ABOUT ILOILO

Located 238 statute miles from Manila, Iloilo is the gateway of the Western Visayas Region. The province comprises the southeastern part of Panay Island. Iloilo is 55 minutes by plane from Manila, 30 minutes from Cebu, 90 minutes from Puerto Princesa, Palawan, and one hour 45 minutes away from Gen. Santos City. Should you opt to go by sea, Sulpicio Lines, Negros Navigation and Aboitiz have ships plying from Manila (19 hours), Cagayan De Oro City (16 hours), Zamboanga City (14 hours), Cotabato (26 hours), Bacolod (a 2-hour ferry service), and Guimaras (a 20-minute ferry pumpboat service).

Natural boundaries, such as mountain ranges with peaks as high as 7,000 ft., lie between Iloilo and Antique on the west and Capiz on the north. Mainland Iloilo is composed of plain interspersed with upland portions. The capital, Iloilo City, rests between the Iloilo and Batino rivers which from the angle of a nose. This location is the root of the province's old name, ilong-ilong which means "noselike".

ECONOMY
The strategic location of Iloilo, at the center of the Philippines, makes it a hub of trade, commerce and industry. Iloilo's port facilities, infrastructure, telecommunications system and utilities make it an ideal focal point for the exchange of goods, information and services. The province of Iloilo has a land area of 4,731 square kilometers. square kilometers. It is 55 minutes by plane from Manila, 30 minutes from Cebu and 2 hours from Davao. By boat, it is 18 hrs from Manila and 12 hours from Cebu. Downtown Iloilo as seen from the Capitol.The province has an extensive range of raw materials and a large consumer market. The local government has provided incentives to business in preferred investment areas, such as income tax holidays and free issuance of permits and licenses.