Victorias
Component city
City of Victorias
City hall
Flag Seal
Nicknames:  "The Sugarlandia of Negros" "The Sweet and Green City of Negros"
Map of Negros Occidental with Victorias highlighted
Interactive map of Victorias
Victorias Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 10°54′N 123°05′E / 10.9°N 123.08°E / 10.9; 123.08
Country	Philippines
Region	Negros Island Region
Province	Negros Occidental
District	3rd district
Founded	October 2, 1906
Cityhood	March 21, 1998
Named after	Nuestra Señora de las Victorias (Our Lady of Victory)
Barangays	26 (see Barangays)
Government  [1]
• Type	Sangguniang Panlungsod
• Mayor	Abelardo D. Bantug III (NPC)
• Vice Mayor	Francis Frederick "Derek" D. Palanca (NPC)
• Representative	Javier Miguel L. Benitez (PFP)
• City Council	Members Warlito T. Undar Deilen Tornea-Hofileña Jerry L. Jover Dexter L. Senido Dino Jose Maria O. Acuña Lou Richard V. Cuaycong Hermie B. Millan Vincent Marie A. Roa Joji Adorio-Larraga Juvy A. Pepello Trisha Mae C. Majan ◌ ◌ ex officio SK chairman
• Electorate	60,576 voters (2025)
Area [2]
• Total	133.92 km2 (51.71 sq mi)
Elevation	166 m (545 ft)
Highest elevation	1,568 m (5,144 ft)
Lowest elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population  (2024 census)[3]
• Total	90,290
• Density	674.2/km2 (1,746/sq mi)
• Households	22,268
Economy
• Income class	4th city income class
• Poverty incidence	16.56 % (2021)[4]
• Revenue	₱ 1,011 million (2022)
• Assets	₱ 3,320 million (2022)
• Expenditure	₱ 748.7 million (2022)
• Liabilities	₱ 1,561 million (2022)
Service provider
• Electricity	Northern Negros Electric Cooperative (NONECO)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	6119
PSGC	064531000
IDD : area code	+63 (0)34
Native languages	Hiligaynon Tagalog
Website	www.victoriascity.gov.ph

Victorias, officially the City of Victorias (Hiligaynon: Dakbanwa sang Victorias; Filipino: Lungsod ng Victorias), is a component city in the province of Negros Occidental, Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 90,290 people.^[5]

Victorias is notable for the St. Joseph the Worker Chapel, which was declared as an Important Cultural Property of the Philippines^[6] in December 2015.

It is also the site of Victorias Milling Company, the world's largest integrated sugar mill,^[7] sitting on a 7,000 hectares (17,000 acres) compound that makes it the Philippine's largest sugar refinery.

Geography

Victorias is 34 kilometres (21 mi) from Bacolod. It serves as the access point to the Northern Negros Natural Park, popular among hikers visiting Mount Mandalagan and Mount Silay.

Demographics

Economy

Poverty incidence of Victorias

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority^{[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]}

Religion

Notable religions include:

• Roman Catholicism
• Philippine Independent Church
• United Pentecostal Church International
• Baptist Bible Fellowship International
• Seventh-day Adventist Church
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Philippines
• Iglesia ni Cristo
• Jehovah's Witnesses
• Apostolic Pentecostalism
• Evangelical Protestantism
• IKTHUS

St. Joseph the Worker Chapel

Within the Victorias Milling Company's complex is the St. Joseph the Worker Chapel, a masterpiece considered the first example of modern sacral architecture in the Philippines^[22] and raised to the status of Important Cultural Property by the National Museum of the Philippines in 2015. The chapel was designed by the famous Czech Architect Antonín Raymond.^[6]

Its mural of the Angry Christ was painted by international artist Alfonso Ossorio.^[6] The mural has been featured in various publications such as Life Magazine. Its fierce, vivid colors gave the church its most known name, the "Angry Christ Church".^[6]

Festivals

The city celebrates the annual Kadalag-an Festival, a charter anniversary held on March 21, and the annual Malihaw Festival on April 26.

The city also celebrates the Kalamayan Festival every December. The word "Kalamayan" depicts what Victorias is known for, its “kalamay” or refined sugar and its sugar industry, the Victorias Milling Company.

Barangay Festivals

Considerations:

1. Some barangay festivals are unnamed.

2a. Barangays with asterisk (*) are further subdivided to smaller haciendas, sitios, or villages, etc. that celebrate their own festivals. These are not enumerated below.

2b. However, a barangay with asterisk that has an enlisted festival and/or date means that its Local Government Unit (LGU) organizes a principal festival.

Sports

The city will co-host the inaugural edition of the FIFA Futsal Women's World Cup along with Pasig in late 2025.^[23]

Notable personalities

• Noven Belleza - first champion of Tawag ng Tanghalan; born in Victorias^[24]
• Albee Benitez - Member of the House of Representatives of the Philippines, 43rd Mayor of Bacolod,CEO and Chairman Brightlight Productions^[25]
• Javi Benitez - Mayor of Victorias , Member of the House of Representatives of the Philippines
• Jose Francisco Benitez - Member of the House of Representatives of the Philippines, Director General of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA)
• Romy Pastrana — comedian and Goin' Bulilit member under the name Dagul.
• Franz Ontal - Head of inspector training at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), he was serving in this capacity when the organization won the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize
• Alfonso A. Ossorio — abstract expressionist artist, many of his art is held in the permanent collections of major institutions like the Museum of Modern Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art, both of which are in New York City, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington DC. His most famous work, the Angry Christ Mural is a midcentury modern and cultural landmark in the Philippines and has been featured in international publications Life Magazine and National Geographic^[6]

Education

Notable educational institutions include:

Higher Education and Private Schools

• Central Philippines State University – Victorias City Campus
• La Salle College–Victorias
• Colegio de Santa Ana de Victorias^[26]
• Laura Vicuña Women Development and Training Center (Hacienda Malihao, Barangay XX)
• Don Bosco Technical Institute, Victorias
• Colegio de Santa Ana de Victorias – Integrated School

Schools Division of Victorias (Public Schools)

• Negros Occidental National Science High School
• Victorias National High School
• Abelardo D.L. Bantug, Sr. National High School (Hacienda Amanda, Barangay VIII)
• Victorias City Farm School (Hacienda Cuaycong, Barangay XX)
• Barangay Estado National High School (Estado, Barangay X)
• Gawahon Integrated School (Barangay XI)
• Victorias Elementary School
• Villa Victorias Elementary School

Historically and culturally notable schools that have been abolished (as of 2026):

• Don Felix Montinola Memorial College
• Jack and Jills Schools / Castleson High

Notable libraries within the city:

• Victorias City Public Library
• Library of Colegio de Santa Ana de Victorias
• Library of Victorias Elementary School

References

External links

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Victorias.

• Victorias City profile at the official website of Negros Occidental Archived July 4, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
• Philippine Standard Geographic Code
• Philippine census information
• Local Governance Performance Management System Archived April 4, 2015, at the Wayback Machine