Twelve Philippine Provincial Capitals from Laoag to Mati

Laoag, the capital of Ilocos Norte, was founded in 1580 and chartered as a city in 1965. It is called the northernmost city in the Philippines and has a 2024 census population of 112,117, making it the most populous settlement in its province.

Vigan, the capital of Ilocos Sur, was founded by Juan de Salcedo in 1572 and chartered as a city in 2001. UNESCO listed the Historic City of Vigan as a World Heritage Site in 1999 as the best preserved example of a Spanish colonial town in Asia.

Bangued is the capital of Abra province and a municipality rather than a city, with a 2024 census population of 48,331. It was formally inaugurated in 1861, and its name comes from an Ilocano word for roadblock that recalls Tinguian resistance to Spanish rule.

Ilagan, the capital of Isabela, was founded on May 4, 1686 and chartered as a city in 2012. It covers 1,166.26 square kilometers and is known as the Corn Capital of the Philippines.

Baler, the capital of Aurora province, was established by Franciscan missionaries in 1609. It was the site of the 1899 Siege of Baler, which ended Spanish colonial rule in the country, and it is the birthplace of president Manuel L. Quezon.

Imus is the de jure capital of Cavite and is known as the Flag Capital of the Philippines because the first Philippine flag was flown at the 1898 Battle of Alapan. With 481,949 residents in 2024 it is the largest stop here, though most provincial offices remain in Trece Martires.

Batangas City, the capital of Batangas province, lies on Batangas Bay about 105 kilometers south of Manila. It is an industrial port city, home to the Batangas International Port and a major oil refinery.

Legazpi, the capital of Albay, was originally a coastal village called Sawangan and was renamed in 1856 for the conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi. It lies south of the active Mayon Volcano and is the administrative and transport hub of the Bicol Region.

Kalibo, the capital of Aklan, hosts the annual Ati-Atihan Festival each January and is the principal gateway to Boracay island. It is also a center of pina weaving, a craft inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2023.

Borongan, the capital of Eastern Samar, was established as a pueblo on September 8, 1619 and chartered as a city in 2007, a status the Supreme Court affirmed in 2011. It sits on the Lo-om River facing the Pacific coast and is known as the City of the Golden Sunrise.

Kidapawan, the capital of Cotabato province, lies at the foot of Mount Apo, the highest mountain in the country. It became a municipal district in 1914 and a city in 1998, and its economy draws on banana plantations and geothermal power generation.

Mati, the capital of Davao Oriental, sits on the southeasternmost side of Mindanao and is called the City of Beautiful Bays for Pujada, Mayo and Balete bays. Part of the UNESCO World Heritage site Mount Hamiguitan lies within the city.