page_title: Iloilo City
section_title: The Revolutionary Period (1896)
hierarchical_section_title: Iloilo City / History / The Revolutionary Period (1896)
context_page_description: Iloilo City, officially the City of Iloilo, is a 1st class highly urbanized city on Panay Island in Western Visayas, Philippines. It is the capital city of the province of Iloilo where it is geographically situated but, in terms of government and administration, it is politically independent. In addition, it is the center of the Iloilo-Guimaras Metropolitan Area, as well as the regional center and primate city of the Western Visayas region. In the 2015 census, Iloilo City had a population of 447,992 inhabitants, with a 1.02% population annual growth rate. For the metropolitan area, the total population is 946,146 inhabitants.
  Iloilo City is a conglomeration of former towns, which are now the geo-political districts consisting of: Villa Arevalo, Iloilo City Proper, Jaro, La Paz, Mandurriao and Molo. The district of Lapuz, a former part of La Paz, was declared a separate district in 2008.
  It was founded in 1566 when the Spaniards established a settlement area between the towns of Oton and the city's present district of La Villa Rica de Arevalo as the second Spanish colonial center after Cebu in the Philippine islands.
context_section_description: The immediate reaction of Ilonggo elite to the outbreak of the 1896 rebellion in Manila was that of surprise. They immediately responded with protestations of outrage and affirmed their loyalty to Spain. The Ilonggos themselves were united in their support of Spain during the first two years of the revolutionary period.
  Shortly after the Cry of Balintawak, the Jaro Ayuntamiento (another colonial city adjacent to Iloilo City), composed of native Ilonggos, convened a special session on 1 September 1896, where the Manila uprising was condemned as an unpatriotic act "that finds no echo in the noble hearts of Jareños, who do not forget the immense gratitude they owe Spain who, from nothing, raised us to a life of civilization and progress."
  The Ayuntamiento of Iloilo also affirmed its allegiance and loyalty to Spain and made a similar protestation. Condemning the uprising, the city's letter to the Governor General says:
  "Those dark betrayals, the mere notion of which embarrasses good and loyal Filipinos, have produced a unanimous sentiment of protest and indignation among the Ilongo people, who engrave its most honorable blazon in the sacred and inextinguishable love that it professes to the glorious Spanish nationality that it legitimately feels proud of. The Ilongos are Spaniards, Your Excellency, and Spaniards will they be until death, because they do not want to live and die in another way than under the shadow of the august Castillan standard, to which they owe being dignified and free men now."
  The foreign community in the city also asked its representatives to visit local authorities and to elevate their protests against the revolt. And so did the Filipino parish priests of Jaro, Molo, Mandurriao, and Arévalo. Towns in Iloilo province also condemned the Manila uprising, and those of the neighboring provinces of Cápiz and Antique, as well as the island of Negros, followed suit. This emboldened the Ilonggo elite to initiate the organization of volunteers to be sent to quell what was seen as a mostly-Tagalog rebellion. The move was backed by the Spanish and foreign communities of Iloilo. A battalion of five hundred native volunteers was raised, which was divided into two companies, and placed under the cadre of mostly Spanish officers. They arrived in Manila on 16 January 1897. They were one of the largest native contingent to serve the government forces against Katipunan troops led by Emilio Aguinaldo, in the battlegrounds of Cavite province.
  The Ilonggo volunteers established for themselves a distinguished combat record in Cavite. Once the Pact of Biak-na-Bato was signed, they returned to Iloilo. In April 1898 their homecoming, just like their departure, was met with much fanfare. This galvanized the Ilonggos into more public outpourings and manifestations of loyalty to Spain.
  Due to the loyalty of the Ilonggos, the city of Iloilo was honored with the perpetual title of Muy Noble. The Royal Decree granting this title was signed on 1 March 1898 by Queen Regent Maria Cristina. Over time, this title earned for Iloilo City the reputation of it being "The Queen's Favored City in the South" or simply "Queen's City in the South", being the second Spanish port of importance next to Manila, and being located South of the Archipelago's Capital. On a side note, at the beginning of the American period, Cebu became the second port of importance (Iloilo having been partly ravaged by bombardment, fire, and riot during the American occupation of Iloilo City).
  Yet, it was also during this period of Philippine history that Iloilo was more popularly known as the "Queen City of the South". This points to the fact that the moniker was associated to the Queen Regent's favor and to the honorary title granted to Iloilo City as Muy Noble Ciudad, due to the loyalty of its citizens to the Spanish Crown. Besides, the Ilonggos, who were among the first allies of the Spanish Crown in the archipelago, contributed in the Spanish conquest of Luzon. It was in Arevalo (later, a district of Iloilo City), Panay that the conquest of Luzon was planned and la
caption: Modern day Plaza Libertad (formerly Plaza Alfonso XII [El Doceavo]) at night
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