Iloilo is a province of the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Iloilo occupies
the southeast portion of Panay Island and is bordered by province of Antique to the
west and province of Capiz and the Jintotolo Channel to the north. Just off Iloilo's southeast
coast is the island province Guimaras, once part of Iloilo but now an independent province.
Across the Panay Gulf and Guimaras Strait is Negros Occidental. Iloilo's capital is
Iloilo City though the city itself is independent and not governed by the provincial government
of Iloilo. According to the 2010 national census, the
population of province excluding Iloilo City is 1,805,576. If Iloilo City is included,
the population is 2,230,195.
History At the time of the Spanish conquest, writing
was a new import and the use of organic medium such as leaf and bamboo, and no pre-Hispanic
written accounts of Iloilo exist today. Oral history, in the form of recited epics, has
survived to a small degree, with a few recordings made from the last known surviving binukots.
But from these oral history and from writings from other sources, one can still glean Iloilo's
prehispanic past. The controversial origins of the people of
Iloilo is said to be from the state of Pannai, a country occupying Sumatra. Pannai was a
militant nation allied under the Sri-Vijaya Mandala that defended the conflict-ridden
Strait of Malacca. The small kingdom repulsed any unlicensed Chinese, Indian or Arab navies
that often warred in or pirated the straights of Malacca and for a small country, they were
adept at taking down armadas larger than itself. They were successful in policing and defending
the straights of Malacca for the Mandala of Sri-Vijaya until the Chola invasion of Srivijaya
occurred, wherein a surprise attack from behind, originating from the occupied capital, rendered
the militant-state of Pannai vulnerable from an unprotected assault from the back flank.
The Chola invaders eventually destroyed the state of Pannai and its surviving soldiers,
royals and scholars were said to have been secreted-out eastwards. In their 450 years
of occupying Sumatra, they refused to be enslaved to Islam, Taoism or Hinduism but after the
state's dissolution, the people who stayed behind in Pannai, themselves, have a legend
wherein the high-borne scholars, soldiers and nobles of Pannai, "fled to other islands."
At this juncture, Iloilo came into prominence, when the local settlement called Irong-Irong
and was founded by Datu Paiburong [who presumably fled the fallen Sri Vijaya Mandala] after
he and his fellows within the new Mandala of Confederation of Madja-as, bought the island
of Panay from the Negrito Chieftain, Marikudo. The Confederation of Madya-as eventually grew
a powerful and strong naval presence that it rivaled the nearby states of the Rajahnate
of Cebu, The Kingdom of Tondo and the Sultanate of Sulu when it came to wealth and prestige.
By 1612, this state had grown so powerful militarily and economically, their naval power
regularly threatened Chinese Imperial shipping. So much so, that the Chuan-chou gazeeter specifically
reported that the Pisheya [Another term for people from Iloilo] consistently made devastating
raids against the Empire's commerce Nevertheless Spain eventually succeeded on
conquering of the island of Panay when Spanish conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi moved
his headquarters from the island of Cebu and creating the first Spanish settlement in the
island in Ogtong in 1566. This is mainly due in part to the rivalries between the Bisaya
and Moro, of which the former found an ally in Spanish against the latter. The Bisaya
accepted alliances with Spain, to defend themselves against the enslaving Moros. In 1581, the
encomienda in Ogtong was moved to La Villa Rica de Arevalo, because of frequent coastal
raids by Moro and Dutch privateers, this was again moved near the mouth of the Irong-irong
river founding what is now Iloilo City and constructing Fort San Pedro to defend it in
1616. Nevertheless, the area itself began to prosper,
due its successful textile and sugar industry. As a result, it received Chinese immigrants
from the west and Latinos from the ports of Mexico in the east. And over time Iloilo grew
to be the most important province outside Manila.
The City of Iloilo by virtue of a Royal Decree of 1896 was given the honor of having a Coat
of Arms with the Inscription: "La Muy Leal y Noble Ciudad de Iloilo in reward for its
loyalty to Spain during the Philippine uprising. Over time, this made Iloilo the "Queen's Favored
City in the South" or simply "Queen's City of the South". During the American period,
Iloilo then became a home to many firsts: including the first department stores and
cinemas in the country. Nevertheless, Iloilo experienced a fall from grace after it was
severely devastated in World War II and then had a decline during the 1950s-2000s. In part
due to the great Iloilo fire which ruined the economy and the slow death of the sugar
and textile industries that eventually impelled the Lopez, Araneta, De Rama, Sy and Arroyo
families to abandon the city to go to other areas such as Cebu, Bacolod and the National
Capital. Still, the large Middle-Class populace of Iloilo and its agri-business sector has
managed to maintain the province despite the exodus of its prominent families.
Geography
The province is divided into two distinct geographic regions; the highlands of the Madia-as
on the western border and the lowland plains which account for a larger portion of the
province. Small islands east of its northernmost tip also dot the Visayan Sea - of these, Pan
de Azucar and Sicogon are well-known. The Province of Iloilo has the largest marshland
in Western Visayas after the Sunderbans. Subdivisions
Iloilo is subdivided into 42 municipalities, one component city, and one highly urbanized
city Cities:
Iloilo City
Population: 424,619 Area(km2): 78.34
Population Density(persons/km2): 5,981 Income Class: 1st Class; Highly Urbanized
City
Passi City ¹2010 Census ²Local Government Performance
Management System Climate
Demographics People from Iloilo are called Ilonggos. There
are two local languages spoken in the province: Hiligaynon sometimes called Ilonggo, and Kinaray-a.
Hiligaynon and variants of it are spoken in Iloilo city and a few towns of the province.
Spanish is strictly a local language, at least in a historical way with the number of natural
Spanish speakers strongly declining after WWII, and due to this, there are today many
Ilonggos who do not consider it a local language. Language
Hiligaynon is an Austronesian language spoken in Western Visayas in the Philippines. Hiligaynon
is concentrated in the city of Iloilo and westside of Negros Occidental province. It
is also spoken in the other provinces in Panay island, such as Capiz, Antique, Aklan, Guimaras,
and many parts of Mindanao like Koronadal City, South Cotabato, North Cotabato, Sultan
Kudarat, Kidapawan City and Cotabato City and also in some parts of Maguindanao municipalities
of Datu Paglas, Buluan and Mangudadatu as well.. There are approximately 7,000,000 people
in and outside the Philippines who are native speakers of Hiligaynon, and an additional
4,000,000 who are capable of speaking it with a substantial degree of proficiency.
The language is referred to as Ilonggo in Negros Occidental and in Iloilo. More precisely,
Ilonggo is an ethnoliguistic group referring to the people living in Panay and the culture
associated with the people speaking Hiligaynon. The boundaries of the dialect called Ilonggo
and that called Hiligaynon are unclear. The disagreement of where what name is correct
extends to Philippine language specialists and native laymen.
Culture Spanish architecture can be seen in old buildings
in downtown Iloilo. Chinese merchants and Indonesians were trading with the Ilonggos
long before the Spaniards came. The ruling Spanish government encouraged these foreign
merchants to trade in Iloilo but they were not given privileges like ownership of land.
Foreign merchants and Spaniards intermarried with the locals, and the Mestizo class was
eventually born from their union. The Mestizo offsprings of the local nobilities later emerged
as the ruling class of the Ilonggos. The town's fiesta is one of the most important
events for Ilonggos. Almost every town in Iloilo has a fiesta and festival celebrated
annually. Iloilo is also home to two of the countries
cultural minorities the Sulod-Bukidnon and the Ati.
Government
Governor: Arthur D. Defensor, Sr. Vice Governor: Raul C. Tupas
Provincial board members: 1st District
Ninfa S. Garin Dennis T. Valencia
2nd District Demmy P. Sonza
June S. Mondejar 3rd District
Emmanuel R. Gallar Licurgo P. Tirador
4th District Carmen Rita M. Bautista
Maria Shalene P. Hidalgo 5th District
Nielo C. Tupas Jesus C. Salcedo
Ex-officio Board Members: PCL President: Paolo M. Guanco
ABC President: Jeneda C. Salcedo District Representatives:
1st District: Oscar S. Garin, Jr. 2nd District: Arcadio H. Gorriceta
3rd District: Arthur D. Defensor, Jr. 4th District: Hernan G. Biron, Jr.
5th District: Niel C. Tupas, Jr. Tourism
As a leading province during the Spanish Colonial Era, the province of Iloilo is widely known
for its beautiful old world architecture similar to that of Latin American Countries. Spanish
colonial Churches are amongst the well-known tourist sites in the province.
Miag-ao Church. The World Heritage Site. The Aztec-Baroque inspired church with Filipino
botanicals used to carved on the facade. It is known for its intricate facade and pyramidal
bell towers. The church was used as a fortress during the olden days. It is a massive structure
built of yellowish Limestones. Molo Church. The Gothic Renaissance Church
of Molo was used as a watch tower to warn the people if there are any attackers on the
shore of Iloilo City. It is a fine coral stone church with Classical and Gothic details.
It is also known as the feminist church because of the beautiful female saints lining inside
the church. Cabatuan Church. This Neoclassic Church, known
to be the most massive Hispanic structure in Iloilo is built of red bricks. It is believed
to be the largest red brick structure in the Visayas and it was given the title "Model
of Temples" by the 'El Eco de Panay'. The Cabatuan Church is known to be the only extant
Spanish colonial church with three facades. San Jose Church. The beautiful church in front
of plaza Libertad is considered the most historic amongst the churches in Iloilo City. It is
a Byzantine-Neoclassic Church planned to look like the Spanish Church of Valencia del Cid.
The Church is known for its collection of priceless Catholic treasures.
Passi City Church. This is considered a militaristic church in that it was planned as a ‘fortress
church’ and the proof of this can be seen in the massive buttresses which support the
front and back walls of the church. The church was built to replace churches that had been
destroyed by an earthquake in 1612 and subsequent churches that had been destroyed by fires.
Old Capitol building of the Province of Iloilo. A National Historical Site. The building was
built with wood stone during the Spanish colonization. It served as the capitol when the civil government
of Iloilo was founded in 1901. The National Historical Institute formally recognized the
Old Capitol as a historical landmark through a marker installed on its walls on April 11,
2010. Universities and Colleges
Sports Stallion F.C. are a football team currently
play in Division 1 of the United Football League.
Media Iloilo City is home to regional television
stations of GMA Network, TV5, Solar channels and ABS-CBN.
The News Today Panay News
The Daily Guardian News Express
CREAM Magazine Ratsada
TV Patrol Panay Super Radyo Iloilo
Aksyon Radyo Iloilo Bombo Radyo Iloilo
Radio Mindanao Network Iloilo Solar Entertainment Corporation Iloilo
Solar Television Network Iloilo Notable Ilonggos
References
External links Iloilo Travel Website
Republic of the Philippines: Official website of the Provincial Government of Iloilo
Philippine Standard Geographic Code Philippine Census Information