Western Visayas

Encyclopedia : W : WE : WES : Western Visayas

Region VI
WESTERN VISAYAS

Regional center	Iloilo City
Population	5,193,889
– Density	146.9 per km²
Area	35,351.3 km²
Divisions
Provinces	7
Cities	17
Municipalities	140
– Barangays	4,482
– Cong. districts	18
Languages	Hiligaynon, Aklanon, Kinaray-a, Caluyanon, Filipino, English, others

Western Visayas, one of the regions of the Philippines, is designated as Region VI. It consists of seven provinces, namely, Aklan, Antique, Negros Occidental, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo and Palawan and 17 cities making it the region with the most number of cities. Hiligaynon, the main language, is spoken in Negros Occidental, Guimaras, Capiz and some parts of Iloilo. Kinaray-a is spoken in Antique and in other parts of Iloilo. Aklanon is spoken in Aklan. Iloilo City is the regional center of the region.

Provinces

Western Visayas is composed of 7 provinces and the cities of Bacolod and Iloilo.

Province/City		Capital	Population (2000)	Area (km²)	Pop. density (per km²)
	Aklan	Kalibo	451,314	1,817.9	248.3
	Antique	San Jose	471,088	2,522.0	186.8
	Capiz	Roxas City	654,156	2,633.2	248.4
	Guimaras	Jordan	141,450	604.7	233.9
	Iloilo	Iloilo City	1,925,002	4,719.4	407.9
	Negros Occidental	Bacolod City	2,565,723	7,926.1	323.7
	Palawan	Puerto Princesa City	755,412	14,896.3	50.7
	Bacolod City¹	—	429,076	161.5	2,657.6
	Iloilo City¹	—	365,820	56.0	6,533.0

¹ Bacolod City and Iloilo City are highly urbanized cities; figures are excluded from Negros Occidental and Iloilo respectively.

History

The Western Visayas region was created from Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo and Negros Occidental by Presidential Decree No. 1 as part of the Integrated Reorganisation Plan of President Ferdinand Marcos.

Palawan, formerly part of MIMAROPA (now MIMARO), was moved to this region on May 23 2005 by virtue of Executive Order No. 429. Administrative Order No. 129 was issued on August 19, 2005, to resolve the negative backlash and as part of the supervison of the transfer process of Palawan from MIMAROPA to Western Visayas.

External links