Pagbilao

Pagbilao is a coastal municipality of Quezon province, Philippines. It is at an important crossroads between the urbanized western section of the province leading to Metro Manila, and its rural eastern half as well as the Bicol region.

Pagbilao was established by the Spanish in the 16th century and is said to have been named after a portmanteau of the Tagalog words for rattan mat (papag) and winnowing basket (bilao). Wedged on a narrow coastal strip along an eponymous bay, it is the easternmost town in the Lingayen-Lucena corridor, the greater urban conurbation of Luzon that radiates outward from Metro Manila.

It is home to about 82,000 people (census, 1 July 2024)

Pagbilao is along the Maharlika Highway (Manila South Road, numbered Route 1/AH26) which also serves as the town's main street. It is a major bottleneck on the route in Quezon, although a bypass road ringing the town center has been built to alleviate traffic. East of downtown Pagbilao, a junction from Maharlika Highway that marks the starting point of the Bondoc Peninsula Road (Route 610) that connects the towns along the southern coast of Quezon.

Further east along Maharlika Highway is the infamous Old Zigzag Road aka Bitukang Manok (Chicken Intestine), a winding stretch of highway restricted for usage by cars only due to its narrow and dangerous switchbacks, and the New Diversion Road, that carries the Route 1/AH26 designation through another winding alignment a few kilometers to the north of Old Zigzag Road and is used by buses and heavy trucks. If you drive, you'll usually go through the Old Zigzag Road for the scenic but hazardous route, but if you take a bus, you'll be traveling on the Diversion Road. Both routes are however, dangerous, especially at night or during rainstorms.

There is also a road linking Pagbilao with Tayabas to the north.

There are plans to extend the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) to Pagbilao on its way to Bicol.

Pagbilao is served by buses heading to Bicol region and other towns of eastern Quezon and the Bondoc Peninsula. It also lies along the Philippine National Railways' South Main Line connecting Metro Manila with Bicol, although services have been suspended since 2014 and there is no expected reopening date.

Tricycles are the main form of public transportation around town.

• 13.972509121.6866791 Saint Catherine of Alexandria Parish Church (Pagbilao Church), Maharlika Highway, Barangay 5, ☏ +63 909 077 9421. Pagbilao's main Roman Catholic church, built in a Baroque style during the Spanish era in 1730. Its 40 feet (12 m) belfry contains some colonial-era bells.  (updated Oct 2026)
• 13.971237121.6867652 Pagbilao Municipal Hall, Maharlika Highway, Barangay 5. The seat of local government in Pagbilao, it was built in 1927 and is one of a few civic buildings in the Philippines that survived World War II.  (updated Oct 2026)
• 13.980646121.7892923 Saint Anne Parish and Diocesan Shrine, Maharlika Highway, Sitio Santa Ana, Silangang Malicboy, ☏ +63 909 529 9613, stanneparish.psoccom@gmail.com. The main Roman Catholic church in eastern Pagbilao, it is home to a venerated image of Saint Anne. The current church building dates from 1960.  (updated Oct 2026)
• 13.969486121.6886184 Gudani-Salvanera Ancestral House, Gloria corner Glorioso Streets, Barangay 5. A well-preserved colonial-era private residence built in the late 19th century and transferred in 1909 to its current location due to the expansion of the Manila Railroad.  (updated Oct 2026)
• 13.972903121.730725 Palsabangon Mangrove Forest, Palsabangon. An extensive protective area composed of estuarine mangrove woodland along Pagbilao Bay. It has various species of flora and fauna such as crabs, monitor lizards and birds.  (updated Oct 2026)

• 13.990162121.816381 Quezon Protected Landscape (Entrance along the Old Zigzag Road on the Pagbilao side). It is a protected landscape on the southern end of the mighty Sierra Madre range, which straddles the boundary with Atimonan. It was founded in 1934 as a national park until it was elevated into a protected area in 2003. It covers 938 hectares (2,320 acres) of tropical rainforests, home to endemic species of birds, reptiles, mammals, and trees. Inside the park is Mount Pinagbanderahan, where a Philippine revolutionary flag was raised, and is reachable through an hour of hiking. There are also caves and waterfalls within the park, and some campsites.  (updated Oct 2026)
• 13.913898121.7696132 Pagbilao Grande Island (take a junction from Maharlika Highway in Barangay Binahaan that leads to Quipot Bridge, a causeway in Barangay Kanluran Malicboy that leads to the island). A large island at the eastern edge of Pagbilao Bay. To the east is Pagbilao Chica (little) island, actually an extension of the main island connected to it by a narrow isthmus. It is home to unspoiled beaches and at the same time, a thermal power plant that has been an eyesore for the environmentally-concerned.  (updated Oct 2026)

• 13.969303121.6881 Pagbilao Public Market, Glorioso Street, Barangay 3. Built in 1916, it is one of a few such buildings to have survived World War II.  (updated Oct 2026)

The town's postal code is 4302.

San Pablo ← Lucena ←	W  E	→ Atimonan → Daet/Naga
END ←	W  E	→ Padre Burgos → San Francisco