“The City of Smiles”

History

Bacolod was not established as a town until 1755 or 1756, after the inhabitants of the coastal
settlement of San Sebastián de Magsung̃ ay, were attacked by forces under Datu Bantílan of Sulu on
July 14, 1755 and the villagers transferred from the coast to a hilly area called Bacólod. Bernardino
de los Santos became the first gobernadorcillo (English: municipal judge or governor). The town of
Bacolod was constituted as a parroquia (English: parish) in 1788 under the secular clergy, but did
not have a resident priest until 1802, as the town was served by the priest from Bago, and later
Binalbagan. By 1790, slave raids on Bacolod by Moro pirates had ceased.
In 1846, upon the request of Msgr. Romualdo Jimeno, bishop of Cebu and Negros at that
time, Gobernador General (English: Governor-General) Narciso Clavería y Zaldúa sent to Negros a
team of Recollect missionaries headed by Fr. Fernando Cuenca.A decree of 20 June 1848
by Gobernador General Clavería ordered the restructuring of Negros politically and religiously. The
following year (1849), Negros Island Gobernadorcillo Manuel Valdevieso y Morquecho transferred
the capital of the Province of Negros from Himamaylan to Bacolod and the Augustinian Recollects
were asked to assume spiritual administration of Negros, which they did that same year. Transfer of
Bacolod to the Recollects, however, took place only in 1871. Fray Mauricio Ferrero became the first
Augustinian Recollect parish priest of Bacolod and successor to the secular priest, Fr. Mariano Ávila.
In 1863, a compulsory primary public school system was set up.
In 1889, Bacolod became the capital of Occidental Negros when the Province of Negros was
politically divided into the separate provinces of Occidental Negros (Spanish: Negros Occidental)
and Oriental Negros.
In 1899, American forces occupied Bacolod and on October 19, 1938 by virtue of Commonwealth
Act No. 326, Bacolod was made a chartered city. However, on May 21, 1942 the city was also
colonized by the Japanese Forces, the independence was gained on May 29, 1945.

Population/ Language/ Area

As of 2010, Bacolod City recorded a total population of 511,820. Nat

ives are called as Negrense, Ilonggo/Ilongga or Bacolenos. The people mainly speaks Hiligaynon as
their language. There are other who speaks English.

Bacolod City has a total land area of 162.67 km2 (62.81 sq mi), consists mainly of infrastructures and
modern buildings.

Antiques, handwoven cloth like hablon (a native developed shimmer fabric), shellcraft, ceramic ware,
woodcraft, leather goods, pottery, baskets and children’s garments are among the best buys. Others
are shellcraft, ceramic ware and woodcraft.

Tourists may visit the ANP Negros Showroom and the Central Market which features best Negrese
handicrafts and products such as houseware, decorative objects, garments, gift items and even food
delicacies, , textiles, native delicacies and fresh fruits such as rambutan, mangosteen, guapple
(hybrid guava and apple), durian, atis and golden mangoes.
And for antique furniture, heirloom pieces, and wooden images of saints and curio items, one may
visit Casa Grande Antiques shop.

Business Opportunity

Bacolod has been recommended by the Department of Science and Technology’s Information and
Communication Technology Office (ICTO) and Business Processing Association of the Philippines
(BPAP) as the best location in the Visayas for business process outsourcing activities (BPO).

Bacolod is the Philippines’ third fastest growing economy in terms of IT-BPO growth.

Among the notable business process outsourcing companies operating in the city are Convergys,
Teleperformance, TeleTech, Transcom, Panasiatic, Focus Direct, and Telequest.

Tourist Spots

 Bacolod City Plaza Bandstand – this is the center for cultural activities of the early Bacolenos during
weekends, located at the Bacolod City Public Plaza.
 CApitol Park and Lagoon – this park is located in front of the Capitol Building where it features
sculptural work of a woman and a female water buffalo done by a French artist, as well as a man
and male buffalo which was also done by a native Negrense artist.
 The Province Capitol Building – built in 1927 and finished 1933. This building is used to be the
current seat of the Provincial Government of Occidental Negros. The building boasts its
architectural design of Neo-Roman classic style that was really quite impressive. When the
Japanese occupied the country, the building was used as the General Headquarters of the Japanese
Imperial Army.
 Negros Museum Provincial Capitol Building – this museum was opened last March 18, 1996 and
now under the Negros Cultural Foundation, an NGO organization committed to preserving the
cultural and historical heritage of Negros.

 Masskara Festival – this famous festival of the city is celebrated every third weekend of October
nearest October 19, the city’s Charter Inauguration Anniversary. The dancers are wearing colorful
clothes and maskara (mask) throughout the festival. Masskara derived from two words
“mass” which means a multitude of people and cara, meaning faces, thus forming Masskara which
basically means “multitude of faces”.

This festival celebrates the indigenousculture of Western Visayas with
handicrafts and performers. Western Visayas is the festival region of the
country. Throughout the whole region, colorful and vibrant festivals range
through musical, religious, cultural and harvest to name just a few.
REGION 6 PROFILE

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION

Region VI or Western Visayas is composed of the four provinces of Panay,

theGuimaras Island and the western portion of the island of Negros and its outlying
islands. Its boundaries are the Visayan Sea on the east, the Cuyo East Pass on the west,
the Sibuyan Sea and Romblon on the north and the Cagayan Islandon the
southwest.Western Visayas has a total land area of 20,223.2 sq. kms. and covers six
provinces: Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Iloilo, Negros Occidental and Guimaras. The region
has nine cities namely: Bacolod, Bago, Cadiz, La Carlota, Roxas, San
Carlos, Silay with IloiIo City as the regional capital. The latest city in the Region is the City
of Passi of Iloilo.

Its topography is characterized by relatively wide stretches of coastal lowlands with

rugged hills and mountains in the interior.

POPULATION

In 2000, the region’s total population reached 6,147,000. The population increased by
6% from 1995. In 1990, the urban population was 36% of the total population.

CULTURAL GROUPS

The region’s ethno linguistic people are called Panay-Hiligaynons (Ilonggos, Aklanons,
Capiceños, Antiqueños and Negrenses).

CLIMATE
The province has no pronounced climate. It has a short dry season and is relatively wet
the rest of the year.

LAND USE
Region VI is an agricultural region with an area of around 1.05 M hectares or 52% of the
total land area. 35.4% of this is riceland. The region also produces sugar, coconut,
banana, fruits, root crops and vegetables.It is one of the top food producers in the
country. It is the largest producer of sugar, 63% of the total sugar produced in 1996. In
1996, it was the third largest rice producer among the regions, third ranking marine fish
producer, and fourth largest aquaculture supplier.
NATURAL RESOURCES
Western Visayas is one of the richest regions in the country in terms of natural
resources. Its forests however have been denuded due to indiscriminate logging. Its
waters abound with numerous species of fish and other marine products. Mineral
resources include copper, gold, silver, clay, limestone, coal, sand and gravel and other
non-metallic.It is a key fisheries development area, with its 84 coastal municipalities,
eight major fishing grounds, inland bodies of water and 43,050 hectares of fishponds.
INDUSTRIES
The major economic activities of the region are farming, sugar, rice and corn milling,
fishing, mining and trading. Forward and backward integration in production, processing
or marketing are good areas for investment. Other important industries include livestock
and poultry raising and cottage industries such as rattan craft, food preservation,
ceramics and confectionery manufacturing.The region has a competitive advantage in
the production of seaweeds, mangoes, pineapple, banana and cashew.URBAN
CENTERS The major trading and commercial centers of Western Visayas are the cities
of Bacolod, Bago, Cadiz, La Carlota, San Carlos and Silay in Negros Occidental; Iloilo
City in Iloilo; Roxas City in Capiz; San Jose in Antique and Kalibo in
Aklan.Metropolitan Iloilo, composed of Iloilo city and the municipalities of Oton, San
Miguel, Pavia and Leganes, is planned to be the center for residential, commercial,
financial and industrial activities for the region.

FACILITIES
The road network of Panay is almost 2,000 kilometers. Iloilo has the longest stretch of
paved roads. The region has several seaports and airports for both water and air travel.
Telephone, postal and telegraphic services are available. Electricity and water supply
are accessible to the population.

Provinces and Capital

Aklan - Kalibo

Antique - San Jose de Buenavista

Capiz - Roxas City

Guimaras - Jordan

Iloilo - Iloilo City

Negros Occidental - Bacolod CityHiligaynon is the lingua franca of the West Visayas in Philippines. The mother language of Wes
t Visayas is Kiniray-
a or Hiraya.The popular literary artforms in Western Visayas are the binalaybay or poem, the paktakon or riddle, the sugidanon
orstory/folktale, the banggianay or debate, the

hurobaton

or proverbs, asoy or epic, amba or songs, and the komposo or traditional song.