iloilo

The City of Iloilo (Filipino: Lungsod ng Iloilo, Hiligaynon: Ciudad sang Iloilo) in the Philippines is the capital of, but independent from, the province of Iloilo. It is the economic hub of the Western Visayas region, as well as the center of the Iloilo-Guimaras Metropolitan Area.
Iloilo was historically one of the major agricultural centers of the Philippines, exporting sugar, copra, bananas, mangoes and other natural resources during the Spanish and American colonial periods.
In the 2007 census, Iloilo City had a population of 418,710 households with a 2.0% annual growth rate. Iloilo City recently topped a survey by MoneySense Magazine as one of the "Best Place to Live in the Philippines...!Hiligaynon is the language spoken in Iloilo City. English is used as the language of business and education but its use among the populance is fading that the average speaker needs remedial English courses to remain viable in the international job market unlike Singapore or India. In addition, Tagalog and other local dialects such as Karay-a (also known as Kinaray-a) are also spoken.
Hiligaynon or Ilonggo is part of the Austronesian language branch spoken in Western Visayas. The Austronesian languages are a family of languages widely dispersed throughout the islands of Southeast Asia and the Pacific, with a few members on continental Asia. Hiligaynon is concentrated in the provinces of Iloilo and Negros Occidental. There are approximately 7,000,000 people in and outside the Philippines who are native speakers of Hiligaynon, and an additional 4,000,000 who are capable of speaking it with a substantial degree of proficiency. Ilonggo is also the name of the culture associated with the people speaking Hiligaynon.