Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 06:03, 4 September 2007

Template:Infobox Philippine city The City of Legazpi (Bikol: Ciudad nin Legazpi; Filipino: Lungsod ng Legazpi) is a first class city and capital of the province of Albay, Philippines. With 157,010 inhabitants according to the 2000 census, Legazpi City is said to be the political center of the Bicol Region.

Located in the geographical center of the peninsula and between the two island provinces of Catanduanes and Masbate, Legazpi City is the southernmost terminus of the Philippine National Railways Main Line South. It also services sea-going vessels through its port.

The city is the ecclesiastical seat of the Diocese of Legazpi, and most of its inhabitants are Roman Catholics.

History

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

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

Culture

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

Tourism

Prior to 2006, Legazpi City was the top tourist destination in Bicol due to its close proximity to Mayon Volcano, one of the Philippines' most famous volcanoes. It is also a convenient jump-off point to other tourist destinations in the region such as Donsol, through Legazpi Airport which accommodates Airbus A320, Boeing 737-400, and Boeing 727.

Other places to go to and sights to visit include:

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

Transportation

Legazpi Airport, with a runway of 2,280 meters, is capable of handling huge aircraft. Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific fly daily from Manila. Cebu Pacific uses Airbus A319 and A320, while PAL uses Boeing 737. Air Philippines has three-flights weekly (Tue, Thu, and Sat).

Plans were made for the construction of an international airport to be located in neighboring Daraga. It was hoped such international airport would boost tourism especially in Albay province. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo alluded to existence of these plans in her 2007 State-of-the-Nation-Address. However, in the aftermath of supertyphoon Reming in 2006 which devastated Legazpi City and Albay province and proved the non-viability of locating an international airport near an active volcano, these plans have indefinitely been put on hold. New plans for an international airport with Japanese investors have been finalized to be located in the 1st district of neighboring Camarines Sur province. Construction of this international airport to be named Southern Luzon International Airport is expected to begin in 2008 during the incumbency of Congressman Dato Arroyo.

Legazpi can be reached by public transportation from Manila in about 12 to 14 hours. Bus companies operate daily transport to and from Manila through Legazpi which makes the city very accessible to commuters and tourists alike.

Commerce

Pacific Mall Legazpi, presently Bicol’s biggest mall, is the centerpiece of Landco Business Park Legazpi. Recently, it expanded its floor area to accommodate more tenants. Headquartered in nearby Tabaco City, and with its LCC Central Mall in Naga City, Liberty Commercial Center (LCC) Legazpi remains the city's original mall. Modernistic Bichara Silverscreen and Entertainment Center is a multi-story haven of shops, bistros, and cinemas.

The city hall and several provincial offices are located in what promises to be another progressive new downtown area known as Albay District (also Old Albay or simply Albay as this place was originally the capital town of Albay Province before it was merged with Legazpi) which has bistros that remain open till late at night although 24/7 shops are practically non-existent in the city. Legazpi has its share of popular fast-food restaurants such as Jollibee, McDonald's, Max's, Chowking restaurants, and Greenwich.

Construction of an international airport is still being expected to complement a planned transformation of Legazpi City into a world-class city with the expected influx of investments and tourism-related developments such as the "Embarcadero", Misibis Resorts, Estates & Spa, windmills and mini-hydroelectric plants and the Cagraray Waterworld Park in the Sula Channel. A Marina-inspired project dubbed as "Embarcadero" is planned to be developed in 2008 in Legazpi Port Area. This shall be a 24-hour IT and Commercial Complex that is truly world-class and first of its kind in the Bicol Region.

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

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

MBS Tek Corporation, development arm of US Auto Parts, one of the largest online retailers of automotive aftermarket parts and accessories in the U.S. has established a presence in the city. It provides back office support including software development, content development, and internet marketing, research, and customer care services. New York-based Innodata tapped the city's young population and put up a data conversion center that operates three shifts.

The city boasts of a modern eye center, Legaspi Eye Center (LEC) which serves as a referral center for opthalmologic care. The center has board certified ophthalmologists with subspecialty training in various fields. LEC is reportedly comparable to major eye centers in Metro Manila in terms of services, expertise, and equipment.

The region's second most important financial center and convention site next to Naga City, Legazpi has around 40 bank branches that offer traditional bank products and services such as deposits, loans, and automated teller machines (ATM). As a convention site, Legazpi hosted important events in the past such as Miss Asia-Pacific pageant in 2001. In 2002, it hosted an international convention of the Free Masons. In 2003, about 4,000 members of the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) conducted their 57th annual national convention in the city. Legazpi City has two air-conditioned arenas, the Albay Astrodome and the Ibalong Centrum for Recreation which served as venues of PBA games and conventions in the past.

Gov. Joey Sarte Salceda of Albay recently announced plans to develop highlands of Legazpi City, Daraga, Camalig, and Guinobatan to serve as relocation sites for residents made homeless by supertyphoon Reming and as a new investment area. There is also an ongoing road project that would shorten travel time between Legazpi City and Donsol, Sorsogon where tourists flock to see whale sharks or "butanding".

Education

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

Barangays

Legazpi City is politically subdivided into 70 barangays.

Gallery

External links

• Misibis Resorts, Estates & Spa
• Philippine Standard Geographic Code
• 2000 Philippine Census Information
• Pictures of Legazpi City
• Bicol University
• Aquinas University
• Divine Word College

v t e Province of Albay
Legazpi (capital and largest city)
Municipalities	Bacacay Camalig Daraga Guinobatan Jovellar Libon Malilipot Malinao Manito Oas Pio Duran Polangui Rapu-Rapu Santo Domingo Tiwi
Component cities	Legazpi Ligao Tabaco

• Cities in the Philippines