Iloilo City
All you want to know about Iloilo City
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| City of Iloilo Lungsod ng Iloilo Ciudad sang Iloilo |
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| Nickname(s): Muy Leal y Noble Ciudad ("Most Loyal and Noble City")[citation needed] | |||
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| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Philippines | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Region | Western Visayas (Region VI) | ||
| Congressional Districts | Lone District of Iloilo City | ||
| Sub-Districts | Jaro, La Paz, Lapuz, Mandurriao, Villa de Arevalo, Molo, City Proper | ||
| Barangays | 180 | ||
| Incorporated (town) | 1700s | ||
| city foundation (Spanish Colonization) | 1890 | ||
| Incorporated (city) - American Occupation | July 16, 1937 | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Jerry P. Treñas (Lakas-CMD) | ||
| - Vice Mayor | Jed Patrick Mabilog (Lakas-CMD) | ||
| Area | |||
| - Total | 70.3 km2 (27.1 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 12.0 m (39.4 ft) | ||
| Population (2000) | |||
| - Total | 418,710 | ||
| - Density | 5,981/km2 (15,490.7/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | PST (UTC+8) | ||
| ZIP code | 5000 | ||
| Area code(s) | 55 | ||
| Website: www.iloilocity.gov.ph | |||
The City of Iloilo (Filipino: Lungsod ng Iloilo, Hiligaynon: Ciudad sang Iloilo) is the capital of, but independent from, the province of Iloilo. It is the economic hub of the Western Visayas region, as well as the center of the Iloilo-Guimaras Metropolitan Area.
Iloilo was historically one of the major agricultural centers of the Philippines, exporting sugar, copra, bananas, mangoes and other natural resources during the Spanish and American colonial periods.
In the 2007 census, Iloilo City had a population of 418,710 households with a 2.0% annual growth rate. It is the ninth most populous city in the Philippines. Average population density is 5981 people per square kilometer, one of the most dense in the country.[citation needed]
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History
Even before the Spanish colonizers came, Iloilo had a flourishing economy. Lore has it that in the 13th century, ten Bornean datus came to the island of Panay and gave a gold hat (salakot) and a long golden necklace as a peace offering to the gods and goddesses of the plains and valleys of the island. 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 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]
In 1900, at the coming of the Americans, the first Baptist church in the Philippines was established under the banner of the Northern Baptists, today known as the Jaro Evangelical Church. American Baptist mission activities gave birth to the Central Philippine University in 1905, among other schools to provide education to locals, particularly theological training for ministers to be deployed throughout the country. Iloilo thus became the center of Baptist missions in the islands, and the home of the Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches.
The Americans reverted the city's status into a township again, yet because of the continuous commercial activities and because it was an important port of call in the Visayas-Mindanao area, it gained cityhood status once more in July 16, 1937 incorporating the towns of Molo, Jaro, Mandurriao, La Paz and 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 continue 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 were 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 better developed 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 at 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.
Language
Hiligaynon is the language spoken in Iloilo City. English is used as the language of business and education but its use among the populance is fading that the average speaker needs remedial English courses to remain viable in the international job market. In addition, Tagalog and other local language such as Kinaray-a are also spoken.
Hiligaynon or Ilonggo 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 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.
Political Subdivisions
Iloilo City is politically subdivided into 180 barangays. The barangays are grouped into seven districts:[2]
- Arevalo (13 barangays)
- City Proper (45 barangays)
- Jaro (42 barangays)
- La Paz (25 barangays)
- Mandurriao (18 barangays)
- Molo (25 barangays)
- Lapuz(12 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.
Economy
The strategic location of Iloilo City at the heart of the Philippines makes it an ideal hub for trade, commerce and industry. Its universities and colleges provide the skilled and talented labor which together with its port facilities, telecommunications infrastructure and utilities have a major impact in attracting businesses and industries focused mainly in banking and finance, retail trading, and customer service - BPO. With regard to the latter, there are a number of BPO companies located in the city: Teletech, DTSI, PLDT Ventus, Callbox, Eversun Software Philippines Corporation, Echo, GMCI, Virtual Assistant Technologies and Everyone Technologies which comprise customer service relations, web staffing, legal and medical transcriptions outsourcing industries among others.
The city draws on the region's extensive range of raw materials and its 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.
Trade and industry
There are 8,407 business establishments as of December 2003 in Iloilo City,[3] 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).
Banking
Iloilo has a robust banking industry as it hosts several banks of all sizes, whether universal, commercial, thrift banks, savings, rural or cooperative. There are two foreign banks: Citibank Savings and Maybank, both of which are located in the city.
The city's biggest local banks are Queen City Development Bank and Valiant Bank.
Medical Facilities
There are several hospitals in the city, the most prominent and advanced of which is the St. Paul's Hospital. It is the cleanest hospital in the city and its staff are highly professional. It has advanced facilities and medical instruments. There is also the Iloilo Mission Hospital, which was founded by American Missionaries and remains one of the city's most preferred hospitals. Aside from these two, there are many others. Namely, the Iloilo Doctor's Hospital, West Visayas State University Medical Center (formerly the Don Benito Hospital), Amosup Seamen's Hospital, the Western Visayas Medical Center, ST. Therese Hospital and Saviour International Hospital which is primarily geared towards veterans of US Forces.Thus, the city has adequate medical facilities.
Infrastructure
The city is readily accessible by air via the Iloilo International Airport, the fourth busiest airport in the country located just 19 km north in the suburbs of Sta. Barbara. Regular direct transfer flights via the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila readily connects the city to other cities worldwide. Cebu Pacific, Philippine Airlines, and Air Philippines fly regular daily domestic flights from Manila and Cebu. Also Cebu Pacific serves Iloilo-Davao and vice-versa every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
The city mostly gets its power from Panay Power Corporation and through an interconnection to the local Visayan grid with the Negros and Leyte Geothermal Power Plants. Power is distributed by the Panay Electric Company, Inc.
The city is served by a domestic and international port, a river wharf for regional shipping and a much smaller inter-island wharf, all in or at the vicinity of the Iloilo River. These are all handled by the Philippine Ports Authority.
Telecommunication facilities, broadband and wireless internet connections are readily available and are provided by some of the country's largest telecommunication companies.
Mass transportation throughout the city is provided by the popular jeepneys.
The city has few major roads, none wider than four lanes and traffic congestion can be rather nasty during rush hour on classdays. A single vehicular fly-over has been constructed to alleviate traffic at the intersection of General Luna Street and Aquino Avenue, the main east-west and north-south thoroughfares. There are very few traffic lights directing traffic and none of them are in any way coordinated centrally.
[4] There are also several privately owned condo-clinics.
Education
The city is the regional center of education in Western Visayas on account of the presence of two government-subsidized institutions: The University of the Philippines in the Visayas (est. 1948) and West Visayas State University (est. 1902) while there are six private universities: The catholic, University of San Agustin (est. 1904) located in the city proper, the Protestant Central Philippine University (est. 1905) in Jaro district, the secular and Lopez-owned University of Iloilo (est. 1947) and the catholic, St. Paul University(1946) and another secular university, an extension campus of the Philippine Christian University and the John B Lacson Maritime Foundation University which is particularly strong in maritime courses. In all, there are 8 universities in the city.
Iloilo is also home to numerous colleges such as the Iloilo Doctor's College which provides Medicine and Nursing Degrees, Western Visayas College of Science and Technology which specializes in Science and Technology related courses, the Western Institute of Technology (WIT) specializing in Engineering courses, DePaul College, Colegio de San Jose, AMA college, STI, Informatics, ABBA Institute of Technology, Cabalum Western Colleges.
There are several English language academies in and around the city that cater almost exclusively to Korean students. For expats and their families, there is one international school: the Santa Clarita International School located in Puerto Real Subdivision, with the presence of several Chinese schools around the city.
The city is home to six educational institutions that are affiliates of prominent universities: UPV - Iloilo, St. Paul's University, University of San Agustin, Ateneo de Iloilo, Assumption High School, Philippine Science High School and one PAREF affiliated high school: Westbridge.
The city is filled with a number of Catholic schools. On the list are Colegio del Sagrado Corazon de Jesus (1917) and Colegio de San Jose (1872) which are both D.C. and Vincentian schools, San Jose Parochial School, St. Joseph School, Colegio de Las Hijas de Jesus and the like. On the whole, Iloilo has one of the highest literacy rates in the country with 98.4% and is an educational nexus in the western visayas region.
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 celebrated every 2 February.
- Jaro Belfry
- Ruined in 1948 earthquake, but now restored. One of the few belfries in country that stands apart from the church.
- Jaro Evangelical Church,
- The first Baptist church in the Philippine Islands established by the Northern Baptists (now American Baptist Churches.
- Doane Baptist Church,
- Founded by Northern Baptists that took a more fundamentalist turn during the modernist-fundamentalist controversy in the Northern Baptist Convention. It is one of the largest Baptist congregations in Iloilo, and home to Doane Baptist Seminary. It recently dedicated its new sanctuary built on the same location where the old structure stood right across the Provincial Capitol.
- 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 cultural 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.
- Arroyo Fountain
- The regional kilometer zero point.
Malls and Shopping Centers
Being the regional capital and the regional transportation hub, Iloilo City has a number of malls serving it, among them: SM City Iloilo, SM Delgado, SM Jaro (which houses Iloilo City's first Hypermart), Robinson's Place Iloilo, Gaisano City Iloilo, Marymart Mall, The Atrium, Amigo Mall(newly renovated and opened last November 15,2008), Times Square (houses Iloilo City's 4th SM Supermarket and a Mandaue Foam). Also the city is boost with numerous supermarkets, among of them is The Iloilo Supermarket with branches at The Atrium, MaryMart Center, Tabuc Suba in Jaro, Molo plaza, and Mandurriao.
Sister cities
Iloilo has five sister cities worldwide:
- Stockton, United States- - Dededo, United States
- Quezon City, Philippines- - Makati City, Philippines
- Qingdao, China
Notable Schools
References
- ^ Funtecha, Henry. "Iloilo Through Time". Iloilo Yearbook 2005. Iloilo City. 2005,
- ^ http://www.thenewstoday.info/2008/12/22/city.to.recognize.lapuz.as.separate.district.from.la.paz.html
- ^ http://www.iloilocity.gov.ph/iloiloct2007/economy/economy.php Official website City Government of Iloilo
- ^ Stockton Sister Cities Association - Iloilo City, Philippines
External links
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