ILOILO: THE PIONEER CITY OF THE PHILIPPINES. ILOILO's MANY FIRSTS.

ILOILO CITY

THE FIRST CITY OUTSIDE MANILA TO HAVE ESTABLISHED

AND ENJOYED MODERN CONVENIENCES

Electricity, telephone, telegraph, railway, ice plant, automobiles were introduced in Iloilo in 1902.

ILOILO CITY BECAME A CITY THRICE:

one through a royal decree & two through a legal declaration.

ILOILO became a city through a royal decree:

By virtue of a royal decree of Maria Cristina,

Queen Regent of Spain in 1890

ILOILO became a city twice through a legal declaration:

By the virtue of Bacura Law ratifying the royal decree in 1893

By the virtue of Commonwealth Act No. 158 in 1937

To become or to be called a city, it is not enough that a settlement be established in fact a certain settlement must posses all the elements required to become a city. It is only through a decree, an ordinance or lawful declaration that a certain settlement is declared a city.

By Philippine history, no other city in the Philippines was legally declared a city earlier than 1890 when Iloilo was officially given the cityhood status.

ILOILO THEREFORE IS THE OLDEST RECORDED LOCALITY

TO BECOME A LEGAL CITY IN THE PHILIPPINES.

THIS INFORMATION ONLY VALIDATES ILOILO's CLAIM TO BE

THE OLDEST CITY IN THE PHILIPPINES

ILOILO CITY

THE FIRST AND THE ORIGINAL QUEEN CITY OF THE SOUTH

The title is a a moniker of the previously bestowed decree by the Queen Regent Maria Cristina of Spain in 1896:

"LA MUY LEAL Y NOBLE CIUDAD DE ILOILO" or "THE MOST LOYAL AND NOBLE CITY OF ILOILO".

Such title was too long for the new American administrators of Iloilo to use in their official transactions with other English-speaking countries that Iloilo transacts business with. An English description was therefore coined to introduce Iloilo especially to the Australian merchants who are the chief buyers of Iloilo's sugar shipment.

Hence the title QUEEN REGENT'S CITY IN THE SOUTH was born in 1901 after the Americans assumed government power in Iloilo.

The constant use of the long title used to describe Iloilo went on until a new one came out to simplify the writing of articles in sugar shipment manifesto and other political documentation.

Hence the title QUEEN'S CITY IN THE SOUTH.

With the sugar industry flourishing even more that catapulted Iloilo's economy to enormous heights and with the American Government pouring in enormous political and economic functions to the city, Iloilo became the second major seat of power during that time with all administrative functions channeling from Iloilo & Manila only. No other province in the south was as important historically and politically and as progressive as Iloilo.

Hence the title QUEEN CITY OF THE SOUTH sprung out.

The QUEEN CITY OF THE SOUTH title was then made as Iloilo's official nickname when Iloilo was legally declared a city for the second time by the virtue of the Commonwealth Act No. 158 in 1937.

GRACIANO LOPEZ JAENA

FIRST FILIPINO TO LAUNCH A PROPAGANDA MOVEMENT IN THE

PHILIPPINES AND IN SPAIN

He was a Filipino journalist, orator, and revolutionary from Iloilo who is well known for his written work, La Solidaridad. He is also known as

THE GREATEST ORATOR THE PHILIPPINES HAS PRODUCED.

FORMER VICE PRESIDENT FERNANDO LOPEZ SR.

4TH & 8TH VICE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES

FIRST AND ONLY VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES TO HAVE SERVED THREE TERMS UNDER TWO ADMINISTRATIONS (ELPIDIO QUIRINO & FERDINAND MARCOS)

LONGEST SERVING VICE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES

Fernando Lopez,Sr. is a Filipino statesman and a member of the influential Lopez Family of Iloilo. He served as Vice President of the Philippines for three terms, under President Elpidio Quirino (1949 - 1953) for the Liberal Party and Ferdinand Marcos (1965 - 1969 and 1969 - 1972) for the Nacionalista Party. He is the longest serving Vice President of the Philippines of eleven (11) years encompassing three (3) complete terms under two (2) presidents.

Lopez is one of the founders of University of iloilo and the FEATI University in Manila. The Lopez family also owned the Iloilo-Negros Air Express Company , Iloilo Times (El Tiempo), Manila Chronicle, ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation and other subsidiaries of the Lopez Group of Companies.

FELIPA DELA PEÑA

NICASIA CADA

DOROTIA CALDITO

FIRST FILIPINO NURSING SCHOOL GRADUATES

FIRST FILIPINO NURSES WITH ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL TRAINING IN NURSING

They are the first three graduate nurses in 1909 after completing three years of nursing training from the Union Mission Hospital Training School for Nurses (Central Philippine University College of Nursing) which is the first nursing school in the Philippines.

INOCENCIA SOLIS

FASTEST WOMAN IN ASIA, THE FIRST FILIPINO TO DO SO

She finished the 100-meter sprint in 12.5 seconds ahead of two Japanese runners in the 1958 Tokyo Asian Games and she was declared Athlete of the Year.

PURA VILLANUEVA KALAW

FIRST BEAUTY QUEEN OF THE PHILIPPINES

FIRST CARNIVAL QUEEN OF THE PHILIPPINES

FIRST FILIPINO FEMINIST

Pura Villanueva-Kalaw was born on August 27, 1886 in Arevalo, Iloilo to Emilio Villanueva, a highly educated man from Molo, and Emilia Garcia, a very beautiful Spanish lady from Palencia, Spain. At first, she attended the Santa Ana College in Molo, but following the Spanish tradition of limited schooling for girls, her formal education henceforth consisted of a six-month stay at Santa Catalina College in Manila on her 15th year.

Her beauty and charm first attracted Manila’s high society when she was proclaimed “the best dressed lady” during the costume ball sponsored by Sociedad Artistica, an organization of Spaniards and well-to-do Filipinos. The crowning glory of her womanhood came in 1908 when, at the age of 22, she was proclaimed “First Carnival Queen” of the Philippines, a beauty title that was the forerunner of today’s “Miss Philippines.

DR. FEDERICO B. SARABIA

FIRST OPTOMETRIST OF THE PHILIPPINES

Dr. Sarabia was the first optometrist in the Philippines being the holder of Professional Regulatory Commission of Optometry Certificate No. 1 issued in 1905. He was the first president of the Philippine College of Optometry and also chair of the Board of Examiners in Optometry.

After graduating as Doctor of Optometry in 1905 from the University of Northern Illinois College of Optometry, he had a brief practice of optometry at Eye Infirmary in New York City. Then he returned to the Philippines and established a clinic in Escolta, Manila in 1906 -- the first optometric clinic in the country.

PAULINO ALCANTARA RIESTRA

FIRST FILIPINO & ASIAN TO PLAY IN A EUROPEAN FOOTBALL CLUB

Paulino Alcantara Riestra is a Spanish-Filipino football player and manager. He spent most of his playing career at Barcelona and was the first Filipino and Asian player to play for a European club. He also played for Catalonia, the Philippines and Spain. Alcantara made his debut for Barcelona at the age of 15 and remains the youngest player to play or score for the club. He also scored 357 goals in 357 matches, making him the club's highest goalscorer (counting goals scored in both official games and friendlies).

After retiring as a player in 1927 at the age of 31, he became a doctor. On July 5 1927, Team Barcelona playeagainst Team Spain in a testimonial match in his honour and he later served as a club director between 1931 and 1934. In 1951, Alcantara became a selector and managed Team Spain for three games.

ARCHBISHOP GABRIEL M. REYES

FIRST FILIPINO ARCHBISHOP OF CEBU

FIRST FILIPINO ARCHBISHOP OF MANILA

He was born in Kalibo, Aklan on March 24 1892. Reyes entered the Saint Vicent Ferrer Seminary in Jaro during the time of Bishop Frederick Rooker. He was ordained a priest on March 27, 1915. He established parochial schools and published the officer newspaper, Diaro-Kabuhi Sang Banua.

In 1920 he became Chancellor of Jaro, then vicar-general, later appointed the first Filipino Archbishop of Cebu. He was installed Archbishop of Manila on October 14, 1949 as the first Filipino in the post. He served until his death in 1952.

Among his tangible achievements were the establishment of parochial schools and of the San Carlos Seminary in its present 5-hectare site in Guadelope, Makati, as the first one in Manila was destroyed by an earthquake in 1889. His vision to build a Catholic center was realized by his successor with the building of the Pope Pius XII Catholic Center on U.N. Avenue in Manila.

RAMON Q. AVANCEÑA

4TH CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT

LONGEST SERVING CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE PHILIPPINES

ONE OF THE TWO VICE-PRESIDENTS OF THE PHILIPPINES

DURING THE SECOND REPUBLIC

Ramón Avanceña is the fourth Chief Justice of the Philippines from Molo, Iloilo City. He served from 1925-1941, the longest serving Chief Justice of the Philippines that lasted for seventeen (17) years when he resigned during the nearing of the Japanese Occupation. He later served as one of the vice-presidents of José Laurel in the puppet Second Republic.

He served as a legal adviser to the Revolutionary government of Iloilo, Capiz and Antique, and was chosen to negotiate with the American forces in Panay during the final days of the Philippine Revolution. During the American rule, he was appointed as assistant attorney in the Bureau of Justice and he was promoted to auxiliary judge in 1905. He was attorney-general from 1914 to 1917, when he was appointed to the Supreme Court as an Associate Justice. Upon the death of Manuel Araullo in 1924, he succeeded as Chief Justice, but he had to wait until 1925 to be formally appointed.

LOUISE AURELIO VAIL

BINIBINING PILIPINAS 1965

FIRST BINIBINING PILIPINAS WINNER TO ENTER

THE MISS UNIVERSE SEMI-FINALS

(TOP 15 SEMI-FINALIST-MISS UNIVERSE 1965)

In 1965, an American mestiza from Iloilo, Louise Aurelio Vail won as the second Binibining Pilipinas who in that time is selecting candidates intended only to compete for Miss Universe. She competed in the Miss Universe Pageant in Miami Beach, Florida. She joined Bb. Pilipinas contest and the Miss Universe Pageant as Louise Vail Aurelio in an attempt to Filipinize her name. That year Louise was a semi-finalist in the Miss Universe 1965 pageant.

Louise is the first Binibining Pilipinas winner to place as a semi-finalist (Top 15) in the Miss Universe 1965 pageant. It is interesting to note that although there were 2 previous Philippine representatives to the Miss Universe Pageant who were included as a semi-finalist (Blesilda Mueler Ocampo in 1954, Top 15) and a finalist (Lalaine Betia Bennett in 1963, 3rd Runner-Up), these candidates were not Binibining Pilipinas winners. The representatives for Miss Universe from 1952 until 1963 were not handpicked by Bb. Pilipinas but by Miss Philippines Organization, a separate franchise entity.

FLORENZ D. REGALADO

14TH ASSOCIATE JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT

RECORD HOLDER, THE HIGHEST AVERAGE IN THE

PHILIPPINE BAR EXAMINATIONS

Florenz D. Regalado (born October 13, 1928, Concepcion, Iloilo) was the 14th Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines from July 29, 1988 to October 13, 1998. He graduated magna cum laude in 1954 from the San Beda College of Law, and received his Master of Laws degree from the University of Michigan in 1963.

He remains to be the record holder of the highest average in the Philippine Bar Examination history when he obtained a score of 96.7% in 1954, a score that remains unbeaten until today. He was a member of the Philippine Constitutional Commission of 1986 which drafted the present Constitution of the Philippines. Before becoming Associate Justice, he served as the Dean of San Beda College of Law.

MIRIAM DEFENSOR - SANTIAGO

FIRST WOMAN COMMISSIONER OF THE

BUREAU OF IMMIGRATION AND DEPORTATION

FIRST WOMAN CABINET SECRETARY OF THE

DEPARTMENT OF AGRARIAN REFORM

FIRST FEMALE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF THE PHILIPPINE COLLEGIAN

MOST DECORATED TRIAL JUDGE OF THE PHILIPPINES

MOST AWARDED PHILIPPINE PUBLIC OFFICIAL

Miriam was born in 1945 in Iloilo City, in southern Philippines. Her father Benjamin was a district trial judge, and her mother Dimpna was a college dean. She is the eldest of seven children, most of whom she helped to send through college.

Miriam graduated valedictorian of the La Paz Elementary School, and valedictorian of the Iloilo Provincial National High School, also earning a medal for all-around excellence. In high school, she proved to be a child prodigy. As a freshman, she won as champion of a Spelling Bee which included seniors. Also still a freshman, she topped written examinations and was appointed by a faculty panel as editor-in-chief of the high school paper, a post which she held for four years. She was high school swimming champion for the entire province during competitions sponsored by the Red Cross. She topped the National College Entrance Examinations for the Western Visayas region.

NARZALINA Z. LIM

FIRST WOMAN CABINET SECRETARY OF

THE DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM

She is President of Asia Pacific Projects, Inc. (APPI) a tourism and hospitality consulting company based in the Philippines, which specializes in tourism strategic planning, marketing representation, training, and feasibility study preparation. APPI has prepared tourism plans and strategies for Yunnan and Sichuan Province, China and the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) which includes Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. The company also conducts skills training programs in hospitality and travel and represents the Macau Government Tourist Office in the Philippines.

In 2007, APPI prepared the Metro Iloilo-Guimaras Integrated Tourism Strategy and Action Plan which was funded by AusAid’s Philippines-Australia Local Governance Development Program. Ms. Lim was the Team Leader of that project which was completed in 2008.

Ms. Lim served as Secretary of Tourism under Pres. Corazon Aquino and Pres. Fidel V. Ramos. Before her appointment as Secretary, she was Undersecretary for Policy, Planning and Development. She holds a Master’s degree in English Literature from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

REP. JANETTE GARIN

INCUMBENT CONGRESSWOMAN, 1ST DISTRICT OF ILOILO

FIRST FILIPINO BOARD MEMBER TO THE PARLIAMENTARY NETWORK ON THE WORLD BANK (PNoWB)

She is the Representative of the 1st District of Iloilo and former provincial board member of Leyte. She is a member of Lakas CMD and a physician. She is the wife of Iloilo board member and former town mayor, Oscar S. Garin, Jr.

As a policymaker, she h focused on various health issues such as curbing fraud in Philhealth and amending the Physician’s Act among others. She has also advocated for women’s issues including pushing for the passage of the Reproductive Health Care and Population Development. She played an active role in the enactment of the Cheaper Medicines Law and the Magna Carta of Women.

DR. AVENILO PADERNILLA AVENTURA SR.

FIRST DOCTOR TO PERFORM THE FIRST SUCCESSFUL HEART AND KIDNEY TRANSPLANT IN THE PHILIPPINES

He is from Passi City and finished his medical education from the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Medicine and Surgery. He became the President and the Medical Director of the Philippine Heart Center from 1974 to 1986. Dr. Aventura is the first doctor to perform the first successful renal and heart transplant in the Philippines performed in the Philippine Heart Center in 1970.

DR. JOSETTE TALAMERA - BIYO

FIRST FILIPINO TEACHER TO HAVE A MINOR PLANET

NAMED AFTER HER

Dr. Josette Talamera Biyo is a high school teacher cited for winning the 2002 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Louisville, Kentucky. She was the first Asian teacher to win the Intel Excellence in Teaching Award. She holds a Ph.D. in biology from the De La Salle University in Manila with a dissertation research on seagrass community dynamics on Guimaras island, and which was published in the journal The Philippine Scientist.

Dr. Biyo is the current director of Philippine Science High School in Western Visayas. She was one of the 1998 Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) Awardees for Secondary Education.

FELIPE LANDA JOCANO

PROFESSOR EMERITUS

ASIAN CENTER - UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

FIRST FILIPINO DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN ANTHROPOLOGY

(UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO)

Born on February 5, 1930 in Cabatuan, Iloilo. He is the son of Eusebio Jocano and Anastascia Landa of Barangay Salacay, he is currently Professor Emeritus at the Asian Center of the University of the Philippines and Executive Director of Punlad Research House, Inc.

He traveled the hinterlands of his home province, Panay, with two colleagues collecting folk songs, stories, and riddles. It was during one of those trips to the upland barrios of Lambunao, Maasin, Janiuay, and Calinog in Iloilo that his attention was called to a long and popular tale called HINILAWOD. Thus led to its discovery and considered as the longest in the world. It took three weeks to complete the recording of the 30 hour epic poem. A concise version of the story of Hinilawod can be found in the book, Philippine Mythology, authored by the Filipino anthropologist, Dr. F. Landa Jocano.

CAPTAIN JOSE CABALFIN CALUGAS SR.

FIRST FILIPINO AWARDED WITH A UNITED STATES

CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR

(The Highest military award given to the members

of the United States Military for bravery in combat

above and beyond the call of duty)

FIRST SIGNATOREE IN THE BATAAN DEATH MARCH SURVIVOR REGISTRY

Calugas was born in Barrio Tagsing, Leon, Iloilo, Philippines, December 29, 1907. In 1930, he enlisted in the United States Army and had received his basic training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Upon completion, he received additional training as an artilleryman and then assigned to the 24th Artillery Regiment of the Philippine Scouts at Fort Stotsenburg, Pampanga and the 88th Field Artillery Regiment of the Philippine Scouts as his second unit. He was a Sergeant with Battery B when the United States and the Philippine Commonwealth, declared war with Japan in 1941.

He was captured along with other members of his unit and forced to march to a distant enemy prison camp, where he was held as a prisoner of war. When he was released in 1943, he was secretly assigned to a guerilla unit the Philippines where he fought for the liberation of the Philippines from the Japanese. After retiring from the Army he settled in Tacoma, Washington and became a United States citizen.

COLONEL RAMONA PALABRICA GO

28th ADJUTANT GENERAL, ARMED FORCES OF THE PHILIPPINES

FIRST WOMAN BATTALION COMMANDER OF THE ARMED FORCES OF THE PHILIPPINES

FIRST WOMAN MILITARY PILOT OF THE PHILIPPINES

Alone in the cockpit of the Army Cessna 172 Skyhawk trainer plane No 862 for her first solo flight, she was able to take off and land the aircraft at Fort Magsaysay Army Aerodrome in Nueva Ecija, becoming a full-fledged pilot on Nov. 3, 1986. She was born on March 21, 1957 in San Dionisio, Iloilo.

JOSE MARI CHAN

FIRST AND ONLY FILIPINO RECORDING ARTIST WITH THREE DIAMOND RECORD AWARDS UNDER HIS NAME

FIRST AND ONLY FILIPINO RECORDING ARTIST WITH A DOUBLE DIAMOND RECORD AWARD FOR A SINGLE ALBUM

FIRST AND ONLY SINGER/COMPOSER/PRODUCER TO RECEIVE A LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD BY AWIT AWARDS, KATHA AWARDS AND ALIW AWARDS

He was born in Iloilo City on March 11, 1945. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics from the Ateneo de Manila University in 1967. He was awarded the TOYM in 1974 as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Philippines, Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Philippine Association of the Recording Industry and The Metro Pop Foundation. In 1990 his Christmas album "Christmas in Our Hearts" was released. It reached triple platinum status that same year, eventually becoming the unprecedented holder of the Double Diamond Record Award while his Constant Change album is also a diamond record award recipient. He also received the first ever ABS-CBN "ELITE Platinum Award" in 2005 and of the 2006 Dr. Jose P Rizal Award For Excellence

"NINA"

MARIFIL NIÑA GIRADO

FIRST AND ONLY FILIPINO FEMALE RECORDING ARTIST

WITH A DIAMOND RECORD AWARD

Nina, is a Filipino singer, songwriter, record producer, commercial model, TV and radio personality whose roots are from the town of Guimbal in Iloilo. Girado has released multi-platinum records in the Philippines and is also known as the “Asia’s Soul Siren”. She is sister of singer Filbert “King” Girado, Jr. She has released seven albums and performs at bars such as Taboo Ultra Lounge, Bagaberde Grill, Hard Rock Cafe, 19 East, Club-O and can be seen on TV via the musical variety show ASAP on ABS-CBN. She can be heard on her

weekly radio show “Renditions of the Soul” on Wave 89.1 .

Her album Nina Live! is the biggest selling album by a female OPM artist, and the fourth biggest selling album in OPM History, next to Eraserheads’ Cutterpillow, and Jose Mari Chan’s Christmas in Our Hearts and Constant Change. She is the first and only female OPM artist (third overall) to achieve a Diamond album award.

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"JED MADELA"

JOHN EDWARD TAJANLANGIT

FIRST FILIPINO SINGER TO BECOME THE

GRANDSLAM CHAMPION IN THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

OF PERFORMING ARTS 2005

He won six gold medals in all six categories he joined in the World Championships of Performing Arts and brought home two Champion of the World plaques, one star trophy for the award Grand Champion of the World in the singing division i n the World Championships of Performing Arts in 2005 and the Grand Champion Performer of the World.

EUGENIO "EUGENE" TORRE

FIRST FILIPINO INTERNATIONAL CHESS GRANDMASTER

Torre has the distinction of being the first Asian player to earn the title of International Grandmaster. Torre qualified for the Candidates Matches for the 1984 World Championship. In that preliminary stage, the contenders play matches against each other to determine who will challenge the world champion.

DINAGYANG FESTIVAL

THE FIRST AND THE OLDEST ORGANIZED FESTIVAL

IN THE PHILIPPINES

It was Rev. Fr. Ambrosio Galindez who introduced the devotion to the Sto. Nino in November of 1967 but Dinagyang Festival began only in 1968 when Fr. Sulpicio Ebderes, OSA brought a replica of the image of the Senior Sto. Nino of Cebu to the San Jose Parish Church in Iloilo.

Dinagyang was formerly known as Iloilo Ati-atihan in honor of the Ibajay Ati-atihan where the Dinagyang celebration was inspired from. The Ati-Atihan of Ibajay, Aklan which is a non-formal festival of merely streetdancing is where the core festival activities of Dinagyang Festival was inspired from but Dinagyang was the first ever festival in the Philippines that used a formal system in carrying out the events & activities included in the festival.. Kalibo's version of the Ibajay Ati-Atihan was in fact patterned after how Dinagyang was celebrated in terms of organized festival activities hence the tribe competition that came in the Kalibo Ati-atihan in the 1980s.

In 1977 when Marcos issued an executive order that compelled LGUs to have their own respective festivals to boost local tourism, Iloilo easily identified the Iloilo Ati-atihan as their answer to the executive order. The festival was relaunched in 1977 and was given the new name Dinagyang which was coined up by an old-timer, Ilonggo writer and radio broadcaster, the late Pacifico Sumagpao Sudario to make the festival unique from its Ibajay counterpart.

In short, Dinagyang Festival is proud to be the first organized festival in the Philippines and the first festival to hold a competition among its contingents. , Dinagyang has grown to become as the country's premiere festival. The devotion to Sto. Nino in Iloilo started in 1967, but the activities as a festival were held beginning 1968 hence the festival's 43 years of existence. The actual ati-ati dance competition started in 1970 with Madjapahit Tribe of Compania Maritima as the first winner.

DINAGYANG PIPES

THE FIRST MUSICAL INSTRUMENT OF ITS KIND IN THE WORLD THAT WAS CREATED SOLELY FOR A FESTIVAL STREETDANCE COMPETITION

An alternative musical instrument that is made out of PVC pipes of different lengths and sizes to produce different kinds of sounds. Every pipe produces a distinct sound depending on the PVC pipe's length and diameter. The Dinagyang pipe in its present form was invented by Tribu Ilonganon and was first used during the 2005 edition of Dinagyang Festival. The DINAGYANG PIPE is now a common sight in many of the Philippines festivals after Tribu Ilonganon used it during the Aliwan Fiesta 2007.

(Description by Mark Timothy J. Libunao; the Dinagyang pipe description was based from data gathered from within the Dinagyang tribes circle. The author is open to any corrections regarding the description.)

DAGOY

THE FIRST FILIPINO MASCOT REPRESENTING A FESTIVAL

Dagoy is the towering six feet nine inches tall three dimension mascot that has evolved from just a mere icon. His birth is a product of imagination and desire, not just by a single person but also of people who are working diligently to make the Dinagyang Festival a part of everyone's day-to-day life.

lloilo Dinagyang Foundation Inc. (IDFI), executive director Ben Jimena related that the mascot now is the once caricature used by the marketing group headed by Francis de la Cruz as a promotional material. This happened in 2002, the first time the festival was handled by the foundation.

Chris Bayani, an artist from Manila , drawing inspiration from his adopted daughter, delicately prepared the sketch of the icon that was later made as the official logo of the festival.

DAGOY DOLL

THE FIRST DOLL OF ITS KIND DEPICTING A MASCOT OF A FESTIVAL

The doll depicts Dagoy, the mascot of the Dinagyang Festival that carries the distinction as
THE FIRST FILIPINO MASCOT REPRESENTING A FESTIVAL.

The dolls come in a variety of costumes designed by winners of the "Dressing Up Dagoy" Contest and are issued on a limited basis. Every year, a new set of costumes are seen being worn by the dolls as the new set of "Dressing Up Dagoy" winners are declared.

OLD ILOILO PROVINCIAL CAPITOL

THE FIRST AND THE OLDEST PROVINCIAL CAPITOL IN THE PHILIPPINES

(Top: The Old Iloilo Provincial Capitol in 1927 after the installion of the Arroyo Fountain infront of the capitol; Bottom: The New Provincial Capitol Building towering over the Old Provincial Capitol)

The Capitol Building in Iloilo referred to as the "Casa Real" or Royal House during the Spanish times was built in 1840. The "Casa Real" was the residence of the alcalde-mayor or governor, then the highest Spanish Official in Iloilo. John Foreman, in his book, The Philippine Islands, made mention of this government house. He wrote: (At the extreme end of the Calle Real (now Iznart Street) is a government house, built of wood and stone, and then in a very bad condition but they style is good, has quite the appearance of an official residence. Before it, is a semi-circular garden, and in front of this there is a round fenced-in plot in the middle of which stands a flagpole.

The Flagpole gave way to the Arroyo Fountain in 1927. The "Casa Real" on the other hand was remolded in 1960 after Jose Zulueta became the governor of the province. Though some stone structures might have been preserved, the colonnades at the front of the entire structures were demolished. On November 4, 1998, a fire of unknown source baffled the capitol damaging almost more than the half of the whole building leaving only the main building. This resulted to the construction of a six-storey Provincial Capitol of the future initiated by Gov. Arthur D. Defensor and brought to finish by Gov. Niel D. Tupas, Sr., it now stands behind the original structure.

The Old Iloilo Provincial Capitol was declared by the National Historical Institute as a Philippine Heritage Site and a heritage marker was installed last May 2010. The seat of the Iloilo Provincial Government and the most modern Provincial Capitol in the Philippines

ABS-CBN CORPORATION

THE FIRST TELEVISION STATION IN THE PHILIPPINES

The Philippines' largest network started when Alto Broadcasting System was established by James Lindenberg and Antonio Quirino which was later merged with the Chronicle Broadcasting Network established by the famous Ilonggos Don Eugenio Lopez Sr. & Don Fernando Lopez Sr. and had its first broadcast in 1953.

The nucleus of ABS-CBN began in 1946 with Bolinao Electronics Corporation (BEC). BEC was put up by James Lindenberg, the father of Philippine television an ex-GI and electronics engineer who went into radio equipment assembly and radio broadcasting. At that time, the giant Philippine network was Manila Broadcasting, with DZRH as the top station. In 1949, James Lindenberg shifted Bolinao to radio broadcasting with DZBC and masterminded the introduction of television to the country in 1953.

In 1951, Lindenberg partnered with Antonio Quirino, brother of then President Elpidio Quirino, in order to try their hand at television broadcasting. In 1952, BEC was renamed as Alto Broadcasting System or ABS. "Alto" was a contraction of Quirino’s and his wife’s first names, Tony and Aleli. Though they had little money and resources, ABS was able to put up its TV tower by July 1953 and import 300 television sets. The initial test broadcasts began on September of the same year. The very first full-blown broadcast, however, was on October 23, 1953, of a party in Tony Quirino's home. The broadcasting channel was known as DZAQ-TV Channel 3.

In turn, on September 24, 1956, the Chronicle Broadcasting Network (CBN) was organized. The network was owned by Don Eugenio Lopez Sr. The following year, Don Eugenio acquired ABS from Quirino and Lindenberg. However, it was only on February 1, 1967 that the corporate name was changed to ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation (before it was named ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation, the name was reverted back to the precursor of the network, Bolinao Electronics Corporation or BEC). In 1958 the network's new headquarters at Roxas Boulevard was inaugurated, and all radio and television operations were consolidated into its two buildings, the radio stations at the Chronicle Building at Aduana Street, Intramuros, Manila, and the TV operations at the brand new Roxas Boulevard building in Pasay City.

ILOILO MISSION HOSPITAL

(Union Mission Hospital)

THE FIRST AND THE OLDEST EXISTING PRIVATE HOSPITAL

IN THE PHILIPPINES

THE FIRST MISSION HOSPITAL IN THE PHILIPPINES

VENUE OF THE FIRST NURSES BOARD EXAMINATION

IN THE PHILIPPINES IN APRIL 1944

IMH is a tertiary training hospital located at Mission Road, Jaro, Iloilo City and was established in 1901 through the efforts of Dr. and Mrs. Andrew J. Hall, missionaries of the Presbyterian Foreign Mission Board, a temporary bamboo clinic was erected at Calle Amparo (now Ledesma Street), Iloilo City, to serve as a venue for the treatment of health care to the very poor. This was made possible because Andrew Hall was a doctor and his wife was a nurse.

CENTRAL PHILIPPINE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF NURSING

(Union Mission Hospital Training School for Nurses)

THE FIRST NURSING SCHOOL IN THE PHILIPPINES

The school was established in 1906 and ran by the Baptist Foreign Mission Society of America. Miss Rose Nicolet, a graduate of New England Hospital for Women and Children in Boston, Massachusetts was the first superintendent for nurses. It moved from its present location to Jaro Road, Iloilo City in 1929. Miss Flora Ernst, an American nurse, took charge of the school in 1942. In April 1944 graduate nurses took the first Nurses Board Examination at the Iloilo Mission Hospital.

ILOTYCIN / ILOSONE (ERYTHROMYCIN)

A DISCOVERY OF DR. ABELARDO AGUILAR

DR. ABELARDO AGUILAR is THE FIRST FILIPINO TO DISCOVER

A MAINSTREAM ANTIBIOTIC

He is a Filipino scientist who sent some soil samples to his employer Eli Lilly in 1949 who managed to isolate Erythromycin from the metabolic products of a strain of Streptomyces erythreus in the soil found in the samples which Dr. Abelardo Aguilar sent. The product was launched commercially in 1952 under the brand name ILOSONE after the Philippine region of Iloilo where it was originally collected from.With the launch of Ilosone, ILOILO became the FIRST AND THE ONLY PROVINCE IN THE PHILIPPINES AND THE WORLD TO HAVE A PIONEERING ANTIBIOTIC BRAND NAMED AFTER IT.

ILOILO - NEGROS AIR EXPRESS COMPANY INC.

FIRST COMMERCIAL AIRLINE OF THE PHILIPPINES AND IN ASIA

FIRST COMMERCIAL ARLINE OF THE PHILIPPINES TO FLY THE INTERNATIONAL SKY VIA THE ILOILO-MANILA-HONG KONG ROUTE.

The airline was founded by the Lopez Brothers on February 3, 1933 but was closed down during the onset of World War II. It was renamed as Far Eastern Air Transport Inc. (FEATI) that became the first commercial airline of the Philippines to fly the international sky via the Iloilo-Manila-Hong Kong route.

FEATI was later acquired by Philippine Airlines that eventually carried the INAEC-FEATI legacy in Philippine and Asian aviation history.

BALUARTE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

THE FIRST PUBLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN THE PHILIPPINES

The passage of the Gabaldon Act in 1907 made way for the establishment of the school.

The nipa school started with an enrollment of 65 pupils, including some old folks.

In 1910, Mejica wrote a letter to the Municipal Council of Iloilo to purchase a lot for the school and for this purpose he donated fifty pesos.

The petition was granted and through Municipal Council ordinance No. 241, dated Aug. 15, 1910 , the Council agreed to buy lots to be used as the new and bigger school site.

ILOILO NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

THE FIRST PUBLIC & PROVINCIAL HIGH SCHOOL IN THE PHILIPPINES

The history of the Iloilo High School dates back to the later part of 1902 when a school called the Iloilo Normal School was established in a two-storey building in front of and across the street of the present Provincial Building (now Casa Plaza) to meet the future need for Filipino teachers.

FORT SAN PEDRO - ILOILO

THE FIRST SPANISH FORTIFICATION STRUCTURE

IN THE PHILIPPINES

It was constructed to protect Iloilo City Proper from the marauding Dutch and Muslim pirates. The construction began in the early 1600 and was finished in 1616.

HOSKYN & CO.

THE FIRST AND THE OLDEST EXISTING DEPARTMENT STORE AND

SUPERMARKET IN THE PHILIPPINES

In 1877, the Englishman Henry Hoskyn, nephew of Nicholas Loney, the first British vice-consul in Iloilo, paid P17,000 for the house and lot at the midpoint of Calle Real which became the site of the town's renowned luxury Hoskyn Department Store

ILOILO GOLF AND COUNTRY CLUB

THE FIRST AND THE OLDEST EXISTING GOLF AND COUNTRY CLUB

IN THE PHILIPPINES

It has a challenging 18 hole golf course (6,056 yards) carved in the hills of Sta. Barbara, Iloilo was established in 1907.

MUSEO ILOILO

THE FIRST GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED AND CONSTRUCTED MUSEUM IN THE PHILIPPINES

Museo Iloilo features paleontological and archaeological finds in Iloilo and various artifacts relating to Iloilo's history and culture. Notable items are dated fossils, artifacts from sunken vessels, especially, a sunken British vessel, stone age tools, pottery, tradeware from China, Annam and Siam, burial jars and coffins and gold ornaments.

UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES-VISAYAS

MIAG-AO CAMPUS

THE BIGGEST UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES CAMPUS

THE BIGGEST UNIVERSITY IN THE PHILIPPINES IN TERMS OF LAND AREA

UP in the Visayas in Iloilo was created with the merging of the three UP campuses in the Visayas: UP Cebu, Tacloban and Iloilo. The UPV-Miag-ao campus was later built and majority of the course offerings in the Iloilo Campus was moved there.

JARO EVANGELICAL CHURCH

THE FIRST & THE OLDEST EXISTING CHRISTIAN-BAPTIST CHURCH

IN THE PHILIPPINES

Jaro Evangelical Church was established in 1901 by the Northern Baptists denomination who first came to Iloilo in 1899. The church is now the under the umbrella of the American Baptist Church.

REGENT THEATER (CINE PALACE)

THE OLDEST EXISTING MOVIE THEATER IN THE PHILIPPINES

Regent Theater, formerly known as Cine Palace and Cine Regent was built in 1928. Though its interior was renovated in the early 1980's or late 1970's, it retained its facade in the neo-classical form.

SOUTHEAST ASIAN FISHERIES DEVELOPMENT CENTER

AQUACULTURE DEPARTMENT

THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH CENTER IN THE PHILIPPINES

THE FIRST AQUATIC DEVELOPMENT CENTER IN THE PHILIPPINES

AND IN ASIA

SEAFDEC/AQD was established in 1973 in Tigbauan, Iloilo to conduct research, develop technologies, disseminate information, and train people in the farming of fishes, crustaceans, mollusks, and seaweeds for food, livelihood, equity, and sustainable development.

JOHN B. LACSON FOUNDATION MARITIME UNIVERSITY

THE FIRST MARITIME UNIVERSITY IN THE PHILIPPINES

The John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University was born from the vision of a young man who pursued his goal with a remarkable passion and zeal that set the tone of leadership in this institution. Master Mariner Juan Bautista Lacson, the founder, first started with a review school for marine officers in May 1931, thus foreshadowing the birth of the Iloilo Maritime Academy in 1948. When it first opened with 60 enrollees, the Academy offered a two-year regular course for cadets in the nautical profession leading to the acquisition of a Third Mate license for merchant marine officers as well as reserved naval officers in the Philippine Navy. By the time it was granted permit to operate in 1949, the school had 150 junior students and 54 seniors.

SM DEPARTMENT STORE - DELGADO, ILOILO

THE FOURTH SM DEPARTMENT STORE IN THE PHILIPPINES

THE FIRST SM DEPARTMENT STORE OUTSIDE MANILA

The store opened in May 1979 and was relaunched in the year 2004. It is the 4th SM Department Store built by Henry Sy Jr. and the first branch opened outside Metro Manila. SM Supermarket was conceptualized and opened its store at SM Delgado in 1985.The mall was relaunched in 2004 and featured anchors like Ace Hardware, Our Home, Surplus Shop and SM Appliance Center.





 
 MANG INASAL

THE FIRST BARBECUE FASTFOOD CHAIN IN THE PHILIPPINES

The Philippine's fastest growing barbeque fast food chain, serving chicken, pork barbeque and other Filipino favorites, was first established on December 12, 2003 in Iloilo City.

Currently, there are 401 branches nationwide and with over 10,000 employees system wide. MANG INASAL is doing its share in alleviating the unemployment burden of the country. The presence of every MANG INASAL in a certain area provides not only employment but also opportunities to community members including suppliers of kalamansi, charcoal, banana leaves, vegetables, bamboo sticks, and other ingredients.  It also indirectly gives income-generating activities to many.

DISCLAIMER

The pictures are not owned by the blog and its author. They were compiled from different online sources (websites, blogs, etc) and posted by MR. MARK TIMOTHY J. LIBUNAO (blog owner) for information disseminationpurposes only. The CHOOSE ILOILO logo was added for the promotion purposes of Iloilo and anything Ilonggo in nature. No copyright infringement intended.