Region I: Ilocos Region

Ilocos Norte| Ilocos Sur| La Union| Pangasinan

1571: the spanish conquistadors began looking for new sites to conquer.

Legaspi's grandson, Juan de Salcedo, volunteered to lead one of these expeditions.

Region I- History

On June 13, 1572, Salcedo and his men landed in Vigan.

They were surprised to see numerous sheltered coves ("looc") where the locals lived in harmony.

Named the region "Ylocos" and its people "Ylocanos".

Region I

The Region is located in the northwest of Luzon. In its eastern borders are regions of Cordillera Administrative Region and Cagayan Valley and in the south is Central Luzon. To the west north is the West Philippine Sea.

The region is composed of four provinces namely: Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union , Pangasinan. Its regional center is San Fernando, La Union.

Total land Area: 13,055 km2 (5,041 sq mi)

Location

Region I occupies the narrow plain between the Cordillera Central mountain range and the South China Sea. It also occupies the northern portion of the Central Luzon plain, to the north-east of the Zambales Mountains 

Lingayen Gulf is the most notable body of water in the region and it contains a number of islands, including the Hundred Islands National Park . To the north of the region is Luzon Strait .

The Agno River runs through Pangasinan and empties into the Lingayen Gulf. The river flow into a broad delta in the vicinity of Lingayen and Dagupan City .

Physical

The Ilocos Provinces of the Ilocos Region is the historical homeland of the Ilocanos.

The Ilocanos compose 66% of the region, the Pangasinan people compose 27%, and the Tagalogs compose 3%.

Pangasinan is the historical homeland of the Pangasinenses.

The Ilocanos were not originally inhabitants of Pangasinan. They started migrating to Pangasinan in the 19th century. Pangasinan was formerly a province of Region III (Central Luzon) but President Marcos signed Presidential Decree No. 1, 1972, incorporating it into Region I. Minority groups include the Tinggian and Isneg communities that inhabit the foothills of the Cordillera mountains.

Demographics

The population is predominantly Roman Catholic with strong adherents of Protestantism such as the Aglipayan denomination further north of the country. There are also adherents to other Christian denominations, such as Iglesia ni Cristo, Mormons, and the like. There is also an undercurrent of traditional animistic beliefs especially in rural areas. The small mercantile Chinese and Indian communities are primarily Buddhist, Taoists and Hindus.

Religion

Ilocanos are the ruling ethinicity in Region 1. They constitute the majority of the population in the Ilocos region particularly in Ilocos Norte (97%), Ilocos Sur (97%), La Union (92%), and Pangasinan (45%). Minority groups include Tingguan and Isneg communities who inhabit the foothills of the Cordillera Mountains.

Two ethnic groups still reside in Dingras: Isneg and Yapayao. These tribes were two of the first inhabitants of the region. They were forced to retreat to the mountains after they lost the battles against Spanish troops.

Culture and tradition

The structure of the Ilocano family conforms to the general Filipino pattern. Most families compose of an average size (6-7 persons). The father is the head of the family. The mother is the Ilaw ng tahanan (light of the home) who disciplines the children and takes care of the house budget. The eldest child is responsible in dividing the chores equally among siblings.

Ilocanos are very meticulous when it comes to clothing. They dress up according to their age and perceived wealth. Everyday wear consists of short pants for boys, and dusters, loose skirts, shirts, and short pants for girls. Farmers wear long-sleeved shirts, long pants, and wide-brimmed hats.During rainy season, Ilocanos wear a headdress of labig leaves, which extends well down the back.

Family & Clothing

Region 1 is composed of 4 provinces, 9 cities, 116 municipalities and 3265 barangays

 

Political Division

Province CapitalPopulati

on(2010)

Area(km²)

Pop. densit

y(per km²)

Ilocos NorteLaoag City 568,017 3,399.3 167.1Ilocos Sur Vigan City 658,587 2,579.6 255.3

La UnionSan Fernando City

741,906 1,493.1 496.9

Pangasinan Lingayen 2,779,862 5,368.2 517.8

Component Cities

Batac City, Ilocos Norte Laoag City, Ilocos Norte Candon City, Ilocos Sur Vigan City, Ilocos Sur San Fernando City, La Union Alaminos City, Pangasinan San Carlos City, Pangasinan Urdaneta City, Pangasinan Dagupan City, Pangasinan

Political Division

Provincial capital: Laoag City located in the northwestern part

of Luzon and is geographically situated between 170-43’ and 180-29’ north latitudes and 1200-25’ and 1200-58’ east longitudes. It is bounded in the east by Cagayan and Apayao, in the southeast by Abra, in the south by Ilocos Sur and in the west by the South China Sea. Laoag City is the seat of the Provincial Government and is about 487 kilometers north-northwest of Manila.  

Ilocos Norte

  land area : 3,622.91 sq.

kms.

It is rugged and rocky and has mountains which run northwest in the Cordilleras in the east. There are thirteen (13) mountains in the area, most of which are located in the southeastern portion.  

Topography

◦Political Subdivision: 2 city Batac & Laoag City

- 22 municipalities and - 557 barangays

◦Population: 547,284 as of 2007 Census

◦Language/ Dialect: Ilocano (Iloco), Filipino and English

Agriculture - rice, corn, garlic, legumes, root crops, tobacco, and other fruits and vegetables

Fishery -tilapia and assorted fishes Livestock - swine and cattle Cottage Industries - loom weaving, furniture, ceramics, iron

works Manufacturing and food processing - salt,

empanada, bagoong, patis, basi (native Ilocano wine), vinegar, longganisa, chicharon, bagnet, chichacorn (cornick), jewelry, garments, cereal processing, packaging, mechanized processing equipment

Wind Power Ilocos Norte's position on the northwest corner of Luzon makes it ideal for wind power generation. There is currently a 25 Megawatt wind farm in Ilocos Norte, and several more wind energy projects are being planned

Tourism Pottery

Industries

◦ Cape Bojeador Lighthouse Built in 1892, the lighthouse stands on a promontory in Burgos, 45 kilometers north of Laoag City. The highest lighthouse in the Phils. 

◦ Tobacco Monopoly Monument The monument was constructed at the foot of the Marcos Bridge to serve as a memorial to the lifting of the Tobacco Monopoly which from 1872 to 1881.

attractions

Attractions◦ General Ricarte National

Shrine Built in honor of General Artemio Ricarte, a native of Batac and a revolutionary hero.

◦ Aglipay Shrine Found in Pinili, Ilocos Norte. In memory of the most colorful revolutionary figure, Fr. Gregorio Aglipay, that stood squarely behind the oppressed people of God when he founded his protestant sect known as the Filipino Independent Church. 

Ilocos Norte

Attractions◦ Marcos Museum &

Mausoleum Or Balay Ti Ili The ancestral house of the Marcoses in Batac showcases the memorabilia of the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos. Batac is 471 kilometers north of Manila. 

◦ Malacañang Of The North Built as the official residence of then President Marcos in Ilocos Norte, overlooking the legendary Paoay Lake, this imposing structure is now a museum. A minimal entrance fee is collected. 

Ilocos Norte

Attractions◦ Loom Weaving 

Produces quality towels, blankets, table runners and clothing materials with ethnic Ilocano designs. 

◦ Paoay Church Built of coral blocks and stucco-plastered bricks, the architecture is a unique combination of Gothic, Baroque and Oriental. Construction of the church started in 1704 and was completed in 1894. Paoay Church is included in the UNESCO's World Heritage List.  

Ilocos Norte

Attractions◦ Bangui-Pagudpud Beach 

This stretch of beaches in the two municipalities are earmarked for development as tourism estates. 

◦ Sinking Belltower Located almost a hundred meters away from the St. William's Cathedral, the tower has sunk to the ground and leans slightly to the north 

◦ Bangui Windmills Fifteen towering windmills lined up the shore of Bangui. 

Ilocos Norte

Attractions◦ Bangui-Pagudpud Beach 

This stretch of beaches in the two municipalities are earmarked for development as tourism estates. 

◦ Sinking Belltower Located almost a hundred meters away from the St. William's Cathedral, the tower has sunk to the ground and leans slightly to the north 

◦ Bangui Windmills Fifteen towering windmills lined up the shore of Bangui. 

Ilocos Norte

Basic Information◦Provincial capital: Vigan City

◦Geographic Location: located along the western coast of Northern Luzon. Bound by Ilocos Norte on the north, Abra on the northeast, Mt. Province on the east, Benguet on the southeast, La Union on the south, and the China Sea on the west.

Ilocos Sur

Its area of 2,579.58 square kilometers occupies about 20.11% of the total land area of Region 1.

The topography of Ilocos Sur is undulating to rolling with elevations ranging from 10 to 1,700 meters above sea level

Climate the dry months are from October to May. August has the most rainfall while January and February have the least. The mean temperature in the province is 27 degrees C. January is the coldest.

Ilocos Sur

Basic Information◦Political Subdivision:

2 cities, 34 municipalities which are subdivided into 764 barangays.

◦Population: In the 2007 census, Ilocos Sur has 632,255. Vigan City, the capital of Ilocos Sur, has a population of 47,246. The most populous city is Candon City with a population of 56,270.

◦Language/ Dialect: Ilocano (Iloco), Filipino and English

Ilocos Sur

The Ilocano material culture and spirituality can be seen in the past - images of Spanish santo (saints), antique but intricate wooden furniture and quality local fiber.

The Ilocano cuisine ranges from the exotic "abu-os" (ant eggs) to vegetable broth "dinengdeng," the sticky "tinubong" to the "poqui-poqui" (eggplant salad). Ilocos Sur, like other provinces in Ilocandia, is filled with colonial churches, a legacy of Spanish Catholicism

Culture

◦Major Industries: Farming, producing food crops, mostly rice, corn, vegetable, rootcrops, and fruits.

Non-food crops include tobacco, cotton, and tigergrass.

Cottage industries include loom weaving, furniture making, jewelry making, ceramics, blacksmithing, and food processing.

Ilocos Sur

Attractions◦The Heritage City of

ViganInscribed in UNESCO’s World Heritage List in November 1999. The best preserved example of a planned Spanish colonial town in Asia. Its Kamestizoan District is replete with ancestral houses with ancient tiled roofs, massive hardwood floorings, ballustrades and azoteas in varying Spanish-Mexican-Chinese architectural styles. 

 

Ilocos Sur

Attractions◦ Sta. Maria Church

A National Landmark, was used as a fortress during the Philippine Revolution of 1896.

◦ Tirad Pass A National Shrine, had been the site of the last stand of the Filipino Revolutionary Forces under General Emilio Aguinaldo during the same period.

◦ Bessang Pass Served as the backdoor to General Yamashita’s last ditch defense during the last stage of World War II. 

 

Ilocos Sur

Bantay Church and Brlltower ( Sactuary of Nuestra Senora de La Caridad

Bantay Church serves as the Sanctuary of Nuestra Señora de La Caridad, the Queen of Ilocandia. The church and its bell tower are the oldest structures in the province. The bell tower was built in 1590 and the church was built 1591.

Sundial in Tagudin- The southernmost town of the province of Ilocos Sur that straddles La Union province possess a timekeeping tradition used by ancient men using shadows cast by the sun to tell time. The two sundials were constructed in the town of Tagudin by Father Juan Sorolla in 1848. One is located inside the 100 year old Saint Augustine School compound and the other stands in front of Tagudin town hall claimed to be the first sundial in the Philippine

Ilocos Sur

Pinsal Falls A favorite setting of many local films, Pinsal Falls features Angalo’s footprint, the legendary Ilocano giant. The falls is a few kilometers of rough road from the highway. Located at Barangay Babalasiwan, Sta. Maria. Other waterfalls in Ilocos Sur are Caniaw in Bantay, Gambang in Cervantes, Awasen in Sigay and Barasibis in Sinait.

◦  

Attractions

Beachesmost notable Ilocos Sur beaches include those in Cabangtalan (in Sinait, also known as Imelda's Cove), Pug-os (in Cabugao); and the towns of Santa, Santa Maria, Santiago, San Esteban, and Candon.◦

 

Attractions

La Unión, "The Union" in Spanish, was formed in 1850 when the Spanish colonial government of Governor-General Antonio Maria Blanco merged the 3 southern towns of Ilocos Sur province, the 9 northern towns of Pangasinan, and the western towns of Benguet to the east (Eastern Pais del Igorotes in the Cordilleras). On October 29, 1849, Governor General Claveria issued a "promovido" to fuse into one the Pangasinan-Ilokos-Cordillera areas "La Union"

history

Basic Information◦ Provincial capital: San

Fernando City◦ La Union is 273 km north of

Metro Manila and 57 km northwest of Baguio The land area of the province is 1,493.09 sq. km.

◦Geographic Location: Bounded on the north by Ilocos Sur, on the south by Pangasinan, on the east by Benguet, and on the west by the China Sea. 

La Union

◦Political Subdivision: 19 municipalities and one

component city, which are subdivided into 576 barangays.

◦Population:  789,815 as of 2007 Census

◦Language/ Dialect: Ilocano (Iloco), Pangasinense (Sto. Tomas and coastal areas), Ibaloi/Kankana-ey (Boardering Cordilliera) Filipino and English.

La Union

◦Major Industries: Agriculture The main livelihood of the people are: hand-woven blankets (Inabel), softbrooms, baskets, pottery, rice wine (tapuey), sugarcane wine (basi), sugarcane vinegar, wood craft, bamboo craft, native rice cakes, dried fish, honey, coconut, pebble stone and mushroom.

La Union

Attractions◦Agoo Basilica

One of the most imposing Catholic Structures in La Union. Rebuilt after an earthquake in 1892

◦Museo de IlokoAn old Presidencia that houses artifacts, religious icons and other historical pieces of cultural importance to the Ilokanos. 

La Union

Attractions◦Ma- Cho Temple

The world’s largest Taoist Temple outside China. Located in San Fernando City. 

La Union

Attractions◦ Thunderbird Resort, La Union

San Fernandos own deluxe hotel and casino. Located in Poro Point. The hotel is patterned after Santorini, Greece.

 

La Union

Attractions◦San Juan Beach

Boasts a number of tourist establishments. The beach is ideal for surfing. Known as the Surfing capital of the North.

Other Attractions: La Union Botanical garden, Centennial Trees, Bolikewkew Rice Terraces. Amburayan River.

 

La Union

The name Pangasinan means "place for salt" or "place of salt-making"; it is derived from the prefix pang, meaning "for", the root word asin, meaning "salt”, and suffix an, signifying "location." The province is a major producer of salt in the Philippines. Its major products include "bagoong" ("salted-fish") and "alamang" ("salted-shrimp")

Pangasinan

Basic Information◦Provincial capital:

Lingayen◦Geographic Location:

Boundaries are Lingayen Gulf, La Union and Benguet on the north, Nueva Vizcaya on the northeast, Nueva Ecija on the east, Tarlac on the south and Zambales and China Sea on the west. 

Land Area: 5,451.01 square kilometers

Pangasinan

The Pangasinan people are called Pangasinan or the Hispanicized name Pangasinense, or simply taga-Pangasinan, which means "from Pangasinan". Pangasinan is the third most populated province in the Philippines.

Population: 2,779,862 people as of 2010 Census

Language/ Dialect: Ilocano (western areas), Pangasinense (Central areas), Bolinao, Filipino and English.

Political Subdivision: 44 municipalities and 4 cities which are in

turn sub-divided into 1,364 barangays.

People

Agriculture - The major crops in Pangasinan are rice, mangoes, corn, and sugar cane. 44 percent of the total land area of Pangasinan is devoted to agricultural production.

Bagoong technology and processing center

Oyster and aquaculture farming Seaweed farming Bamboo production Handicraft and furniture making Manufacture of construction bricks Tourism development

Major industries

The ancient Pangasinense had an animistic religion which had Ama-Gaoley as the chief deity.  Lesser spirits or anito were responsible for a host of phenomena relating to the weather, plant growth, and good health, as well as protection of rivers, trees, and other sites.  Illness was deemed as punishment for offending the anito.  This spirits were held in respect and deference.

Today, Pangasinan with most number of follower is Catholic. Despite of initial difficulties in evangelizing the Pangasinense, the dominicans eventually secured a tool hold for Catholicism in the province. Other sects such as the Philippine Interdependent church, the Iglesia ni Kristo, and the various protestant denominations have their adherence among residence of Ilokano descent, but rarely among those of Pangasinense descent.

Religious Belief and Practices

The Filipinos in Luzon such as Ilocanos, Pangasinenses, and Tagalogs share an interesting wedding practice. This is the pinning of peso bills on the bride’s gown and the groom’s suit while the couple dances. A contest is held between the bride’s family and the groom’s family as to who pins the most money on whose clothes, the bride’s or the groom’s.

        After the dance, or series of dances, they unpin the money and figure out who won, and loud applause goes to the winner. The money is then combined and given to the couple to spend as they wish.

Wedding Rites

In this day and age, we Filipinos still cling numerous widely-held folk beliefs that have no scientific or logical basis. But as your lola may swear that they are indeed backed up by some past experiences, lolo may dismiss those incidents as mere coincidences.

• Never clear the table while somebody is still eating or that person will never get married.

• A bachelor or a spinster who agrees to be a ninong/ninang in a wedding will never be married.

• Brides shouldn’t try on her wedding dress before the wedding day or it will not push through.

• Knives and other sharp, pointed objects are said to be bad choices for wedding gifts as giving them will lead to a broken marriage.

• Giving an arinola (chamberpot) as a wedding gift is believed to bring good luck to the giver and the newlyweds.

Wedding Folklore & Superstitions

◦Hundred Islands National ParkComposed of a Cluster of Islands of Varying sizes. Some even have small white beaches. Ideal for swimming, boating and snorkeling.

 

Attractions

Attractions◦Nuestra Senora de Manaoag ShrineSite of the Miracilous Shrine of “Apo Baket”. It is said that  it possess healing powers and has saved the town of Manaoag from Calamities.  

Pangasinan

Attractions◦Santiago Island

This island is rich in corals that teem with marine life. Ideal for scuba enthusiasts

◦Cape Bolinao LighthouseBuilt by the Americans in 1903 on a 300-foot high promontory at the western part of Cape Bolinao. 

Pangasinan

White Beach in San Fabian

Tambobong White Beach in Dasol

Tondol Beach in Anda

Beach Walk in Lingayen

Resort in Bolinao

beaches

◦Echanted cave ◦Wonderful Cave◦Cindys Cave◦Angel Cave

 

Caves

Ilocos Region – Region 1

Presented by: Jeffry Falinchao Esther C. Ostil

End