Ilocos Region

Ilocos Region Region I
Region
From left-to-right, top-to-bottom: Bangui Wind Farm; Paoay Church; Thunderbird Resort
Location in the Philippines
Coordinates: 16°37′N 120°19′E / 16.62°N 120.32°E / 16.62; 120.32Coordinates: 16°37′N 120°19′E / 16.62°N 120.32°E / 16.62; 120.32
Country	Philippines
Island group	Luzon
Regional center	San Fernando (La Union)
Area
• Total	13,012.60 km2 (5,024.19 sq mi)
Population (2015 census)
• Total	5,026,128
• Density	390/km2 (1,000/sq mi)
Time zone	PST (UTC+8)
ISO 3166 code	PH-01
Provinces	4 Ilocos Norte Ilocos Sur La Union Pangasinan
Cities	9 Alaminos Batac Candon Dagupan Laoag San Carlos San Fernando Urdaneta Vigan
Municipalities	116
Barangays	3,265
Cong. districts	12
Languages	Ilocano (Iloko) Pangasinan Bolinao English Filipino (Tagalog)

The Ilocos Region (Ilocano: Rehion/Deppaar ti Ilocos; Pangasinan: Sagor na Baybay na Luzon; Filipino: Rehiyon ng Ilocos) is an administrative region of the Philippines, designated as Region I, occupying the northwestern section of Luzon. It is bordered by the Cordillera Administrative Region to the east, the Cagayan Valley to the northeast and southeast, and the Central Luzon to the south. To the west lies the South China Sea.

The region comprises four provinces: Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union and Pangasinan. Its regional center is San Fernando, La Union. The 2000 Census reported that the major languages spoken in the region are Ilocano at 66.36% of the total population at that time, Pangasinan with 27.05%, and Tagalog with 3.21%.

Region 1 was first inhabited by the aboriginal Negritoes before they were pushed by successive waves of Malay/Austronesian immigrants that penetrated the narrow coast. Tingguians in the interior, Ilocanos in the north, and Pangasinense in the south settled the region. Before the administration of Ferdinand Marcos, Pangasinan was not a part of the region.

The Spanish arrived in the 16th century and established Christian missions and governmental institutions to control the native population and convert them to Catholicism. Present-day Vigan in Ilocos Sur province became the diocesan seat of Nueva Segovia. Ilocanos in the northern parts were less easily swayed, however, and remained an area filled with deep resentments against Spain. These resentments bubbled to the surface at various points in the Ilocos provinces' history as insurrections, most notably that of Andres Malong and Palaris of Pangasinan, Diego Silang and his wife Gabriela Silang in 1764, and the Basi Revolt in the 19th century. However, it was the Pangasinenses in the south who were the last to be stand against the Spaniards.