated feast has close affinity with the 'Pahiyas Festival' of Lucban, Quezon. Pliant bamboo treetops and trellises (bagakay) weighed down by succulent fruits, native candies, rice cakes, and colorful rice krispies called "kiping" are deliberately pulled down on the streets by noisy merrymakers right after the afternoon procession. Festival revelers from the town's barangays, neighboring towns, and other provinces would then scramble to gather as many treats as they can snatch and carry, hence the term "Agawan".

Town Fiesta On September 14, pious devotees from far and wide pay homage to the miraculous image of the Santo Cristo de Burgos during the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. The Catholic feast is a day-long veneration of the replica of the Crucified Christ at the ancient Cathedral of Burgos, Spain long believed to be a gift of King Philip V of Spain in 1703 to the people of Lumangbayan in Sariaya. People from far-flung barangays flock to the Poblacion to attend the packed fiesta Masses. They also sell their farm products and handicrafts in the public market as they eagerly sample the gaudily-decorated and crowded venue for the annual "perya" (fiesta fair) for thrilling rides, occasional circus performances, and shows featuring human mutants, trained animals performing tricks, vendors peddling herbal medicines, and "peryantes", those hardy and itinerant peddlers of cheap clothing, toys, and kitchen utensils. The town's basketball tournament also holds its cherished championship game on the eve of this much-awaited day. Sometimes there are hired stage performances at the town plaza that feature some of the nation's stage, television and film celebrities as well as musical stars.

Transport Sariaya is traversed by the Maharlika Highway (N1), which passes through the town proper as the congested General Luna Street, and the newer Quezon Eco-Tourism Road (N422) which passes through the municipality's coastal areas. New highways will be South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) Toll Road 4, which will have one exit west of town proper, and the Sariaya Bypass Road, which is being built to decongest Maharlika Highway through the town center.

Buses between Manila, Lucena, and Bicol stop at Sariaya town proper, and jeepneys provide short-distance transportation to nearby towns. Tricycles are used to travel between barangays.

Communication Sariaya is served by landline and mobile phone companies like the General Telephone System, Inc. (GTSi) and Digitel Telecommunications (PLDT-Digitel) as the main telecommunication services providers in the municipality. Major mobile phone providers in the area includes Globe Telecom, Smart Communications, and Dito Telecommunity. Also, Sariaya has a cable provider which is the Sariaya Cable Network.

Saint Francis of Assisi Parish Church Saint Francis of Assisi Parish Church is a stone church built in 1748, located at Barangay Poblacion II. Records tell that the present church is the fifth one erected by the Spanish Franciscan Friars in the history of Sariaya. In 1938, a historical marker bearing a brief history of the church was installed on its facade by the National Research and Markers Committee, precursor of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines.

Heritage houses On May 14, 2008, the National Historical Institute (NHI) unveiled markers of heritage houses for the three ancient yet still stately mansions at the heart of Sariaya town. These venerable houses are best viewed from the south, as they are silhouetted against the majestic and mystical Mount Banahaw, Quezon's long-dormant volcano. Cultural recognition was bestowed on three ancestral houses, namely: The Enriquez-Gala mansion, owned by former Tayabas (now Quezon) Gov. Natalio Enriquez and Susana Gala; the Gala-Rodriguez house of Dr. Isidro Rodriguez and Gregoria Gala, and the house of Catalino and Luisa Rodriguez also known as Villa Sariaya.

Tumbaga Church ruins Remains of an early 18th-century stone church and former town site of Sariaya, located at Barangay Tumbaga I. The settlement was inaugurated in 1703 with Father Lucas Fernandez as first parish priest and Francisco Argente as Presidente del Pueblo. The church, which measured 500 square meters, served a recorded population of 3000 parishioners. Two events led to the abandonment of the town site: the earthquake of 1743 which consequently destroyed the church's bell tower, and the Moro raids which left the town site in ruins after being razed by fire. The venerated image of Santo Cristo de Burgos is said to have been enshrined in the church before it was transferred to its present shrine in the San Francisco Church in the present-day town proper of Sariaya. The unscathed image was said have been retrieved from the burnt church after the Muslim raider attack. The church is believed to be the fourth church structure built by the Spanish Franciscan Friars in Sariaya.

Sariaya Park This multi-purpose park is a perfect place for recreational activities because of its pleasant and calm ambiance where kids can play at the park's playground, located at the heart of the town in front of Sariaya Church and the Town Hall at the left side. Sariaya Park is also the location where Sariaya Sports Complex is situated and usually used as the venue of different events and Basketball Leagues in the town.

Resorts Sariaya is the first town in the western part of the province with a sea coast. The municipality hosts numerous beach resorts and pool resorts which offers pristine beach and recreational activities.

Pool Resorts • Villa Leandro Resort • Lucky D Resort • Primavera Resort • Lynelle's Lagoon Resort • Ada's Resort and Spa • BLT Farmville Resort • Villa Trenta / Eddy WoW Pool Farm Resort • Floreddy's Farm Resort.

Beach Resorts with Boat Rides to Coral Reefs • Triple J Beach Resort (Barangay Guis-Guis Talon) • M.Y. Beach Resort (Barangay Guis-Guis Talon).

Healthcare There are two private hospitals in Sariaya, with a dependable and well-staffed health centre providing free medical and preventive services for residents of the forty-three barangays of the municipality. • Greg Hospital, located at General Luna St., Barangay Poblacion 1 • Soler General Hospital, located at Mabini St., Barangay Poblacion 6

Education • CSTC - College of Sciences, Technology, and Communications, Inc. • Colegio de Santo Cristo de Burgos