Plaza Libertad — Attraction in Iloilo City

Formerly called, Plaza Alfonso XII, Plaza Libertad has been witness to several important events both for Iloilo and the country. One of these is the well known surrender of Governor General Diego de los Ríos to the Filipino revolutionary troops of General Martin Delgado on Christmas Day of 1898, thus ending the 333-hundred year old Spanish colonization of the Philippines. After which the triumphant revolutionaries for the first time raised the Flag of the First Philippine Republic on Iloilo City, the last bastion of Spanish power in the country.

The plaza was also Iloilo’s symbol of rising from an uninhabitable and marshy land to a internationally known cosmopolitan city in the 1890s. The history of Plaza Libertad was well documented on Reverend Father Policarpio Hernandez’s Iloilo: The Most Noble City. It was said that the plaza existed together with the Church of San Jose as a well-kept garden maintained by the local elites and authorities in 1870s. But as the Ayuntamiento of Iloilo took over the plaza in the early 1890s, wild vegetation covered the plaza and made it impassable and dirty. It was a sight of shame for the city as years passed with bad planning, inadequate funding, and sheer negligence.

By 1896, then provincial governor Don Ricardo Monet, passionately worked for the beautification of the Plaza. On August 13, 1896, Plaza Alfonso XII was inaugurated with trees, gardens, and pathways. It was a beautiful sight at the center of the city, like an English garden suddenly popping up in the tropics. Every Thursday afternoon after its inauguration, the Banda Municipal played classical music in the plaza to entertain the people.

It is also inseparable to the plaza that day in 1896 (or 1897?) when Ilonggos enthusiastically sent the Ilonggo Volunteers to Manila to help the Spanish quell the young Philippine Revolution. This event includes a parade and review of arms which was attended in full force by the Ilonggo elite and local Spanish authorities. These companies of troops, though fighting the revolutionaries under General Aguinaldo, demonstrated gallantry and admiration. This patriotism to the Mother Country (Spain) prompted Queen Maria Cristina to bestow to Iloilo City the perpetual title “La Muy Noble Ciudad” inMarch 1898.

In recent history, Plaza Libertad is also the site of the first and simple Dinagyang Festival in 1968 to honor the arrival of the replica of Santo Niño de Cebu which is a gift from Cebu. The replica brought by Fr. Sulpicio Enderez was received with gala and celebrations from the Old Iloilo Airport down to the city streets. It is also important to note that devotion to the Sto. Nino at the Parish of San Jose started a year earlier.

Today, Plaza Libertad is still the center of Iloilo City. On its northwest face is the newly constructed Iloilo City Hall (along Calle De La Rama) which will soon be completed. In the northeast, it is guarded by the historic Iglesia de San Jose de Placer(Church of Saint Joseph) which is opposed by the Masonic Temple (built in 1928 as Iloilo Lodge No.11) in the south side. Around the plaza are the Landbank branch which occupies the former Hotel de Iloilo, the Lacson’s ancestral homes, and several business establishments.

I for one sat at the benches on the plaza and stared at history in its face and appreciated the tree laden plaza in the middle of this bustling city. Still, the elderly and young students bring life at the plaza as actors and actresses in a tableau of history being made every day in the life of the Iloilo City. At Sundays, the plaza is filled with families and children playing on its open spaces while people walk around and still reliving the glorious past of...

The plaza is located typically in front of the San Jose Church and and the Iloilo City Hall as are most spanish-influenced town plazas in Iloilo.

It is wide enough to allow a basketball court, some playground equipment, a few spots for social interaction and recreation and also a jogger's path that is shaded by multiple ylang-ylang trees.

A stone's throw away are the Sunburst Park and the new Freedom Grandstand. Parking is a little difficult but possible. There are varied small food shops around for snacks and refreshments.

I would recommend either an early morning jog or a late afternoon stroll if you happen to enjoy being outside.

The photo i posted is of one of the main attractions.

Each corner of the plaza has a bust of (i would like to believe) some Roman Gods and Goddesses (i could be wrong. I couldn't readily find any reliable info on them as of the moment.) These busts also happen to be Poké Stops (tip for...

Date of visit: May 29, 2025

It was already the tail-end of the dry season so there was a light rainshower the time I got there at Plaza Libertad. Some portions of the plaza was under renovation. I like it when a park has lots of trees and much greenery. Landscaped gardens are well-maintained and I really stopped by to smell the blossoming sampaguita bushes and even the calachuchi trees. The plaza has lots of points of interests: the Rizal monument and also the symbolic struggle for freedom and human rights represented by a sculpture of clenched fists. A steam locomotive is also on exhibit at the park. The plaza is well-planned and surrounded by the City Hall, the San Jose Placer Church and adjacent to the downtown area. Very convenient location and commuter-friendly as well. I wish to go there again on my next...