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 Antique
to the west
and Capiz and the Jintotolo Channel
to the north. Just off Iloilo's southeast
coast is the island of
Guimaras, once part
of Iloilo but now a province in its own right.
Across the Panay Gulf
and Guimaras Strait
is Negros
Occidental
.
Iloilo's
capital is Iloilo
City
. Iloilo is the capital province in Region
VI.
People and culture
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 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. The Mestizo a class eventually
was born from the intermarriages of the locals and Chinese
merchants, Spanish with the local Melayu people. They later emerged
as the ruling class of the Ilonggos (see
Principalía).
The town fiesta is one of the most important events for Ilonggos.
Almost every town (municipality) in Iloilo has a fiesta and
festival celebrated annually.
Language
Hiligaynon (or "Ilonggo") is an
Austronesian language spoken in Western
Visayas in the Philippines. Hiligaynon
is concentrated in the provinces of Iloilo
and Negros
Occidental.
It is also
spoken in the other provinces of the Panay Island group, 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
. (It is spoken as a second language by
Karay-a in Antique, Aklanon and
Malaynon in Aklan
, Cebuano in Siquijor
, and Capiznon in
Capiz.). 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.
Geography
The Province of Iloilo is the largest marshland in
Western Visayas after
the Sanderbans. 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.
Political
Iloilo is subdivided into 42
municipalities, 1
component city, and 1
highly urbanized city
Cities
Iloilo City is independent from the Province of Iloilo, but remains
the Provincial Capital of the Province.
Municipalities
Government
The Old Capitol Building of the Province of Iloilo.
GOVERNOR: Niel C. Tupas
Vice Governor:
Rolex Tupas
Suplico
Provincial Board Members:1st District
- Oscar Richard S.
Garin Jr.
- Macario N. Napulan
2nd District
- June S. Mondejar
- Rodolfo V. Cabado
3rd District
- Mariano M. Malones
- Arthur R. Defensor Jr.
4th District
- George P. Demaisip
- Maria Shalene P.
Hidalgo
5th District
- Jett C. Rojas
- Jesus C. Salcedo
Ex-officio Board Members:
- PCL President: Cecilia A.
Colada
- ABC President: Jeneda C.
Salcedo
- SK President: Jo Jan Paul
Peñol
District Representatives:1st District:
Janette Loreto-Garin2nd District:
Judy Jalbuena-Syjuco3rd
District:
Arthur D. Defensor, Sr.4th District:
Ferjenel G. Biron5th District:
Niel C. Tupas, Jr.
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.
The
earliest written historical accounts concerning the province
relates to Spain's conquest of the island of Panay by Spanish
conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi moving
his headquarters from the island of Cebu
and
creating the first Spanish settlement in the island in Ogtong
in
1566. 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.
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.”
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 knowned tourist sites in the
province.
Miagao 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.
The Historic province of Iloilo is also known for 'Calle Real'; a
street of old buildings with their classical designs. During
January, the city heats up for Dinagyang, the festival dubbed as
"The best tourism event in the Philippines" It is a collection of
tribe warriors dancing in honor of the Child Jesus.
Notable Ilonggos
Media
The province of iloilo has extensive media organizations as it is
the center of politics, education, culture and communications of
region VI.
Software and WebHosting Company
Print media
Broadcast Media
- Aksyon Radyo DYOK 720 [http://www.aksyonradyoiloilo.net
AksyonRadyoIloilo.Net
- BOMBO Radyo-Iloilo, the Flagship station of Bombo Radio
Phippines,(The National Radio of the Philippines) please log on
www.bomboradyo.com
- Radio Mindanao Network News 774 Iloilo -
RMN Iloilo
News Website
- BOMBO Radyo-Bacolod
- BOMBO Radyo-Roxas
- RGMA Iloilo Super Radyo 1323 Iloilo (GMA Regional Network)
- RGMA Bacolod (Super Radyo DZBB Relay) 1179 Bacolod (GMA
Regional Network)
- GMA TV-6 (Region-6) (Channel 6)
- GMA TV-10 Bacolod (Channel 10)
- ABS-CBN Iloilo (Channel 10)
- ABS-CBN Bacolod (Channel 4)
- TV32 Bacolod (UHF 32)
- TV46 Iloilo (UHF 46)
- Studio 23 Iloilo (UHF 38) & Bacolod (UHF 22)
- NBN TV 2 Iloilo
- IBC TV 12 Iloilo
- RMN TV 26 Iloilo
- Q TV 28 Iloilo
- UNTV 42 Iloilo
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