Naga City, Bicol

The City of Naga (Bikol: Ciudad nin Naga; Filipino: Lungsod ng Naga) is a city of the Philippines. Located in the Bicol Region, a peninsula on the southeasternmost tip of the island of Luzon, it is 377 kilometers southeast of Manila, the nation's capital, and about 380 kilometers northeast of Cebu City

It is the most densely-populated city in the region, and is locally known as the "Heart of Bicol". It is the commercial, financial, educational, religious and cultural center of the Bicol region. Residents of the City are called Nagueños.

Naga City is at the core of Metro Naga, an unofficial designation given the city and 14 municipalities in the area administered by the Metro Naga Development Council. MNDC covers the entire 2nd district of the province of Camarines Sur, and part of its 1st, 3rd and 4th districts.

History
Naga Metropolitan Cathedral officially know as the Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist
Peñafrancia Shrine
Holy Rosary Minor Seminary

Before the coming of Spanish conquerors, Naga was already a flourishing village along the banks of the Naga River. It was an important village with comparatively sophisticated weaponry and surprisingly advanced culture.

For hundreds of years during the Spanish colonial era, the Naga that we know now was once the center of trade, education and culture, and the seat of governmental and ecclesiastical jurisdiction in Bicol and parts of modern Southern Tagalog and Central Luzon.

In 1573, on his second expedition to this region, the conquistador Juan de Salcedo landed in a village and named it "Naga" because of the abundance of Narra trees ("Naga" in Bikol) in the place, although some local historians now believe the term naga came from a similar word found in the languages of the Bataks of Sumatra and the Dayaks of Borneo, meaning "serpent/dragon". The same word is found in other Philippine languages and according to local historian Danilo Gerona, the ancient Tagalogs and Pampangos used a decorative figurehead on the prows of their seacrafts in the shape of the head of a dragon or snake which they called naga. In 1575, Captain Pedro de Chávez, 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 La Ciudad de Cáceres, in honor of Francisco de Sande, the governor-general and a native of the city of Cáceres 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 Cáceres, together with those of Cebú and Nueva Segovia, and made it the seat of the new bishopric under the Archdiocese of Manila.

In time, the Spanish city and the native village merged into one community and became popularly known as Nueva Cáceres, 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 Cáceres remained the capital of the 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 Cáceres 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 East 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 Cáceres whose jurisdiction then extended from the whole Bicol region, the island-province of Marinduque and the present-day Aurora, which was once part of the former Tayabas province, which is now the province of 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 Cáceres and archbishops 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 Gaínza, then concurrent bishop of Cáceres, sat in the special ecclesiastical tribunal which passed upon the civil authorities' petition to divest Fathers Burgos, Gómez, and Zamora of their priestly dignity. Gaínza did not only refuse the petition but also urged their pardon.

With the advent of the American rule, the city 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, church and government offices.

Transportation and Communication

Naga City is easily accessible by air and land. The city is served by the Naga (WNP) National Airport which is located in the provincial capital of Pili. Flights from Ninoy Aquino International Airport to Pili takes approximately 35–40 minutes. Cebu Pacific and Air Philippines fly directly from NAIA three and two times a day, respectively. By land, Naga is a 7- to 8-hour ride from Manila via Quirino & Andaya Highways or 10 hours via the Maharlika Highway. It is approximately 22 hours from Cebu City with ferry transfers in Sorsogon, the southernmost province of the Bicol peninsula. Daily rail services to and from Manila were provided by the Philippine National Railways but these were temporarily discontinued due to systems upgrading.

Naga is well-served by several telephone and mobile phone companies. Bayantel and Digitel are the main telephone operators in the city. Other companies which compete keenly for the city's telecommunications market have also 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 had expanded its network in Bicol by putting up ABS-CBN Naga. Local shows such as TV Patrol Bicol, Marhay na Aga Kapamilya and MAGTV Oragon are aired in the whole region via ABS-CBN Regional Network Group which is also stationed in the city. ABC5 also airs shows in the city through its affiliate station People's Broadcasting Network (PBN TV 5 Naga). GMA7 and QTV 11 will soon air their local shows in the region. [1]

Naga City has the most number of radio stations of any locality in the region, some of which operate 24 hours daily. These include MOR 93.5 FM Naga , RMN DWNX-FM , GMA's Campus Radio 101.5 Naga. The city's cable and satellite TV companies include Naga Cable TV and Caceres Cable TV and SkyCable is also available.

Culture
[edit] Colonial Spain influence

The city celebrates the Feast of Nuestra Señora de Peñafrancia Our Lady of Peñafrancia, the Patroness of the Bicol Region, starting 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 de Nuestra Señora de Peñafrancia via the historic Naga River.

Tourism
Malabsay Falls
Fluvial Procession of Ina
Divino Rostro
Nuestra Señora de Peñafrancia

According to the Department of Tourism arrival statistics in Bicol, Naga City and Camarines Sur combined are the top tourist destination in Region V, outclassing the province of Albay/Legazpi tandem. The province registered a total of 258,608 visitors from January to December 2006 133,604 visitors in Albay/Legazpi on the same period. The Bicol's premier city and province have jointly breached that mark, posting 350,944 tourist arrivals for the period of January to September 2007 alone. A remarkable increase of 114%. Tourist arrivals in Albay and Legazpi combined only recorded a total of 126,897 for the same period or only an 18% improvement from last year's record.

The Camarines Sur and Naga City tandem is without doubt, the new tourist hub in the Bicol Region. Naga City and CamSur was described in the newest edition on Lonely Planet traveller's guide as "Luzon's best kept secret". The regional office of the Department of Tourism attributed the increase to the full operation of the world class Camarines Sur Watersports Complex in the town of Pili and Naga City's sustained tourism intervention program.

Other suggestions for those who would like to have a nature getaway will be the Mini Hydro Hot Springs at Brgy. Panicuason and Magic Splash Resort along Carolina. The City of Naga will be most welcoming to tourists all over the world. Some of the famous places and activities to visit include: