Bicol Region

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Iriga City is a 3rd class city in the province of Camarines Sur, Philippines. It is located about 400 kilometers south of Manila, 37 kilometers south of Naga, and about 61 kilometers north of Legazpi City. It is bounded by the town of Buhi in the east, by the municipalities of Baao, Nabua and Bato in the west, by the province of Albay in the south, and by the municipalities of Ocampo and Sangay in the north.

According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 88,893 people in 17,061 households.

History

EARLY HISTORY OF CAMARINES SUR
Camarines Sur came out of an original geographic community which covers the present provinces of Albay, Sorsogon, Catanduanes, Masbate, Camarines Sur and Camarines Norte. According to the research conducted by historian Dr. Danilo Gerona, the word Camarines first came into print when Miguel Lopez de Lagaspi’s grandson Captain Juan de Salcedo, with 120 men, launched several expeditions to find and conquer the fabled mining village of Paracale and Mambulao in 1573. The Spaniards identified the area as Camarines referring to the entire stretch of the Bikol River.

After the conquest, on June 4, 1579, Governor-General Francisco de Sande ordered Captain Juan de Guzman to “take the two discalced fathers of the Franciscan Order and bring them to the Bikol River and to any place of that province they wish to go…churches must be built whenever the Fathers indicate, you must inform the Spaniards settled there the presence of the Fathers in the area…”

Further, the Governor-General decreed that the commander of the Spanish conquistadores encamped in the river area should “discuss with the religious present in the place to settle in that province of Bikol and Camarines and in such a site a villa should be raised and gives the name which you may deem appropriate and you should command all the encomenderos of the province to live an build their houses there and not elsewhere…” In response to this decree Villa de Caceres (Naga) was established, which was eventually was elevated into an Ayuntamiento or city.

Nueva Caceres served as the civil and ecclesiastical center as other encomiendas were established within the river basin. Among those first established were Milanit (Milaor), Guas (Goa), Magarao, Minalva (Minalabac), Carvanga (Calabanga), Aliman (Libmanan), Lagonoy, Nabua, Bula, and Buy (Buhi)

EARLY SETTLEMENT IN IRIGA

Iriga, from a phrase in the language “I raga” which means there is land, grew from the settlement by the bank of the Bikol River called Bua (Nabua), who were looking for higher grounds due to the perennial and disastrous flooding of the town during the rainy season.

Bua was a low marshy terrain easily flooded during the rainy season. Because of this some people, upon the advice Father Felix de Huertas, then parish priest of Nubua, the farmers to move to I-raga where they can plant their crops without fears of being flooded.

Taking the advice of the priest, people left Bua and settled to a higher land located at the foot of Sumagang , a mountain east of Bua. The foot of the mountain had large tracts of land available for cultivation suitable for settlement and unlike Bua; it does not suffer from severe flooding during the torrential rainy season. The settlement was then called Iraga, which “there is land” in the local language.

PACIFICATION AND CONVERSION

The Franciscan friars, who set foot in the Bikol peninsula, saw in the new land a good ground for evangelization. As evangelization by the Franciscan friars progressed, Iraga developed in size and wealth. Soon therefore, foundation work had been laid down by proclaiming it a visita of Nabua. More and more people from Nabua came to Iraga to settle.

As population spread out and evangelization progressed, the settlement at the foot of Sumagang Mountain developed in size and wealth, slowly pushing the Agtas up to the thickness of the forests. And in 1578 the I-raga settlement was established as “visita” of Nabua and a church made of wood was constructed. Saint Anthony of Padua was the patron saint of the parish with Father Pedro de Jesus and Father Bartolome Ruiz serving as its religious heads. In 1583, five years after church was constructed, Agta warriors razed the church to the ground. A second one was constructed but it too was destroyed by a typhoon and razed to ashes again by fire.

January 4, 1641, Sumagang erupted, forming gully on Buhi side of the mountain leading to a steep ravine which is the crater of the volcano. According to stories, the Nuestra Senora de Angustia appeared at Inorogan and thru miracle saved the Irigeños from the terrible eruption.

In 1682, with a population of 8,909, I-raga was converted into Pueblo de la Provincia de Ambos Camarines. Later on, the Spanish authorities changed the name from I-raga to Iriga and In 1710 Don Bonifacio de los Angeles organized the first four barrios of Iriga - San Agustin, San Isidro, San Nicolas and San Antonio Abad.

In 1727 after the second churched was destroyed, a new church was built, unfortunately it too was destroyed in a fire in 1841. Finally, shortly after the last church was destroyed, Fray Tomas de Alfafara finally led the construction of a new parish church, together with its two belfries made of bricks and stones. It was the later on repaired in 1866, and in 1892 the tower was rebuilt with wood and iron.

In 1823, in the Memorias de la Provincia de Ambos Camarines shows that the number of Barangay in “pueblo de Iriga” was composed of San Roque, San Francisco de Asis, San Juan Bautista, Sto. Domingo de Guzman, San Miguel Arcangel, San Nicolas de Tolentino, San Agustin, San Antonio Abad, Sto. Nino and Santiago de Galicia with a population of 13,813. There were only four roads mentioned and they were coming from Nabua going to Bato, to Buhi and to Polangui, Albay and there was only one way going to Nueva Caceres (Naga) via Bicol River by boat.

TROUBLED TIMES

In 1846, during the term of Don Juan Lomaad, a great famine swept the Bikol area. Prices of rice soared up, the Spanish government ordered people to plant more staple food but it did not do much good as starvation ensued which took many lives.

More than a decade later, in 1857, a cholera epidemic broke out causing the death of thousands of inhabitants. As if that was not enough, an earthquake struck Iriga damaging the town church and several other buildings. In 1871, during the term of Don Lucas Caayao, a new epidemic, this time smallpox, took many lives. Aside from this, in the same year, a swarm of locust destroyed the crops in Iriga causing starvation among its inhabitants.

THE EMERGING MUNICIPALITY

In 1901, as part of American colonialist strategy to pacify and attract the Filipinos, the first public school in Iriga, Iriga Central School, was established . In 1913 the Manila Railroad Company Station and the public market was established at its present site . With the establishment of the train station and the public market, Iriga rapidly grew and became the center of trade and commerce in the Rinconada area.

HOME TO THE FIRST BUS COMPANY IN THE PHILIPPINES

The development of the municipality got another stimulus when in July 1914 when Albert L. Ammen, a former American serviceman established the A.L. Ammen Transport Co., Inc (ALATCO). ALATCO with an initial fleet of one converted two-cylinder Grawbosky truck was the first bus company in the Philippines.

Its first route was Iriga-Naga; however, as the venture became more successful, the company expanded its fleet to service the other towns of Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte, Albay and Sorsogon, hence opening remote villages of Bikol, to the mainstream of economic and social development.

Later on, in 1918 Max L. Blouse, one of ALATCO’s drivers would also start his own transportation company, the Batangas, Laguna, Tayabas Bus Company (BLTB).

THE World WAR II YEARS

The American colonial period temporarily ended in 1942 when World War II broke out. The Japanese Imperial Army established a garrisoned at Kalbaryo hill overlooking the city proper. Iriga Central School became a concentration camp; those who could not be accommodated were brought to the Ateneo de Naga.

Like in many other places, Bicolano guerilla units spring up in Iriga after the formal American colonialist resistance has ended. Mt. Iriga became the base of the resistance attracting recruits not only from Iriga but even as far as Albay. With the help of the Agtas who were very familiar with the terrain, the Japanese army could penetrate the interiors of the mountain.

AS A CITY

With the end of the Japanese occupation in May 15, 1945, the Iriga Central was reopened and rehabilitation began. In 1948, the first college in Iriga City, the Mabini Memorial College was established by Atty. Felix O. Alfelor. A year later, Atty. Ortega would also establish the Saint Anthony College.

The establishment of these centers for higher learning, including the La Consolacion Academy further spurned the growth and development of the municipality as it attracts students from all over the region.

In 1960s, Iriga saw tremendous economic and social progress. On July 8, 1968, the city was converted into a city through Republic act 5261. However, it was only on September 3 of the same year that the City was formally organized and inaugurated as the third city of the Bikol Region by then President Ferdinand Marcos.


Barangays
Iriga City is politically subdivided into 36 barangays.

Antipolo
Cristo Rey
Del Rosario (Banao)
Francia
La Anunciacion
La Medalla
La Purisima
La Trinidad
Niño Jesus
Perpetual Help
Sagrada
Salvacion
San Agustin
San Andres
San Antonio
San Francisco (Pob.)
San Isidro
San Jose
San Juan
San Miguel
San Nicolas
San Pedro
San Rafael
San Ramon
San Roque (Pob.)
San Vicente Norte
San Vicente Sur
Santa Cruz Norte
Santa Cruz Sur
Santa Elena
Santa Isabel
Santa Maria
Santa Teresita
Santiago
Santo Domingo
Santo Niño

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Legazpi City is a first class city in the province of Albay, Philippines. It is the capital city of Albay, and the political center of Bicol Region.

Positioned in the geographical center of the peninsula and the between the two island provinces of Catanduanes and Masbate, Legazpi has the strategic advantages of being a commercial, institutional, and transportation hub. Legazpi City is the southernmost terminus of the Philippine National Railways Main Line South. It also has a national port handling export.

According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 157,010 people in 30,612 households. The city is the ecclesiatical seat of the Diocese of Legazpi, and almost all practice the Roman Catholic religion.

History
Legazpi was named after Miguel López de Legazpi, the Spanish conquistador who conquered the Philippine islands in 1565, and whose family name came from Legazpi, a town in Guipuzcoa, Spain.

Legazpi was founded by the ancient settlers of the old barangay of Sawangan in the domain of Gat Ibal, a chief who ruled Albay. Spread in small groups of huts made of nipa and rattan, the small settlement occupied a conscription of low and swampy land known as Banuang-gurang or Binanuahan, which means old town or place in which a town was built. The indigenous name Sawangan was a corruption of Sabang, signifying natural wharf formed by the waters of the sea.

Culture
The Ibalong Festival is the grandmother of all non-religious festivals in Bicol. It was begun in the early 1990s and is held every October to coincide with Legazpi Port District fiesta. Legazpi is also home to the annual Magayon Festival of Albay which is held throughout the month of May.

Tourism
Up until 2006, Legazpi City continued to be the top tourist destination in Bicol as it lies just 15 kilometers southeast of Mayon Volcano, one of the Philippines' famous volcanoes. It is also the convenient jump-off point to other tourist destinations in the region because it has the only trunkline airport in Bicol - Legazpi Airport, accommodating Airbus A320, Boeing 737-400, and Boeing 727.

Other places to go to and sights to visit include:

The Albay Park and Wildlife - This is a picnic grove and a park combined. It also serves as the home to 347 animals of 75 species.
Liberty Bell - Installed in 1945 by the American liberation forces. It is made from bronze.
Japanese Tunnel - Used as an arsenal during the second World War, it measures 40 meters long and around 7 feet deep.
Magayon Art Gallery - Found at the lobby of the Albay Provincial Capitol and serves as the avenue for artists to show off their visual creations.
Legazpi City Museum - Showcases the heritage and culture of the city.
Bicol Heritage Park - Located inside the Camp General Simeon Ola Headquarters. This is where you can find the statue of General Simeon A. Ola.
Lignon Hill (also spelled as Liñon Hill) - Located behind Albay Park and Wildlife. PHIVOLCS is situated into this hill.
Kapuntukan Hill (also known as the Sleeping Lion Hill) – This is the place to visit if you wish to have a view of the Legazpi Port District .
regional government offices in Rawis - DepEd (Depatment of Education), DOT (Department of Tourism), RTC (Regional Trial Court), DAR (Department of Agrarian and Reform), DOST (Department of Science and Technology), and LTO (Land Transportation Office).

Transportation
Legazpi Airport, with a runway of 2,280 meters, is the region's gateway and trunk line airport. Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific Airlines (CEB) flies daily to and from Manila. CEB utilizes its brand new Airbus 319, while PAL uses its Boeing 737. Air Philippines has three-flights in a week (Tue, Thu, and Sat), and soon will have daily flights from Manila to Legazpi and vice versa, starting on October 16, 2006.

Commerce
Presently the largest mall in Bicol, Pacific Mall also serves as centerpiece of Landco Business Park Legazpi. Headquartered in nearby Tabaco City, and with its LCC Central Mall in Naga City, Liberty Commercial Center (LCC) Legazpi remains to be the original mall in Legaspi . Modernistic Bichara Silverscreen and Entertainment Center is a multi-story haven of shops, bistros, and cinemas.

The city hall and several provincial offices are located in what promises to be another progressive new downtown area known as Albay District (also Old Albay or simply Albay as this place was originally the capital town of Albay Province before its merger with Legazpi) which has bistros that remain open till late at night although 24/7 shops are still scarce in the city. Legaspi has its share of popular fastfood restaurants such as three Jollibee stores: two in Port District (LCC Metro and Pacific Mall), and one drive-thru in Albay District; a McDonald's store, two Chowking restaurants, and a Greenwich outlet.

Legazpi City is connected nationwide and the rest of the world through up-to-date communication facilities. It has two cable TV operators, DCTV (Digital Cable Television) and ESTV, and cellular and landline phone operators, Digitel/Sun Cellular, Globe Telecom, Smart/PLDT (Philippine Long Distance Telecommunication); and local MATELCO (Mayon Telephone Company), offering mobilephone, fax, data, and DSL Internet services.

A number of AM, FM, and TV stations including Manila Broadcasting Company's 99.5 LOVE RADIO, GMA (TV 12 and Campus Radio), ABC through its affiliate station TV 6 (ABC/PBN), and ABS-CBN TV 4 and M.O.R. FM broadcast local, national, and international news and shows. GMA TV 12 (10 kW), ABS-CBN TV 4 (10 kW), and MOR FM (5 kW) set up their transmission towers on top of Mt. Bariw, virtually expanding their broadcast reach not only provincewide, but into Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Sorsogon, Masbate, and as far as Northern Samar.

Legazpi City has two air-conditioned arenas: The Albay Astrodome (although it isn't exactly "domed" like Astrodome in Texas, USA). These arenas served as venues of PBA games in the past.

A magnet of students, the city hosts two universities: Catholic Aquinas University of Legazpi (AUL) --- sister school of University of Santo Tomas in Manila --- and state-run Bicol University (BU) {http://www.bicol-u.edu.ph}. Manila-based educational/training centers have also established branches: AMA Computer University is currently constructing its building along busy Rizal Street, while STI College is just a stone's throw away. The first school of medicine in Bicolandia is AMEC-BCCM in Albay District. Singapore-based Informatics is located at the second floor of GTS Building, Rizal Street.

US-based MBS Tek has also put up an extension office in Legaspi providing call center services, a boon to the city's computer programmers, researchers, and writers. New York-based Innodata tapped the city's young population and put up a data conversion center that operates three shifts.

The city also boasts a modern eye center, Legaspi Eye Center (LEC) which serves as regional referral center for ophthalmologic care in the Bicol region. The center has board certified ophthalmologists with subspecialty training in retina/vitreous surgery, glaucoma, ophthalmic plastic and reconstructive surgery, pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus, ocular immunology, low vision rehabilitation, ocular oncology and refractive surgery. LEC is reportedly comparable to major eye centers in Metro Manila in terms of services, expertise, and equipment.

As a financial center, Legazpi City has more or less 40 bank branches that offer traditional bank products and services such as deposits, loans, and automated tellering machines (ATM).

Legaspi has hosted important events in the past such as Miss Asia-Pacific pageant in 2001. In 2002, it hosted an international convention of the Free Masons. In 2003, about 4,000 members of the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) conducted their 57th annual national convention in the city.

Barangays
Legazpi City is politically subdivided into 70 barangays.

Arimbay
Bagacay
Bagong Abre
Banquerohan
EM's Barrio
Maoyod Pob.
Tula-tula
Ilawod West
Ilawod
Ilawod East
Kawit-East Washington Drive
Rizal Sreet., Ilawod
Cabagñan
EM's Barrio South
Cabagñan West
Binanuahan West
Binanuahan East
Imperial Court Subd
Cabagñan East
Lapu-lapu
Dinagaan
Victory Village South
Victory Village North
Sabang
EM's Barrio East
Kapantawan
Pigcale
Centro-Baybay
PNR-Peñaranda St.-Iraya
Oro Site-Magallanes St.
Tinago
Bitano
Bonot
Sagpon Pob.
Sagmin Pob.
Bañadero Pob.
Baño
Bagumbayan
Pinaric
Bariis
Bigaa
Bogtong
Bogña
Buenavista
Buyuan
Cagbacong
Cruzada
Dap-dap
Dita
Estanza
Gogon
Homapon
Imalnod
Mabinit
Mariawa
Maslog
Padang
Pawa
Puro
Rawis
San Francisco
San Joaquin
San Roque
Tamaoyan
Taysan
Matanag
Cabugao
Rizal Street
Buragwis
Lamba

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Ligao City is a 5th class city in the province of Albay, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 90,603 people in 17,031 households.

History
The name Ligao came is derived from the local word "ticau", once an abundant tree whose poisonous leaves were used to catch fish in rivers or creeks. Most Ligaoeños, however, believe that the name Ligao was originally "licau" which means to take the long way around or to turn away from the ordinary or usual route.

Ligao started as a small settlement known as Cavasi in the 16th century. It grew in population as it attracted natives from nearby settlements. Eventually, power struggles among ambitious and aggressive leaders caused trouble as they created divisions among the settlement. There arose five divisions led by maginoos (chieftains): Pagkilatan, Maaban, Sampoñgan, Makabongay and Hokoman. Peace was only restored when Chieftain Pagkilatan was appointed supreme leader over the entire settlement with the approval of the other chieftains.

The town was founded as a barrio of Polangui in 1606, being ceded to Oas in 1665, and finally becoming an independent municipality in 1666.

Barangays
Ligao City is politically subdivided into 55 barangays.

Abella
Allang
Amtic
Bacong
Bagumbayan
Balanac
Baligang
Barayong
Basag
Batang
Bay
Binanowan
Binatagan (Pob.)
Bobonsuran
Bonga
Busac
Busay
Cabarian
Calzada (Pob.)
Catburawan
Cavasi
Culliat
Dunao
Francia
Guilid
Herrera
Layon
Macalidong
Mahaba
Malama
Maonon
Nasisi
Nabonton
Oma-oma
Palapas
Pandan
Paulba
Paulog
Pinamaniquian
Pinit
Ranao-ranao
San Vicente
Santa Cruz (Pob.)
Tagpo
Tambo
Tandarora
Tastas
Tinago
Tinampo
Tiongson
Tomolin
Tuburan
Tula-tula Grande
Tula-tula Pequeño
Tupas

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Two-third of Iriga's barangays starts with "San"

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Masbate City is a 5th class city in the province of Masbate, Philippines. It is the capital city of Masbate province. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 71,441 people in 13,400 households.

The City of Masbate lies on the shores of the province at 12.2 degrees north latitude and 123.3 degrees east longitude On the Northeast, it is bounded by Masbate Pass, the Municipality of Mobo and Tugbo River on the Southeast, Municipality of Milagros on the Southwest and the Municipality of Baleno and portion of Milagros town on the Northwest. The City of Masbate is well protected by Ticao Island against the hazard of typhoons from the northeast. It is 212.5 aerial miles or 362 nautical miles from Manila. The city is composed of 30 barangays.

The City of Masbate and the province as a whole has long white beaches, crystal clear water and deep seas suitable for scuba diving. There are many beach resorts in the capital town, which are accessible to good road network, and facilities, which can be developed to provide fun and entertainment to both local and foreign tourists especially during festivals and celebrations.

General Information
Masbate City is a blessed land, with its innumerable bounty and few blights. It is situated strategically in the center of the Philippine archipelago between latitudes 12º 14’ north 12º 29’ north and between 123º 30’ east and 123º 39’ east, on the northern side of the island of Masbate facing northeast towards Ticao Island.

The city domain is bounded on the northeast by Masbate Pass; on the southwest by the municipality of Milagros and on the northwest by a portion of Asid River and the municipalities of Milagros and Baleno.

From Manila, the city is barely 212.5 aerial miles or 362 nautical miles. By plane, it takes more or less one hour to negotiate; by boat, 16 to 18 hours to ply.

The city is more or less situated at the center of Masbate province, too, taking the tip of Burias Island as its northern most part and the tip of Esperanza municipality as the southern most part.

The city serves as the dividing line between Luzon and the rest of the islands in the country.

To the neighboring islands, Masbate City is three hours away by boat from the nearest point in Bicol mainland; three hours away from the nearest point in Burias; three hours away from the nearest municipality in Ticao Island; five hours from the nearest point in the island of Cebu and five hours from the nearest point in Panay island.

Historical Background
The account that “Masbate” was coined after the words “masa” and “bate” remains anecdotal, rich with a mixture of facts and folklore.

Historical account is replete with tales on the condition of the islands of Masbate during the Spanish occupation. The islands of Masbate, Ticao, and Burias were explored by Captain Luis Enriquez de Guzman in 1569. This exploration work was continued by Captain Andres de Ibarra. Fray Alfonso Jimenez introduced evangelical law to Masbateños. In 1700, Ibalon (Albay) Province assumed jurisdiction over Masbate Islands, and Masbate was named the town’s capital village. For security reasons, the seat of gvernment had to be moved time and time again. It was first moved to Mobo and then again, to Guiom. It was later transferred to Palanog near the mouth of Lumbang River to make it more accessible to Bicol Mainland and to the islands of Burias and Ticao. However, government records were kept inland in Cagay.

In 1846, the islands of Masbate and Ticao were separated from Albay province and made as a single politico-military commandancia or district. Guiom was made the capital, while Ticao became a commandancia-politico-militar.

The political history of the town dates back to the 1850s when the Spaniards established their government under a Spanish Gobernadorcillo. The Masbateños’ vassalage to Spain ended sometime in the early part of 1898 as an offshoot of the libertarian campaign waged by General Emilio Aguinaldo.

Sometime after General Aguinaldo inaugurated the Philippine Independence at Kawit, Cavite, he issued a military order to overthrow the Spanish Government in the Visayas and Masbate. General Justo Lucban and General Diego de Dios acted on this order with the help of Masbateño rebels under the legendary Pedro Kipte. The defeat of the Spanish Crown in Masbate could be largely credited to Pedro Kipte. Immediately thereafter, the military government under the Republic of the Philippines was established. But when the American forces reached the Municipality of Masbate in November 1900, it took over the government of Masbate without any resistance from the Masbateños.

After a devastating typhoon in 1908, an Executive Order was passed annexing the Province of Masbate to the Province of Sorsogon. Masbate, by force of circumstance, became a sub-province of Sorsogon until 1922 when its provincial status was restored. Shortly before the restoration of Philippine Independence in 1946, the town of Masbate was established as the provincial capital.

Masbate forms part of the second congressional district. In the mid-90s, the idea of converting the municipality into a city was pushed by 2nd District House Representative Luz Cleta Reyes Bakunawa. Her successor, Congressman Emilio Espinosa, Jr., together with the Municipal Mayor Juan P. Sanchez, Sr. and some local officials and employees took over where she left off. On August 16, 2000, President Joseph E. Estrada signed RA 8807 converting the Municipality of Masbate into a component city. In a plebiscite held later that year, Masbateños voted 7,800-3,200 in favor of cityhood, and on September 30, 2000, the Commission on Elections Regional Office in Region 5 officially proclaimed Masbate as a component city.

Barangays
Masbate City is politically subdivided into 30 barangays.

Anas
Asid
B. Titong
Bagumbayan
Bantigue
Bapor (Pob.)
Batuhan
Bayombon
Biyong
Bolo
Cagay
Cawayan Exterior
Cawayan Interior
Centro (Pob.)
Espinosa
F. Magallanes
Ibingay
Igang
Kalipay (Pob.)
Kinamaligan
Malinta
Mapiña
Mayngaran
Nursery
Pating (Pob.)
Pawa
Sinalongan
Tugbo
Ubongan Dacu
Usab

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Naga City is a first class city in the province of Camarines Sur, Philippines. Located in the Bicol Region, a peninsula on the southeastern tip of the island of Luzon, it is 377 kilometers southeast of Manila, the nation's capital, and about 380 kilometers north of Cebu City. Although relatively small in area and population with its population of 137,810 people in 26,317 households according to the 2000 census, Naga City is the region's most progressive city. It is the only chartered city and the commercial, educational, religious, and cultural center of the Bicol region. Residents of Naga City are called Nagueños.

The city is at the core of Metro Naga, a fast-growing area composed of 14 municipalities and Naga City belonging to the Metro Naga Development Council. The MNDC covers the entire 2nd district of the province of Camarines Sur, excluding Canaman, and parts of the 1st, 3rd and 4th districts.

Education
Naga City is the center of education in Bicol due to the presence of numerous higher institutions of learning, including three universities: Jesuit-run Ateneo de Naga University; non-sectarian University of Nueva Caceres, the biggest university in Bicol region in terms of enrollment; and Universidad de Santa Isabel operated by the religious order of Daughters of Charity sisters and which is also the oldest normal school for girls in the Far East.

A probable fourth university in the city is Naga College Foundation, one of the region's leading schools in Criminology. The Philippine Women's University has established its Career Development and Continuing Education Center in the city, while the University of the Philippines Open University in Naga caters to distance education students.

The biggest secondary school in the region is also located in the city, the government-run Camarines Sur National High School. Registered number of high school students has always topped the 10,000 mark every school year.

One of the best maritime schools in the country, Mariners Polytechnic Colleges Foundation, has 2 campuses in Metro Naga, one along Panganiban Drive and another in Canaman, a suburban town.

All existing schools in the city, including those already named above, offer computer courses. However, specialized computer schools have been mushrooming due to popularity of computer courses, both degree and short-term. AMA Computer Learning Center and STI College are among the more competitive and well-known computer school chains in the country that have established campuses in the city. AMA Computer Learning College has two campuses which are located along Barlin St. and Magsaysay Avenue. Other specialized computer schools include WRI and CCDI.

Transportation and Communication
Naga City is easily accessible using air and land transport. A 45- to 60-minute trip through the Naga Domestic Airport to and from the international airports of Manila and Cebu is available. Philippine Airlines fly directly from NAIA and Mactan Airport. By land, the city is a 7 to 8-hour ride from Manila; and approximately 22 hours from Cebu with ferry transfers in Sorsogon, the southernmost province of Bicol. Daily rail services to and from Manila are provided by the Philippine National Railways.

Communicating with Nagueños is a breeze because of several telephone and mobile phone companies present in the city. BayanTel and Digitel are the main telephone operators in the city. Other companies which continue to compete keenly for the city's telecommunications market have put up calling stations scattered all over the city. These are PLDT, PT&T, among others. Major mobile phone operators Globe, Smart, and Sun Cellular enjoy wide patronage.

ABS-CBN Broadcasting Network had expanded its regional network in Bicol by putting up ABS-CBN Naga. Local shows such as TV Patrol Bicol and Bicol Espesyal are aired in the whole region via ABS-CBN Naga. ABC5 also airs shows in the city thru its affiliate station People's Broadcasting Network (PBN TV 5 Naga). Global Media Arts Broadcasting Network (GMA Broadcasting Network) has also shown interest in putting up an originating station in the city for its nationwide expansion.

Naga City has the most number of radio stations of any locality in the region, some of which operate 24 hours daily. These include RMN DWNX-FM, acknowledged as the most popular local radio in the FM band heard regionwide and even abroad through its interactive website. Other leading stations include ABS-CBN's My Only Radio 93.5 Naga and GMA's Campus Radio 101.5 Naga. Both stations have 10-kilowatt transmitters capable of regionwide broadcast.

The city is host to two local cable TV companies. These are Naga Cable TV and Caceres Cable TV serving almost the whole of the region. SkyCable is also available.

Television Networks
Bicol Broadcasting System: Channel 2
PBN Bicol: Channel 5
GMA Network: Channel 7
National Broadcasting Network: Channel 8
ABS-CBN: Channel 11
Studio 23: Channel 24
ACQ-Kingdom Broadcasting Network: Channel 26
Quality TeleVision: Channel 28
Radio Mindanao Network:Channel 32

Radio Stations

AM Stations

DWRB 567 (Radyo ng Bayan):Philippine Broadcasting Service
DZLL 603: Bicol Broadcasting Service
DWRN 657 (Radyo Pilipino: Radyo Pilipino Corporation
DZLW 711: Peñafrancia Broadcasting Corporation
DWNW 765: Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation
DZGE 855: Filipinas Broadcasting Network
DWAR 891 {Radyo Oragon): Caceres Broadcasting Corporation
DZRH 981 Naga: MBC Naga
DZNG 1044 (Bombo Radyo): Bombo Radyo Philippines

FM Stations

The Beat 89.5: MBC Naga / Ateneo de Naga
90.3 Star FM: Bombo Radyo Philippines
DWNX RMN 91.1 Naga: Radio Mindanao Network
91.9 Mixx FM: Bicol Broadcasting Service
93.5 MOR For Life!: ABS-CBN
Home Radio 95.1: Aliw Broadcasting Corporation
Mom's Radio 95.9: Southern Broadcasting Network
97.5 OK: PBN Broadcasting Network
The Mother's Touch 98.3: Radio Caritas Mariae
99.1 Love Radio: MBC Naga
99.9 WEB: Filipinas Broadcasting Network
101.5 Campus Radio FM: GMA Network
Power 104 (104.7): Caceres Broadcasting Corporation
106.3 Energy FM: Ultrasonic Broadcasting System

Banking and Finance
Naga City's banking and finance sector is the most established in Bicol. With more than 50 banks locating their branches in the city and still counting, it is considered as the financial center of the region. The city hosts the regional business centers of Philippine National Bank (PNB), Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company (MetroBank), and Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC). A number of banks have several branches in the city, like MetroBank, RCBC, Equitable PCI Bank, Bank of the Philippine Islands, and Banco de Oro Universal Bank (BDO UniBank). A leading thrift bank, RCBC Savings Bank, enjoys wide patronage of both Filipino and Chinese businessmen. Robinsons Bank of the Gokongwei group has also set up its branch in the city. Two of the biggest rural banks in the country, Bank of Makati and the Golden 7 Bank (G7Bank), a consistent Most Outstanding Rural Bank awardee, are also found in the city.

Commerce
With its burgeoning local economy that has outpaced other local economies in Bicol, Naga City is undeniably the center of business and industry in the entire region. It has several commercial business districts (CBDs). It now has a lifestyle center, three shopping malls plus a number of strip malls scattered at the heart of the CBD-I, popularly known as Centro.

Spankingly new Avenue Square along Magsaysay Avenue is Bicol's premiere lifestyle center. It has an ultramodern convention center (Avenue Convention Plaza), a bar (Lolo's Music Bar), restaurants (Max's Restaurant, Naga Oriental Wok), a specialty coffee shop (The Coffee Beanery), a salon (David's Salon), a signature flip-flops shop (Havaianas) and a nationwide franchising drugstore (Mercury Drug) among other important stores. LCC Central Mall Naga, Robertson Mall and Nagaland eMall housing Robinson's Supermarket are the city's other major shopping malls. Bichara Theater Mall, Emily Arcade and Paseo de Caceres (which has a Chinese-themed Roman Catholic chapel- the Navidad de Naga Chapel- with a Zen meditation garden at its roofdeck) are just some of the city's strip malls.

The SM Prime Holdings and Landco Pacific Corp. have both expressed interest in the city's capability of hosting bigger shopping complexes. Manila-based Shoemart has started to lease its first mall site in Bicol located at Naga's CBD-II while preparing construction plans, while Landco is expected to start construction of its Pacific Mall Naga this early 2007.

A number of restobars and bistros are found along Magsaysay Avenue, making it Naga City's "Malate District". Chili Peppers, Bob Marlin, Grilling Point, Molino Grill, Juno's, ClubM8, and CocoLeaf are just some of the few found along busy Magsaysay. Aside from these restobars that seem to sprout all over, Naga has numerous popular fastfood chain outlets like Jollibee, McDonald's, Chowking, Pizza Hut, Max's Restaurant, Greenwich, KFC, Shakey's, among other popular fastfood outlets. It is also the first city in the Bicol region to host specialty food restaurants like Naga Oriental Wok (fine dining Chinese), Hokkien (casual Chinese), Bombay Blues (Indian), Makiyaki (Japanese), and Green Earth Cafe (health food). For coffee enthusiasts, specialty coffee shops have also sprung up in strategic places around the city like Mudbugs, Starmark, Bean Bag Coffee, and Coffee Beanery.

Quite interestingly, Naga's investor-friendly economy has encouraged growth and development of homegrown business chains like New South Star Drugstore, Graceland Foods Industries (Graceland/ Geewan/ Baker's Plaza) and Bigg's who are competing nationwide with market leaders Mercury Drug, Goldilock's and Jollibee/McDonald's.

Culture
The city celebrates the Feast of Nuestra Señora de Peñafrancia Our Lady of Peñafrancia, acknowledged as Patroness of the Bicol Region, every second Friday of September each year. The start of the feast, which is the largest Marian devotion in the country, is signalled by a procession (called Traslacion) which transfers the centuries-old image of the Blessed Virgin Mary from its shrine at the Peñafrancia Basilica Minore to the 400-year old Naga Metropolitan Cathedral. Coinciding with nine days of novena prayer at the cathedral, the city celebrates with parades, pageants, street parties, singing contests, exhibits, concerts, and other activities. Finally, on the third Saturday of September, the image is returned shoulder-borne by so-called voyadores to the Basilica Minore via a fluvial procession on the Naga River.

Religion
The city is the center of Roman Catholicism in the region because it is the ecclesiastical seat of the Archdiocese of Caceres whose jurisdiction covers five suffragan dioceses of Legaspi, Daet, Masbate, Sorsogon and Virac, and the Prelature of Libmanan . This dominant faith is supported by presence of several old and influential Catholic institutions, from universities to churches, notably the Ateneo de Naga University, Universidad de Sta. Isabel, Metropolitan Naga Cathedral; the Basilica Minore de Nuestra Señora de Peñafrancia, home to Our Lady of Peñafrancia, Patroness of Bicolandia; and the original Peñafrancia Shrine.

History
For hundreds of years, Naga City has been a center of trade, education and culture, and the seat of governmental and ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Before the coming of the Spanish colonial government, Naga was already flourishing village off the riverbanks of the Naga River. It was a premier village with a comparatively sophisticated weaponry and surprisingly advanced technology.

In 1573, on his second expedition to this region, the conquistador Juan de Salcedo landed in a village and named "Naga" because of an abundance of Narra trees ("Naga" in Bikol) about the place. In 1575, Captain Pedro de Chavez, the commander of the garrison left behind by Salcedo, founded on the site of the present business center (across the river from the original Naga) a Spanish city which he named Ciudad de Caceres, in honor of Francisco de Sande, the governor general and a native of the city of Caceres in Spain. It was still by this name that it was identified in the papal bull of August 14, 1595 that erected the See of Caceres (together with those of Cebu and Nueva Segovia) and made it the seat of the new bishopric.

In time, Spanish city and native village merged into one community and became popularly known as Nueva Caceres, to distinguish it from its namesake in Spain. It had a city government as prescribed by Spanish law, with an ayuntamiento and cabildo of its own. At the beginning of the 17th century, there were only five other ciudades in the Philippines. Nueva Caceres remained the capital of Ambos Camarines provinces and later of the Camarines Sur province until the formal creation of the independent chartered city of Naga under the Philippine Republic.

The bishops of Caceres occupied a unique place in the Philippine Catholic hierarchy during most of the Spanish regime. By virtue of the papal bull of Gregory XIII, ecclesiastical cases originating in the Spanish Indies, which ordinarily were appealable to the Pope, were ordered to be terminated there and no longer elevated to Rome. Decisions of bishops were made appealable to the archbishop and those of the latter to the bishop of the nearest see. Thus, in the Philippines, the decisions of the archbishop of Manila were subject to review by the bishop of Caceres whose jurisdiction then extended to the province of Tayabas (present-day Quezon). In this sense, bishops of Bikol were delegates of the Pope and could be considered primates of the Church of the Philippines.

This was the reason why bishops of Caceres and archbishop of Manila were sometimes engaged in interesting controversies in the sensational Naga case and in such issues as canonical visitation and the secularization of the parishes. As papal delegate, Bishop Francisco Gainza, then concurrently bishop of Caceres, sat in the special ecclesiastical tribunal which passed upon the civil authorities' petition to divert Fathers Burgos, Gomez, and Zamora of their priestly dignity. Gainza did not only refuse the petition but also urged their pardon.

With the advent of the American rule, it was reduced to a municipality. In 1919, it lost its Spanish name and became officially known as Naga. It acquired its present city charter in 1948, and its city government was inaugurated on December 15 of the same year by virtue of Republic Act No. 305. Rep. Juan Q. Miranda sponsored this legislative act which put flesh into the city's bid to become among the only few independent component cities in the country.

Situated at the center of the Bikol peninsula and surrounded on all sides by rich agricultural, forest and fishing areas, Naga is also at the confluence of the Naga and Bikol Rivers. Thus, it has always been an ideal place for trade, and as center for schools and church and government offices.

Barangays
Naga is politically subdivided into 27 barangays.

Abella (CBD I)
Bagumbayan Norte
Bagumbayan Sur
Balatas (CBD III)
Calauag
Cararayan
Carolina
Concepcion Grande (CBD III)
Concepcion Pequeña (CBD III)
Dayangdang
Del Rosario
Dinaga (CBD I)
Igualdad Interior (CBD I)
Lerma (CBD II)
Liboton
Mabolo
Pacol
Panicuason
Peñafrancia
Sabang (CBD I)
San Felipe
San Francisco (CBD I)
San Isidro
Santa Cruz (CBD I)
Tabuco (CBD I)
Tinago
Triangulo (CBD II)

[kevinb]

Sorsogon City is a 5th class city in the province of Sorsogon, Philippines. It is the capital city of Sorsogon. It was formed by merging the former towns of Bacon and Sorsogon in 2000.

According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 134,678 people in 26,047 households.

Brief History
Sorsogon City was created by virtue of Republic Act 8806, which was signed into law on August 16, 2000 and ratified during a plebiscite on December 16, 2000. RA 8806, also known as the Cityhood Law, called for the merger of the municipalities of Sorsogon and Bacon into a component city of the province of Sorsogon.

The merged municipalities of Bacon and Sorsogon more or less shared the same establishment pattern with Bacon leading the way. The present-day settlements grew out of the Spanish missionary efforts in the 1600s. They both started as missions that were later made into parishes and eventually declared as civilian political units. Both places were already settled when the Spanish missionaries came in the 1600s. Pre-historic artifacts found pointing to human habitation ranged from the 3,000-year old remains in a cave in Bacon and ancient burial sites dug upstream of rivers in Sorsogon.

Bacon was established as a mission in 1609 with Casiguran, the oldest town in Sorsogon Province and one of the oldest in Luzon, as the parochial center. It became a parish in 1617. Sorsogon in turn was a mission of the parish of Bacon. Sorsogon became an independent parish in 1628.

Bacon was established as a civilian political unit (pueblo civil) in 1754. Sorsogon, on the other hand, became a pueblo civil in 1864. Being under the province of Albay (then composed of what are now the provinces of Albay, Sorsogon and Masbate) trade and travel was by water transport through the Albay Gulf. Road building between the two towns was done in the 1840s when the original bridges along the road connecting them were constructed.

At this time both towns had also enjoyed the prosperity brought by the abaca trade when world supply was dominated by the Philippines. In the 1850s Albay was the richest province in the country. On October 17, 1894, the Spanish authorities organized Sorsogon province as an administrative unit independent from Albay, with the town of Sorsogon as its seat of government. The new province adopted the name of the town and has since been known as the Province of Sorsogon. With the secession, Bacon lost Rapu-rapu which became a town of Albay. By the turn of the century Bacon further lost some of its area when Prieto Diaz was created as a town from the areas of Bacon and the town of Gubat.

At present, Sorsogon City is faced with the challenge of harmonizing the complexities of the merger. Efforts will go largely in the complementation of resources as it seeks to pursue the combined functional roles of the two municipalities.

Tourism
The late 1990s saw the booming of tourism in Sorsogon due largely to the presence of whale sharks in the town of Donsol. Because of the City’s role as administrative and commercial hub, foreign and domestic tourists invariably included the City in their itinerary.

Sorsogon also serves as the jump-off point to the tourist spots in the province, including Rizal Beach in Gubat, Bulusan Lake and Volcano in Bulusan, St. Joseph’s Church in Barcelona and an assortment of hot, cold and mineral springs in the towns of Irosin and Bulusan.

It is for its many natural attractions, though, that Sorsogon is known. Bacon District, a mere 20-minute drive from the City proper, holds promise as an eco-tourism destination. Central to its vast tourism potential is Bacon Beach, with its long stretch of black sand and clear blue waters. The District likewise boasts limestone caves, lakes and a marine sanctuary. Most notable of these are Tolonggapo in Caricaran and the Bato Limestone Caves in which were found prehistoric artifacts.

Farther offshore, dive sites teeming with coral reefs and tropical fishes make for a colorful underwater experience.

Short boat rides away are enchanting, often unexplored islands, each with their own surprises. On Paguriran Island, which is surrounded by dark granite, a huge outcrop offers a view of the swirling currents below and the stolid mountains beyond.

Rain-fed pools, springs, waterfalls and secret coves all contribute to Sorsogon City’s natural attractions.

Bucalbucalan and Palhi Springs in the City’s West District boast springs ideal for cooling down, especially in the hot summer months. Busay Twin Falls in the PNOC Reservation high up in the mountains also holds promise as an ecotourism haunt.

Neither does the tourist need to go far to appreciate Sorsogon’s natural attractions. Rompeolas, with its walkway that serves as promenade, offers spectacular views of the Bulusan Volcano, as does Paroja Hill and Grotto, which overlooks Sorsogon Bay.

A promenade for Sorsoganons, Rompeolas and the adjacent Pinaculan Island are being primed for tourism development, with sunset cruises and ecotourism as their primary selling points.

To attract more visitors and to highlight the City’s tourism potentials, two festivals are held annually: the Pili Festival on June 28 and the

Kasanggayahan Festival in October, which celebrates the Province of Sorsogon’s foundation.

Although just over a year old, Sorsogon City’s colorful history goes back to the pre-Hispanic times, when Moro pirates frequently trespassed its territorial waters. Cityhood, however, has not altered Sorsogon’s local color. On Holy Week, the City’s main streets are transformed into a sea of bodies as barefoot devotees join the Good Friday procession that wends through the city streets. Fiestas and fluvial processions held in commemoration of patron saints are likewise major activities, particularly in the barrios.

Sorsogon City is politically subdivided into 64 barangays.

36 barangays were in the former municipality of Sorsogon:

Abuyog
Almendras-Cogon (Pob.)
Balogo
Barayong
Basud
Bibincahan
Bitan-o/Dalipay (Pob.)
Bucalbucalan
Buenavista
Buhatan
Bulabog
Burabod (Pob.)
Cabid-An
Cambulaga
Capuy
Gimaloto
Guinlajon
Macabog
Marinas
Pamurayan
Pangpang
Panlayaan
Peñafrancia
Piot (Pob.)
Polvorista (Pob.)
Rizal
Salog (Pob.)
Salvacion
Sampaloc (Pob.)
San Isidro
San Juan (Roro)
Sirangan (Pob.)
Sulucan (Pob.)
Talisay (Pob.)
Ticol
Tugos

28 barangays were in the former municipality of Bacon:

Balete
Balogo
Bato
Bon-Ot
Bogña
Buenavista
Cabarbuhan
Caricaran
Del Rosario
Gatbo
Jamislagan
Maricrum
Osiao
Poblacion
Rawis
Salvacion
San Isidro
San Juan
San Pascual
San Ramon
San Roque
San Vicente
Santa Cruz
Santa Lucia
Santo Domingo
Santo Niño
Sawanga
Sugod

[kevinb]

Tabaco City is a 5th class city in the province of Albay, Philippines. Mainland Tabaco City borders Malinao to the north, Polangui and Oas to the west, Ligao City to the southwest, Mayon Volcano to the south, Malilipot to the southeast, and Lagonoy Gulf to the east. The island of San Miguel, part of the city's territory, is the northwesternmost of Albay's four main islands in the Lagonoy Gulf. Mayon Volcano overlooks the city to the north. The island of San Miguel to the east is under the city's jurisdiction.

According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 107,166 people in 19,599 households.

Brief History

There are several stories how the name “Tabaco” came about, but the most popular one handed down through generations is that legend drawn from the story of an overprotective father securing his beautiful daughter from marauding strangers. “Tabaco” got its root not from the tobacco plant but from the bolo (“tabak” in Bicol). One might wonder why “Tabaco” is spelled as such. We must take into account that “Espanol”, the Spanish language, has no letter “k” in its alphabet, thence the orthography.

About the middle part of the 16th century, a foreign vessel was seen by a fisherman heading for shore. (The fisherman had a lovely daughter whom he and his wife adored so much that on several occasions they protected her when similar vessels docked in the place to pick up young boys and girls who were later sold as slaves in foreign countries). “SLAVE TRADERS AGAIN”, he thought angrily and turned at once his sibid-sibid (banca) shore ward. No sooner had he reached the shore than a group of men from the vessel also took to shore. Even as he raced towards his hut, he shouted at the top of his voice for his wife to give him his bolo to fight the intruders, “TABAK KO! TABAK KO!” (MY BOLO! MY BOLO!) he shouted furiously. The strangers who turned out to be Spanish friars and soldiers who were going to explore and evangelize the place thought that the fisherman was greeting and welcoming them to his land “TABACO”. Forthwith, they entered the word TABACO in their catalogue as the name of the place.

As recorded in the Estado Geografica Estadistico Historico written in 1805 by Father de Huerta, O.F.M., the recorded history of the city begun in 1587 with the missionary works of the Franciscan friars. In 1616, Rev. Father Pedro Alcaraso became the first permanent minister and built a church which was dedicated to the glorious Precursor of our Savior, St. John the Baptist. Up to the present, St. John has remained its patron saint but is now being administered by secular priests.

The early inhabitants settled along the seashore and engaged in fishing and crude forming. Due to the continous attacks of Moro raiders, the natives migrated to San Vicente and San Carlos and started the foundation of the poblacion in 1703, while the fisherman transferred to the shores of the bay in what is now known as Cormidal. Under the administration of the first City Executive Captain Martin Aguirre, a church was built in Cormidal in 1731 ( the ruins of this church can still be seen). Like the rest of the settlements in the country of this time especially those along the seashore, Tabaco experienced a succession of city executives whose main problem was the Moro raiding parties.

From 1780 to 1810 were thirty years of peace but which was a prelude to troubled times. In 1811, a terrible typhoon called Bagyong Ogis or White Typhoon brought havoc to the place. This was followed in 1814 by a major eruption of Mayon Volcano which showered the area with ashes and stones, and completely

ANOTHER VERSION

Tabak Ko ! Tabak Ko!

Legend tells that first Spaniards upon reaching the village and seeing a native approached him to ask the name of the place. The man they asked did not understand the Spanish language and being a jealous father, he thought they were looking for his daughter. With this in mind, the man shouted on top of his voice, TABAK KO! TABAK KO!. His daughter came running with the bolo. The Spaniards thinking that they had been answered christened the place “TABACO” a name that was passed on through generations and used until now.

Barangays
Tabaco City is politically subdivided into 47 barangays.

Agnas (San Miguel Island)
Bacolod
Bangkilingan
Bantayan
Baranghawon
Basagan
Basud (Pob.)
Bogñabong
Bombon (Pob.)
Bonot
San Isidro (Boring)
Buang
Buhian
Cabagñan
Cobo
Comon
Cormidal
Divino Rostro (Pob.)
Fatima
Guinobat
Hacienda (San Miguel Island)
Magapo
Mariroc
Matagbac
Oras
Oson
Panal
Pawa
Pinagbobong
Quinale Cabasan (Pob.)
Quinastillojan
Rawis (San Miguel Island)
Sagurong (San Miguel Island)
Salvacion
San Antonio
San Carlos
San Juan (Pob.)
San Lorenzo
San Ramon
San Roque
San Vicente
Santo Cristo (Pob.)
Sua-Igot
Tabiguian
Tagas
Tayhi (Pob.)
Visita (San Miguel Island)

[kevinb]

Originally Posted by smb

Two-third of Iriga's barangays starts with "San"

Honga. Feeling ko masyadong maka-Diyos ang mga Irigueño.

[kevinb]

BTW, all of these data were taken from the following:

1. http://www.en.wikipedia.org

2. The Official Website of Tabaco City

3. The Official Website of Masbate City

4. The Official Website of Sorsogon City

5. The Official Website of Ligao City

[garzland]

Bicol is getting more and more number of cities....Already 7.... Next in line would be Daraga... Even Libmanan, Calabanga, and Goa in Camarines Sur are eyeing for cityhood...

[kevinb]

I think Sagnay could also be a candidate. Maganda infrastructure dun kahit nasa lower income class pa sila. Pero kung may susunod na city sa Bicol, that will surely be Daraga.

[garzland]

Yeah, Sangay has good infrastructure but not a good candidate for cityhood... It does not have a vibrant commercial district... Daraga will surely be the next city in Bicol which will be the 4th city in Albay...

[kevinb]

Yeah. Maybe Pili will be next after Daraga becomes a city. It's about time CamSur's capital will be again a city, and besides Pili is already a 2nd class town.

[garzland]

You mean Pili was once a city?

[kevinb]

No, not Pili. I'm referring to Naga. Di ba Naga was the capital of CamSur before? Then naging chartered city tapos nilipat ang capital sa Pili. Remember?

[Mond87]

Question: Are the city classes above based on income??? All cities other than Naga and Legazpi are 4th-class cities if income is to be based.

First-class towns that can be cities later on: Milaor, Daet, Pili, Daraga, Polangui, Guinobatan, Bulan, and Virac

[kevinb]

Yes, income-based. And all other cities are fifth class, except Naga and Legazpi which are first class and Iriga which is 3rd class.

[garzland]

Originally Posted by kevinb

No, not Pili. I'm referring to Naga. Di ba Naga was the capital of CamSur before? Then naging chartered city tapos nilipat ang capital sa Pili. Remember?

yeah, i remember... I thought you're referrign to Pili. I guess it's time that Camarines Sur's capital will once again be a city... It just needs to create a new CBD...

[Mond87]

Originally Posted by kevinb

Yes, income-based. And all other cities are fifth class, except Naga and Legazpi which are first class and Iriga which is 3rd class.

So, that means you have to change your details above. My basis is the latest...