ILOCOS SUR

By Eugene Alvin Villar (seav) – English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=294750

Ilocos Sur is a province of the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region in Luzon. Vigan City, located on the mouth of the Mestizo River is the provincial capital. Ilocos Sur is bordered by Ilocos Norte and Abra to the north, Mountain Province to the east, La Union and Benguet to the south, and the South China Sea to the west.

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The first half of the 19th century was an economic boom for Ilocos Sur and other Ilocano provinces. It was during this period when the cotton, tobacco and indigo industries were encouraged by the government. With the operations of the Real Compañía de Filipinas, the textile industry was developed on a large scale, and the abolition of the tobacco monopoly accelerated economic progress. But the invention of chemical dyes put the indigo industry out of the business scene. Today, the premier money crop is Virginia leaf tobacco.

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The climate is generally dry as defined by the Hernandez climate classification—the dry months are from October to May. However, the southernmost portion, Cervantes, is humid and rain is evenly distributed throughout the year while the southeastern part of Sugpon is drier. August has the most rainfall while January and February have the least. The mean temperature in the province is 27 °C (81 °F).

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