Visayas

The Visayas /vᵻˈsaɪəz/ və-SY-əz or the Visayan Islands (Visayan: Kabisay-an; Tagalog: Kabisayaan), is one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Mindanao and Luzon. It consists of several islands, primarily surrounding the Visayan Sea, although the Visayas are considered the northeast extremity of the entire Sulu Sea. Its inhabitants are predominantly the Visayans.

The major islands of the Visayas are Panay, Negros, Cebu, Bohol, Leyte, and Samar. The region may also include the islands of Romblon and Masbate, whose population identify as Visayan and whose languages are more closely related to other Visayan languages than to the major languages of Luzon.

There are four administrative regions in the Visayas: Western Visayas (4.7 million), Negros Island Region (3.6 million), Central Visayas (6.8 million), and Eastern Visayas (4.1 million).

Etymology

A theory proposed by some scholars states that the term Visayas was derived from the name of a 7th-century thalassocratic Malay Srivijaya Empire. In Sanskrit, sri (श्री) means "fortunate," "prosperous," or "happy" and vijaya (विजय) means "victorious" or "excellence". In the 12th century, parts of the Sulu Archipelago and the Visayas Islands were either subject or tributaries of the empire.

Western Visayas

Western Visayas (Filipino: Kanlurang Kabisayaan; Hiligaynon: Bisayás Nakatundan) is one of the regions of the Philippines. It is designated as "Region VI". It consists of five provinces (Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras and Iloilo) and one highly urbanized city (Iloilo City) which serves as the regional center.

History

The Western Visayas region was created from Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Iloilo (including its then-subprovince of Guimaras) and Negros Occidental by Presidential Decree No. 1 as part of the Integrated Reorganisation Plan of President Ferdinand Marcos.

The Province of Palawan was transferred to Region VI (Western Visayas) on May 23, 2005 by Executive Order 429. The Department of the Interior and Local Government announced in June 2005 that the transfer had been completed. However, Palaweños criticized the move, citing a lack of consultation, with most residents in Puerto Princesa City and all municipalities but one preferring to stay with Region IV-B. Consequently, Administrative Order No. 129 was issued on August 19, 2005 to address this backlash. This Order directed the abeyance of Executive Order 429 pending the approval of an implementation plan for the orderly transfer of Palawan from Region IV-B to Region VI. Hence, Palawan is currently still part of Region IV-B.