Legazpi, Ligao and Tabaco Cities, and Albay Province

[lochinvar]

Wow! Excellent pictures. Dr. I feel very, very good now. The best picture of Mayon I have ever seen.

[drfeelgood17]

Thanks lochinvar!! I hope you saw the others I posted in page 5 - easily missed as they're right at the bottom of the page - more to follow soon!

[dominique]

Finally i get a closer look of Legazpi's cityscape. Hmmmn awesome pics. thanks drfeelgood.

BTW, is the there really a strong competition between naga and legazpi? which of the two is the greatest city in bicolandia?

[olineil]

Shit Na Malagkit!!! Uragon ang Pics mo!!! Sorry for the French cant help it....

[olineil]

Originally Posted by dominique

Finally i get a closer look of Legazpi's cityscape. Hmmmn awesome pics. thanks drfeelgood.

BTW, is the there really a strong competition between naga and legazpi? which of the two is the greatest city in bicolandia?

In a sense yes. I guess basically, only the constituents have the sense of pride for each city. But Economically, these 2 cities are complementing each other and are benifiting from each other.

[mhe-ann]

very nice aerial pic. thanks!

[Sou-jiro]

wow u made me miss this place even more!! thanks...yeh i agree easily the best picture of Mayon here so far!...i like the first Pic too!!...i can cleary see the MALL...
is it true there will be an SM in Legaspi?....can anyone confirm??


yeh based on my observation...i seem to have notice a rivarly between Naga and Legaspi...maybe pride...

[rustyboi]

BEAUTIFUL!!! Haven't been to Bicol but i'll make sure to visit the place this coming summer!

[xDieselJockx]

I love all the pics here, the city looks simple but inviting. The aerial shots are all spectacular and the beauty of the volcano is just superv. Cheers all and good job.

[uragon]

Maurag ka padi. marhay iyan na pig gigibo mo, para mas dakol an mag duman na turista satuya. Taga sain ka satuya padi? Taga sorsogon palan ako, dakol akong barkada dyan sa Legazpi. Siguro oras na para maaraman ninda gabos kun nano kagayon an lugar ta.

Marhay na bangi!


BC

[drfeelgood17]

It depends on what we mean by 'greatest city'...in terms of population Legazpi is bigger than Naga. These are the figures given by the 2000 Census: Legazpi: 157,000 (190,000 - 2005 estimate), Naga: 137,000 - (158,000 - 2005 estimate). However, in terms of land area I think Naga is definitely bigger as it encompasses several smaller towns and even ricefields and forests! Actually within Albay province, these municipalities are all bigger than Legazpi in land area: Oas, Ligao and Daraga.
On the other hand, if Legazpi and neighbouring Daraga are to be merged as one city, their combined population would be around 320,000 - not only far bigger than Naga, but would place Legazpi in the nation's Top 10 biggest.

[drfeelgood17]

I have seen press reports about a proposed SM in Legazpi but I'm not sure if this is definite or confirmed. Hopefully it is - the more the better! Well, actually I do have some doubts with malls as they might kill off local businesses or smaller shops, but in the whole I agree, it is a sign of progress.

[drfeelgood17]

Thanks everyone for your comments!
I hope you've all seen the other pics I posted on the bottom of page 5 - I might have to repost them as they're easily missed.

I hope I'm making some contribution into putting Bicol in the map as I always get the impression that our region is the Cinderella of the Philippines , i.e, pretty, but neglected. Let's hope that's about to change!

[drfeelgood17]

Salamat uragon! Taga Legazpi ako ( sa Bonot) - may mga classmate akong taga Cumadcad buda Castilla, Sorsogon. Next time, pag-uli ko, muya kung mailing ang mga whale sharks kan Donsol - dai pa ngani ako nakaduman. Last time nag day-trip kami sa Rizal beach sa Gubat! Marhay man tag nag-asenso na man ang Sorsogon - city na ngani!

[Matteo]

Originally Posted by drfeelgood17

Thanks for the tips Neil - yes I'm from Legazpi originally, now living in London. I was actually born in Calamba, but we moved to Legazpi when I was just a baby, so yeah I suppose I am more Bicolano than Tagalog. By the way, what do you think of the idea of merging Legazpi and Daraga? Their combined population would be around 330,000, and would surely catapult Legazpi into the Philippines' Top ten biggest cities ( I think currently, it is not even in the top 20 - neither is Naga....) Legazpi's population is currently almost 200,000 and Daraga roughly 130,000. Since they are practically contiguous with each other I think they might as well merge. Residents of both towns commute on a daily basis so in practice they already function as one city, whatever the politicians say. Just a thought, that's all .....

Great pics, dr.

My grandma was from Daraga, and she used to tell us stories before that there were talks and plans on merging Legazpi and Daraga to form one city way back in the days, but the people of Daraga would not agree.

I think it just makes sense to make it one, as opposed to two separate functioning entities, each with their own government office 45 minutes apart from each other ( Legazpi City Hall and Daraga Municipal Hall).

But last I've heard, the mayor of Daraga town is seriously considering converting Daraga into a city sometime soon.

But either way, both places are alive and bustling that you won't even notice that you're not in Legazpi anymore once you cross the borderline.

[olineil]

Wowww!!! Maurag! Bigla na lang duminakol ang mga Legazpeño digdi. Hehehehe...aluyon na ako naga-alat na magkaigwa ki Legazpeño forumer or even Bicolano in General digdi. Marhay na pag-abot saindo Gabos...Padakulaon ta ining Thread na ini...invite nindo Friends nindo sa Legazpi or Bicol to come to this forum and post to Kingdom come para maging-buhay ang forum kang mga Bicolnon. Kaypuhan ta ki Bicol Based forumer para igwa kita ki maga-update pirmi satuya.

To the Bicolanos: Have u ever been to Misibis Residential & Spa Resort...I think this is 1 hell of a project for Bicol...I have posted Pivs of the Place a pages back, if u havnt heard of it. Its the very first cable car in Bicolandia.

In reply to the Merging of Legazpi & Daraga: I think what will really happen is not the mergin of Daraga & Legazpi as one Government but they are gonna merge Legazpi and Daraga in terms of population to convert its status as Metro Legazpi (I think this include other township as well, like Camalig and Sto Domingo. This is what they did to Naga, they added the other towns to it, so it became Metro Naga.

Mga Padi, Im from Daraga palan. Taga Harong Pagkamoot Subd (HP Subd.) some people also call it Pag-Ibig Subd. Hehehehe...

[Matteo]

Thanks Olineil.

There's this one forum in www.albay.com.ph, about Albay and Legazpi but it's not as user-friendly as this one, in my opinion.
I would always get lost navigating through threads and replies and stuff.

But this is a very good way to stay in touch with our hometown, and some of its people online. It is always great to hear news about home.

[olineil]

Originally Posted by Matteo

Thanks Olineil.

There's this one forum in www.albay.com.ph, about Albay and Legazpi but it's not as user-friendly as this one, in my opinion.
I would always get lost navigating through threads and replies and stuff.

But this is a very good way to stay in touch with our hometown, and some of its people online. It is always great to hear news about home.

Im actually an member of that forum. Its true what u said. This forum is very user friendly. And very organized.

[drfeelgood17]

I like the fact that they painted LCC Metro in fresh, vibrant colours. Like so many other Philippines cities, Legazpi has its fair share of grey, drab, post-war buildings. Does any one have any old, pre-war photos of the city? I'm curious to know what Legazpi looked like in the colonial era. With regards to the post-war buildings and contemporary ones, architecturally, at least, there are some improvements. It looks like they also redesigned the Legazpi Tourist Inn - its more attractive than I remember it. And unless, my imagination is playing tricks on me, I'm convinced they added another 3 or 4 storeys to the Albay hotel.

[Matteo]

Originally Posted by drfeelgood17

I like the fact that they painted LCC Metro in fresh, vibrant colours. Like so many other Philippines cities, Legazpi has its fair share of grey, drab, post-war buildings. Does any one have any old, pre-war photos of the city? I'm curious to know what Legazpi looked like in the colonial era. With regards to the post-war buildings and contemporary ones, architecturally, at least, there are some improvements. It looks like they also redesigned the Legazpi Tourist Inn - its more attractive than I remember it. And unless, my imagination is playing tricks on me, I'm convinced they added another 3 or 4 storeys to the Albay hotel.

Some 'historical' photos. Not that much but I thought it was fun to see before and after images:

Saint Agnes' Academy:


St. Agnes' Academy now:


Cagsawa Church waaaaaaay back in the day:


Cagsawa National Park as it stands now: