Ilocos Region

The region was first inhabited by the aboriginal Negritos, before they were pushed by successive waves of Austronesian immigrants that penetrated the narrow coast. Tingguians (Igorot) in the interior, Ilocanos in the north, Pangasinenses in the south, and Zambals in the southwesternmost areas settled the region.

As commercial trading routes became established in Southeast Asia, the pre-Hispanic Luyag na Caboloan (present-day Pangasinan) area in the vicinity of Lingayen gulf became maritime trading centers, as gold mined from the Cordillera Mountain Range came down along the Aringay-Tonglo-Balatok gold trail,[6][7] and was also traded in the neighboring settlement of Agoo, whose coast at the time was shaped in such a way that it was a good harbor for foreign vessels.[8][9]

Evidence of trade between the then-Pangasinense port of Agoo and China has been excavated in the form of porcelain and pottery pieces unearthed at the site of the Catholic church during its renovation, - which are now kept in the Museo de Iloko.[8] Japanese fishermen eventually established their first settlement in the Philippines there, passing on their fishing skills and technologies to the local populace.[8]

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 surfaced 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 Pangasinans in the south who were the last to stand against the Spaniards.[10]

In 1901, the region came under American colonial rule, and in 1941, under Japanese occupation.

During 1945, the combined American and the Philippine Commonwealth troops including with the Ilocano and Pangasinan guerillas liberated the Ilocos Region from Japanese forces during the Second World War.

Several presidents of the Republic of the Philippines hailed from the Region: Elpidio Quirino, Ferdinand Marcos, and Fidel V. Ramos. The province of Pangasinan was transferred by Ferdinand Marcos from Region III into Region I in 1973 and afterwards imposed a migration policy for Ilokanos into Pangasinan, to the moderate detriment of the native Pangasinenses. Before the administration of Ferdinand Marcos, Pangasinan was not a part of the region.[11] He also included Abra, Mountain Province, and Benguet in the Ilocos region in a bid to expand Ilokano influence among the ethnic peoples of the Cordilleras.[12]

Various human rights violations were documented in the Ilocos region during the Marcos martial law era, despite public perception that the region was supportive of Marcos' administration.[13] In Ilocos Norte, various farmers from the towns of Vintar, Dumalneg, Solsona, Marcos, and Piddig were documented to have been tortured,[13] and eight farmers in Bangui and three indigenous community members in Vintar were "salvaged" in 1984.[13]

Ilocanos who were critical of Marcos' authoritarian rule included Roman Catholic Archbishop and Agoo, La Union native Antonio L. Mabutas, who spoke actively against the torture and killings of church workers.[14][15] Other La Union natives who fought the dictatorship were student activists Romulo and Armando Palabay of San Fernando, La Union, whose torture and death in a military camp in Pampanga would lead them to being honored as martyrs in the fight against the dictatorship in the Philippines' Bantayog ng mga Bayani memorial.[16]

In Ilocos Norte, one of the prominent victims of the Martial Law era who came from Laoag was Catholic layperson and social worker Purificacion Pedro, who volunteered in organizations protesting the Chico River Dam Project in the nearby Cordillera Central mountains.[17] Wounded while visiting activist friends in Bataan, she was later killed by Marcos administration soldiers while recuperating in the hospital.[18][19] Another prominent opponent of the martial law regime was human rights advocate and Bombo Radyo Laoag program host David Bueno, who worked with the Free Legal Assistance Group in Ilocos Norte during the later part of the Marcos administration and the early part of the succeeding Aquino administration. He would later be assassinated by motorcycle-riding men in fatigue uniforms on October 22, 1987 – part of a wave of assassinations which coincided with the 1986-87 coup d'état which tried to unseat the democratic government set up after the 1986 People Power Revolution.[20] Both Bueno and Pedro were later honored among the first 65 people to have their names inscribed on the wall of remembrance of the Philippines' Bantayog ng mga Bayani, which honors the martyrs and heroes who fought the dictatorship,[21] and Pedro was listed among Filipino Catholics nominated to be named Servant of God.[22]

When the Cordillera Administrative Region was established in 1987 under Corazon Aquino, the indigenous provinces of Abra, Mountain Province, and Benguet were transferred into the newly formed region.

The Ilocos Region comprises 4 provinces, 1 independent component city, 8 component cities, 116 municipalities, and 3,265 barangays.[23]

The Ilocos provinces are the historical homeland of the Ilocanos. In the 2000 Census, the Ilocanos comprised 64% of the region, Pangasinan people 32.5%, and the Tagalogs 3%.[5]

Pangasinan is the historical homeland of the Pangasinans. The population of Pangasinan comprises approximately 60% of the total population of the region. The Ilocanos started migrating to Pangasinan in the 19th century.[38] Pangasinan was formerly a province of Region III (Central Luzon) before President Marcos signed Presidential Decree No. 1, 1972, incorporating it into Region I. Minority groups include the Tingguian and Isneg communities that inhabit the foothills of the Cordillera mountains, and Sambals who settle in west Pangasinan. Other minority groups not native in the region include Maguindanaons, Maranaos, Tausugs, Kapampangans, Cebuanos, Hiligaynons and foreigners and their Filipino-born descendants such as Chinese[39]and Indians.[40]

Ilocano is the main language of the native majority in the region, with La Union recognized it as an official language since 2012.[41] It became widespread in neighboring regions of Cagayan Valley (Region II), Cordillera Administrative Region and major parts of Central Luzon (Region III)—where Ilocanos settled—as a lingua franca among respective Ilocano and non-Ilocano residents. Ilocano is also recognized as a minority language in Mindoro, Palawan and Mindanao (particularly in some areas in Soccsksargen), where Ilocanos had have been significant residents since the early 20th century. It is a third most widely spoken language in the Philippines, estimating 11 million speakers as of 2022. The language has many speakers overseas, including the American states of California and Hawaii.[42] Filipino/Tagalog and English are also spoken and understood in the region, utilized in business, education and media. Other languages spoken in the region include Pangasinan (a native language in the eponymous Pangasinan province among the ethnic group of the same name) and Cordilleran languages (near the borders of the Cordillera Administrative Region). Languages not native in the region are also spoken there such as Maranao, Maguindanaon, Tausug, Kapampangan, Cebuano and Hiligaynon to varying degrees by their respective ethnic communities within the region.

The population is predominantly Roman Catholic with strong adherents of Protestantism such as the Aglipayan denomination further north of the country where it is originated. There are also adherents to other religions, such as Iglesia ni Cristo, Mormons, and the like. There is also an undercurrent of traditional animistic beliefs especially in rural areas. Islam is a significant minority religion in the region especially in some urban areas adhered by minority Maranaos and other Moro communities, with some former Christian Ilocanos converted to that religion either by study abroad or contact with Moro migrants from the southern Philippines. The small mercantile Chinese and Indian communities are primarily Buddhists, Taoists, Hindus, Jains and Sikhs.