Governor of Iloilo

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Governor of Iloilo
Gobernador ng Lalawigan ng Iloilo (in Tagalog)
Seal of the Province of Iloilo
Incumbent Arthur Defensor Jr. since June 30, 2019
Style	His Excellency, Honorable
Seat	Iloilo Provincial Capitol
Term length	3 years, renewable for 3 consecutive terms
Inaugural holder	Diego de la Correa (Spanish administration) Martin Delgado (Civil Government)
Formation	1634 (start of the Spanish administration) 1901 (start of the Civil Government by virtue of Philippine Commission Provincial Government Act)
Deputy	Vice-Governor
Website	Official Website of the Provincial Government of Iloilo

The Governor of Iloilo (Filipino: Punong Lalawigan ng Iloilo) is the local chief executive of the Philippine province of Iloilo. The governor holds office at the Iloilo Provincial Capitol (Spanish: Casa Real de Iloilo) located at Bonifacio Drive, Iloilo City. Like all local government heads in the Philippines, the governor is elected via popular vote, and may not be elected for a fourth consecutive term (although the former governor may return to office after an interval of one term). In case of death, resignation or incapacity, the vice governor becomes the governor. Along with the governors of Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras and Negros Occidental, he sits in the Regional Development Council of the Western Visayas Region.

The current governor is Arthur Defensor Jr. who took the seat for the first time starting July 1, 2019 replacing his father Arthur Defensor Sr. who completed the full three terms as provincial governor.^[1]

History[]

The first Alcalde-Mayor (present-day governor) of Iloilo province to be appointed by the Spanish monarch was Diego de la Correa who held this position from 1634 - 1636. In the early years of Spanish settlement, only a handful of towns has been established. In 1565, the Legazpi expedition which include Mateo del Saz, the Maestre de Campo (Ship Commander), Juan de la Isla and Father Martin de Rada exploring the islands in search for food reached the northeastern portion of Panay island.^[2] Father Martin de Rada founded Araut (present day Dumangas) in the same year 1565 becoming the oldest town in Iloilo and built a small chapel there.^[3] A Spanish settlement was established in Ogtong (present day Oton) and made the pueblo of the province in 1570. Due to the frequent raids of the Moro pirates from Mindanao, Dutch and English buccaneers posed a threat to Ogtong, the capital of the province was transferred to La Villa Rica de Arevalo in 1581. It then becomes the seat of Spanish government of the whole of Iloilo, Panay (Capiz, Aklan and Antique) Negros, Guimaras, Cuyu-Palawan, Caluya, Romblon and Boracay as Miguel Loarca wrote. Other towns established at these period were Pototan, Sibucao (now Passi City) and Dingle, Laglag (now Dueñas), Salog, Guimbal(1703), Miagao(1716), Leon(1730), Cabatuan(1733), Alimodian(1754), Igbaras(1761), Janiuay(1769), Tubungan(1768), Santa Barbara and Maasin are among the first group of villages that were given a pueblo (town hood) status.^[4]

Provincial Capitol[]

The old Iloilo Provincial Capitol (Spanish: Casa Real de Iloilo) was the office of the provincial government and official residence of the governor since 1849 with the original structure made out of wood and stone. The new modern Iloilo Provincial Capitol was constructed just behind the old provincial capitol and was completed in 2006. It was designed by Architect Guillermo Hisancha. The old provincial capitol has been renovated and restored to its former glory and is now being used as a lobby and reception area for visiting guests and dignitaries. In front of the capitol stands the Arroyo Fountain built in 1928 in honor of Senator Jose Maria Arroyo from Molo, Iloilo City who sponsored a bill creating the Iloilo Metropolitan Water Works. The fountain also serves as the Kilometer Zero or a point of reference in measuring distances in the city and province of Iloilo and also to various points and destinations in Panay Island from Iloilo City.

List of governors[]

These are the lists of governors who served the province of Iloilo since the early Spanish settlement in the 1600s to the present day.

Spanish Alcalde Mayores (governors) of Iloilo Province[]

After the Spanish settlement was first established in 1570, towns were settled, established and were granted town hood status. By this time, the Spanish government appoints an alcalde mayor to govern the provincial government and surrounding jurisdictions.^[5]

American Commonwealth Period civil governors[]

As the last Spanish politico-military governor (alcalde-mayor) of Iloilo province, Ricardo Monet who served during the last remaining months of 1898 appointed Martin Delgado as captain and commander of the 125-strong voluntarios in Sta. Barbara.

On August 13, 1898, the United States had already bought Manila, Philippines and agreed to spare Iloilo to Spain. Negotiations between the United States and Spain was finished. They made a mock drama on May 10, 1898 that an American vessel will fire a Spanish ship on Manila Bay then they will surrender to America not to a loose platoon of Emilio Aguinaldo in Intramuros. The Americans occupied Manila and raised their flag in Intramuros. Spain's dream is to establish a Spanish kingdom in Iloilo its loyal and devoted province and totally relinquish its right in the entire Philippines.

Gen. Pablo Araneta appointed Martin Delgado as "General en Jefe de los Tropas del Ejercito Libertador de Visayas y Governador Politico-Militar". On October 28, 1898, Delgado marched into Santa Barbara and took control of the municipal building.^[6]

Meanwhile, Spanish governor-general Diego de los Ríos left Manila and sailed to Iloilo and established the last Spanish capital in the Orient in Iloilo City. General de los Rios asked Spain to grant some reforms demanded by the representative citizens of Iloilo. He issued in Iloilo a proclamation to the people of the Visayas calling on them to establish a "Council of Reforms" to be made up of 24 leading citizens, 12 of whom would be selected by popular vote, another 12 to be appointed by the general himself.^[7]

General de los Rios was obviously sincere in bringing about the reforms people asked for. The granted reforms, however, satisfied only a few ilustrado leaders. Things did not turn out the way it should be. There was widespread oppositions of their offer. The flame of rebellion already swept Iloilo towns, Panay and Negros under Comite Conspirador. Their swift decision is to forego more battle and to peacefully grant sovereignty to Iloilo and to vacate the place and let Americans finished the job. If Ilonggos would have remained loyal to Spain, it would have not encountered the canons of the Americans.

On February 6, 1901, several days after the passage of the Municipal Code, the Philippine Commission passed the Act No. 83 or the Provincial Government Act. It states that every province shall have elected provincial governor. Election is also to be held to also elect a provincial secretary, a provincial treasurer, a provincial supervisor and a provincial fiscal.

On February 2, 1901 during the fiesta celebration of Jaro, General Delgado weary of war and poorly armed formally surrendered in Jaro to the American military governor Edmund Rice. Many of the rebel leaders surrendered.

He was recognized by the Americans as "the ablest leader" on the island. Delgado was appointed as the first governor of Iloilo province upon the establishment of the civil government on April 11, 1901. Jovito Yusay was given the provincial government secretary with a yearly stipend of $1,800 gold. Quintin Salas and his Chief of Staff. Lt. Col. Francisco Jalandoni were the last to lay down their arms on October 4, 1901.^[8] Here are the governors of the province during the American Commonwealth Period.^[9]

Order	Term of office	Portrait	Name	Origin	Governor-General	Notes
1	1901 - 1904		Martin Teofilo Delgado	Sta. Barbara	Arthur MacArthur Jr., Adna Chaffee, William Howard Taft, Luke Edward Wright	The first civil governor of Iloilo being appointed by virtue of Provincial Government Act by the Philippine Commission
2	1904 - 1906		Raymundo Melliza	Molo	Luke Edward Wright, Henry Clay Ide, James Francis Smith	The only Filipino who served as magistrate in the Supreme Court of Cuba. A schoolmate and dear friend of Jose Rizal, he was the one who persuaded Rizal to serve as military doctor in the Spanish–American War in Cuba
3	1906 - 1908		Benito Lopez	Jaro	Henry Clay Ide, James Francis Smith	He was the first Ilonggo civil governor to be assassinated while in office. He was literally shot in his office at the Iloilo Provincial Capitol.
4	1908 - 1912		Ruperto Montinola	Jaro	James Francis Smith, William Cameron Forbes
5	1912 - 1914		Adriano Hernández y Dayot	Dingle	James Francis Smith, William Cameron Forbes, Newton W. Gilbert(acting governor-general), Francis Burton Harrison
6	1914 - 1916		Amado Avanceña	Molo	Francis Burton Harrison
7	1917 - 1922		Gregorio Yulo	Molo	Francis Burton Harrison, Newton W. Gilbert(acting governor-general), Leonard Wood
8	1922 - 1925		Ruperto Montinola	Jaro	Leonard Wood
9	1925 - 1927		Jose Ledesma	Jaro	Leonard Wood, Eugene Allen Gilmore(acting governor-general), Henry L. Stimson
10	1927 - 1928		Jose Lopez-Vito	Jaro	Henry L. Stimson, Eugene Allen Gilmore(acting governor-general)	Appointed governor
11	1928 - 1929		Mariano Pidal Arroyo	Molo	Henry L. Stimson, Eugene Allen Gilmore(acting governor-general)	He was forced to resign his post becoming the first provincial governor to resign.
12	1929 - 1931		Alejo Aquino	Jaro	Eugene Allen Gilmore(acting governor-general), Dwight F. Davis
13	1931 - 1934		Jose Regalado Yulo	Molo	Dwight F. Davis, George C. Butte(acting governor-general), Theodore Roosevelt Jr., Frank Murphy
14	1934 - 1937		Timoteo Y. Consing, Sr.	Molo	Frank Murphy, Paul V. McNutt	Appointed governor
15	1938 - 1941		Tomás Confesor	Cabatuan	Paul V. McNutt, Francis Bowes Sayre Sr.
16	1941 - 1942		Oscar Ledesma	Jaro	Francis Bowes Sayre Sr.

World War II governors[]

These were the provincial governors of Iloilo during the dark years of World War II.

Order	Term of office	Portrait	Name	Origin	Governor-General	Notes
17	1942 - 1944		Fermin Caram	Beirut	Francis Bowes Sayre Sr., Paul V. McNutt, Masaharu Homma, Shizuichi Tanaka, Shigenori Kuroda, Tomoyuki Yamashita	Governor under the Japanese Sponsored Government. Known as the Grand Old Man of Iloilo. He saved Iloilo City from heavy bombings by the American forces by asking to put a big "NO MORE JAPS" message on the balcony of his house for the pilot to see his message therefore stopping continued devastation of the city.
18	1942 - 1945		Tomás Confesor	Cabatuan	Francis Bowes Sayre Sr., Paul V. McNutt, Masaharu Homma, Shizuichi Tanaka, Shigenori Kuroda, Tomoyuki Yamashita	Provincial Governor under the Civil Resistance Government

Post-war to present governors[]

These are the governors of the province after the war up to the present.^[10]

Order	Term of office	Portrait	Name	Origin	Vice-Governor	President	Notes
19	1945		Patricio Confesor	Cabatuan		José P. Laurel, Sergio Osmeña
20	1945		Jose Ledesma	Jaro		José P. Laurel, Sergio Osmeña
21	1946 - 1948		Tomas Vargas	Janiuay		Manuel Roxas
22	1948 - 1959		Mariano Peñaflorida	Pototan		Manuel Roxas, Elpidio Quirino, Ramon Magsaysay, Carlos P. Garcia
23	1960 - 1963		José Zulueta	Molo	Guardalino Mosqueda Elected (Jan. 1, 1960 - Dec. 31, 1963)	Carlos P. Garcia, Diosdado Macapagal
24	1964 - 1969		Rafael Palmares	Passi	Conrado Norada Elected (Jan. 1, 1964 - Dec. 31, 1967) Re-Elected (Jan. 1, 1968 - Sept. 10, 1969) Fortunato Padilla Succeeded (Sept. 11, 1969 - Dec. 31, 1971)	Diosdado Macapagal, Ferdinand Marcos
25	1969 - 1986		Conrado Norada	Miagao	Fortunato Padilla Succeeded (Sept. 11, 1969 - Dec. 31, 1971) Ramon Duremdes Elected (Jan. 1, 1972 - Dec. 31, 1975) PD 826 (Jan. 1, 1976 - May 31, 1980)Elected (June 1, 1981 - Feb. 26, 1986)	Ferdinand Marcos
26	1986 - 1987		Licurgo Tirador	Pototan	Carlos Lopez Jr. Appointed (May 8, 1986 - Nov. 26, 1986) Simplicio Griño Appointed (Dec. 22, 1986 - Mar. 31, 1987)	Corazon Aquino	Appointed governor
27	1987 - 1992		Simplicio Griño	Oton	Ramon Lopez Jr. Appointed (Apr. 9, 1987 - Jan. 31, 1988) Ramon Duremdes Elected (Feb. 1, 1988 - Apr. 1990) Robert Maroma Acting Capacity (May 1990 - Mar. 1992)	Corazon Aquino
28	1992		Feliciano Marañon	Leganes	Ramon Duremdes Elected (Apr. 1992 - Jun 30 1992)	Corazon Aquino	Acting Capacity
29	1992 - 2001		Arthur Defensor Sr.	Mina	Robert Maroma Elected (Jul 1, 1992 - Jun 30 1995) Demetrio Sonza Elected (Jul 1, 1995 - Jun 30 1998) Re-Elected (Jul 1, 1998 - Jun 30 2001)	Fidel Ramos, Joseph Estrada
30	2001 - 2010		Niel Tupas Sr.	Ajuy	Roberto Armada Elected (Jul 1, 2001 - Jun 30 2004) Re-Elected (Jul 1, 2004 - Jun 30 2007) Rolex Suplico Elected (Jul 1, 2007 - Jun 30 2010)	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
31	2010 - 2019		Arthur Defensor Sr.	Mina	Oscar Richard Garin Jr. Elected (Jul 1, 2010 - Jun 30, 2013) Raul Tupas Elected (Jul 1, 2013 - Jun 30, 2016) Christine Garin Elected (Jul 1, 2016 - Jun 30, 2019)	Benigno Aquino III, Rodrigo Duterte
32	2019–present		Arthur Defensor Jr.	Mina	Christine Garin Re-Elected (Jul 1, 2019 - present)	Rodrigo Duterte

References[]