Western Visayas in the context of "Mimaropa"

The Bisayan languages or Visayan languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages spoken in the Philippines. They are most closely related to Tagalog and the Bikol languages, all of which are part of the Central Philippine languages. Most Bisayan languages are spoken in the whole Visayas section of the country, but they are also spoken in the southern part of the Bicol Region (particularly in Masbate and Sorsogon where several dialects of Waray are spoken), islands south of Luzon, such as those that make up Romblon, most of the areas of Mindanao and the province of Sulu located southwest of Mindanao. Some residents of Metro Manila also speak one of the Bisayan languages.

Over 30 languages constitute the Bisayan language family. The Bisayan language with the most speakers is Cebuano, spoken by 20 million people as a native language in Central Visayas, parts of Eastern Visayas, and most of Mindanao. Two other well-known and widespread Bisayan languages are Hiligaynon (Ilonggo), spoken by 9 million in most of Western Visayas and Soccsksargen; and Waray-Waray, spoken by 6 million in Eastern Visayas region. Prior to colonization, the script and calligraphy of most of the Visayan peoples was the badlit, closely related to the Tagalog baybayin.

Panay is a small island in the Philippines, located northwest of Catanduanes Island in the Bicol Region. It is often confused with the much larger Panay Island in Western Visayas. The island is politically under the province of Catanduanes and subdivided between the municipalities of Bagamanoc and Panganiban.

Panay is the sixth-largest and fourth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of 12,011 km (4,637 sq mi) and a total population of 4,669,037 as of 2024 census. Panay comprises 4.4 percent of the entire population of the country. The City of Iloilo is its largest settlement, with a total population of 473,728 inhabitants as of the 2024 census.

Panay is a triangular island, located in the western part of the Visayas. It is about 160 km (99 mi) across. It is divided into four provinces: Aklan, Antique, Capiz, and Iloilo, all in the Western Visayas Region. Just off the mid-southeastern coast lies the island-province of Guimaras. It is located southeast of the island of Mindoro and northwest of Negros across the Guimaras Strait. To the north and northeast is the Sibuyan Sea, Jintotolo Channel and the island-provinces of Romblon and Masbate; to the west and southwest is the Sulu Sea and the Palawan archipelago and to the south is Panay Gulf. Panay is the only main island in the Visayas whose provinces does not bear the name of their island.