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.
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
24 comments:
Cebu is the oldest city in the Philippines and the seat of Christianity before it spreads all over the country. Aside from the economic growth that Cebu has, it is a great proof that Cebu is a natural queen based on history and economy. And of course, it is the WIDELY-RECOGNIZED Queen City of the South. It is a title given by the people "vox populi" same concept as how government officials are elected through popular voting.
cebu is the oldest city in the philippines.
iloilo is the oldest city in the western visayas.
cebu did not claimed that mere title at all,PHILIPPINES recognized cebu as the queen city of the south..please do respect that thing..
Does it really matter if who claims the title? Granting that Iloilo is the Queen City of the South, will it make a great impact to each citizen of the place? Will it bring great contribution to Iloilo and to the locals? If all of these great contributions will be realized, then that would be the time to claim the title.
Nobody will believe a desperate Ilonggo who wants to bash Cebuanos just to get a petty of attention. Iloilo is an impoverished city left behind by the rest of the world. Cebu has been recognized by the world through it's economic impact to the country, a thing which until now , the Ilonggos haven't attained. Cebu is Cebu. Iloilo will always be Iloilo, an impoverished sleeping unproductive and UNNOTICED city.
Cebu is the oldest settlement established by the Spaniards in the Philippines, not the oldest city because to be a city, a certain place must fulfill all the legal requirements of being a city before a law is passed that will declare its cityhood.
ILOILO is the first ever Philippine locality that was declared a city through a royal decree in 1890. By virtue of the Bacura Law in 1893 that ratified the royal decree, Iloilo became a "legal" city.
The Queen City of the South title was not given by the people to Cebu, it was Cebu that claimed that title for herself and please, legal maxims such as vox populi and de facto principle does not apply when an issue is governed by legal means and passed into effectivity through a law. Iloilo's title as the Queen City of the South is part of the city charter that was ratified through the Commonwealth Act No, 158.
Legally speaking, ILOILO is THE QUEEN CITY OF THE SOUTH by virtue of the royal decree given by Maria Cristina, Queen Regent of Spain in 1896.
If it was ratified and if Iloilo is the rightful owner of that title why is it that nobody in the government is making such noise just like what you did? Oh by the way, why can't you answer those questions raised above? And you are just repeating what you have posted. Tsk, care to post more sensible explanations and reasons to support your legal claim? Say a move from the local officials of Iloilo perhaps?
My answer to your query is: just watch and see! =)
AUTHOR!
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.buangathisguy.com%2Fpost%2F3751542091%2Fbtg-unsa-imong-masulti-na-ang-iloilo-ang-queen-city&src=sp
This particular TIM LIBUNAO is a living proof of how insecure Ilongos are to Cebu. They are so envious of what Cebu is now. Well, let's see where their insecurities will bring them. TO HELL!!!
ILO-ILO a poor City , Bow!!!
RES IPSA LOQUITUR! The comments posted by the good person from Cebu above will speak more about how his character is.
ILOILO SUCKS!
http://www.youscoop.tv/scoops_inside.php?id=259
http://www.iloiloriver.com/iloilo-river-city%E2%80%99s-biggest-septic-tank.html
It is interesting to see how Cebuanos would make an effort to discredit put Iloilo in a bad name.
The comments above are evidence of how ill-mannered they can become.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR SHOWING TO THE WORLD WHAT A CEBUANO CHARACTER IS ALL ABOUT!
Hi! I’m from Cebu and indeed I agree, some comments here made by some overzealous Cebuanos are uncalled for. I think the blog is done intelligently backed by good research. So, let’s go ahead and delete them. Having said that, I hope my opinion still stands worthy of a place in this blog.
Legally and historically—yes indeed, Iloilo is the Queen City of the South. Good point distinguishing Cebu as a “settlement“ as opposed to a city. A new item worth researching. We can’t however, ignore that de jure (by law) and de facto (by perception?) principles are working here. In fact, the bottom line of the whole controversy. For what good is the legal ruler if he can no longer project power? I need not repeat why or how Iloilo got the title as you have pointed it out already.
Cebu’s claim came much later when the new generation of not only Cebuanos but Filipinos in general began to forget history—especially Southern history. If you know who or how it started that people started calling Cebu as the Queen City, then by all means, share it. But whether or not a Cebuano started it, the idea wouldn’t have crystallized if it didn’t READILY made sense to the rest of the history-indifferent populace.
Queen City to mean economic powerhouse. As pointed, out Iloilo was a bustling economic powerhouse in the South—I totally agree. As with language, a term’s meaning also changes. How likely was it that the newly Americanized assemblymen of the Philippine Commonwealth had Iloilo’s loyalty TO SPAIN in mind when they approved Iloilo’s charter? Much less so with our American masters. But Queen City as a powerhouse?—MAKES sense! Doesn’t it? So I think as early as the 30s, it was already used in reference to Iloilo’s economic prowess. But economies rise and fall, rendering the title vulnerable to a de facto usurpation by anyone who can prove her worth. And it did happen.
So, for my fellow Cebuanos out there, read and appreciate history. Be humble. Work hard. The title that we are so proud of is only good as long as OTHER people deem us worthy of the title.
To my Ilonggo friends, you are the queen by de jure. If proving the de facto part matters, then by all means aim for it. It’s up for grabs. You’ve been there, done that. Do it again. It will never hurt our country if another city or province will progress.
To the author:
Cebu didn't declared himself queen city of the south. Its the media and the people from the capital who gave Cebu that title. And I dont need to tell you the factors of its declaration.
Whatever historical data you are referring and whatever proof you have.. eat it. Cebu dont care and Cebu doesn't even care about its monicker as queen city of the south.
Go to Cebu and ask people if they are proud of that, and most of them wont even care about that.
Cebuanos prefer to call their place Cebu alone. Tommy Osmena even told Korina in the TV that the word Cebu alone is enough and dont claim the crown that you people in Iloilo mourn that Cebu snatched it away from your city.
Instead of mourning and accusing Cebu, learn from its experience and find answers why your city was overtaken by Cebu as the 2nd most progressive city in the Phil.
FYI like the fire that happened in Iloilo in the 1960s, Cebu was also devastated by a typhoon in 1990s and was left without elec for a month and infras destroyed, but they rose without any help from Manila since the capital turned down its request for financial aid.
So basically its not just you who went into downfall.
Mas diligent lang talaga ang mga taga Cebu pero mas maingay kayu sa bagay na wala naman silang pakealam.
basically, cebu overtaken iloilo when it comes to progress. but iloilo will remain resilient, will remain a provider, a clean city. its more fun in iloilo. i'd been to cebu so many time - i saw progress, but poverty is high, cleanliness is (?), visit iloilo - & we will offer the hospitalities of the ilonggos. Food?- Pastries, ilonggo cuisine - savour its taste. Education? "The Athens of the Philippines" 8 Universities & more than 20 Colleges - established mostly since the Spanish & American era. Banking? visit iloilo & you will see. Fishery & Agriculture? the provider. Ang iban sa sunod naman. it doesn't matter if the queen city of the south will be keep on claiming by others - ILOILO WILL REMAIN RESILIENT.
Maybe people in Iloilo should learn from the cebuanos, in terms of what they achieved in the development of their city.. as you can see in the geographical map, cebu is only a narrow island with so little flat lands and even insufficient natural supply of clean water for its entire people...
and for you people in iloilo just look at your own backyard, you have almost everything, a vast farmlands, nearly unlimited supply of clean water, money from the rich hacienderos that can be used to spur investments on your locality, and even your resilience and insistence that you really are the better folk compared to cebu.
But what happened right now is that the city which lacks most is the one that is more progressive than the rest who have everything they need in their backyard (im not just talking about iloilo, but rather also to davao, manila, bacolod, cagayan, and other cities in the country blessed with huge parcels of fertile land).
They progressed through hardwork and their faith in their saint and own capabilities. They are themselves a city with its own economy, independent from manila and dont even compared themselves with davao, cdo or even iloilo.
Yes it may be true that they copied sinulog and other stuffs from iloilo and other countries, but they didnt just simply copied things, instead they made it better multiplied a hundred times. They worked hard to get themselves jobs, a vibrant local economy, and they deserved to be hailed as queen with the development they attained through these years.
They are dependent from other provinces for their electricity, water, rice, crops, etc. Maybe even a large part of what they eat comes from iloilo. That also explains why commodities in cebu are so expensive, plus the tourist influx in their island.
They just had a rather similar approach with singapore where they aim for a capitalized economy, independent from the national government and doesnt care about what their neighbors would tell about them.
Maybe all cities should do the same, not just for iloilo but also from other aspiring cities. Let us not think on surpassing cebu, but like them, think about how to develop our own locality.
hi!
iloilo indeed has a rich history.. and to look back into that deserves its merits..
but to say that cebu 'snatched', 'claimed' or in the words of mayor mabilog, 'grabbed' the title 'queen city of the south' is too strong a word. To some, the last part of the article paints a ugly picture of cebu taking advantage of iloilo's demise to 'snatch' the title 'queen city of the south'.
i come to learn the association that cebu is the queen city of the south from a book 'One Country, One People' back in elementary at the same time that I learned about our national symbols.
Today, even you can't deny that Cebu being tagged as 'the queen city of the south' is all over in media - tv, radio, prints, internet. Even by word of mouth. It has in a way come to be part of a seemingly pop culture.It's just that most people has come to associate cebu as the 'queen city of the south'.
And I don't think cebuanos should be at fault for that. Cebu does not even adopt that as an official title.Cebu did not claim, or as you word it, proclaim itself as the 'queen city of the south'. If you can produce documents that tells otherwise, then we'll be glad to hear from it.
in 2013, mayor mabilog in his speech told his ilonggo audience that iloilo will be able take back the title 'queen city of the south' from cebu in 2016. Such statement can be divisive, but to some ways further cements the title to cebu.
To an ordinary cebuano like myself, the title is really no big deal and it's not something worth going to war for.
for all it's worth, iloilo's loyalty to the spanish crown from which it gained the queens favor making it 'the queen's city of the south' deserves its own place..
but let it not be at the expense of cebu and the cebuanos.
Nobody took/grabbed/snatched something from somebody.
just my opinion!
thanks!
peace!
(^___^)
Why don't you grab your bags and get something more productive done? You are making such a big fuss of something so trivial and unimportant. Get on with your life. Seriously.
Tim Libunao said...
LOILO is the first ever Philippine locality that was declared a city through a royal decree in 1890.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cebu_escondrillas.jpg
ILOILO is the first ever Philippine locality that was declared a city through a royal decree in 1890. By virtue of the Bacura Law in 1893 that ratified the royal decree, Iloilo became a "legal" city.
Now see this old map of Cebu City
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cebu_escondrillas.jpg
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