Iloilo City
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| City of Iloilo Cuidad sang Iloilo Lungsod ng Iloilo |
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| Map of Iloilo showing the location of Iloilo City Coordinates: 10.69°N 122.55°E | |||
| Country | Philippines | ||
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| Region | Western Visayas (Region VI) | ||
| Province | Iloilo (capital) | ||
| Districts | Lone District of Iloilo City | ||
| Barangays | 180 | ||
| Incorporated (town) | 1700s | ||
| Incorporated (city) | July 16, 1937 | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Jerry P. Treñas (Lakas-CMD) | ||
| - Vice Mayor | Jed Patrick Mabilog (Lakas-CMD) | ||
| Area | |||
| - Total | 56.05 km² (21.6 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 12.0 m (39 ft) | ||
| Population (2000) | |||
| - Total | 365,820 | ||
| - Density | 6,533/km² (16,920.4/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | PST (UTC+8) | ||
| Area code(s) | 55 | ||
| Website: www.iloilocity.gov.ph | |||
The City of Iloilo (Hiligaynon: Ciudad sang Iloilo; Filipino: Lungsod ng Iloilo) is the capital city of the province of Iloilo in the Philippines. It is the regional center and the main economic hub of the Western Visayas region.
Iloilo is historically one of the major agricultural centers of the country, and began exporting sugar, copra, bananas, mangoes, and other natural resources during the Spanish and American colonial periods.
In the 2000 census, Iloilo City had a population of 365,820 people in 72,218 households with a 1.93% annual growth rate. It is the ninth most populous city in the Philippines. Average population density is 6,533 people per square kilometer which is half that of Tokyo.
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[edit] History
Even before the Spanish colonizers came, Iloilo had a flourishing economy. In the 13th century, ten Bornean datus came to the island of Panay and bartered a gold hat (salakot) for the plains and valleys of the island from a local Ati chieftain. One datu, named Paiburong, was given the territory of Irong-Irong.
In 1566, as the Spanish conquest of the Philippines was underway and moving north toward Manila, the Spaniards under Miguel López de Legazpi came to Panay and established a settlement in Ogtong (now Oton). He appointed Gonzalo Ronquillo as deputy encomiendero, a position which would later become governor in later years.
In 1581 Ronquillo moved the town center approximately 12 km east due to recurrent raids by Moro pirates and Dutch and English privateers, and renamed the area La Villa de Arevalo in honor of his hometown in Ávila, Spain.
In 1700, due to ever-increasing raids especially from the Dutch and the Moros, the Spaniards again moved their seat of power some 25 km eastward to the village of Irong-Irong, which had a natural and strategic defense against raids and where, at the mouth of the river that snakes through Panay, they built Fort San Pedro to better guard against the raids which were now the only threat to the Spaniards' hold on the islands. Irong-Irong or Ilong-Ilong was shortened to Iloilo and with its natural port quickly became the capital of the province.
In the late 18th century, the development of large-scale weaving industry started the movement of Iloilo's surge in trade and economy in the Visayas. Sometimes referred to as the "Textile Capital of the Philippines", the products were exported to Manila and other foreign places. Sinamay, piña and jusi are examples of the products produced by the looms of Iloilo. Because of the rise of textile industry, there was also a rise of the upper middle class. However, the introduction of cheap textile from UK and the emergence of the sugar economy, the industry waned in the mid-19th century.
The waning textile industry was replaced however by the opening of Iloilo's port to world market in 1855. Because of this, Iloilo's industry and agriculture was put on direct access to foreign markets. But what triggered the economic boom of Iloilo in the 19th century was the development of sugar industry in Iloilo and its neighboring island of Negros. Sugar during the 19th century was of high demand. Nicholas Loney, the British vice-consul in Iloilo developed the industry by giving loans, constructing warehouses in the port and introduced new technologies in sugar farming. The rich families of Iloilo developed large areas of Negros, which later called haciendas because of the sugar's high demand in the world market. Because of the increase in commercial activity, infrastructures, recreational facilities, educational institutions, banks, foreign consulates, commercial firms and much more sprouted in Iloilo. Due to the economic development that was happening in Iloilo, the Queen Regent of Spain raised the status of the town into a city, honored it with the title La muy leal y noble ciudad de Iloilo, and in 1890, the city government was established.
In 1896, the initial reaction of Ilonggos in the outbreak of the Revolution in Manila was hesitant. Yet because of the Spanish colonizers blow by blow defeat by at first with the Katipunan and later by the Americans, Ilonggos later on got involved with the fight for independence. On the other hand, after surrendering Manila to the Americans, the Spanish colonial government moved their seat of power to Iloilo.
In October of 1898, the Ilonggo leaders agreed to revolt against the Spaniards. By December 25, 1898, the Spanish government surrendered to the Ilonggo revoltionaries in Plaza Alfonso XVII (Plaza Libertad today). Although the Ilonggos were victorious, the American forces arrived in Iloilo in late December 1898 and started to mobilize for colonization by February 1899. Resistance was the reaction of Ilonggos upon the invasion which went up until 1901.[1]
The American colonizers came to Iloilo reverted the city's status into a township again, yet because of the continuous commercial activities and still retained as an important port of call in the Visayas-Mindanao area, it gained cityhood status again in July 16, 1937 incorporating the towns of Molo, Jaro, Mandurriao, La Paz and La Villa de Arevalo. During the Commonwealth era, Iloilo was prosperous and was popularly known as The Queen City of the South.
However, prosperity did not continued as the sugar's demand was declining, labor unrests were happening in the port area that scared the investors away and the opening of the sub-port of Pulupandan in Negros Occidental, has moved the sugar importation closer to the sugar farms. By 1942, the Japanese invaded Panay and the economy moved into a standstill.
During World War II, Iloilo was controlled by several Japanese Battalions, Japan's ultimate goal was to entrench itself deeply into the Philippines so that at the close of the war they could occupy it just as the Spanish and the Americans had years before. However, when Filipino & American forces liberated Iloilo from Japanese military occupation on March 25, 1945 the remnants of these battalions were held in Jaro Plaza as a make-shift detention facility.
By the end of the war, Iloilo's economy, life and infrastructure was damaged. However, the continuing conflict between the labor unions in the port area, declining sugar economy and the deteriorating peace and order situation in the countryside and the exodus of Ilonggos to other cities and islands that offered better opportunities and businessmen moved to other cities such as Bacolod and Cebu led to Iloilo's demise in economic importance in southern Philippines.
By the 1960s towards 1990s, Iloilo's economy progressed in a moderate pace. The construction of the fish port, international seaport and other commercial firms that invested in Iloilo marked the movement of the city making it as the regional center of Western Visayas.
[edit] Language
Hiligaynon, also known as Ilonggo, is the language spoken in Iloilo City. English is used as the language of business and education. In addition, English, Tagalog and other local languages such as Kinaray-a are spoken. Hiligaynon is part of the Austronesian language branch spoken in Western Visayas. The Austronesian languages are a family of languages widely dispersed throughout the islands of Southeast Asia and the Pacific, with a few members on continental Asia. Hiligaynon is concentrated in the provinces of Iloilo and Negros Occidental. There are approximately 7,000,000 people in and outside of 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. Ilonggo is also the name of the culture associated with the people speaking Hiligaynon.
[edit] Government
Mayor: Jerry P. Treñas
Vice Mayor: Jed Patrick Mabilog
City Councilors:
- Jose Espinosa III
- Lyndon Acap
- Eldrid Antiquiera
- Arman Parcon
- Jeffrey P. Ganzon
- Neil Lex Tupas
- Ely Estante
- Erwin Plagata
- Antonio Pesina
- Perla Zulueta
- Juliene Baronda
- Eduardo L. Peñaredondo
Ex-officio Councilors:
- John Melchor Mabilog (SK President)
- Irene Ong (ABC President)
District Representative: Raul Gonzalez, Jr.
[edit] Subdivisions
Iloilo City is politically subdivided into 180 barangays. The barangays are grouped into six districts [1]:
- Arevalo (13 barangays)
- City Proper (45 barangays)
- Jaro (42 barangays)
- La Paz (37 barangays)
- Mandurriao (18 barangays)
- Molo (25 barangays)
All of the districts of Iloilo City were once individual towns. They were incorporated into Iloilo when it became a city in 1937. All districts have their own churches, which are part of the Archdiocese of Jaro. Jaro, Mandurriao and Molo are considered commercial areas, while Arevalo and La Paz are residential areas. Molo was once a residential district, while Mandurriao is the home of the city's largest shopping mall, SM City Iloilo. City Proper is also a commercial area and the political center of the city and of Iloilo province. It is also home to the Iloilo seaport.
[edit] Economy
The strategic location of Iloilo, at the center of the Philippines, makes it a hub of trade, commerce and industry. Iloilo's port facilities, infrastructure, telecommunications system and utilities make it an ideal focal point for the exchange of goods, information and services. The province of Iloilo has a land area of 4,731 square kilometers. square kilometers. It is 55 minutes by plane from Manila, 30 minutes from Cebu and 2 hours from Davao. By boat, it is 18 hrs from Manila and 12 hours from Cebu.
The province has an extensive range of raw materials and a large consumer market. The local government has provided incentives to business in preferred investment areas, such as income tax holidays and free issuance of permits and licenses. Congestion in industrialized centers such as Manila and Cebu has led companies to seek alternative locations, an undertaking that is consistent with the national government's effort to spread economic growth evenly across in the country.
[edit] Trade and industry
There are 8,407 business establishments as of December 2003 in Iloilo City, of which 1,182 are new. Total capital investments for new business establishments is P365,506,020.92. However, both new and renewed capital investments for the year 2003 amounted to Php 13.02 billion.
Private building constructions totaled 822 in 2003 with a total construction cost of P 1,005,443,542.74 Business names registered at Dept. of Trade & Industry (DTI) totaled 1,911 with the total investment of P 4,116,492,305.95.
Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) is 66.0 % (April, 2003). 79.5 % of the Labor Force are employed where 20.5 % constitute unemployment rate; while visible underemployed rate is 11.9 %. Of the employed person by type of industry from primary occupation 82 % belongs to service sector, 14 % belongs industry sector and only 4 % are in agriculture (as of April 2003 FIES, NSO).
Average Annual Family Income (at current prices) is P 283,604 or a percentage increase of 32.3 between 1994 to 1997 while Average Annual Family Expenditures is P 226,887 or a 25.6% increase (2000 FIES). Average per Capita Income is P 65,036 and Average Per Capita Expenditures is P 51,557 (FIES 2000). Average Inflation Rate is 3.2, the Average Purchasing Power of the Peso is 0.62 and the Average Consumer Price Index (CPI) is 162.6 in 2003. (Source: NSO, Prices Section).
Volume of Fish Unloaded and Auctioned at Iloilo Fishing Port Complex is 28,037,695 kg While Volume of Finished Fish Products shipped out is 241,863 kg in 2003. Also a total of 345,335 kg of materials was also processed at Iloilo Fishing Port Complex (IFPC).
[edit] Finance
Iloilo City is the center of finance in the Western Visayas Region.[citation needed] It has 40 universal, 24 commercial, 11 governments, 9 thrift, 1 development, 9 savings, and 1 Thrift/Government and 2 rural banks. Among them are Banco De Oro, Philippine National Bank, Equitable PCI, Security Bank, Bank of the Philippine Islands, Metrobank, China Bank, GE Money Bank, and Union Bank. The city also has two foreign-controlled banks, Maybank and Citibank Savings. On the other hand, Queenbank is the city's largest and best-known local bank.
There are also a handful of investment houses in the city as well that engage in stock trading.
[edit] Transportation
Air Iloilo has a new airport of "international standards" about 20 kilometers outside the city. The flight from Manila to Iloilo takes one hour. Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines currently fly 4 times daily, while Air Philippines flies 3 times daily. There are also flights to Cebu by Air Philippines and Cebu Pacific, each with 1 flight daily, and via Cebu to Davao.
Land The city is a transportation hub of Panay and nearby islands including Boracay and Guimarras. There are several bus companies that provide transportation to the other major urban areas of Panay - Kalibo in Aklan, San Jose in Antique, Roxas city in Capiz, and Passi City in Iloilo. Additionally there are jeepneys and taxis plowing through the streets. There are also PhilTranco buses from Cubao, Quezon City to Iloilo City that use the ro-ro ferries.
Sea Fast ferries serve Iloilo-Bacolod routes eight times daily. Negros Navigation and Superferry dock to the city where it serves routes going to Manila, Bacolod, Cebu, Zamboanga and Cagayan de Oro City.
Roll-on/roll-off ferry service, known in as ro-ro, is available from to Iloilo City. There is also a ro-ro service to Cebu via Negros.
[edit] Infrastructure
Iloilo City has several infrastructures. The city has a lone airport. Roads are rather small because Iloilo is an old city (established in 1890) but nevertheless it's extensive. There are four sea ports in the city. One international seaport, one domestic port located near Fort San Pedro, one River wharf serving Iloilo-Bacolod routes and one small dock for small ferries going to the island of Guimaras. Cell sites are all over the metro area. There are also bridges that connect the Iloilo River. Recently, a flyover has been built along Gen. Luna St. to help decongest the traffic in the area.
[edit] Medical facilities
There are 8 hospitals and 338 health units in the city.[2] Iloilo is served by 2 government hospitals, Western Visayas Medical Center and West Visayas State University Medical Center (formerly Don Benito Lopez Memorial Hospital). There are also six private hospitals in the city: St. Paul's Hospital, Iloilo Doctors' Hospital, Amosup Seamen's Hospital, Iloilo Mission Hospital, Saviour International Hospital, and St. Therese-MTCC Hospital. There is also one condo-clinic named Medicus Condo-Clinics. It is also the second tallest building in the city at 8 stories high. The city is the only place in Western Visayas with MRI or Magnetic Resonance Imaging. The city is a hub for medical treatment, and patients from the province of Iloilo as well as the region seek treatment in the hospitals and clinics.
[edit] Education
Iloilo City has 30 public and private high schools and 7 universities.
Iloilo city universities: Aside from the government-subsidized University of the Philippines, Visayas (UPV - Iloilo) and West Visayas State University (WVSU - est. 1906), Iloilo City also has five private universities: the Catholic University of San Agustin (USA - est. 1904) located in the city proper, the Protestant Central Philippine University (CPU - est. 1905) in Jaro district, the secular and Lopez-owned University of Iloilo (UI), the Catholic, St. Paul University Iloilo and the John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University which specializes in Maritime courses. The latter is the first maritime university not only in the Philippines but in Southeast Asia as well. It is located in the districts of Molo and Arevalo.
Colleges: There are also a number of colleges, such as Iloilo Doctor's College which provides Medicine and Nursing Degrees, De Paul College which provides courses in business and liberal arts, the Western Visayas College of Science and Technology formerly Iloilo School Of Arts and Trade (ISAT) which specializes in Science and Technology related courses and Western Institute of Technology (WIT) specializing in Engineering courses. Additionally there are several Computer colleges in the city such as AMA, STI and Informatics.
Specialized institutions: There are several English language "schools" that cater almost exclusively to Korean students. The city is a home of oldest catholic schools administered by the Daughters of Charity, namely, Colegio del Sagrado Corazon de Jesus (CSCJ) and Colegio de San Jose (CSJ). Computer schools such as AMA, STI, Interface and CAL are also found in this city. For expats and their families, there is one international school, the Santa Clarita International School located in Puerto Real subdivision, La Paz district that caters to foreigners.
The city is also home to five educational institutions that are affiliates of prominent universities: UPV - Iloilo, St. Paul University Iloilo, University of San Agustin, Philippine Science High School and Santa Maria-Ateneo de Iloilo.
The state of education in Iloilo City is considered to be on par with national standards with graduates ranking high on the licensure examinations of nursing, accountancy, medicine and in the bar exams when it comes to law. In accountancy courses, UPV and CPU belongs to the top three schools in the country, it maintains a passing rate of 85% and above in the accountancy board exams. In law, USA belongs to one of the few schools in the country that rates 50% or more in the bar exams. On the other hand, most of the Western Visayas' top politicians come from the University of Iloilo College of Law. Meanwhile, the CPU college of law is best for law students with a low budget. In engineering, the Western Institute of Technology and CPU is known for its good passing percentage in the engineering board exams. In nursing education, West Visayas State University College of Nursing and St. Paul University Iloilo are consistently named as two of the top performing schools in the Nursing Licensure Examination with at least 98% passing rate.
Iloilo is also known for its high school institutions with high standards of teaching. These include science schools like Philippine Sience High School Western Visayas Campus and Iloilo Provincial High School Special Science Class, as well as Chinese and exclusive schools such as Iloilo Central Commercial High School, Ateneo de Iloilo-Santa Maria Catholic School, Assumption (for girls), and PAREF-Westbridge School (for boys), which provides the necessary learnings and skills for their students in preparation for college education.
On the whole, Iloilo has one of the highest literacy rates in the country and is an educational center in the Western Visayas region.[citation needed]
[edit] Landmarks
- Molo Church
- 3 kilometers from the city proper; Gothic renaissance church of coral rock; completed in 1800s. The church was visited by Jose Rizal along the way to his exile in Dapitan, Mindanao.
- Jaro Metropolitan Cathedral
- 3 kilometers from the city proper; seat of Jaro Archbishopric embracing Western Visayas. The church contains the "miraculous" Our Lady of Candles, which the feast day is celebreated every 2nd of February.
- Jaro Belfry
- Ruined in 1948 earthquake, but now restored. One of the few belfries in country that stands apart from the church.
- Calle Real (Downtown Iloilo City Heritage District)
- Old buildings that were constructed in the Commonwealth era in J.M Basa (Calle Real), Iznart, Aldeguer and Guanco were declared as a heritage site of Iloilo. It showcases the unique architecture of the downtown area.
- Museo Iloilo
- Repository of Iloilo's culrtural heritage.
- Distrito Jaro
- 3 kilometers from the city proper; old colonial houses of sugar barons and Hispano-Filipino houses of the elite still stand, seat of Catholicism in Western Visayas.
- La Villa de Arevalo
- 6 kilometers southwest of city proper; 2nd capital of the Alcaldia of Panay; flower and firecracker district of Iloilo City.
- Muelle Loney
- The River Port of Iloilo named after British Consul Nicholas Loney, who is considered the father of sugar industry in Panay and Negros. Considered one of the safest harbours because Guimaras protects it from winds. It was opened to international market in 1855.
[edit] References
- ^ Funtecha, Henry. "Iloilo Through Time". Iloilo Yearbook 2005. Iloilo City. 2005,
- ^ http://www.stocktonsistercities.org/iloilo.html
[edit] External links
de:Iloilo City es:Iloilo ilo:Ciudad ti Iloilo id:Iloilo City it:Iloilo nl:Iloilo City ja:イロイロ pl:Iloilo fi:Iloilo City sv:Iloilo City tl:Lungsod ng Iloilo vi:Thành phố Iloilo war:Syudad han Iloilo
