BRIEF HISTORY
Long before the Spaniards came to the Philippines, settlements already existed along the coves (locally known as the looc) in the northwestern part of Luzon. This region, then known as Samtoy (from sao mi ditoy or our language) was a progressive trading post familiar to the ancient Japanese, Chinese and Malay traders and renowned for its gold mines. These settlements, called the Ylocos, from Bangui (Ilocos Norte) in the north to Namacpacan (Luna, La Union) in the south were discovered during the expedition led by Juan de Salcedo, grandson of the Spanish conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, on June 13, 1572. Salcedo's territory included the province of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Abra and La Union. This capital, later known as Vigan, became the seat of Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia in 1758, after it was transferred from Lallo, Cagayan Valley. Vigan was also called "Ciudad Fernandina" in honor of Prince Ferdinand, the son of King Philip of Spain. The Spaniard's effort to Christianize this whole region was never completely successful owing to the abusive conduct of the Augustinian friars including the maltreatment done by government and military personnel which led to serveral uprisings by the locals (the Ylocanos). On February 2, 1818, a Royal Decree was signed splitting the Ylocanos into two provinces: Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte nad also annexed Lepanto and Amburayan in Mountain Province (Cordlilleras). Act 2683 passed in March 1917 by the Philippine Legislature defined the present geopraphical boundaries of Ilocos Sur. FAST FACTS
Provine: Ilocos Sur
Capital: Vigan City
Cities: Vigan, Candon
Religion: Predominantly Cathilic
No. of Municipalities: 32
Land Area: 2,579.58 sq.km. Major Dialects: Ilocano, Tagalog, English
Ilocos Sur is located along the western coast if Northern Luzon. It is bounded by Ilocos Norte on the north, Abra on the northeast, Mountain Province on the east, Benguet on the southeast, La Union on the south and West Philippine Sea on the west. Its area of 2,579.58 sq.km. occupies about 2011 % of the total land area of Region I. The topography of Ilocos Sur is undulating to rolling with elevations ranging from 10 to 1,700 meters above sea level. HOW TO GET HERE
One can take the Manila-Laoag-Manila flights via Philippine Air Lines, Cebu Pacific and Seair/Tiger Airways - travel time is about 1.5 - 2 hours from Laoag City to Vigan City via public buses going south to Manila. By land, air-conditioned buses from Manila such as Partas, Viron and Dominion Have direct daily trips to Vigan City that usually 6 0 8 hours. The national highway traverses almost all the towns of Ilocos Sur and this major thoroughfare is being serviced by air-conditoined buses like Fariรฑas, Florida, Maria de Leon, RCJ and Partas.
