Naga City - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The City of Naga is a first class independent component city in the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

. Naga is 377 kilometres south-east of Manila

Manila

Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...

, the nation's capital, and about 380 kilometres north-east of Cebu City

Cebu City

The City of Cebu is the capital city of Cebu and is the second largest city in the Philippines, the second most significant metropolitan centre in the Philippines and known as the oldest settlement established by the Spaniards in the country.The city is located on the eastern shore of Cebu and was...

Naga is the "Heart of Bicol" being the commercial, financial, religious and cultural center of the Bicol region. Residents of the City are called Nagueños.

Naga City is at the core of Metro Naga

Metro Naga

Metro Naga is a metropolitan area composed of 14 municipalities centered around Naga City, Camarines Sur, Philippines. The MNDC covers most of 2nd district of the province of Camarines Sur, and part of its 1st, 3rd and 4th districts.-History:...

, an unofficial designation given the City and 14 municipalities in the area administered by the Metro Naga Development Council

Metro Naga

. MNDC covers the entire 2nd district of the province of Camarines Sur

Camarines Sur

Camarines Sur is a province of the Philippines located in the Bicol Region in Luzon. Its capital is Pili and the province borders Camarines Norte and Quezon to the north, and Albay to the south...

, and part of its 1st, 3rd and 4th districts.

History

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 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

Conquistador

Conquistadors were Spanish soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who brought much of the Americas under the control of Spain in the 15th to 16th centuries, following Europe's discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492...

Juan de Salcedo

Juan de Salcedo was a Spanish conquistador. He was born in Mexico in 1549 and he was the grandson of Miguel López de Legazpi and brother of Felipe de Salcedo. Salcedo was one of the soldiers who accompanied the Spanish colonization of the Philippines in 1565...

landed in a village and named it "Naga" because of the abundance of Narra trees

Angsana

Pterocarpus indicus is a species of Pterocarpus native to southeastern Asia, northern Australasia, and the western Pacific Ocean islands, in Cambodia, southernmost China, East Timor, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the...

("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 centre (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

Cáceres, Spain

Cáceres is the capital of the same name province, in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. , its population was 91,131 inhabitants. The municipio has a land area of 1,750.33 km², and is the largest in geographical extension in Spain....

in Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

. 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

Cebu City

and Nueva Segovia

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia

-Introduction:The Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia is an archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines. It covers the province of Ilocos Sur, on the island of Luzon. The see of the archdiocese is the city of Vigan....

, and made it the seat of the new bishopric under the Archdiocese of Manila

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
Ayuntamiento
Ayuntamiento In other languages of Spain:*Catalan/Valencian .*Galician .*Basque . is the general term for the council of a municipality, or sometimes the municipality itself, in Spain and Latin America. Historically Ayuntamiento was often preceded by the word excelentísimo , when referring to...

and cabildo
Cabildo (council)
For a discussion of the contemporary Spanish and Latin American cabildo, see Ayuntamiento.A cabildo or ayuntamiento was a former Spanish, colonial administrative council that governed a municipality. Cabildos were sometimes appointed, sometimes elected, but were considered to be representative of...

of its own. At the beginning of the 17th century, there were only five other ciudades in the Philippines

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

Catholic

The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

hierarchy during most of the Spanish regime. By virtue of the papal bull of Gregory XIII, ecclesiastical cases originating in the Spanish East Indies

Spanish East Indies

Spanish East Indies was a term used to describe Spanish territories in Asia-Pacific which lasted for three centuries . With the seat of government in Manila, the territory encompassed the Philippine Islands, Guam and the Mariana Islands, the Caroline Islands, and for a period of time, parts of...

, which ordinarily were appealable to the Pope

Pope

The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...

, were ordered to be terminated there and no longer elevated to Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

. 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

Manila

were subject to review by the Bishop of Cáceres whose jurisdiction then extended from the whole Bicol region, the island-province of Marinduque

Marinduque

In 1945, combined American and Philippine Commonwealth troops attacked from the Japanese Troops liberated to the Battle of Marinduque in the Second World War.-Archaeology:...

and the present-day Aurora

Aurora province

Aurora is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is Baler and borders, clockwise from the south, the provinces of Quezon, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, and Isabela. To the east of Aurora is the Philippine Sea.Before 1979, Aurora was part of...

, 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.

Education

Naga City is the center of education in Bicol due to the presence of numerous academic institutions including three universities, namely: the Ateneo de Naga University

Ateneo de Naga University

The Ateneo de Naga University is a private university run by the Society of Jesus in Naga City in the province of Camarines Sur, Philippines. It was established in 1940.-Academic philosophy:...

(AdNU), the University of Nueva Caceres

University of Nueva Caceres

University of Nueva Caceres , the first university in southern Luzon , is a private non-sectarian university run by a corporation in Naga City in Bicol Region, Philippines...

(UNC), and the Universidad de Santa Isabel (USI).

The Ateneo de Naga University is the Jesuit university in Bicol. ADNU is the first university in the Philippines to achieve PAASCU Institutional Accreditation, on top of its Autonomous Status, Level III Status, and its Center of Excellence in Teachers Education, Center of Development in Business Administration, Entrepreneurship, and Information Technology. Accredited by PAASCU since 1979, making it one of the best universities in the country. It has consistently produced top animators in the country since it launched its Bachelor's Degree in Animation. The university also gave birth to the very first Bicolano Jesuit priest, Father Juan Bonafe, S.J.

The Universidad de Santa Isabel is the oldest Normal School

Normal school

A normal school is a school created to train high school graduates to be teachers. Its purpose is to establish teaching standards or norms, hence its name...

for girls in the Far East

Far East

The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...

. It is a sectarian school run by the religious Daughters of Charity

Daughters of Charity

The Company of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul, sometimes simply referred to as Daughters of Charity, is a Society of Apostolic Life for women within the Catholic Church. Its members take simple, private, annual vows...

Sisters.

The University of Nueva Caceres is the region's largest university in terms of enrolment. It is also the very first university in Southern Luzon outside Manila

Manila

. The university is the top-ranked law school in the region, consistently producing Bar passers. John Michael F. Galauran graduated from the university in the said field, garnering the fifth highest spot in the 2007 Philippine Bar examinations.

A university in the making is the Naga College Foundation. It is the leading Criminology school in the region. It has produced a topnotcher in the National Police Commission Examinations and the Criminologist Licensure Exams throughout the years (Top 3 Criminology School in the Philippines, 1993; Alex Pederio, 1999; Henry Navarro, 7th place, 1999; Noel Cabral, 6th placer, 2002; Romeo Caballero, 8th placer, 2002; Xavier Mirasol, 11th place, 2004; Frederick R. Eboña, National 2nd Placer, Licensure Board Examination 2009). Naga College Foundation's Nursing and Health Sciences Department also Produced a number of topnotchers in Nursing as well as Midwifery(Asther de la Cruz, National 3rd Placer, Midwifery, 2001; Leslie Guerra, National 6th Placer, Nursing, 2005, Neri Grace Zapata National 11th Placer, Nursing, 2008; Florian Maureen Palma, 3rd Placer Nationwide Midwives Licensure Examination 2009 and 15th Placer Nationwide Nursing Board Exam; Clarissa Leonor Tible Escober, 4th Placer Nationwide Nursing Board Exam 2009) as well as being the Top performing nursing school in Bicol since 2003; 100% passing rate, 1997;

The Philippine Women's University

Philippine Women's University

The Philippine Women's University is a non-sectarian academic institution for men and women in the Philippines, founded in 1919 as the Philippine Women's College by Filipino women who envisioned a school that would prepare young women for leadership and service...

also has its Career Development and Continuing Education Center in the city, while the University of the Philippines

University of the Philippines

The ' is the national university of the Philippines. Founded in 1908 through Act No...

opened its Open University in USI to cater to distant-education students. The Bicol College of Arts and Trade, now Camarines Sur Polytechnic Colleges, has also a large student base in the city. Arch. Antonio Imperial III, who placed 2nd in the 2007 Architecture Board Exam, is a graduate of this school.

The biggest secondary school in the region is also located in the city. Government-run Camarines Sur National High School has always registered over 10,000 enrollees every school year.

The oldest specialized live-in Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

higher educational institute for the clergy in the country is also found in Naga City. Established in the early part of the 18th century, the Holy Rosary Seminary (El Seminario del Santissimo Rosario), a Roman Catholic seminary run by the Archdiocese of Caceres, has produced 22 bishops, including the first Filipino bishop, Jorge Barlin, and the first Filipino Cardinal to work in the Roman Curia, Jose Cardinal Sanchez. It has richly contributed as well to the national heritage through Jose Ma. Panganiban and Tomas Arejola and 7 of the 15 Bikol Martyrs. On January 29, 1988, the National Historical Institute declared the Holy Rosary Seminary as a National Historical Landmark.

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

The first PAASCU-accredited parochial school in the Philippines can also be found in Naga City. The Naga Parochial School has a big number of alumni priests (63 as of 2007 with 3 bishops) in the city. This is an exclusive Catholic school for boys in the city with Most Rev. Leonardo Z. Legaspi as chair of the Board Trustees. Well-known personalities such as the late Sen. Raul S. Roco, Mayor Jesse M. Robredo, Justice Francis E. Garchitorena, Gov. Luis R. Villafuerte, Jaime Fabregas, Jonathan Dela Paz Zaens and other leaders of the community are graduates of NPS.

The biggest group of Montessori schools in the Bicol region is also based in Naga City. Arborvitae Plains Montessori, Inc. (formerly Casa Dei Bambini Montessori), a Montessori school with eleven branches spread all over Camarines Sur, Bacolod, and Masbate, offers preschool (Early Childhood Education), elementary and secondary (Business High School) education according to the Montessori method modified for the Philippine curriculum.

There are currently 2 Filipino - Chinese schools there,Saint Joseph http://www.sjs-naga.edu.ph/ School(SJS) and Hope Christian School.

The Village Montessori in San Leandro St. is the only school in the Bicol Region that offers the real Montessori method which follows the continuous progression curriculum of the American Montessori System.

All existing schools in the city, including those already named above, offer computer courses. Specialized computer schools have also mushroomed in the city due to popularity of computer courses, both degree and short-term. AMA, which has two branches in the city, and STI College are among the more competitive and well-known computer school chains in the country that have established campuses in the city. Other specialized computer schools include Worldtech Resources Institute (WRI), Philippine Computer Foundation College (PCFC) and CCDI.

Tutorial and review centers also abound in the city. Some of the well-known review centers are Art Review Center, Edgeworth Review Center, and AimOne Review Center. Tutorial centers such as Asiawise Study Center, which is located along Barlin St. (near Naga Cathedral), also offer review programs for UP and other college entrance tests, Philippine Science High School qualifying exam, and Law Aptitude Exam. Asiawise Study Center's tutors and lecturers are from UP and other leading schools in the country.

Naga City Science High School was established in Naga City in 1994.

Commerce

In 2006, Naga won the Philippines' Most Business-Friendly City award for the third consecutive year, thus being elevated to the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industries' Hall of Fame.

Naga City has several commercial business districts (CBDs). In addition, it has three shopping malls, three lifestyle centers, plus a number of strip malls scattered at the heart of CBD-I, popularly known as Centro.

SM City Naga

SM City Naga

SM City Naga is a shopping mall owned and operated by SM Prime Holdings, the largest mall owner and operator in the Philippines. The mall is located in CBD II, Brgy. Triangulo, Naga City, Camarines Sur, Philippines. It is the first SM Supermall in the Bicol Region and the first SM Supermall to open...

is a shopping mall owned and operated by SM Prime Holdings, the largest mall owner and operator in the Philippines. The mall is located in CBD II, Brgy. Triangulo, Naga City, Camarines Sur, Philippines. It is the first SM Supermall in the Bicol Region and the first SM Supermall to open in 2009.SM broke ground last June 2007 for its first mall in Bicol located at the city's second CBD and started the construction last December 2007. The mall costs about more than PhP 700 million and consists of two buildings, the main mall and the carpark building. The mall's gross floor area is at 73,300 square meters and its gross leasable area is at 40,000 square meters.

Avenue Square along Magsaysay Avenue is Bicol's first and premier lifestyle center. It has an ultra-modern 800-seat convention center (Avenue Convention Plaza); a resto-music bar which serves as the "bootcamp" of aspiring local artists (Lolo's Music Bar); restaurants (Max's Restaurant, Naga Oriental Wok, Shakey's, Little Adam Sia and Maki Yaki Japanese Restaurant); a specialty coffee shop (The Coffee Beanery); dermatology clinic (Skin Systems); European salon (David's Salon); Australian footwear (Crocs) and a nationwide franchising drugstore (Mercury Drug), among other well-known stores.It also have the fastest growing bakery in BREAD TO GO with 2 branches 1 in terminal entrance and another in Naga city subdivision.

Avenue Plaza Hotel, Bicol's pioneering boutique hotel, also located along Magsaysay Avenue right behind Avenue Square, had a grand opening in October 2007. The hotel is operating on a four-star rating.

West Park, another lifestyle center also in Magsaysay Avenue, houses a coffee shop (Mocha Blends) and a Japanese fastfood restaurant (Tokyo Tokyo).

Cereza, the newest lifestyle center along Magsaysay Avenue, mostly houses restaurants, including Kopi Roti, Red Platter, etc.

LCC Central Mall - Naga and Nagaland eMall, housing Robinsons Supermarket are the city's other major shopping malls. Bichara Theater Mall; Emily Arcade; Divisoria Mall; and Paseo de Caceres, which has a Chinese-themed Roman Catholic chapel - Navidad de Naga Chapel - are just some of the city's strip malls.

A number of restaurants, bars and bistros are found along Magsaysay Avenue, dubbed as Naga City's "Malate District". Bob Marlin, Grilling Point, Red Platter, Molino Grill, ClubM8, and are just some of the few exciting joints found there. Aside from these restobars that seem to sprout everywhere in Naga, numerous popular fastfood chain outlets abound like Jollibee

Jollibee

Jollibee Foods Corporation is the parent company of Jollibee, a fast-food restaurant chain based in the Philippines. Among JFC's popular brands are Jollibee, Chowking, Greenwich, Red Ribbon, Caffe Ti-amo, Mang Inasal and Burger King...

, McDonald's

McDonald's

McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...

,

Puregold Inc is set to open its doors to the city early 2011. It will be located in the existing ALDP Mall along Diversion Road.

Philippine Seven Corp., franchise holder of the 7-11 Convenience Store in the Philippines, is set to open seven branches in the city.

The Ayala group is set to start its construction of the Pueblo in 2011 in CBD II. The Robinsons Malls group is said to be looking for possible location in the city.

Banking and Finance

Naga City has over 50 bank branches. The city hosts the regional offices of Philippine National Bank

Philippine National Bank

The Philippine National Bank is one of the largest banks in the Philippines, ranking fourth in terms of assets...

, Metrobank

Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company

The Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company , commonly known as Metrobank. It has a diverse offering of financial services, from regular banking to insurance. Metrobank is the second largest bank in the Philippines.-History:...

, RCBC

Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation

The Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation was established in 1960 as a development bank and is licensed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas for both commercial and investment banking...

, Allied Bank

Allied Bank

Allied Bank, formally known as Allied Banking Corporation, is one of the largest banks in the Philippines, ranking tenth in terms of assets...

, Bank of the Philippine Islands

Bank of the Philippine Islands

Bank of the Philippine Islands is the oldest bank in the Philippines still in operation and is the country's third largest bank in terms of assets, the country's largest bank in terms of market capitalization, and the country's most profitable bank...

and the Philippine Postal Savings Bank

Philippine Postal Corporation

The Philippine Postal Corporation, , abbreviated as PhilPost, is a government-owned and controlled corporation responsible for providing postal services in the Philippines. The Philippine Postal Corporation has an estimated 13,800 employees and runs more than 2,000 post offices nationwide...

. A number of banks have several branches in the city, like MetroBank, RCBC, Bank of the Philippine Islands

Bank of the Philippine Islands

, and BDO UniBank

Banco de Oro Universal Bank

Banco de Oro Universal Bank , commonly known as Banco de Oro and BDO, is a major bank in the Philippines. It is owned by the SM Group of Companies, one of the country's largest conglomerates and owner of the SM chain of malls...

. 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. One of the biggest rural banks in the country, Bank of Makati, is also found in the city. Two small albeit very active banks, Asia United Bank and Philippine Farmers Bank, are the two latest banks to open in the city. Meanwhile Banco de Oro opened their fourth branch in the city at the Seaoil Mega Station along Magsaysay Avenue.

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

Ninoy Aquino International Airport

The Ninoy Aquino International Airport or NAIA , also known as Manila International Airport , is the airport serving the general area of Manila and its surrounding metropolitan area...

to Pili takes approximately 35–40 minutes. Cebu Pacific

Cebu Pacific

Cebu Air, Inc., operating as Cebu Pacific Air, is based on the grounds of Ninoy Aquino International Airport , Pasay City, Metro Manila, the Philippines. It offers scheduled flights to both domestic and international destinations...

and Air Philippines

Air Philippines

Air Philippines Corporation, now operating as Airphil Express , is a low-cost airline based in Pasay City, in the Philippines. It operates both domestic and international scheduled services from Manila, Cebu, Davao and Zamboanga. The airline was re-branded for a number of times, first as Air...

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

Cebu City

with ferry transfers in Sorsogon, the southernmost province of the Bicol

Bicol

Bikol or Bicol may refer to:*Bicol Region, the administrative region in the Philippines*Bikol languages, the languages spoken in the Bicol region*Bikol language, the standard language*Bicolano people, the ethnic group...

peninsula. Daily rail services to and from Manila

Manila

were provided by the Philippine National Railways

Philippine National Railways

The Philippine National Railways , or PNR, is a state-owned railway company in the Philippines, operating a single line of track on Luzon. As of 2010, it operates one commuter rail service in Metro Manila and a second in the Bicol Region. PNR restored its intercity service to the Bicol region in 2011...

but these were temporarily discontinued due to systems upgrading.

They are many buses Fivestar, DLTB, GV Florida Transport and Viron Transit going to Sorsogon

Sorsogon

Sorsogon is a province of the Philippines located in the Bicol Region; it is the southernmost province in Luzon and is subdivided into fourteen municipalities and one city. Its capital is Sorsogon City and borders the province of Albay to the north...

and Tacloban.

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

Globe

A globe is a three-dimensional scale model of Earth or other spheroid celestial body such as a planet, star, or moon...

, Smart

Smart Communications

Smart Communications is a wholly owned mobile phone and Internet service subsidiary of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company .On June 30, 2010 the company reported that it had over 45 million cellular subscribers.-Brands:...

, and Sun Cellular

Sun Cellular

Digitel Mobile Philippines, Inc., is a mobile telecommunication service provider in the Philippines doing business as Sun Cellular. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Digital Telecommunications Philippines, or Digitel. Digitel is in turn owned by the JG Summit Group with a minority stake...

enjoy wide patronage.

ABS-CBN Corporation had expanded its network in Bicol

Bicol

by putting up ABS-CBN Naga which operates ABS-CBN channel 11 Naga, Studio 23

Studio 23

Studio 23 is a Filipino television network owned by the ABS-CBN Corporation. The network is named for its flagship station in Metro Manila, DWAC-TV, which is carried on UHF channel 23...

channel 23 Naga, and MOR!. 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. ABC

Associated Broadcasting Company

The Associated Broadcasting Company, Inc is a television network in the Philippines, with main broadcast facilities and transmitter located at 762 Quirino Highway, San Bartolome, Novaliches, Quezon City. The network was previously known as the , Associated Broadcasting Company remains the legal...

5 also airs shows in the city through its affiliate station People's Broadcasting Network (PBN TV 5 Naga). GMA Network's

GMA Network

GMA Network is a major commercial television & radio network in the Philippines. GMA Network is owned by GMA Network, Inc. a publicly listed company...

GMA channel 7 and GMA News TV

GMA News TV

GMA News TV is a news and lifestyle-oriented channel in the Philippines. It is owned and operated by GMA Network Inc. through the supervision GMA News and Public Affairs...

channel 28 is also available.

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.

Television Networks

Bicol Broadcasting System: Channel 2
PBN Bicol: Channel 5
GMA Network
GMA Network
GMA Network is a major commercial television & radio network in the Philippines. GMA Network is owned by GMA Network, Inc. a publicly listed company...

: Channel 7
National Broadcasting Network
National Broadcasting Network
People's Television is the flagship government television network owned by the Philippine Government through People's Television Network, Inc. . Its head office, studios and transmitter are located at Broadcast Complex, Visayas Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City .-History:The country's government...

: Channel 8
ABS-CBN
ABS-CBN
ABS–CBN Corporation is a Philippine-based media conglomerate. It is the Philippines' largest media and entertainment conglomerate. The corporation was the merger of Alto Broadcasting System which at that time owned by James Lindenberg and Antonio Quirino, and the Chronicle Broadcasting Network ...

: Channel 11
Studio 23
Studio 23
Studio 23 is a Filipino television network owned by the ABS-CBN Corporation. The network is named for its flagship station in Metro Manila, DWAC-TV, which is carried on UHF channel 23...

: Channel 24
Kingdom Broadcasting Network: Channel 26
GMA News TV
GMA News TV
GMA News TV is a news and lifestyle-oriented channel in the Philippines. It is owned and operated by GMA Network Inc. through the supervision GMA News and Public Affairs...

: Channel 28
Radio Mindanao Network
Radio Mindanao Network
RMN is the largest radio network in the Philippines with almost 60 company-owned AM & FM radio stations located around the Philippines. Radio Mindanao Network remains the legal name of the radio network, while Radyo Mo Nationwide is the slogan of the network. The network's first radio station was...

:Channel 32
Global News Network
Global News Network
GNN or Global News Network is a dedicated news and public affairs cable channel based in the Philippines. It broadcasts on channel 8 in Metro Manila via Global Destiny Cable TV, nationwide and some parts of Asia through Global Satellite TV , and online via Ustream.tv...

: Channel 48

Radio stations

AM Stations

DWRB - 567 Radyo ng Bayan
DWLV - 603 Bicol Broadcasting System
DWRN - 657 Radyo Pilipino
DZLW - 711 Radyo Isarog
DWNW - 756 IBC Radio
DZGE - 855 Radyo Numero Uno
DWAR - 891 Radyo Oragon
DWMT - 981 DZRH Naga
DZNG - 1044 Bombo Radyo

FM Stations

DWLN - 88.7 Lite Hitz (soon)
DZTR - 89.5 The Beat
DWMY - 90.3 Star FM
90.3 Star FM
DWMY 90.3 MHz Naga City) is a music FM radio station owned by Bombo Radyo Philippines under the brand 90.3 Star FM. The station's studio is located in Naga City, Camarines Sur. Star FM Naga plays the latest Filipino and international pop music, greatest hits and love song during late night. Star FM...

(Off air)
DWNX - 91.1 RMN Naga
DZLR - 91.9 Mixx FM (Off air)
DWAC - MOR 93.5
DWQJ - 95.1 Home Radio
DZRB - 95.9 Mom's Radio (Now 95.9 WavFM)
DWKZ - 96.7 Kiss FM
DZOK - 7.5 OK FM Naga
DWRV - 98.3 The Mother's Touch
DWYN - 99.1 Love Radio
DWEB - 99.9 WEB
99.9 WEB
99.9 WEB is the pioneer music FM station in Bicol owned by Filipinas Broadcasting Network, Inc.. The station's studio is located at Brgy...

(now in Nabua, Camarines Sur)
DWNS - 100.7 Lips FM (non-operational)
DWQW - 101.5 Campus Radio
DWOS - 103.1 Magic FM
DWXN - 103.9 Astig FM (soon)
DWQN - 104.7 Power 104 (Off air)
DWNN - 105.5 Radio Pinoy (soon)
DWBQ - [106.3 Energy FM]

Colonial Spain influence

The city celebrates the Feast of Nuestra Señora de Peñafrancia Our Lady of Peñafrancia

Our Lady of Peñafrancia

Our Lady of Peñafrancia is a wooden statue of virgin mary originally came from Salamanca, Spain. Tens of thousands of pilgrims, devotees, tourists come to Naga City, Philippines every September for a nine-day festivities in honor of Our Lady of Peñafrancia, the Patroness of Bicol, endearingly...

, the Patroness of the Bicol Region

Bicol Region

The Bicol Region or Bicolandia is one of the 17 regions of the Philippines. Its regional center is Legazpi City...

, 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

Peñafrancia Basilica Minore

The Peñafrancia Basilica Minore is located on the outskirts of Naga City in the Bicol Region of the Philippines. The Image of Our Lady of Peñafrancia is enshrined in her sanctuary at the Basilica Minore, Balatas Road Naga City. The current rector is Rev. Msgr. Romulo A. Vergara, H.P.-History:The...

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.

Roman Catholicism

The city is the center of Roman Catholicism in the region since it is the ecclesiastical seat of the Archdiocese of Caceres

Archdiocese of Caceres

The Archdiocese of Nueva Cáceres is an archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines. It is a Metropolitan See that comprises the Bicol region, while directly overseeing the third, fourth, and fifth congressional districts of Camarines Sur....

whose jurisdiction covers five suffragan dioceses -- Legazpi, Daet, Masbate

Masbate

Masbate is an island province of the Philippines located in the Bicol Region. Its capital is Masbate City and consists of three major islands: Masbate, Ticao and Burias.-History:...

, Sorsogon

Sorsogon

, Virac

Virac

Virac may refer to:* Virac, Catanduanes, a municipality in the province of Catanduanes, Philippines* Virac, Tarn, a commune of the Tarn département, in France* Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Centre...

and Libmanan. The city is also the seat of the Primate

Primate

A primate is a mammal of the order Primates , which contains prosimians and simians. Primates arose from ancestors that lived in the trees of tropical forests; many primate characteristics represent adaptations to life in this challenging three-dimensional environment...

of the Bicol region

Bicol Region

The Bicol Region or Bicolandia is one of the 17 regions of the Philippines. Its regional center is Legazpi City...

.

This dominant faith is supported by the presence of old and influential Catholic institutions, from universities to churches run by different religious orders, notably the Ateneo de Naga University

Ateneo de Naga University

The Ateneo de Naga University is a private university run by the Society of Jesus in Naga City in the province of Camarines Sur, Philippines. It was established in 1940.-Academic philosophy:...

by the Jesuits; the Universidad de Sta. Isabel by the Daughters of Charity

Daughters of Charity

; the Naga Metropolitan Cathedral, the mother of all cathedrals in Bicol; Basilica Minore de Nuestra Señora de Peñafrancia

Peñafrancia Basilica Minore

, home to the Image of the Nuestra Señora de Peñafrancia; Peñafrancia Shrine; and Our Lady of Peñafrancia Museum. Moreover, every September each year for the past 300 years and still counting, the city has hosted and continues to host the country's largest Marian devotion in the country, if not in the whole Asia, the annual 10-day Peñafrancia Festivities.

Official Site of the Archdiocese of Caceres

Evangelicalism

Other religions are represented by Iglesia ni Cristo,;(INC) whose imposing church is a landmark itself along Panganiban Drive, Members Church of God International

Members Church of God International

The Members Church of God International is an independent Christian organization with headquarters in the Philippines. The Church of God International is colloquially known through its flagship international television program, Ang Dating Daan...

popularly known as Ang Dating Daan (ADD), Seventh Day Adventist and Bible Baptist whose churches are located along Magsaysay Avenue; while other Christians go to the Methodist Church which is among the old structures along Peñafrancia Avenue. There is also a medium concentration of Jesus Miracle Crusade in the City.

Islam, Buddhism and Other Faiths

Major religions not to be left out are Islam, with their own place of worship at Greenland, Concepcion Pequeña; Hinduism, with their temple along Basilica Road, Balatas; and Taoism, with their shrine along Lerma Street, Triangulo.

Tourism

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.

For the year 2010, the province of Camarines Sur drew more foreign and domestic tourists, besting perennial favorites like Metro Manila, Cebu and Boracay to become the top tourism destination in the country, according to official government data.

All told, a total of 2.33 million visitors came to the province in 2010, drawn mainly to the Camsur Watersports Complex, the Caramoan Islands and to the pilgrimage event of naga city, the Peñafrancia Festival.

The January-December 2010 reports of Department of Tourism (DoT) regional offices, local tourism offices and accommodation establishments showed that CamSur posted the biggest arrival volume in the province’s history with 2,330,116 foreign and domestic visitors. It was followed by Metro Manila with 2,296,475 visitors; Cebu, 1,772,234; and Boracay, 779,666. (Beauty of the Philippines, August 25, 2011)
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:

The Peñafrancia Festival (September)
Churches and monasteries
- Naga Metropolitan Cathedral
  Naga Cathedral
  The Naga Metropolitan Cathedral is a prominent Latin Rite Roman Catholic cathedral located in Naga City, Camarines Sur was erected of Padia-an when the Diocese of Nueva Caceres was created by a Papal Bull of August 14, 1595. The current rector is Rev. Msgr. Zosimo Ma...
- Our Lady of Penafrancia Shrine
- Peñafrancia Basilica Minore
  Peñafrancia Basilica Minore
  The Peñafrancia Basilica Minore is located on the outskirts of Naga City in the Bicol Region of the Philippines. The Image of Our Lady of Peñafrancia is enshrined in her sanctuary at the Basilica Minore, Balatas Road Naga City. The current rector is Rev. Msgr. Romulo A. Vergara, H.P.-History:The...
- San Francisco Church
- St. Jude Churches in del Rosario
- Carmelite Church and Monastery
- Holy Rosary Major Seminary and Church
- Immaculate Conception Church
- Caritas Mariae Church in Pacol
- Christ the King Church, Ateneo de Naga Univ.
- Holy Cross Parish Church, Barangay Tabuco
- Sports and Recreation
- Mt. Isarog trekking and mountain biking
- Malabsay Falls
- Mt. Isarog Hot Springs and resorts
- Magic Splash Resort and Hotel
- Mini Hydro Hot Spring Resort
- Metro Naga Sports Complex
- Cosmic Lanes
- Triple B Recreation Center
- Sakat Kadlagan
- Eco Park
- Naga City Coliseum (Big Dome of the South)
Museums
- Holy Rosary Minor Seminary Museum
- Penafrañcia Museum
- University of Nueva Caceres Museum
Educational visit
- Universidad de Sta. Isabel
- Ateneo de Naga University (Bagumbayan and Pacol campuses)
- University of Nueva Caceres
- Naga City Science Centrum
Nightlife and recreation
- Magsaysay strip
- Old CBD

An activity currently the trend and still gaining popularity in Naga is AirSoft. Regular games are held every weekend by NATO and other AS Teams.

The Naga City Police Station at Barlin Street

Site of the Cuartel General of the Guardia Civil in Camarines. It was constructed of granite blocks and wood in 1870, shortly after the Guardia Civil succeeded the Carabinera de Seguridad Publica in 1863.

During the mass arrest

Mass arrest

A mass arrest occurs when the police apprehend large numbers of suspects at once. This sometimes occurs at illegal protests. Some mass arrests are also used in an effort combat gang activity. This is sometimes controversial, and lawsuits sometimes result...

s in September 1896, Florencio Lerma (who was also held in the Casino Español); Cornelio Mercado; Don Tomas Prieto, alcalde of Nueva Caceres; and Macatio Valentin were brought to and tortured in the cuartel by Civil Guards under the direction of Captain Francisco Andreu, chief of the Guardia Civil in Ambos Camarines, and Don Ricardo Lacosta, Spanish civil governor of the province. The horrific torture wrenched the first of two legally infirm confessions from the frail pharmacist Prieto which the authorities used as basis for the arrest, torture and prosecution of scores of Filipinos in the province, some of whom were also subsequently forced to sign fabricated confessions under extreme duress.

Around midnight of 18 September 1898, two European Guards, a responding Spanish voluntario, Captain Andreu, his wife and children died in the cuartel when Filipino Civil Guard corporals Elias Angeles and Felix Plazo led an uprising of Bicolano and Tagalog Guards in Nueva Caceres. The action resulted in the formal surrender of the Spanish colonial government in Camarines, after more bloodshed, to the Filipino forces on 19 September 1898. Ciudad de Nueva Caceres and the province of Ambos Camarines thus became the first in the Bicol Region to be liberated by arms after three centuries and before the arrival of General Emilio Aguinaldo’s republican army in the city.

On 1 September 1901, following the organization by Captain Edward S. Luthi of a Philippine Constabulary Detachment in Ambos Camarines, the cuartel became the PC provincial headquarters. The occupancy by the Constabulary was interrupted by World War II, but the Constabulary soon returned after the war that saw Naga liberated from the Japanese Occupation forces on 13 April 1945 by guerrillas of Camarines Sur before the combined Filipino-American forces got to Naga, at that time the capital town of the province.

On 30 March 1978 the century-old building, which was by then the headquarters of the defunct Philippine Constabulary-Integrated National Police (PC-INP) in Camarines Sur. was totally razed by fire caused by faulty electrical wiring.

Site of the Casa Tribunal at Elias Angeles Street

Until 1839, the Casa Tribunal or “common house” at this site stood on grounds prone to flooding because of the Naga River that ran just behind the building. The river until that time veered rightwards just after the San Francisco Church, followed a course that is now roughly P. Burgos Street, then snaked left and ran roughly parallel to Elias Angeles Street until the river swerved eastward at the western end of Dinaga Street and continued into its present course.

Following Alcalde Mayor Manuel Esquivel y Castañeda’s project which rechanneled the twisting river into its present course and reclaimed the low-lying area from Padre Burgos and Dinaga, an improved, beautiful Casa Tribunal which provided free rooms to travelers stood on less soggy grounds in 1887. The Becerra Law of 12 November 1889 gave Nueva Caceres and six other principal towns in the Philippines the authority to organize their ayuntamiento similar to those in municipalities in Spain. The ayuntamiento in Nueva Caceres transacted official business in the Casa Tribunal. On 19 May 1893, the Maura Law changed the name Tribunal del Pueblo to Tribunal Municipio, and in Nueva Caceres people began to refer to the elegant ayuntamiento edifice of bricks and wood at the site as the municipio.

During the American colonial regime and the Commonwealth period, the building became the Municipal Presidencia. Destroyed by American bombs in World War II, it could not be immediately rebuilt as the city hall of the new city government of Naga due to a technicality. It was eventually rebuilt as a smaller wooden building that became the city police headquarters. After the century-old Spanish cuartel being used by the PC-INP burned down in 1978, the city government constructed a new building at the cuartel site which housed the Naga City Police Department. The former police headquarter building on this site became the Naga City Library until the latter’s transfer to its new, modern building in the City Hall complex.

Site of the Casino Español, corner Elias Angeles and Arana Streets

On this site stood the Casino Español, a spacious building of piedra china and wood that served as the social and recreational center of the male Spanish population of Nueva Caceres and neighboring towns.

Following the discovery of the Katipunan in Manila in August 1896, the Spaniards in Nueva Caceres organized themselves into homeguards and called their group the Cuerpo de Voluntarios. Patterning themselves after the Cuerpo Casino Español in Manila, the local volunarios made the Casino Español their headquarters.

When Civil Governor Ricardo Lacosta ordered to mass arrest all over Camarines starting in September 1896, the Casino Español became one of several holding areas for harsh interrogation and violent torture. Among those taken to the Casino were Antonio Arejola, Camilo Jacob (from the infirmary of the San Francisco Church), Florencio Lerma (who was subsequently transferred to the nearby Cuartel General of the Guardia Civil), Macario Melgarejo, Mariano Ordenanza and Manuel Pastor, and from Daet, Roman Cabesudo, Ponciano Caminar, Diego Liñan, Valentin Lipana, Gregorio Luyon, Adriano Pajarillo, and Pedro Zenarosa. Many arrests were made on mere denunciation by Spaniards in meetings in the Casino.

Two years after, in 1898, enraged Nagueños violently trashed the clubhouse during the bloody uprising led by Elias Angeles and Felix Plazo.

During the American regime, the building was acquired by pharmacist Julian de las Herras. American bombs destroyed it in World War II.

Site of the Casa Real at General Luna Street

By 1588, the Casa Real stood at this site. It was made of light indigenous materials and was the residence of the Alcaldo Mayor of Caceres who had jurisdiction over the entire Bicol Peninsula and Catanduanes. The building faced the Naga River which followed a course much nearer to it and remained so for two-and-a-half centuries.

In 1655, the Casa Real was of bricks and lime. The Alcalde Mayor still resided in the building. His jurisdiction had been delimited for more effective control to the geographical area roughly corresponding to present-day Camarines Sur. But because Nueva Caceres was the capital of the province (which at various periods included Camarines Norte) the Alcalde Mayor or Civil Governor also thereby exercised administrative control over the Spanish city which included the pre-Hispanic native villages of Naga, Tabuco, Camaligan and Canaman.

By 1792, in the site which was still vulnerable to sudden flooding from the wayward Naga River and to fire from the flimsy native houses crowded around the edifice, the Casa Real had been constructed with more durable stone materials. After the river’s course was straightened and the area up to the present Plaza Rizal cleared of homes and elevated with earthfill by 1839, the Spanish civil government as well as church authorities undertook a spate of public works projects. One of these was a new government building that, by 1887, had replaced the nearly century-old Casa Real. By then it was more popularly referred to as Casa de Gobierno. To the south side of the new government house was the civil governor’s residence, the lot and building of which were later acquired by an American, Judge Robert Manley, during the Commonwealth period.

Slightly damaged like other Spanish-vintage buildings in the 1898 uprising by Filipinos in Nueva Caceres, the Casa de Gobierno was enlarged and remodeled under the American colonial regime following the cessation of the Filipino-American War in Camarines Sur in the early 20th century. This was the same architectural icon that the invading Japanese Army took over in 1942 and which an all-Filipino guerrilla force in Camarines Sur wrested back, for the second time in World War II, from the Imperial Army of Nippon on 13 April 1945 before the joint Filipino and American soldiers arrived. Damaged by American bombing raids, the edifice was reconstructed under the new Philippine Government and remained the provincial capitol building of Camarines Sur until a fire destroyed it on 26 June 1976.

Calle Via Gainza (Peñafrancia Avenue)

Peñafrancia Avenue was first known as Via Gainza in honor of Bishop Francisco Gainza, O.P. (1863–1879), the 25th and considered by many to have been the greatest Spanish bishop of the See of Caceres.

Until around the second quarter of the 19th century, the thoroughfare was an unpaved road that stretched from the Peñafrancia Shrine in the present Barangay Peñafrancia to the San Francisco Church in front of what is now the Plaza de Quince Martires. Under his prelacy, Gainza widened and paved the road with stones and extended it to its present junction with the western end of Panganiban Drive that was then known as Calle Legaspi. Bishop Gainza’s design had the paved road with two outer lanes for opposing vehicular traffic and a middle lane for pedestrians.

Francisco Caracciolo Urreta Vizcaya de Gainza was born on 3 June 1818 in the city of Calahorra, province of Logroño, Spain. He joined the Dominican Order in 1833 and arrived on assignment to the Philippines in 1846. From a professorial chair in the University of Santo Tomas, he went on to hold various positions and assignments in and outside the country.

A month after he was consecrated bishop of Caceres at the Santo Domingo Church in Manila, he assumed his office in Nueva Caceres, on 19 March 1863. His episcopal rule saw the improvement of the Metropolitan Cathedral along with various churches in his See that at the time encompassed the Bicol Region and the eastern seaboard of Luzon up to Palanan, Isabela. He gave immediate, particular emphasis to the reconstruction and beautification of the Peñafrancia Shrine. A born linguist, he wrote the definitive history of the Patroness in the Bicol language in 1866. On that same year, he delivered his sermon in Bicol. An academic as much as a missionary, he had Fray Marcos Lisboa’s Vocabulario de la Lengua Bicol, long out of print since 1754, reprinted in 1865. The tome had been his basis for his study of the language

As Delegate of the Pope, a position he held concurrently as bishop of Caceres, he spoke out openly and joined the archbishop of Manila and the bishop of Cebu in refusing to defrock Fathers Burgos, Gomez and Zamora as formally requested by the Spanish government in the Philippines.

As an educator he reorganized the curriculum of what is now the Holy Rosary Minor Seminary and turned it into the premier educational institution in Southern Luzon that produced priests and bishops and lay Bicolano and Tagalog professionals up to the early part of the 20h century. His most visible legacy is the present Universidad de Santa Isabel which he established first as a primary school for girls in 1868, then as the first Normal College for women in the Philippines, called the Escuela Superior, in 1875.

On the same year that he opened the Escual Superior, he organized and successfully held in Nueva Caceres the first agricultural and industrial exposition ever in the Bicol Region. On a more lasting note, he extended the novenary in the Metropolitan Cathedral to Saturday, a practice observed to this day and opened with the annual traslaciom of the Lady of Peñafrancia down the length of Peñafrancia Avenue that once was named Via Gainza in his honor and memory. In the 1920s Via Gainza was shortened to that stretch up to Paz Street only; from Paz Street southward, it became Mabini Street.

Calle Real (Elias Angeles Street)

Calle Real was one of the earliest streets in Spanish Nueva Caceres. It was laid out at about the time that the Castilian settlement was established as a city towards the close of the 16th century.

Originally, Calle Real ran in a northwesterly direction. From the eastern end of present-day Caceres Street (originally Calle Padian) it skirted the western bank of the original course of the Naga River at the central downtown area. It ended just beyond the Casa Real, and was connected by an unpaved road (in the area of P. Burgos Street now) along the northern side of the same river to the San Francisco Church in the east.

By the first half of the 19h century, Calle Real had been reoriented and lengthened in a more northerly direction that it retains to the present. With the transfer and construction of the Metropolitan Cathedral, the Seminario Conciliar and the bishop’s palace at their present site in the 1820s, the Ciudad’s central area enlarged with the rechanneling of the Naga River two decades later and the Colegio de Santa Isabel built afterwards, the paved Calle Real provided a wide and impressive avenue to which the road from Magarao, then called Camino para Nueva Caceres, linked up through the street that by 1899 would be called Bagumbayan.

Calle Real figured as a historic backdrop to events of September 1898, not the least having been the establishment of the Revolutionary Filipino Government of Camarines headed by Elias Angeles in the Colegio which faces the same street that witnessed the early shedding of Castilian blood and on which a delegation of Spaniards less than twenty-fours later walked to formalize the capitulation and end of Spanish colonial rule in the province.

On 15 January 1929, the Municipal Council of Naga (the name which had replaced Nueva Caceres) unanimously passed a resolution asking the American Governor-General of the Philippines for authorization to conduct a drive for public voluntary contributions to fund the construction of a monument to Elias Angeles. Twenty-nine years later, in 1958, the proposal remained unacted. In the meantime, Calle Real had been renamed Calle Elias Angeles.

Calle de Legaspi (Western portion of Panganiban Drive)

Until the 1830s, this street did not exist. It was part of the marshy land of the pre-Hispanic village of Naga then bordered by the eastern bank of the Naga River. The river at that time followed a course that ran roughly parallel to the present-day Elias Street, from what is now P. Burgos Street, to the western end of Dinaga Street

By 1839 when the river had been straightened to its present course and the swampy land all the way to Dinaga had been filled up, a rudimentary road from the side of the ayuntamiento building known as the Municipio appeared. It served as a short cut from Calle Real to the new western bank of Rio Naga. A light bridge of wooden planks and bamboo railings provided the first direct link to the other side of the river, to the Camino Real that led to Pili and points beyond. Around 1850, a solidly constructed bridge replaced the wooden span. It eliminated the need for heavy, wheeled vehicles to take the roundabout way via Tabuco to reach the Camino Real in the Pueblo of Naga. Vehicular traffic through the short cut increased and it gained importance as a commercial artery. When the authorities during the second half of the 19th century began to improve roads and name them after illustrious Spaniards, the once lowly footpath became Calle de Legaspi.

Puente de Naga (Lt. Delfin Rosales Bridge)

Before Alcalde Mayor Manuel Esquivel undertook his reclamation project, the area bisected by the Rio Naga east of Calle Real was part of the Pueblo of Naga. At that time Naga was accessed from the Ciudad de Nueva Caceres by a bridge of wooden slabs at the river’s original bend south of the San Francisco Church. This bridge led to a road that is now approximately Balintawak Street and ran in a north to southwest direction to the Pueblo de Tabuco. Perpendicular to the road in Naga was the Camino Real going to Pili.

Following the completion of Esquivel’s project around 1839, the Camino Real was extended to the new eastern bank of Rio Naga while a road was laid out on the opposite side that became Calle de Legaspi. With the appropriation of government funds in 1844 for the construction of a sturdier link between the two points, the existing light bridge was replaced with a massively designed one of concrete in 1847. The bridge was named Puente de Naga, and until the early parts of the 20th century people referred to it by that name. In the 1920s the bridge was renamed in honor of Bicolano Jose Maria Panganiban, a leading light in the Propaganda Movement.

Following its passage by the Sangguniang Panlungsod on 18 October 1989, Naga City Mayor Jesse Robredo approved the ordinance that changed the name of the bridge to honor the memory of Lt. Delfin C. Rosales who sustained mortal wounds from enemy fire while rescuing a fallen guerrilla soldier on the bridge during one of the most significant events of the city’s history in the 20th century—the Battle for Naga in April 1945 by the combined Filipino and American soldiers.

Site of the House of Bicolano Martyr Tomas Prieto (Corner Panganiban Drive and Peñafrancia Avenue)

Around half a century after the reclamation of this land area bounded by the present Naga River on the east, P. Burgos Street on the north, and Elias Angeles Street on the west all the way down Dinaga to the river boundary with Tabuco on the south, Don Tomas Prieto acquired a residential lot on which he built a large house on this site. He allowed a poor Chinese to use a portion of the ground floor while he himself put up his pharmacy store that opened to present-day Peñafrancia Avenue and Panganiban Drive. His botica soon became a favorite meeting place for resident and visiting ilustrados. Gifted with a photographic memory, he entertained his friends and guests who included a Freemason and fellow pharmacist from Cavite, Victoriano Luciano, with verbatim recitations of passages and even chapters of politically banned publications, including Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. Luciano was likewise executed by the Spaniards in 1896.

Born on 18 September 1867, Tomas Prieto was the youngest of six children of Dee Se Co, a Chinese from Amoy, China, who took the name Marcos Prieto upon his baptism, and Juana Antonio, a resident native of Nueva Caceres. He spent his early years in the family house which was then at Calle Padian in what is now a part of the Naga City public market. Following his studies in the Seminario Conciliar de Nueva Caceres, he went to the University of Santo Tomas in Manila where he earned a Bachiller en Artes degree. He took up further studies in pharmacy and passed the examinations with the highest grades (sobresalientes) in 1888.

Returning to Nueva Caceres, he put up the first and only botica in the province at that time. He had an inclination for politics and by 1895 he was alcalde (equivalent to mayor) of Nueva Caceres. He still held the position when Spanish voluntarios from the Casino Español arrested him in his fairly new residence late in the evening of 16 September 1896 following an incriminatory confession by Vicente Lukban to the authorities in Manila.

Pronounced guilty by a Spanish military tribunal of the trumped-up charge of rebellion as defined in Articles 229, 230 and 232 of the Codigo Penal para Filipinas, he was executed by firing squad at 7:00 o’clock in the morning of 4 January 1897 at Bagumbayan Field in Manila together with his elder brother, Rev. Fr. Gabriel Prieto, and nine others from Nueva Caceres, namely, Rev. Fr. Severino Diaz, Rev. Fr. Inocencio Herrera, Manuel Abella, Domingo Abella, Camilo Jacob, Florencio Lerma, Mariano Melgarejo, Cornelio Mercado, and Macario Valentin. On 11 November 1896, nearly two months before the trial took place, Don Tomas Prieto’s house on this site and the properties of others arrested and executed with him were confiscated by the government on grounds of rebellion and disloyalty. Don Tomas left behind him his wife, Filomena Pasion, a niece of Mariano Arana, another martyred Bicolano from Nueva Caceres, and four young children. He was twenty-nine years old.

San Francisco Church

The church and parish of San Francisco antedated the erection of the Diocese of Caceres in 1595 by nearly two decades.

Originally of bamboo and other light materials, the church was built in this present site on a north-south orientation. Its puerta mayor faced its parish, the pre-colonial pueblo of Naga which lay across the Naga River that at that time curved from its southerly course to a westerly direction before winding southward again alongside present-day Elias Angeles Street.

By the middle of the 17th century, a church of bricks and lime had been constructed. Nearly two centuries later, San Francisco lost a portion of its parish when the river, straightened to its present course to mitigate flooding in Nueva Caceres, established the new boundary between native Naga and the Ciudad de Españoles. The two were connected about a decade afterwards by the new Puente de Naga, but the new boundary later precipitated an ecclesiastical controversy that contributed to the death of Fr. Gabril Prieto and Fr. Severino Diaz.

In the mass arrests of September 1896, the infirmary and basement of the San Francisco parish house were used for the interrogation and torture of some of those arrested from Nueva Caceres to as far as Libmanan. Among the detainees were Mateo Antero, Leon Hernandez (who was transferred to the provincial jail where he died from more torture), Camilo Jacob (transferred to the Casino Español), Eugenio Ocampo, Severo Patrocinio, Pablo Perpetua (later also taken to the provincial jail), Celedonio Reyes, Juan Razonable, and Vicente Ursua.

The infirmary, convento, and the church itself became the refuge of some 500 men, women and children when the Filipino Guardia Civil contingent led by corporals Elias Angeles and Felix Plazo rose up in arms against the colonial government towards midnight of 18 September 1896. Following another attack by the Angeles-Plazo forces the next day, Civil Governor sent a letter from San Francisco offering to surrender the Province of Ambos Camarines to the Filipinos. In the afternoon of 19 September, a delegation of Spaniards signed the protocol of surrender in the Colegio de Santa Isabel, which became the seat of the new Filipino government of the province formed by Elias Angeles that same day.

Reduced to rubble by the heavy bombing of Naga in World War II, the church remained in ruins until the present new edifice was constructed.

Health care

Naga City is home to the two of the biggest hospitals in the Bicol Region. The government owned Bicol Medical Center and the Universidad de Sta. Isabel- Mother Seton Hospital, owned and operated by the Daughters of Charity.

Bicol Medical Center (BMC), used to be called Bicol Regional Training and Teaching Hospital (BRTTH) until it was upgraded by the Department of Health (DOH) into a full medical center in the early 1990s. Albay Provincial Hospital in Legazpi subsequently became the new BRTTH. Bicol Medical Center is the only training hospital in Bicol offering complete residency training programs accredited by the Philippine Medical Association’s component society in almost all fields of medicine. It offers specialty training in Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, General Surgery, Obstetric and Gynecology, Anesthesiology, Radiology, Ophthalmology, Otolaryngology, Orthopedics and Traumatology. This is also the base hospital of the Helen Keller Foundation where eye specialists all over the country are trained and later assigned in different parts of the Philippines. The hospital is still unmatched in the region on the number of diplomates and fellows with different specializations it produced for the past fifteen years. BMC is the only DOH-certified medical center in the Bicol Region.

Universidad de Sta. Isabel- Mother Seton Hospital (USI - MSH), is the biggest private hospital in the Bicol Region based on the number of admissions, medical equipment facility, number of beds available, physical structure and number of board certified medical consultants. It is the only private hospital in Bicol offering specialty training programs accredited by the Philippine Medical Association’s component society in major fields of Medicine, like in Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, and General Surgery. The Department of Internal Medicine has an impressive record of 100% passing on the diplomate examinations given by the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP) for the past 3 years. It has also produced two world class research papers namely (1) ‘Rapid Urinary Iodide Test (RUIT) as a Diagnostic Tool in Thyroid Dysfunction’ by Drs. Sherryl Ann Galicia, Thelma P. Magsombol and Ramon T. Caceres Jr. This paper was presented on the oral session of the Joint Congress of ASEAN Federation Of Endocrine Societies (AFES) and Asia- Oceania Thyroid Association (AOTA) in Suntec City, Singapore last November 2005. (2) ‘Single Injection, Large Bore Needle, Non Ultrasound Guided Percutaneous Ethanol Injection as a Definitive Management of Cystic Nodular Goiter’ by Drs. Anita Y. Zabaldica, Marie Grace R. Villegas and Ramon T. Caceres Jr., which was presented at the AOTA in February 2007 as a nominee for the Young Investigator’s Award, at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE- PI Chapter), last July 2007 and would again be presented at the AFES in Kuala Lumpur, Malayasia on December 2007 and the Philippine Thyroid Association (PTA) Congress on January 2008 in Manila. This modified treatment method was developed by one of the authors, Dr. Caceres and is being introduced as the Single Injection Technique Ethanol Percutaneous Injection (OS- TEPI) or the Naga Technique, named after the city where it originated.

Naga City is also the home of two unique establishments (Medical Arts) catering to healthcare. 'The Plaza Medica and the St. Louise Center'. Both institutions offer medical facilities not found in other regions like 4-D ultrasound.
The Plaza Medica also houses the Naga Endocrine Laboratory (also called the Endolab), a modern specialty laboratory facility and the only hormone laboratory in Southern Luzon. Plaza Medica also houses the Life Plus Inc., which offers the only pain- free mammography in the region.

Other hospitals in Naga:

St. John Hospital (tertiary hospital)
Ago Foundation Hospital (tertiary hospital)
Dr. Nilo Roa Memorial Hospital (secondary hospital)
Naga City Hospital (government hospital)
Bicol Access Health Centrum (Private hospital)
NICC Naga Doctors Hospital (Private hospital/under construction)

Barangays

The City of Naga is politically subdivided into 27 barangay

Barangay

A barangay is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district or ward...

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

Barangay Peñafrancia is one of the 27 Barangay of the City of Naga in Camarines Sur Bicol Region of the Philippines.- Location :Barangay Peñafrancia is an Urban Area...

Sabang (CBD I)

San Felipe

San Francisco (CBD II)

San Isidro

Santa Cruz (CBD I)

Tabuco (CBD I)

Tinago

Triangulo (CBD II)

Sister cities

Bacolod City

The City of Bacolod , is a highly urbanized midsize Philippine city. It is the capital of the Negros Occidental province. Having a total of 499,497 inhabitants as of August 1, 2007, it is the most populous city in the Western Visayas Region. It is currently ranked as the 17th most populous city in...

, Negros Occidental

Negros Occidental

Negros Occidental is a province of the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital is Bacolod City and it occupies the northwestern half of Negros Island; Negros Oriental is at the southeastern half...

General Santos City

The City of General Santos is the southernmost port city of the Philippines. Being a highly urbanized first class city, GenSan is one of the most populous urban centers in the country with a population of 679,588 as per census data of 2010...

, South Cotabato

South Cotabato

South Cotabato is a province of the Philippines located in the SOCCSKSARGEN region in Mindanao. Its capital is Koronadal City, and it borders Sultan Kudarat to the north and west, Sarangani to the south and east, and Davao del Sur to the east...

Lucena City

Metro Lucena has an estimated population of 700,000 which is mostly concentrated in the flat south-central portion of Quezon, which includes the cities of Lucena and Tayabas, Sariaya, Candelaria, Lucban & Pagbilao . The people are often characterized as friendly and hardworking...

, Quezon San Fernando City, Pampanga

Pampanga

Pampanga is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the City of San Fernando, Pampanga. Pampanga is bordered by the provinces of Bataan and Zambales to the west, Tarlac and Nueva Ecija to the north, and Bulacan to the southeast...

Shishi City

Shishi City is a County-level city in the municipal region of Quanzhou, Fujian province, China, zip code:362700.The city has an area of 160 000 km2 with a population of 313 500 residents.It's well known for garments trading and industry....

, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

Su-ao Township

Su-ao, Yilan

Su-ao , located in southern Yilan County, Taiwan, is an urban township that is famous for its seafood restaurants and cold springs. It is the destination of National Highway No. 5, Su-ao-Hualian Express Way, and North-Link Line of Taiwan Railway Administration...

, Yilan County, Taiwan

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

San Leandro City

San Leandro, California

San Leandro is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is considered a suburb of Oakland and San Francisco. The population was 84,950 as of 2010 census. The climate of the city is mild throughout the year.-Geography and water resources:...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, United States of America Shefa Province

Shefa Province

Shefa is a province of Vanuatu, including the islands of Epi and Efate and the Shepherd Islands. The name Shefa is derived from the initial letters of Shepherd and Efate. It has a population of 45,280 people and an area of 1,455 km²...

, Vanuatu

Vanuatu

Vanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea.Vanuatu was...

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.