Baguio

 

(bă'gēō, Sp. bägyō') , city (1990 pop. 183,142), Benguet prov., NW Luzon, the Philippines. Baguio is the summer capital of the country, with many government buildings. It is also a noted mountain resort situated in beautiful pine forests and is the center of a major gold-producing area. The city is noted for the wood carvings of its Igorot aborigines. Nearby, at Lepanto, are important copper mines, and there is a major hydroelectric development on the Agno River. Originally settled by the Spanish, Baguio developed only after the American occupation, when a modern city was laid out (1909) by Daniel H. Burnham and roads were built (the first in 1913) to connect it with the main highways. The city was captured early (Dec., 1941) in World War II by Japanese land forces. Baguio is the seat of the national Philippine Military Academy, the Univ. of Baguio, and St. Louis Univ.

Baguio City Ciudad ti Baguio Lungsod ng Baguio
Flag Seal
Nickname: Summer Capital of the Philippines, City of Pines
Benguet Province map locating Baguio City
Coordinates: 16°25′N 120°36′E / 16.417, 120.6
Country	Philippines
Region	Cordillera Administrative Region
Province	Benguet
Barangays	129
Congressional Districts	1
Incorporated (city)	September 1, 1909
Government
- Congressman	Mauricio Domogan (Elect)
- Mayor	Reinaldo Bautista, Jr. (Elect)
- Vice Mayor	Daniel Fariñas (Elect)
Area
- City	km²  ( sq mi)
Population (2000)
- City
- Density	/km² (/sq mi)
Time zone	PST ([[UTC+8]])
Area code(s)	74
Languages	Ilocano, Tagalog, Kankana-ey, Ibaloi, and English
Website: http://www.baguio.gov.ph

The City of Baguio (Ilokano: Ciudad ti Baguio; Filipino: Lungsod ng Baguio) is a 1st class highly urbanized city in northern Luzon in the Philippines. Baguio City was established by Americans in 1900 at the site of an Ibaloi village known as Kafagway. Baguio City was designated by the Philippine Commission as the Summer Capital of the Philippines on June 1, 1903 and incorporated as a city by the Philippine Assembly on September 1, 1909. There is a presidential mansion, as well as supreme court and legislative offices in Baguio. Baguio is the seat of government of the Cordillera Administrative Region. The name of the city is derived from the word bagiw in Ibaloi, the indigenous language of the Benguet Region, meaning 'moss'. The city is at an altitude of approximately 1500 meters (5100 ft) in a moist tropical pine forest conducive to the growth of mossy plants and orchids.

According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 252,386 in 52,302 households.

Geography

The three main access roads leading to Baguio from the lowlands are Kennon Road, Marcos Highway, and Naguilian Highway. Kennon Road starts from Rosario, La Union and winds through a narrow, steep valley. This is the fastest route to Baguio but is dangerous, with landslides during the rainy season. Marcos Highway, which starts from Agoo, La Union, and Naguilian Highway, which starts from Bauang, La Union, are longer routes but are safer than Kennon Road and are the preferred routes for coaches, buses and lorries. Due to Baguio's Indepence in 1909, Baguio is not a part of the Benguet province. Though geographically speaking it's located in Benguet, Baguio is a charter city and is said to be the 7th province in the Cordillera Region.

Transportation

Air transport

Loakan Airport in Baguio is about 20 minutes by car south of the city. Because of the length of the runway, commercial jet aircraft are not able to use the airport. The airport is only used by propeller-driven aircraft. Currently, Asian Spirit flies Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday to and from Manila, a 50 minute flight. Flights to Baguio are scheduled only in the morning, as visibility approaches zero in afternoons when fog starts to form.

Land transport

It takes an average of six hours to travel the 250 km distance between Manila and Baguio by way of Kennon Road. It is about fifteen minutes longer through the Marcos Highway and could take three more hours when going through Naguilian Road, which is the usual route for travellers from the North. Kennon Road is occasionally blocked by landslides during the rainy season and the same problem occurs on the other two access roads. The route to Baguio through Kennon Road is as scenic as it is dangerous. There is another access to Baguio from Aritao in the province of Nueva Vizcaya but this is less traveled, the road is not well maintained, and public transportation through this route is not as regular. Another road, Halsema Road (also known as "Mountain Trail") leads north through the mountainous portion of the Cordillera Autonomous Region. It starts at the northern border of Baguio, in the Municipality of La Trinidad (Trinidad Valley).

There are several bus lines linking Baguio with Manila and Central Luzon, and provinces such as Pangasinan, La Union, and those in the Ilocos region. Most transportation companies also offer express and air-conditioned buses at a much higher fare, though some minibuses offer cheaper fares.

Bus services that ply Baguio include Philippine Rabbit, Dangwa Tranco, Dagupan Bus, Victory Liner, Partas, Genesis, Saulog Transit, Viron Transit, and Greenland, as well as minibuses that come from other provinces.

Economy

The primary economy of Baguio City is its educational centers of which it has in excess of seven colleges and universities as well as a plethora of trade and technical schools. Estimates are that these schools compose in excess of one hundred thousand students.

The secondary source of income for the residents is its character as the commercial hub in the province of Benguet. Many of the agricultural and mining goods produced in Benguet goes to Baguio City for central distribution.

The city is also a major retail center for the Cordilleras and the Ilocos provinces, with shoppers from the provinces coming to the city to take advantage of the diversity of competitively priced commercial products on sale, most of which are only available in Manila. Despite the city's small size, there are numerous shopping centers and malls in the business district catering to the growing commercial activity in Baguio. These are the SM City Baguio mall, Baguio Centermall, Cooyeesan Hotel Plaza, Abanao Square, Maharlika Livelihood Center, and Porta Vaga mall.

The areas of Session Road, Harrison Road, Magsaysay Avenue and Abanao Street comprise the trade center of the city. It is in these areas where commercial and business structures abound. First class movie houses, hotels, restaurants, department stores, and shopping centers are found in this downtown area. Shopping at the famous city market offers one a wide array of locally sourced goods and products, from colorful woven fabrics and strung beads to primitive wood carvings, cut flowers, strawberries and vegetables. (Strawberries and string beans - known as 'Baguio beans' across the Philippines - are shipped to major urban markets.)

Baguio is also home to one of the country's most profitable Philippine Economic Zone Authority areas (PEZA), called the Baguio City Economic Zone (BCEZ), located in the southern part of the city between the Camp John Hay leisure resort and the Philippine Military Academy. Firms located in the BCEZ mostly produce and export knitted clothing, transistors, small components for vehicles, electronics and other computer parts. Notable firms include Texas Instruments Philippines, MOOG, and Sitel. Recently, there has been an influx of call centers in the city with American companies outsourcing their technical support facilities in the country.

Tourism is one of Baguio's main industries. Commonly, overseas visitors pass through Baguio, while Filipinos make it a destination.

Education and culture

Baguio is a university town. It is the center of education in the entire North Luzon. There are eight major institutions of higher education in Baguio City, one of which (the University of the Philippines) is regarded as the country's premiere institution of higher learning and research.

• University of the Philippines Baguio (U.P. Baguio) -the national university of the Philippines, U.P. System's flag-bearer in Northern Luzon, internationally known for its excellent record in ethnic and multidisciplinary research and Cordillera Studies
• Philippine Military Academy -the national training school for future officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines
• Saint Louis University, Baguio City
• University of Baguio
• University of the Cordilleras (formerly the Baguio Colleges Foundation)
• Baguio Central University
• Pines City Colleges
• Baguio City School of Arts and Trades

The languages spoken in Baguio are Kankana-ey, Ibaloi, English, Ilocano, Tagalog, Chinese.

Baguio's youth majority in the population has given it a distinct flavor different from those of other cities in the Philippines.

Government

Like most Philippine cities, Baguio is governed by a Mayor, Vice Mayor, and twelve (12) Councilors. However, being a highly-urbanized city, it is not subject to the jurisdiction of Benguet, the province which it was formerly part of.

The current mayor of Baguio is Reinaldo Bautista Jr. who first assumed office after the suspension of Braulio Yaranon in August 2006. Controversy surrounded Yaranon's term, one of the most problematic in Baguio's history, ^{[citation needed]}, due in part to the Jadewell pay parking scandal, which resulted in the firm filing charges against him and Malacañang's favoritism, and ordering his suspension until the end of his term on June 30, 2007. They were preceded in office by Bernardo Vergara, who was defeated by Yaranon in the mayoral elections of 2004.

Bautista recently had his "interim/acting" tag removed from his title as he emerged as the winner in the 2007 city mayoral race, beating Yaranon, Vergara, former Councilor Leandro Yangot Jr. and post-Edsa mayor and spiritual healer Ramon "Jun" Labo Jr. His running mate, three-term vice mayor and law dean Daniel Fariñas, returned to that post as well after previously serving a term in the City Council.

Baguio City comprises one congressional district that is represented in the House of Representatives. As of 2007, that is in the person of Mauricio Domogan, who is now in his third term. Prior to being elected as congressman, he served three straight terms as mayor.

City Officials (2007-2010)

• Representative: Mauricio Domogan
• Mayor: Reinaldo Bautista Jr.
• Vice Mayor: Daniel Fariñas
• Councilors:
  • Rocky Thomas Balisong
  • Betty Lourdes Tabanda
  • Galo Weygan
  • Perlita Chan-Rondez
  • Nicasio Aliping
  • Antonio Tabora Jr.
  • Erdolfo Balajadia
  • Nicasio Palaganas
  • Isabelo Cosalan Jr.
  • Richard Cariño
  • Fred Bagbagen
  • Elaine Sembrano
  • Rufino Panagan (Ex-officio; Liga ng mga Barangay President)
  • Leonardo Bayan Jr. (Ex-officio; Sangguniang Kabataan Federation President; until October 2007)

Barangays

Baguio City is politically subdivided into 130 barangays.

Apugan-Loakan Asin Road Atok Trail Bakakeng Central Bakakeng North Happy Hollow Balsigan Bayan Park West Bayan Park East Brookspoint Brookside Cabinet Hill-Teacher's Camp Camp Allen Camp 7 Camp 8 Campo Filipino City Camp Central City Camp Proper Country Club Village Cresencia Village Dagsian, Upper DPS Dizon Subdivision East Quirino Hill Engineers' Hill Fairview Village Fort del Pilar General Nalasa, Upper General Nalasa, Lower General Luna, Upper General Luna, Lower General Bacleon Gibraltar Greenwater Village Guisad Central Guisad Sorong

Hillside Holy Ghost Extension Holy Ghost Proper Imelda Village Irisan Kayang Extension Kias Kagitingan Loakan Proper Lopez Jaena Lourdes Subdivision Extension Dagsian, Lower Lourdes Subdivision, Lower Lower Quirino Hill General Emilio F. Aguinaldo Lualhati Lucnab Magsaysay, Lower Magsaysay Private Road Aurora Hill Proper Bal-Marcoville Middle Quirino Hill Military Cut-off Mines View Park Modern Site, East Modern Site, West New Lucban Aurora Hill, North Central Sanitary Camp, North Outlook Drive Pacdal Palma-Urbano Pinget

Pinsao Pilot Project Pinsao Proper Puliwes Pucsusan MRR-Queen Of Peace Rock Quarry, Lower Salud Mitra San Antonio Village San Luis Village San Roque Village San Vicente Santa Escolastica Santo Rosario Santo Tomas School Area Santo Tomas Proper Scout Barrio Session Road Area Slaughter House Area Sanitary Camp South Saint Joseph Village Spring Hills Teodora Alonzo Trancoville Rock Quarry, Upper Victoria Village West Quirino Hill Andres Bonifacio Legarda-Burnham-Kisad Imelda R. Marcos Lourdes Subdivision, Proper Quirino-Magsaysay, Upper A. Bonifacio-Caguioa-Rimando Ambiong

Aurora Hill, South Central Abanao-Zandueta-Kayong-Chugum Bagong Lipunan BGH Compound Bayan Park Village Camdas Subdivision Palma-Urbano Dominican Hill Mirador Alfonso Tabora Dontogan Ferdinand Happy Homes Harrison-Claudio Carantes Honeymoon Kabayanihan Kayang-Hilltop Gabriela Silang Liwanag-Loakan Malcolm Square-Perfecto Manuel A. Roxas Padre Burgos Quezon Hill, Upper Rock Quarry, Middle Phil-Am Compound Quezon Hill Proper Middle Quezon Hill Subdivision Rizal Monument Area SLU-SVP Housing Village South Drive Magsaysay, Upper Market Subdivision, Upper Padre Zamora

History

The region around Baguio was first settled by the Cordilleranos, primarily the Kankane-y, Ibaloi, and Itogon tribes. In nearby La Trinidad, Spaniards established a commandante or military garrison, although Kafagway, as Baguio was once known, was barely touched. In 1901 Americans in an engineering built Kennon Road, the first road directly connecting Kafagway with the lowlands of Pangasinan. Before this, the only road to Kafagway was ≈Naguilian Road, now known as the Quirino Highway. In September 1, 1909 Baguio was declared a chartered city. It was planned according to the American architect Burnham, but his plan was used only to a small extent, primarily due to the hilly terrain. Americans declared Baguio the Summer Capital of the Philippines and The Mansion as the residence of the American governor-general to escape Manila's Summer heat. Americans further developed Baguio, building parks and public structures such as Wright Park, Burnham Park, Governor Pack Road, Session Road, Assumption Road.

Baguio is also best known as the surrender venue of General Tomoyuki Yamashita and Vice Admiral Okochi, where they also gave up the entire Imperial Japanese Armed Forces to American authorities at the High Commissioner's Residence in Camp John Hay on September 3, 1945, marking the beginning of the end of World War II.

With Philippine independence in 1946, Americans settled in the city and English became the primary lingua franca. Ilocanos joined the Cordilleranos in Baguio, and the population of Americans, Dutch, Belgians, and Germans soared. Baguio was relatively quiet from 1946 to July 16, 1990, when an earthquake destroyed most of Baguio. The city was quickly rebuilt.

Around May 2003, a petition initiated by Dion Fernandez to declare Baguio a heritage zone was circulated on the Internet and national print media, gaining more than 10,000 signatures. The petition calls upon unspecified officials to create the Zone prior to the Baguio centennial in 2009. In May 2005, the Heritage Conservation Society submitted to the Baguio City Council a proposed Special Heritage Bill drafted by HCS Trustee Ivan Henares. It has been approved on second reading but is being opposed by a group of businessmen.

Television Networks:

• ABS-CBN: Channel 3
• Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation: Channel 6
• National Broadcasting Network: Channel 8
• GMA Network: Channel 10
• Radio Philippines Network: Channel 12
• Southern Broadcasting Network: Channel 13
• Quality TeleVision: Channel 24
• Radio Mindanao Network: Channel 26
• Studio 23: Channel 32
• ACQ-Kingdom Broadcasting Network: Channel 36
• Cordillera News Agency Television: - Channel 12 (Skycable)][1]

My Baguio Dreams

On September 29, 2007, Elmer Soriano, president of Thinklab opened a website, www.mybaguiodreams.com* – an online diary which acts as Baguio "wikipedia." It is dedicated to old Baguio recollections, in honor of 2 centennial celebrations on 2008 and 2009. Baguio will mark its centennial on September 1, 2009, while the Teachers' Camp will celbebrate on 2008 its 100th anniversary. ^[1]

See also

• Irisan
• DPS
• mybaguiodreams.com

External links

• Official website of Baguio City
• Baguio travel guide from Wikitravel

References

Municipalities of Benguet
Atok • Bakun • Bokod • Buguias •Itogon • Kabayan • Kapangan • Kibungan • La Trinidad • Mankayan • Sablan • Tuba • Tublay
Highly urbanized city: Baguio City

Cities of the Philippines
Highly-urbanized Cities	Angeles • Bacolod • Baguio • Butuan • Cagayan de Oro • Caloocan • Cebu • Davao • General Santos • Iligan • Iloilo • Lapu-Lapu • Las Piñas • Lucena • Makati • Malabon • Mandaluyong • Mandaue • Manila • Marikina • Muntinlupa • Navotas • Olongapo • Parañaque • Pasay • Pasig • Puerto Princesa • Quezon City • San Juan • Taguig • Valenzuela • Zamboanga
Independent Component Cities	Cotabato • Dagupan • Naga (Camarines Sur) • Ormoc • Santiago
Component Cities	Alaminos • Antipolo • Bago • Bais • Balanga • Batac • Batangas • Bayawan • Baybay • Bayugan • Bislig • Bogo • Borongan • Cabadbaran • Cabanatuan • Cadiz • Calamba • Calapan • Calbayog • Candon • Canlaon • Carcar • Catbalogan • Cauayan • Cavite • Danao • Dapitan • Digos • Dipolog • Dumaguete • El Salvador • Escalante • Gapan • Gingoog •Guihulngan • Himamaylan • Iriga • Isabela • Kabankalan • Kidapawan • Koronadal • La Carlota • Laoag • Lamitan • Legazpi • Ligao • Lipa • Maasin • Malaybalay • Malolos • Marawi • Masbate • Mati • Meycauayan • Muñoz • Naga (Cebu) • Oroquieta • Ozamiz • Pagadian • Palayan • Panabo • Passi • Roxas • Sagay • Samal • San Carlos (Negros Occidental) • San Carlos (Pangasinan) • San Fernando (La Union) • San Fernando (Pampanga) • San Jose • San Jose del Monte • San Pablo • Santa Rosa • Silay • Sipalay • Sorsogon • Surigao • Tabaco • Tabuk • Tacloban • Tacurong • Tagaytay • Tagbilaran • Tagum • Talisay (Cebu) • Talisay (Negros Occidental) • Tanauan • Tandag • Tangub • Tayabas • Tanjay • Tarlac • Toledo • Trece Martires • Tuguegarao • Urdaneta • Valencia • Victorias • Vigan

Coordinates: 16°25′N, 120°36′E

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