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About Baguio City
HISTORY, LOCATION & BOUNDARIES AND
PHYSICAL FEATURES
Nestled 5,000 feet above sea
Level atop the Grand Cordillera Mountain Range is Baguio City, the
highest City in the Philippines. Located In the heart of Benguet
Province, it enjoys Political autonomy being a chartered City since
1909. The municipality of La Trinidad bounds it on the North; Itogon on
the East and Tuba on the South towards the West.
The city enjoys a climate that is typically cooler by about 10°
centigrade or more than the lowland temperature. The average temperature
is 24.5° centigrade. There are two pronounced seasons in the city, the
dry that starts from November to April and the wet season during the
rest of the months. The rainfall is twice as much as the volume in other
parts of the country.
The city has an area of 57.49
square kilometers. There are 20 administrative districts where its 129
barangays are distributed. The city is situated some 250 kilometers
north of Manila. It is accessible by air and land transport. By air it
is 45 minutes and by land transport it is about 5-6 hours from Manila.
Four major routes lead to the city, the newly rehabilitated Kennon Road
that leads to Central Luzon and far south, Marcos Highway, the all
weather midway route to the north and south, Quirino Highway (Naguilian
Road) to the llocos Region and the Halsema Road that leads to the
hinterlands of the Cordilleras.
American Architect Daniel
Burnham originally planned the City as a compact garden city for a
population of 25,000 people. It was envisioned as a rest and recreation
area of American soldiers employees and dignitaries to escape the
sweltering heat of Manila and the lowlands.
DEMOGRAPHIC FEATURES
Today, the city is a home for
some 252,386 (as of May 2000) individuals from all walks of life. This
indicates a 10.19 percent increase over its actually recorded population
of 226,883 persons in 1995.
As an international melting
pot, the city caters a population that is highly diversified in culture,
religion, race and creed. Iloco is the dominant vernacular, although
English remains as the medium of instruction in most city schools and is
spoken well by the majority.
Most of the city's residents
are Roman Catholics but there is also a growing number of various
religions as observed lately. The last census revealed that there are
now 32 religious sects in the city.
SOCIO-CULTURAL FEATURES
The city boasts of a very high
literacy rate of 98 percent. The variety of indigenous ethno-linguistic
groups continues to enrich the socio-cultural scene. The Ibalois are
considered as the original settlers, together with other Cordillera
groups such as the Bontocs, Kalingas, Ifugaos and Kankanaeys. Other
ethnic groups from as far as Mindanao are also increasing.
The interesting interplay of
ethnicity among ethnic groups provide opportunities for cultural
exchange, thus enriching and making the cultural landscape in the city
more interesting. Overall, this landscape is a spectrum of distinctive
ethnic cultures, religious beliefs, languages and lifestyles from all
over the country. While each group works to retain a tinge of their own
culture within their own local context, the rapidly transforming
scenario reflects a combination of all these. This unified diversity
thus, has evolved a uniqueness of its own, harmoniously blended into
what is Baguio today.
ECONOMIC FEATURES
Baguio's economy thrives on
tertiary economic activities particularly dependent on commerce and
services that equally supports the growing tourism industry. These
activities generate substantial income for the city. The latest recorded
number of legitimate economic and business establishments totaled more
than 9,907 in 2002. Of this total 60.4 percent are in the retail trade,
followed by 12.69 percent in the services sector and 11.37 percent who
are in the real estate business including boarding house leasing.
There are also small and medium
scale industries and various handicrafts in the city. These are
distinctive skills that provide economic opportunities for various
ethnic groups. These indigenous products continue to lure tourists
because of the superior craftsmanship and personal touch. Some of these
crafts are woodcarving, basketry and textile weaving. Medium scale
production of other products are also common such as metal craft
particularly of brass and silver wares; garments production especially
of knitted items and food processing of strawberries, peanuts, etc..
Ceramic making is also finding its niche in the city's growing economy.
The presence of the Philippine
Export Zone Authority(PEZA) has enhanced the city's economy. There are
41 locators in the zone and most are multinational corporations. In
2000, the total value of exports generated by PEZA reached Php 2.8
billion. Texas Instruments, Philippines Inc. is the most prominent among
the multinational corporations nationwide. It has not only excelled in
quality production but also the model workplace with best management
practices. It remains as the consistent top producer and highest
individual dollar earner among all PEZA locators for the past 5 years.
Non-PEZA producers on the other hand, generated a total of Php 2.05 M
value of their export products for the past year. This reflects a 50
percent cut on its level in 1998 greatly indicating the impact of the
worldwide economic crisis on local entrepreneurs.
Tourism continue to flourish.
Tourist arrivals in 2001 hit a total of 1,042,169. This figure reflects
a 9.10 percent increase over 786.505 posted in 1997. There are 78
tourist accommodation facilities of various types and classes built to
give comfort to the tourists. An aggregate total of 2,772 rooms are
available at various rates. Tourism related businesses has a regular
workforce of about 1,500 employees.
The city's natural ambiance
remains an integral and indispensable pull factor for local and foreign
visitors. And statistics reveals that domestic tourists still out number
foreigners and balikbayans coming up to Baguio.
INFRASTRUCTURE AND
UTILITIES SERVICES
Transportation and
communication service in the city are extensive. State of the art
communication facilities are now available that link the city locally
and internationally. PLDT operates the major long distance facility
while Piltel operates the citywide telephone system. Digitel and Smart
Communications have recently acquired franchises to operate in the city.
Thus increasing local telephone franchises to three. For
telecommunication services, PT&T, RCPI, Telecom, Bayantel and Globe
Mackay are present. Postal services are also provided. The main office
is located at the top of Session Road and eight (8) postal sub-stations
are in various schools and other strategic areas of the city. Services
of JRS, FED Ex, LBC, and others augment and facilitate postal services
in the city. Telex, Fax, radiotelephone and Internet services are added
to the array of communication facilities in the city.
As a regional center in the
North, there must be smooth flow of goods and information. Public
transport is relatively convenient with at least seven major bus
companies and some licensed public utility vehicles that operates in the
city. These provide transport services mostly to Metro Manila, Ilocos
Region, Interior Cordilleras, Cagayan Valley and as far as Zambales.
Within the city, the usual route is from a specific neighborhood or
barangay to the Central Business District and vice-versa. Out of town
destinations reach as far as La Trinidad and the other adjoining mining
towns of Itogon and other areas in Benguet.
Mini-buses have regular
schedules mostly for Pangasinan, La Union and recently extending to the
Ilocos region. Taxi cabs and rent-a-car companies are also available.
They provide a more convenient mode of transportation within and outside
of the city. They offer various car types and models at competitive
rates.
Baguio today is a city teeming
with the bustle of urban life. Despite the complexities of rapid
population growth and environmental change, it continues to live up to
its name as the "Education Center of the North", "The Garden City", the
"Summer Capital of the Philippines", the "Regional Administrative Center
of the Cordilleras". It still holds the honor as the "City of Pines" and
lately as the pioneer Hall of Fame Awardee as the Cleanest and Greenest
City among Highly Urbanized Cities nationwide.
Source:
http://www.baguiocityonline.com/CityProfile/ |
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