Western Visayas Region

Western Visayas Region VI
Region
From top, left to right: Calle Real in Iloilo City; Santa Monica Parish Church in Panay, Capiz; Boracay Island in Malay, Aklan
Location in the Philippines
Coordinates: 10°35′N 122°35′E / 10.58°N 122.58°E / 10.58; 122.58Coordinates: 10°35′N 122°35′E / 10.58°N 122.58°E / 10.58; 122.58
Country	Philippines
Island group	Visayas
Regional center	Iloilo City
Area
• Total	12,828.97 km2 (4,953.29 sq mi)
Population (2015 census)
• Total	4,477,247
• Density	350/km2 (900/sq mi)
Time zone	PST (UTC+8)
ISO 3166 code	PH-06
Provinces	5 Aklan Antique Capiz Guimaras Iloilo
Cities	3 Iloilo City Passi Roxas
Municipalities	95
Barangays	3,389
Cong. districts	11
Languages	Hiligaynon Aklanon/Malaynon Capiznon Kinaray-a Filipino English

Western Visayas (Hiligaynon: Kabisay-an Nakatundan; Filipino: Kanlurang Kabisayaan) is an administrative region in the Philippines, numerically 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 sole regional center. The region is dominated by the native speakers of four Visayan languages: Hiligaynon, Aklanon, Capiznon and Kinaray-a. The land area of the region is 12,828.97 km² (4,953.29 sq mi), and with a population of 4,477,247 inhabitants, it is the second most populous region in the Visayas.

On May 29, 2015, the region was redefined, when Region VI both lost the province of Negros Occidental and the highly urbanized city of Bacolod to the newly formed Negros Island Region.

Regions first came into existence on September 24 of 1972, when the provinces of the Philippines were organized into 11 regions by Presidential Decree No. 1 as part of the Integrated Reorganization Plan by President Ferdinand Marcos. The provinces of Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Iloilo (including its then-subprovince of Guimaras) and Negros Occidental were grouped together to form the Western Visayas region.