Negros Occidental
| Province of Negros Occidental | |
 Provincial seal of Negros Occidental |
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 Map of the Philippines with Negros Occidental highlighted |
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| Region | Western Visayas (Region VI) |
| Capital | Bacolod City |
| Divisions | |
| - Highly urbanized cities | 1 |
| - Component cities | 12 |
| - Municipalities | 19 |
| - Barangays | 661 |
| - Congressional districts | 7† |
| Population | 2nd largest |
| - Total (2007) | 2,565,723 |
| - Density | 324 /km² (839 /sq mi) (15th highest) |
| Area | 7th largest |
| - Total | 7,926.1 km2 (3,060 sq mi) |
| Founded | — |
| Spoken languages | Hiligaynon, Cebuano, Tagalog |
| Governor | 2008–: Isidro Zayco[1] 2001–2008: Joseph G. Marañon (NPC-Una)[2] |
| † Number includes the independent district of Bacolod City | |
Negros Occidental is a province of the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital is Bacolod City and occupies at the northwestern half of Negros island; Negros Oriental is at the southeastern half. Across the Panay Gulf and the Guimaras Strait to the northwest is the island-province of Guimaras and the province of Iloilo on Panay island.
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People
Most residents are of Austronesian heritage. Residents of Negros are called "Negrensè". Negros Occidental is predominantly a Hiligaynon-speaking province. However, on the east coast of the island (Negros Oriental), facing Cebu Island, a few cities and towns are Cebuano-speaking. English is widely spoken in both sides of the island.
Culture and arts
Negros Occidental has long been a center of culture and arts, the wealth brought about by the sugar industry made sure that the Negrense principalia enjoyed the very best when it came to finery.
Silay City to the north of the capital Bacolod City , nicknamed the "Paris of Negros" is the cultural and artistic center of Western Visayas. It boasts of 30 heritage houses declared by the national historical institute, most notable of which is Balay Negrense, it is also the hometown of National Artist of the Philippines for Architecture Leandro Locsin and International Mezzo Soprano Conchita Gaston.
Bacolod City is noted for being the home of the Negros Summer Workshops, founded by multi-award winning film-maker and Negrense, Peque Gallaga. Founded in 1991, the workshops has long been training students from different parts of the country who wish to learn courses in film-making, acting, writing, and more. Some of its alumni include actors in mainstream Philippine show business.
Another famous treasure of Negrense art heritage is to be found in Victorias City, within the confines of the Victorias Milling Company in its chapel is the world famous mural of the Angry Christ, painted by artist Alfonso Ossorioa scion of the Ossorio family who owned the mill.
Sports
The province has been touted as a sports capital. The Panaad Stadium in Bacolod City has been a venue for national and international athletic events,. most notable of which is the 23rd Southeast Asian Games men's football and the 2006 ASEAN football qualifiers.
Aside from hosting sporting events Negros Occidental has produced many of the nation's finest athletes, particularly in boxing. The likes of World Flyweight boxing champion 1923,Francisco Guilledo a.k.a Pancho Villa, current WBO minimum weight champion Donnie Nietes, 1970's WBA world junior lightweigh champion Ben Villaflor, to cite a few have all come from this province.
It is also notable for producing Olympiads, Silver Medalist Mansueto Velasco in the 1996 Summer Olympics, his brother Roel Velasco who in turn won a bronze medal in the 1992 Summer Olympics both for boxing of course.
Many other athletes of the province have also won medals, in the Asian Games, and the Southeast Asian Games.
Negros is also home to the Junior League World Series (softball) Champions for 2003, another major sports team in the past is the Negros Slashers arguably the most successful team of the now defunct Metropolitan Basketball Association
Bacolod City is also b nicknamed, the Philippine football city, for it's patronage of the sport in the country
Economy
Known as the "The Sugarbowl of the Philippines", the sugar industry is the lifeblood of the economy of Negros Occidental, producing more than half of the country's sugar. There are 15 sugar centrals located throughout the plains of the province. Victorias Mill in Victorias City is the largest sugar mill in the country, and the world's largest integrated sugar mill and refinery. Sugar is transported from plantations to refineries by large trucks that use the national highway. Because of the priority given to sugar plantations, much of the province's food has to be imported from neighboring islands.
A fishing industry is found in Cadiz City, and other fishponds dot the province. One of the country's largest copper mines is located in Sipalay City. There also exists a cottage industry which produced handicrafts made from indigenous materials.
Infrastructure
Through its capital, Bacolod City, Negros Occidental is only 50 minutes from Manila and 30 minutes from Cebu by air. By sea, it is an 18-hour cruise from Manila and an hour by fast ferries from Iloilo. It is also accessible by sea and land trip from Cebu via Escalante City, San Carlos City and Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental. Travel from Bacolod to Dumaguete is only 5 to 6 hours by land. Seven airline companies, including Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific and Air Philippines, serve the province. Four inter-island shipping lines call on 9 seaports of Negros Occidental
On January 18th, 2008, the new domestic airport was inaugurated in Silay City 16 kilommeters north of Bacolod. The new Airport replaces the 60 yr old Bacolod domestic airport. The new Bacolod/Silay Airport runway is of International Standards and was constructed to facilitate future landings of International Flights to serve the growing number of Tourists visiting Negros Occidental each year.
All cities and municipalities are linked by an extensive road and bridge network stretching more than 1,500 kilometers crisscrossing the province with seven alternative scenic routes to the nearby province of Negros Oriental. Within the province, travel is also easy, comfortable and even enjoyable by air-conditioned and non-aircon buses or metered taxis. Car rental services are also available. However, the jeepney is still the most common means of transport among the towns and cities. For accommodations, visitors may choose from a wide range of about 67 hotels, pension and lodging houses and tourist inns. The better known hotels are L’ Fisher, Bacolod Convention Plaza, Casino Filipino Hotel, and Business Inn, Sugarland Hotel, all in Bacolod City.
The province has adequate power and water supplies. It is currently interconnected to the Visayas Power Grid whose main sources of power are geothermal. Aside from its existing 170 megawatts capacity, Negros Island by the year 2006 has an additional 105 megawatts of locally produced power from geothermal plants in Bago and Palinpinon, and from bagasse co-generation facility of First Farmers Sugar Mill. Ample water supply for household, commercial, industrial and agricultural uses is assured by 73 thousand hectares of proclaimed and protected major watersheds, regular rainfall and six major river systems.
Modern communication facilities, as well as radio, television and newspapers, are available in the province. Most are provided by dominant national players in the industry like PLDT, Globe Telecom and their subsidiaries. For television and radio, the major providers are giant network ABS-CBN, GMA and RPN. Cable TV provides access to CNN, BBC, ESPN and other international programs. National and international newspapers are available on the same day of issue in Manila.
International direct dialing, fiber optic data lines and internet services are accessible in most areas of the province. Also, GSM, digital and analog cellular networks provide good coverage in Bacolod City and other areas, including international roaming. The medical and health care needs of the people of Negros Occidental and its guests are presently being met by 20 government hospitals and 10 private hospitals, as well as several city and municipal health centers, barangay health stations and day-care centers. Doctors, nurses and other medical personnel serving these facilities are not only competent but also very caring towards their patients.
There are 1,318 schools in the province, including 53 registered technical schools. Of these, 158 are private schools, including University of Saint La Salle, and University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos. Banking and finance is likewise a thriving industry in Negros Occidental. According to the latest count, there are 389 financial institutions competing for businesses in the province. 149 of these are banks. Negros Occidental offers several advantages for those who are doing business in the province. It is strategically located near Metro Manila, Cebu and Davao, all major international gateways with maximum travel time of only about 4 hours between the Philippines and its neighbors in Asia. It is equipped with major infrastructure facilities for easy travel and shipment of goods within and outside of Negros.
It has adequate information and communication facilities with excellent connection capabilities necessary for, among others, call center operations for business communication and transmission of data. The province is also blessed with abundant water supply and dependable power supply for almost any type of business endeavor. Modern health care facilities with competent medical professionals are available, as well as excellent schools to care for the needs of the investor and his family.
Food and agriculture
Negros Occidental’s output of more than 1 million metric tons for crop year 2002-2003 accounts for nearly half of the country’s sugar production in an industry that generates an estimated annual revenue of more than P18 Billion. There are 12 sugar mills in the province, of which only 10 are presently operational. Victorias Milling Company has the highest rated capacity with 15,000 tonnes cane per day.
However, the volatility of the sugar industry forced the province to shift, albeit slowly, to other high value crops and alternative industries. The diversification has proven to be successful. Production of rice, the basic commodity for food security, has been increasing. By 2003, annual output of 437 thousand metric tons of palay was 33% better than two years ago. This allowed the province to significantly raise its sufficiency level from 65% to more than 84%. The improvement could be attributed to the introduction and promotion of hybrid rice, which increased rice yields to 3.8 metric tons per hectare. Because of the success of the program, area planted to hybrid rice has increased nearly five-fold. The highest hybrid yield was recorded at 10.3 tons per hectare.
Corn also registered increasing gains. Production for 2003 of 42 thousand metric tons outperformed 2001 output by 18%. Average yield per hectare has also grown by 18%. Other fruit and vegetable crops, except for banana and cassava, likewise improved their harvest. Harvested coconut was placed at 139 million nuts, while production of banana; fruit and vegetable crops totaled 110 million kilograms. Livestock and poultry are industries where Negros Occidental has strongly diversified.
With the province successfully quarantined from the dreaded Foot & Mouth Disease and the Bird Flu, and with other endemic diseases under control, total production of livestock and poultry in 2003 of 49 thousand metric tons exceeded estimated local demand by 18%. Fishing is likewise an industry where the province has remained focused. After all, 9 of its cities and 16 of its municipalities are located along the coast and a great portion of the population depends on fishing for their livelihood.
The area for exploitation by this industry is huge covering most of the coastal areas and the rich fishing grounds of the Visayan Sea on the north, Sulu Sea on the south, Tañon Strait on the east, Guimaras Strait and Panay Gulf at the southern portion of the province. These rich coastal areas and fishing grounds continue to be generous to the people of Negros Occidental. In 2003, products from deep-sea fishing, municipal marine and inland waters, and aquaculture reached 87 thousand metric tons, 30% better than 2001 production.
The province is rich in mineral deposits. Minerals that abound in the province are primary copper with estimated reserve of 591 million metric tons and gold ore with estimated reserve of 25 million tons. Silver and molybdenum deposits are also abundant, as well as non-metallic minerals suitable for agricultural and industrial uses. Notwithstanding its great potential, the mining industry in Negros Occidental has remained virtually dormant since the biggest copper mine in Sipalay suspended its operation.
Geography
Political
Negros Occidental is subdivided into 19 municipalities and 13 cities. Negros Occidental has the most chartered cities among all the provinces in the Philippines, it is the second largest province in the Philippines in terms of population after Cebu, with the second largest number of congressional districts. It is the 7th largest in terms of land area
Cities
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Municipalities
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Physical
The north and western parts of the province are largely composed of plains and gentle slopes. A mountain range lines the eastern part of the province forming the basis of the border with Negros Oriental. Mount Kanlaon, which is partially located in Negros Oriental, rises to a height of 2465 meters and is the highest peak in the Visayas.
History
The island of Negros was originally known to the natives as "Buglas". When the Spaniards discovered the island in April 1565, they named it "Negros" because of the dark-skinned natives they found. Two of the earliest native settlements were Binalbagan and Ilog which later became towns in 1573 and 1584, respectively. Other settlements were Hinigaran, Negros Occidental, Bago, Marayo (now Pontevedra), Mamalan (now Himamaylan) and Candaguit (a sitio in San Enrique).
Ilog was made the first capital of the province in 1743. This was later transferred to Himamaylan. Bacolod became the capital in 1849.
The island was divided into Negros Oriental and Negros Occidental in 1890.
On November 5, 1898, a rebellion led by Juan Araneta and Aniceto Lacson began which ended with the defeat of the Spaniards. Following their victory, the revolutionaries formed a Republic of Negros which later included Negros Oriental.
During the succeeding decades between 1901 to the 1930s, Negros Occidental was under the American occupation as with the rest of the country. Nonetheless, the economic growth continued especially with Philippine sugar having a part of the US market despite some accompanying socio-economic problems during this period. When the Japanese landed in the province on May 21, 1942, civilian and military leaders in Negros Occidental refused to surrender and instead organized a free government and guerilla movement under Gov. Alfredo Montelibano Sr. in Negros Island. They helped bring about the surrender of the Japanese forces in Negros in 1945.
The history of the province for the post World War II period has yet to be formally written. Suffice it to briefly note here that this was mainly a period of rehabilitation from destruction of the war. With the sugar industry, the major pillar of the province's economy, as well as other areas being revived, consequent socio-economic growth in the province followed.
The socio-economic life of Negros Occidental from the 1950s up to the 1980s depended as before mainly on the sugar industry. Producing annually about 60% of the country's sugar output, an expansion in the industry with the establishment of several new mills in the late 1960s spurred increased production. A downturn caused by the low world sugar prices in the mid-1970 was followed by possibly the worst sugar prices hitting rock bottom in 1985. The province was also hit by two destructive typhoons in 1984, Nitang and Undang, after a serious drought in 1983.
Negros del Norte was created from Negros Occidental on January 3, 1986. Its creation was declared unconstitutional on July 11, 1986, and was abolished on August 18, 1986.
Towards the end of 1987, the rays of hope started to shine when the over-all economic situation showed a positive upturn. The campaign for agricultural diversification had been gaining momentum, paving the way for more landowners to invest in prawn farming and high-value crops such as fruits, vegetables, livestock and other cash crops.
Investments upswing became apparent by 1988. The participation of the industrial sector accelerated the consumer-led economic growth and development manifested by the increase in sales of consumer goods and by-products.
Today Negros Occidental remains one of the most progressive and largely developed Philippine province, in large due to the profits from the sugar industry but also due to diversification to other fields.
See also
- Negros Revolution
- Category:People from Negros Occidental
- Category:Negros Occidental
References
- ↑ "Negrenses bid final farewell to Gov Marañon", Inquirer.net (2008-03-17). Retrieved on 2008-03-18.
- ↑ "Negros Occidental gov dead at 74", ABS-CBN Interactive (2008-03-14). Retrieved on 2008-03-14.
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