Western Visayas 4.53

Western Visayas is an administrative region in the Philippines, numerically designated as Region VI. It consists of six provinces (Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo and Negros Occidental) and two highly urbanized cities (Bacolod City and Iloilo City). The regional center is Iloilo City. The region is dominated by the native speakers of five Visayan languages: Hiligaynon, Aklanon, Capiznon, Kinaray-a, and Cebuano. The land area of the region is, and with a population of inhabitants, it is the most populous region in the Visayas.On May 29, 2015, the region was redefined, when Western Visayas (Region VI) both lost the province of Negros Occidental and the highly urbanized city of Bacolod to the newly formed Negros Island Region. However, the region was dissolved, with Negros Occidental and Bacolod returned to Western Visayas on August 9, 2017.