# Ajuy, Iloilo

Ajuy, officially the Municipality of Ajuy (Hiligaynon: Banwa sang Ajuy, Tagalog: Bayan ng Ajuy), is a municipality in the province of Iloilo, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 53,462 people.

## History

Ajuy was founders in the early 1200s by the native people of Panay besides the Gubaton River in Lanjagan. It was formerly called "Aswe". A popular belief of people were the name "Ajuy" came from was when a Spanish man went to the settlement and asked a person who was chopping wood that What is the name of the settlement. The native, confused said "Kahoy" because in Hiligaynon, Wood in "Kahoy", this the Spanish Man called it "Ajuy". Ajuy was made a Barrio of Sara but was declared an independent municipality in 1916. In WW2 Ajuy was constantly bombed and many houses were destroyed. The Rojas Ancestral House, which was bombed in WW2, still stands today. In 2023, Ajuy won 1st Runner Up in the Malinis at Masaganang Karagatan through the efforts of SB Loida E. Anotado, Emilinda Abian, and MENRO Chief Diona Silvido. Currently, Ajuy is Building the new Public Market through the efforts of Mayor Jett Rojas and the Sanggunian Bayan.

## Geography

Ajuy is 88 kilometres (55 mi) from Iloilo City and 99 kilometres (62 mi) from Roxas City.

### Barangays

Ajuy is politically subdivided into 34 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.
* Adcadarao
* Agbobolo
* Badiangan
* Barrido
* Bato Biasong
* Bay-ang
* Bucana Bunglas
* Central
* Culasi
* Lanjagan
* Luca
* Malayu-an
* Mangorocoro
* Nasidman
* Pantalan Nabaye
* Pantalan Navarro
* Pedada
* Pili
* Pinantan Diel
* Pinantan Elizalde
* Pinay Espinosa
* Poblacion
* Progreso
* Puente Bunglas
* Punta Buri
* Rojas
* San Antonio
* Silagon
* Santo Rosario
* Tagubanhan
* Taguhangin
* Tanduyan
* Tipacla
* Tubogan

### Climate

Climate data for Ajuy, Iloilo :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 27 (81) | 28 (82) | 29 (84) | 31 (88) | 32 (90) | 31 (88) | 30 (86) | 30 (86) | 29 (84) | 29 (84) | 29 (84) | 27 (81) | 29 (85) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 23 (73) | 23 (73) | 23 (73) | 24 (75) | 25 (77) | 25 (77) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) | 23 (73) | 24 (75) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 61 (2.4) | 39 (1.5) | 46 (1.8) | 48 (1.9) | 90 (3.5) | 144 (5.7) | 152 (6.0) | 145 (5.7) | 163 (6.4) | 160 (6.3) | 120 (4.7) | 90 (3.5) | 1,258 (49.4) |
| Average rainy days | 12.3 | 9.0 | 9.9 | 10.0 | 18.5 | 25.0 | 27.4 | 26.0 | 25.9 | 24.9 | 17.9 | 14.2 | 221 |
| Source: Meteoblue (Use with caution: this is modeled/calculated data, not measured locally.) ||||||||||||||

## Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Ajuy, Iloilo, was 53,462 people, with a density of 300 inhabitants per square kilometre or 780 inhabitants per square mile.

### Religion

The town has many churches namely Ajuy Baptist Church, Ajuy Evangelical Church, Church of the Nazarene, Bible Baptist Church, Evangel Family Church, Roman Catholic Church, Aglipayan Church or the Philippine Independent Church, Emmanuel Riverside Mission Baptist Church, Bobog Baptist Church, Pinay Espinosa Baptist Church, Iglesia ni Cristo and Seventh-day Adventist Church.
The town's main source of livelihood is fishing and farming.

### Tourist Sites

The Tourist sites of Ajuy include: Buenos Dias Island Resort, Punta Buri, Marbuena Island Resort, Alta Marr Beach Resort, Terra Verde Inland Resort, Agua Bendita, Punta Bato Beach, Swillongo Garden, Villa Margarita, Camp Regulus, Nasidman Island, Calabasa Island and Lighthouse, Guinsyan Dako and Gamay, and Bino-nangan Island. Coral Reefs can be also found in Nasidman, Calabaza Island, Guinsyan Islands, Marbuena, and Punta Buri.

## Economy

Poverty incidence of Ajuy
* 10
* 20
* 30
* 40
* 2006 34.80
* 2009 30.89
* 2012 30.63
* 2015 25.66
* 2018 23.11
* 2021 26.22
* Source: Philippine Statistics Authority

## Government
### List of former chief executives

Mayors of Ajuy:
* Dionisio Diel 1916-1918
* Roberto Tupas, Sr. 1918-1925
* Basilio V. Dignadice 1925-1929
* Juan Q. Dignadice 1929-1937
* Juan Villaruz Centeno, Sr. 1937-1946
* Pedro Beatingo Molina 1946-1955
* Jose Dignadice Rojas, Jr. 1955-1978
* Jose Tupas Rojas, lll 1978–1986, 1988-1998
* Napoleon O. Dignadice 1986-1987
* Vidal Celis Villaruz, Jr. 1987-1988
* Juan Rojas Alvarez 2007-2016
* Jett Castor Rojas 1998–2007, 2016–present
Vice Mayors of Ajuy
* Ramon Espinosa 1998-2004
* Ramon Rojas, Jr 2004-2009
* Abner Biclar 2009-2010
(Succeeded because of assassination)
* Jose Rojas, IV 2010-2016
* Loida Espinosa 2022-2023
(Succeeded because of suspension)
* Robert Villaruz 2016-2022,2023

## Transportation

Ceres Bus Liner is the main transportation from Iloilo City to Ajuy. Ajuy has the deepest port in the province, located at Bay-ang. FF Cruz has a RORO from Ajuy to E.B. Magalona and vice versa. Ajuy also has Culasi Port which is used for docking.

## Education

The Northern Iloilo State University has an Ajuy Branch located in the Poblacion. Ajuy's central public elementary school is Alejo Posadas Elementary School (APMES), named in honor of the lot's donor. A private elementary school is also in existence, Ajuy Christian Development Academy.

### Library

The Island of Panay House of Wisdom library is an open (free use) library located at road 2, Barangay Barrido with more than 2,000 books and updated magazines for reading and research purposes. Pastor Lilianita Dulos and Brendalyn Dulos opened this library for the youth of Panay to help create more empowered Ajuynons youth and high thinking individual.