| City of Bacolod Dakbanwa sang Bacólod Lungsod ng Bacólod |
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| — City — | |||
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| Nickname(s): City of Smiles | |||
| Map of Negros Occidental showing the location of Bacolod City. | |||
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City of Bacolod
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| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Philippines | ||
| Region | Western Visayas (Region VI) | ||
| Province | Negros Occidental | ||
| Legal Class | Highly Urbanized City | ||
| Income Class | 1st | ||
| Legislative District | Lone District of Bacolod City | ||
| Barangays | 61 | ||
| Incorporated (town) | 1755 or 1756 | ||
| Incorporated (city) | June 18, 1938 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Type | Local (Mayor-council) | ||
| • Mayor G | Evelio Ramos Leonardía (NPC)[1][2] | ||
| • Vice Mayor | Jude Thaddeus Aliguin Saysón (NPC) | ||
| • City Representative | Anthony Rolando Torrillo Golez, Jr. (NPC) | ||
| • City Council | |||
| Area[3] | |||
| • City | 162.67 km2 (62.81 sq mi) | ||
| • Metro | 578.65 km2 (223.42 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation[4] | 10 m (32.8 ft) | ||
| Population (August 1, 2007)[5][6][7][8] | |||
| • City | 499,497 | ||
| • Density | 3,071/km2 (7,953/sq mi) | ||
| • Urban | 573,966 | ||
| • Metro | 716,306 | ||
| • Metro density | 1,238/km2 (3,206/sq mi) | ||
| Demonym | English: Bacolodian Spanish: bacoleño (masculine), bacoleña (feminine) Hiligaynon: Bacolodnon |
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| Time zone | PST (UTC+8) | ||
| ZIP code | 6100 | ||
| Area code | 34 | ||
| Website | www.bacolodcity.gov.ph | ||
The City of Bacolod (Filipino: Lungsod ng Bacólod), is a highly urbanized midsize Philippine city.[9] 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.[5] It is currently ranked as the 17th most populous city in the Philippines.[10] It is part of a metropolitan area called Metro Bacolod, which includes the cities of Silay and Talisay.[11] It is notable for its world famous MassKara Festival held during the 3rd week of October. Known for being a relatively friendly city, it bears the nicknames "City of Smiles" and "Football City of the Philippines". Bacolod City recently ranked no. 1 in a survey by MoneySense Magazine as the "Best Place to Live in the Philippines".[12] Bacolod ranks 3rd among the top ten "Next Wave Cities" of the Philippines for the best location for business process outsourcing and offshoring according to the 2010 report of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology.[13][14]
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Bacólod (English: Bacolod), is derived from bakólod (Old Spelling: bacólod), the Old Hiligaynon or Old Ilonggo (Old Spelling: Ylongo and Ilongo) word for a "hill, mound, rise, hillock, down, any small eminence or elevation",[15] since the resettlement was founded on a stony, hilly area, now the barangay of Granada.[16] It was officially called Ciudad de Bacólod (English: City of Bacolod) when Municipalidad de Bacólod (English: Municipality of Bacolod) was converted into a city in 1938.
Historical church accounts provide a glimpse of the early years of Bacolod as a mere small settlement by the riverbank known as Magsung̃ay (English: Magsungay). When the neighboring settlement of Bago was elevated into the status of a small town in 1575, it had several religious dependencies and one of which was the village of Magsung̃ay. The early missionaries placed the village under the care and protection of San Sebastián (English: Saint Sebastian) sometime in the middle of the 18th century. A corregidor (English: magistrate) by the name of Luis Fernando de Luna, donated a relic of San Sebastián for the growing mission, and since then, the village came to be known as San Sebastián de Magsung̃ay.[17]
Bacolod was not established as a town until 1755 or 1756, after the inhabitants of the coastal settlement of San Sebastián de Magsung̃ay, were attacked by forces under Datu Bantílan of Sulu on July 14, 1755 and the villagers transferred from the coast to a hilly area called Bacólod. Bernardino de los Santos became the first gobernadorcillo (English: municipal judge or governor). The town of Bacolod was constituted as a parroquia (English: parish) in 1788 under the secular clergy, but did not have a resident priest until 1802, as the town was served by the priest from Bago, and later Binalbagan. By 1790, slave raids on Bacolod by Moro pirates had ceased.[18]
On 11 February 1802, Fr. Eusebio Laurencio became acting parish priest of Bacolod. In September 1806, Fr. León Pedro was appointed interim parish priest and the following year became the first regular parish priest.[19]
In September 1817, Fray (English: Friar) Julián Gonzaga from Barcelona was appointed as the parish priest. He encouraged the people to settle once again near the sea. He also encouraged migration to Bacolod and the opening of lands to agriculture and industry.[19]
In 1846, upon the request of Msgr. Romualdo Jimeno, bishop of Cebu and Negros at that time, Gobernador General (English: Governor-General) Narciso Clavería y Zaldúa sent to Negros a team of Recollect missionaries headed by Fr. Fernando Cuenca.[17] A decree of 20 June 1848 by Gobernador General Clavería ordered the restructuring of Negros politically and religiously. The following year (1849), Negros Island Gobernadorcillo Manuel Valdevieso y Morquecho transferred the capital of the Province of Negros from Himamaylan to Bacolod and the Augustinian Recollects were asked to assume spiritual administration of Negros, which they did that same year. Transfer of Bacolod to the Recollects, however, took place only in 1871.[18] Fray Mauricio Ferrero became the first Augustinian Recollect parish priest of Bacolod and successor to the secular priest, Fr. Mariano Ávila.[19] In 1863, a compulsory primary public school system was set up.[20][21]
In 1889, Bacolod became the capital of Occidental Negros when the Province of Negros was politically divided into the separate provinces of Occidental Negros (English: Negros Occidental) and Oriental Negros (English: Negros Oriental).
The success of the uprising in Bacolod was attributed to the low morale of the local Spanish detachment, due to its defeat in Panay and Luzon and to the psychological warfare waged by Generals Aniceto Lacson and Juan Araneta. In 1897, a battle in Bacolod was fought at Matab-ang River. A year later, on November 5, 1898, the Negrense Revolucionarios (English: Negrense Revolutionary Army), armed with knives, bolos, spears, and rifle-like nipa palm stems, and pieces of sawali or amakan mounted on carts, captured the convento (English: convent), presently Palacio Episcopal (English: Bishop's Palace), where Coronel (English: Colonel) Isidro de Castro y Cisneros, well-armed cazadores (English: hunters) and platoons of Guardias Civiles (English: Civil Guards), surrendered.
On 7 November 1898, most of the revolutionary army gathered together to establish a provisional junta and to confirm the elections of Aniceto Lacson as president, Juan Araneta as war-delegate, as well as the other officials. For a brief moment, the provinces of Occidental Negros and Oriental Negros were reunited under the cantonal government of the Negrense Revolucionarios, from 6 November 1898 to the end of February 1899, making Bacolod the capital. On March 1899, the American forces led by Colonel James G. Smith occupied Bacolod, the revolutionary capital of República Cantonal de Negros (English: Cantonal Republic of Negros).
República de Negros became a U.S. territory on April 30, 1901. Negros was once again separated, reverting Bacolod to its status as the capital of Occidental Negros.
The public school of Instituto Rizal (English: Rizal Institute) opened its doors to students on 1 July 1902.[22] Colegio de Nuestra Señora de la Consolación (English: College of Our Lady of Consolation), the first private institution in the province of Negros Occidental, was established in Bacolod by the Augustinian sisters on March 11, 1919 and opened in July 1919.[23][24]
A historic event took place in 1938 when Municipality of Bacolod was elevated into a city through Commonwealth Act No. 326 passed by the 1st National Assembly of the Philippines creating the City of Bacolod.[25] Assemblyman Pedro C. Hernaez of the second district of Negros Occidental sponsored the bill. The law was passed on June 18, 1938. Bacolod was formally inaugurated as a chartered city on October 19, 1938 by virtue of Commonwealth Act No. 404,[26] highlighted by the visit of Commonwealth President Manuel L. Quezón. President Quezón appointed Alfredo Montelíbano, Sr. as the first city mayor of Bacolod.[27]
In World War II, Bacolod City was occupied by the Japanese forces on May 21, 1942. Lieutenant General Takeshi Kono, the Japanese commanding officer of the 77th Infantry Brigade, 102nd Division, seized the home of Don (English: Sir) Mariano Ramos, the first appointed Presidente Municipal (English: Municipal President) of Bacolod, which served as the seat of power and the watchtower of the city. The city was liberated by joint Filipino and American forces on May 29, 1945. It took time to rebuild the city after liberation.
The local military built and established of the general headquarters and camp bases of the Philippine Commonwealth Army was active on 1942 to 1946 and the 7th Infantry Regiment of the Philippine Constabulary was active on 1944 to 1946 and they stationed and located in Bacolod City during World War II.
When the country finally gained complete independence from the United States, the city's public markets and slaughterhouses were rebuilt during the administration of former mayor Vicente Remitió from 1947 to 1949. In 1948, a fire razed a portion of the records section of the old city hall that consumed the rear end of the building and with it, numerous priceless documents of the city.[28] When Batas Pambansa Blg. 51 was approved on December 22, 1979 and came into effect in 1980, the chartered City of Bacolod was converted into a highly urbanized city. The political relations with Negros Occidental were severed and the residents effectively lost their eligibility to vote for provincial officials because of this new status.[29] In January 1985, the original hardwood and coral structure of Palacio Episcopal was almost entirely destroyed by a fire. Among the damage of the raging fire were items of significant historical value. The reconstruction of Palacio which took more than two years, was completed in 1990.[30]
Bacolod City is located on the northwestern coast of the Province of Negros Occidental. It is bounded on the north by the City of Talisay; on the east by the town of Murcia; on the south by the City of Bago; and in the west by the Guimaras Strait. The global location of Bacolod City is 10 degrees, 40 minutes 40 seconds - north and 122 degrees 54 minutes 25 seconds - east with Bacolod Public Plaza as the benchmark.
Bacolod has a total land area of 16,145 hectares, including straits and bodies of water and the 124 hectare reclamation area; and is composed of 61 barangay (villages) and 639 purok (smaller units composing a village). It is accessible by sea through the ports of Banago; the BREDCO Port in the Reclamation Area, and the port of Pulupandan. By air, it is accessible through the New Bacolod-Silay International Airport, which is approximately 13 (four is counting from the Lagoon) kilometers away from the center of the city.
Bacolod is ideally located on a level area, slightly sloping as it extends toward the sea with an average slope of 0.9 percent for the city proper and between 3 to 5 percent for the suburbs. The altitude is 32.8 feet or 10.0 meters above sea level with the Bacolod City Public Plaza as the benchmark. Bacolod has two pronounced seasons, wet and dry. The rainy season starts from May to January of the following year with heavy rains occurring during the months of August and September. Dry season starts from the month of February until the last week of April.
Bacolod City is politically subdivided into 61 barangays.[5]
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Bacolod City is the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) hub of the Western Visayas Region of the Philippines. Among the notable BPO companies operating in the city are Convergys, Teleperformance, TeleTech, Panasiatic, Focus International, Transcom, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Telequest.
Language centers catering to foreigners, like Koreans, are a popular business venture in the city. These centers give instruction in the English language and other related subjects. Universities and colleges in Bacolod also offer English language instruction for foreign students who currently reside in the city.
Along its highways, sugarcane plantations are a typical scene. As of 2003, 7,216 hectares of the city’s 8,560 hectares of agricultural land were still planted to sugarcane. Meanwhile, 915 hectares were devoted to rice, 120 hectares to assorted vegetables, 100 hectares to coconut, 43 hectares to banana and 34 hectares to corn.[31] The people are also engaged in livestock.
According to the "Philippine Cities Competitiveness Ranking Project 2005" of Asian Institute of Management (AIM), Bacolod tops the list in terms of infrastructure, ahead of such other mid-size cities like Iligan City, Calamba City, and General Santos City. Bacolod also tops the list in terms of quality of life, ahead of such other mid-size cities like San Fernando City, Baguio City, Iloilo City and Lipa City. AIM also recognizes Bacolod as one of the Top Five most competitive mid-size cities together with Batangas City, Iligan City, Iloilo City and San Fernando City.[32]
Bacolod City Domestic Airport was the airport serving the general area of Bacolod. It was one of the busiest airports in the Western Visayas region and was one of four trunkline airports, or major commercial domestic airports, in the region, the others being Mandurriao Airport in Iloilo City, Roxas Airport in Roxas City and Puerto Princesa Airport in Puerto Princesa. This airport was replaced by the new Bacolod-Silay Airport, located in nearby Silay City. It was classified as such by the Air Transportation Office, a body of the Department of Transportation and Communications that is responsible for the operations of all other airports in the Philippines except the major international airports. The Bacolod City Domestic Airport ceased operations on January 17, 2008, prior to the opening of the Bacolod-Silay Airport which began operations the day after.[33]
The Panaad Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in the city. It is currently used mostly for football matches, and it serves as the home football stadium of the Philippines national football team (Azkals). It was used for the 2005 South East Asian Games. It was the venue of the pre-qualifiers of the 2007 ASEAN Football Championship or ASEAN Cup, in which the Philippines, Cambodia, East Timor, Brunei and Laos participated. The stadium has a seating capacity of 15,500, but holds around 20,000 people with standing areas. It is unofficially designated as the home stadium of the Philippines national football team. Aside from the football field, it also has a rubberized track oval, an Olympic-size swimming pool and other sports facilities.
The stadium is also the home of Panaad Festival, a week-long celebration participated in by all cities and municipalities in the province held annually every summer. The festival is highlighted by merry-making and field demonstrations at the stadium. The stadium itself features replicas of the landmarks of the 13 cities and municipalities of Negros Occidental.
The Willing Willie live on tour in May 7, 2011.
The Bacolod Public Plaza is one of the notable landmarks in Bacolod City the capital of Negros Occidental which is found right in the heart of down town area, very near to the city hall and right across the San Sebastian Cathedral. The plaza is a trapezoidal park with a belt of trees all around the periphery and a gazeebo/bandstand at the center. Scattered within the trees are four circular fountains.
The Plaza was constructed back in 1927 as a place for recreation, political, spiritual and cultural activities; it seems to be quite a popular site for outdoor picnic and concerts. The gazeebo/bandstand is often where the stage is located and this is quite apt since inscribed along the sides of the roofing are the names of Western musical composers like Beethoven, Wagner, Haydn, and Mozart.
The plaza is the celebrated place of MassKara Festival.[34] It is a week-long festival held each year in Bacolod City every third weekend of October nearest October 19, the city's Charter Anniversary. Bacolod public plaza is the final destination of Masskara street dancing competitions which is the highlights of the celebration.
The Capitol Park and Lagoon is a provincial park located right in the heart of Bacolod City, Negros Occidental, in the Philippines. One of the landmarks of the park is the carabao (water buffalo) being pulled by a woman. This carabao is located at the northern end of the lagoon. On the other end, there is also another carabao sculpture but the figure is being pulled by a man.
There are several other attractions in the park. These include activities of the locals-jogging, aerobics, school dance rehearsals, promenaders, arnisadors, martial arts practitioners and even the relaxing and therapeutic quiteness of feeding the tilapias of the lagoon. It is well-secured and well-lighted; it is very safe to walk /stroll, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Bacolod-Silay Airport (ICAO: RPVB, FAA/IATA: BCD) is 15 kilometers north-east from the city. The P4.37-billion airport is capable of handling all-weather and night-landing operations. Its 2,000-meter (6,600 ft.) long and 45-meter (148 ft.) wide primary runway, and 678-meter by 23-meter taxiways can accommodate Airbus A320 family-size aircraft, and the Boeing 737, while the apron can hold five aircraft at any one time. It is just a bit longer than its predecessor, the Bacolod City Domestic Airport. The runway runs in a direction of 03°/21°. Provisions for a 500-meter (1,600 ft) expansion of the present runway in order to accommodate even larger aircraft like the Boeing 747 and the Airbus A340 are in place.
Bacolod City is 45 minutes by air from Ninoy Aquino International Airport and 30 minutes by air from Mactan-Cebu International Airport plus approximately 20 minutes of travel by land since the new airport is now located in Silay City. Commercial Airlines serving in Bacolod are Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific Air, Airphil Express, and Zest Air.
Banago Wharf and BREDCO Port are the vessels entry point in Bacolod. It has daily access to Iloilo, with different shipping lines such as Supercat, Weesam Express, Ocean Jet, Montenegro Lines, Jomalia Shipping and Tri Star megalink. There are also access routes to Puerto Princesa City via Iloilo City, Cagayan de Oro City, General Santos City., Zamboanga City, Cotabato City, Butuan City via Cagayan de Oro route, Dipolog City Iligan City, Ozamiz City, and Surigao City via Cagayan de Oro route served by different shipping lines such as Negros Navigation and SuperFerry. By boat, Bacolod City is 18-23 hours from the Port of Manila, 2-3hrs from Dumangas Port and 45 minutes- 1hr from the Port of Iloilo.
Bacolod City has two main roads, Lacson Street to the north and Araneta Street to the south. The city has a good traffic plan lay-out and very seldom has traffic jams. The streets in the downtown area are one way, making Bacolod City free from traffic congestion. Recently, Bacolod City is experiencing an increase in traffic congestion due to an increase in number of vehicles and a perceived lack of implementation of traffic rules by the local government.
By land-RORO-land, Bacolod City is approximately 3 hours from Iloilo City via Dumangas route. By land-ferry-land, Bacolod City is approximately 4 hours and 30 minutes from Cebu City via Toledo City-San Carlos City-Salvador Benedicto-Murcia route. By land-RORO-land, Bacolod City is approximately 6 hours and 30 minutes from Cebu City via Tabuelan-Escalante City route.
In 2005, the city hosted the 2005 Southeast Asian Games football tournament at the Panaad Stadium and Paglaum Sports Complex. The city also hosted the 2007 ASEAN Football Championship qualification tournament at the Panaad Stadium. In 2009, Bacolod hosted the 2010 AFC U-16 Championship qualification tournament. On February 9, 2011, the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup qualification play-off first leg was held at the Panaad Stadium where the Philippines won 2–0 over Mongolia.[35]
Bacolod City hosted the 2008 PBA All-Star Weekend. The city is also a regular venue for the Philippine Basketball Association out-of-town games.
Bacolod City has two major golf courses. These are the Bacolod Golf and Country Club and the Negros Occidental Golf and Country Club. The city hosted the 61st Philippine Airlines Inter-club Golf Tournament and the 2008 Philippine Amateur Golf Championship.
Bacolod City hosted two major karatedo championships, the 1996 Philippine Karatedo Federation National Championship and the 2007 20th PKF National Open. Both tournaments were held at the La Salle Coliseum of USLS. The tournaments were participated by hundreds of karatekas all over the country.[36][37]
Bacolod City has the following sister cities:[39][40][41][42]
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| Largest cities of Philippines Philippines 2007 Census |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | City name | Region | Pop. | Rank | City name | Region | Pop. | ||
| 1 | Quezon City | Metro Manila | 2,679,450 | 11 | Dasmariñas | CALABARZON | 556,330 | ||
| 2 | Manila | Metro Manila | 1,660,714 | 12 | Cagayan de Oro | Northern Mindanao | 553,966 | ||
| 3 | Caloocan | Metro Manila | 1,378,856 | 13 | Parañaque | Metro Manila | 552,660 | ||
| 4 | Davao City | Davao Region | 1,363,337 | 14 | Las Piñas | Metro Manila | 532,223 | ||
| 5 | Cebu City | Central Visayas | 798,809 | 15 | General Santos | SOCCSKSARGEN | 529,542 | ||
| 6 | Zamboanga City | Zamboanga Peninsula | 774,407 | 16 | Makati | Metro Manila | 510,383 | ||
| 7 | Antipolo | CALABARZON | 633,971 | 17 | Bacolod | Western Visayas | 499,497 | ||
| 8 | Pasig | Metro Manila | 617,301 | 18 | Muntinlupa | Metro Manila | 452,943 | ||
| 9 | Taguig | Metro Manila | 613,343 | 19 | Tagum | Davao Region | 450,526 | ||
| 10 | Valenzuela | Metro Manila | 568,928 | 20 | San Jose del Monte | Central Luzon | 439,090 | ||