QUEEN CITY OF THE SOUTH: The Real Story Behind the Title

The title of Iloilo as Queen City of the South before Cebu grabbed it is a misnomer. It was not intended to mean the premiere or leading city outside Metro Manila. This was how it all began.

At the outbreak of the Philippine revolution, the Ayuntamiento (municipal council) of Jaro was the first to condemn, by way of a resolution, the revolution as "an unpatriotic act." The Ilonggo alta sociedad also responded to the news of revolution with protestation and outrage and evoked pro-Spanish loyalty. The Ayuntamiento of Iloilo followed suit and organized the Iloilo Volunteer Battalion.

The voluntarios, as members were called, were recruited from among the private population of Jaro and Iloilo and the adjoining prosperous towns of Molo, Arevalo, Oton and Sta. Barbara, and the more distant northern and eastern pueblos. They fought against the army of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo in Cavite and Pampanga. Illustrious personalities like Martin Delgado, Quintin Salas, Pedro Monteclaro and Adriano Hernandez were among the officers of the battalion. The biggest financial contributors to the Ilongo contingent were industrialist Don Eugenio Lopez and shipping magnate Don Felix dela Rama.

In the battlefield of Cavite, the voluntarios helped the Spanish forces in the initial defeat of Aguinaldo's forces in 1897. It was the most well-equipped and well-trained contingent on the side of Spain. They helped in the fall of Silang and Imus which led to the collapse of the revolutionarie s' defenses in Cavite after a fierce battle for Zapote bridge. The Spanish Crown was elated with that Spanish and the voluntarios' victory. Queen Regent Maria Cristina issued a royal decree awarding the city of Iloilo the perpetual title LA MUY LEAL Y NOBLE CIUDAD DE ILOILO or the Most Loyal and Noble City of Iloilo "for its exemplary conduct and all its laudable action during the present insurrection, in organizing and equipping an Ilongo Volunteer Battalion..."

Since then, Iloilo was known as "THE QUEEN'S CITY," a moniker for the longer title, which, to our present-day term, is the Queen's pet city. This is because Manila was first granted an almost similar title by the Queen. The title was decreed to be incorporated in the official seal of the city.

Legally speaking, Iloilo has the perpetual right to the title Queen City by virtue of the said decree. But no Ilongo now is bothered if Cebu snatched that title away. It is a title that would perpetually shame us.

In the 1990's the City Government of Iloilo unofficially removed the title from the city seal as can be shown in its printed letterheads. To make the removal official, the city council of Iloilo should pass a resolution removing the title from the city's seal.

***The Article was written by Mr. Cornelio P. Panes

MY COMPLAINT AGAINST CHERRY MOBILE LANDED ON MAINSTREAM NEWS VIA TV PATROL

THE ARTICLE BELOW WAS LIFTED FROM WWW.ABS-CBNNEWS.COM

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/video/business/01/11/11/patrollers-report-defective-cherry-mobile-phones

Ilang reklamo tungkol sa umano’y mababang kalidad at hindi maayos na customer service ng sikat na cell phone maker na Cherry Mobile ang natanggap ng Bayan Mo, iPatrol Mo. Isa sa mga nagrereklamo ang Bayan Patroller na si Tim Libunao. Depektibo raw ang nabili niyang cell phone lalo’t nade-delay an kanyang mga text message, hindi makakonek sa wi-fi at kulang-kulang na phonebook entries. Ang masaklap pa, ayon sa kanya, pahirapang dumulog sa kanilang customer service. Sa pagkadismaya, ginawan niya ng Facebook page ang reklamo. Doon na umano dumami ang iba pang may hinaing sa cell phone manufacturer.

"'Pag meron nang mga complaints na mga dumadating about the phone, huwag na nilang hintayin na bilhin pa ng customer 'tsaka magrereklamo. Pull-out na sana nila," ani Libunao.

Inirereklamo naman ni Charles Velasquez ng Rizal ang mahinang volume ng headset ng binili niyang dalawang cell phone units. Nang ipa-rate ang customer service ng kumpanya, sagot ni Velasquez: "From 1 to 10, 2 lang siguro... kasi brand new iyong binili mo, dapat walang defect iyon eh."

Humihingi naman ng paumanhin ang Cherry Mobile pero nilinaw nilang normal lang ang mga natatanggap nilang bilang ng mga reklamo.

"Well, we really grew up so rapidly, but in terms of iyong percentage noon returns, it's still not that significant. Technically speaking, it's still less than 2-percent but it doesn't mean na we're ignoring the complaints," ani Agnes Conopio, marketing head ng kumpanya. Inaksyunan na rin daw nila ang reklamo tungkol sa kakulangan sa hotline numbers at service centers. "We have already added 5 new hotlines and then we're gonna expand our service centers," ani Canopio.

Ayon naman sa National Telecommunications Commission, mas mainam na may sapat na service centers ang anumang phone manufacturer bagama’t hindi ito requirement.

Anumang paglabag naman sa warranty o return policies ng mamimili ay maaaring ilapit sa Department of Trade and Industry. TJ Manotoc, Patrol ng Pilipino

ILOILO IS STILL AND WILL ALWAYS BE THE QUEEN CITY OF THE SOUTH

ILOILO CITY IS THE OLDEST CITY IN THE PHILIPPINES.

Queen Regent Maria Cristina of Spain declared Iloilo a city in 1890.

The Bacura Law ratified the royal decree in 1893.

The Americans reverted back the city into a township in 1901.

The Commonwealth Act No. 158 declared Iloilo as a city for the second time in 1937.

ILOILO was given the "LA MUY LEAL Y NOBLE CIUDAD DE ILOILO" title after the Queen Regent of Spain, her Royal Highness Maria Cristina ordered it through a Royal Decree in 1896. Since then, Iloilo was fondly called as the Queen Regent's City in the South that eventualy led the Americans to call Iloilo "THE QUEEN CITY OF THE SOUTH" because of the city's placement as the second major historical and political hub of the Philippines.

Iloilo was officially known as the QUEEN CITY OF THE SOUTH during the reign of Gen. Martin Delgado as the Provincial Governor from 1901-1904. During the Commonwealth era (1935-1945), the Commonwealth Act No. 158 declared and bestowed Iloilo with a cityhood status and incorporated the title in the city's charter. The QUEEN CITY OF THE SOUTH title became Iloilo's official title from an offshoot nickname Queen Regent's City in The South / Queen's City in the South that originated from its royal title LA MUY LEAL Y NOBLE CIUDAD DE ILOILO that was given by Maria Cristina, Queen Regent of Spain in 1896.

Iloilo's title therefore is not a mere invention nor a self-proclamation but a title vested through a royal decree and a Commonwealth Act. No one except the Queen Regent and the Commonwealth Act can take away whatever they have vested upon Iloilo.

The royal decree was not given to recognize Iloilo's massive progress and economic development that time. It was vested upon Iloilo to honor the city of its loyalty and nobility to Spain. The Queen City of the South title on the other hand was tagged to Iloilo by the Americans because of the city's undeniable political and historical importance that led to an even better economic status. Therefore, no other place in the South can claim the title just because they have overtaken Iloilo in terms of progress and development because, to start with, the titles were given because of Iloilo's nobility and not because of progress and development.

Cebu may have overtaken Iloilo in terms of economic growth and progress but that fact should not be the reason why Cebu can call itself as the Queen City of the South. Iloilo has all the historical basis for having that title while Cebu has none. If you might wonder and ask what could have gone wrong why Iloilo lost its glory before, the following are the reasons:

The Ilonggos opposed the putting up of the beer company in Muelle Loney because the Queen Regent who is a devout Catholic does not favor such.

The area where the city proper of Iloilo stands is not suitable for heavy industries because the island stands on a steep ocean shelf without a wide coastline (remember that Iloilo Strait is one of the world's deepest). Shipping in Iloilo therefore did not fluorish and many of the original Ilonggo shipping families (Rama and Dela Rama) moved to Cebu.

The surrounding areas of Iloilo City (Oton, Leganes, Pavia etc) cannot provide additional land to be used as a sugar plantation therefore the original Ilonggo hacienderos (Arroyo, Ledesma, Magalona) moved to Bacolod to acquire more lands.

World War II has damaged Iloilo badly. The attacks were concentrated in Iloilo because Iloilo was a large camp of the Japanese army who took over many of the Ilonggo revolutionists' camps in Sta. Barbara and Lucena. (Remember that outside Luzon, Iloilo is the only province that fought against the Spaniards). Rehabilitation of Iloilo then came slow because of the city's poor economic status and the halt in the Spanish support.

Iloilo's economy became slow but has remained valiant. The greatest disaster that happened that "stripped" Iloilo of its title was the Great Iloilo Fire in the 1960 who almost wiped out all of Iloilo City proper. It was also that time when the Osmena's took over Cebu and gave it a huge economic boom.

In short, Cebu thought that all the while that Iloilo got its Queen City of the South title because of its progressive economy. Little did they know that it was Iloilo's loyalty to Spain that paved the way for the city to acquire its title. (Iloilo sided with Spain in the first ever Philippine Revolution that caused Bonifacio his first defeat, many Ilonggos fought for Spain then). Kaya nung nawala ang yaman ng Iloilo at naging progresibo ang Cebu, they proclaimed their city as the Queen City of the South but none of the Cebuanos can really explain how they got the title, all they can say is: because their city is progressive.

PROGRESS IS LIKE A BIRTHSTONE, YOU MAY LOSE IT BUT IDENTITY AND HERITAGE IS LIKE A BIRTHMARK, ITS FOREVER.

ILOILO IS STILL AND WILL ALWAYS BE

THE QUEEN CITY OF THE SOUTH,

The FIRST and TRULY the ONLY "QUEEN CITY of the South."

THIS ENTRY IS STILL UNDERGOING CONTINUOUS RESEARCH.

MORE DETAILS ABOUT ILOILO BEING THE QUEEN CITY OF THE SOUTH WILL BE POSTED SOON