Ilocos Region

The Ilocos Region (Filipino: Rehiyon ng Ilocos; Ilocano: Rehion ti Ilocos or Deppaar ti Ilocos; Pangasinan: Rihiyon na Sagor na Baybay na Luzon (Region at the Northwest Coast of Luzon)) is a region of the Philippines, designated as Region I. It is located in the northwest of Luzon, bordering to the east the regions of the Cordillera Administrative Region and Cagayan Valley and to the south the region of Central Luzon. To the northwest is the South China Sea.

The region is composed of four provinces, namely: Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union and Pangasinan. Its regional center is San Fernando, La Union. Ilocano speakers compose 66% of the region, Pangasinan speakers are 27%, and Tagalog compose 3%.

History

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.