Bicol Region

The Bicol Region or Region V (also known as Bicolandia) is one of the 17 regions of the Philippines. Bicol (also spelled Bikol) is composed of four provinces in the Bicol Peninsula, the southeastern end of Luzon island, and two island-provinces adjacent to the peninsula. Its regional center is Legazpi City in Albay province.

Geography

The Bicol Region is located in the southernmost tip of Luzon Island, the largest island in the Philippine archipelago. The total land area of the region is 18,054.3 km2(6,970.8 sq mi)[5], which or 5.9% of the total land area of the country. Around 69.3% of the total land area is alienable and disposable while the remaining 30.7% is public forest areas.[2] The region is bounded by Lamon Bay to the north, Pacific Ocean to the east, and Sibuyan Sea and Ragay Gulf to the west. The northernmost province, Camarines Norte, is bordered to the north by the province of Quezon, thereby connecting the region to the rest of Luzon.

Political division

The region is composed of six provinces, namely,Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Sorsogonand the island-provinces of Catanduanes and Masbate. It has one independent component city, Naga City, and six component cities - Iriga, Legazpi, Ligao,Masbate City, Sorsogon City, and Tabaco. Masbate City and Sorsogon City are cities within theirnamesake provinces. As of 2010, Camarines Sur is the largest province in terms of area and population, occupying 5,481.6 km2 (2,116.5 sq mi) or around 30.4% of the total land area with a population of 1,822,371. Catanduanes is the smallest in terms of area as well as population with only 1,511.5 km2 (583.6 sq mi) or 8.4% of the total regional area and a population of 246,300.[1] The political and administrative center of the region is Legazpi City.[2] Together with Naga and Sorsogon Cities, they are leading in the region in terms of urbanization and hubs of the economic activity, as well as the cultural, business and religious centers of the region.

Provinces
No. Income No. of No. of Capita of classifica Municipal Barang l Citi tion ities ays es (2007)[6] Populat ZIP Gover ion Co nor (2010)[1] de

Provinces

Area (km)

Albay

Legas pi City

15

720

450 Joey 2,552.6 1,233,4 01st Class Salced 0[7] 32 451 a 7

Camarine Daet s Norte

12

282

460 Edgard 2,320.0 02nd Class 542,915 o 7[8] 461 Tallado 2

Camarine s Sur

Pili

35

1063

Luis 440 Raymu 5,481.6 1,822,3 01st Class nd 0[9] 71 443 Villafue 6 rte, Jr.

Catandua Virac nes

11

315

480 1,511.5 0- Joseph 3rd Class 246,300 [10] 0 481 Cua 0

Masbate

Masba te City

20

550

Rizalin 540 a L. 4,047.0 01st Class 834,650 Seacho 7[11] 542 n1 Laete

Sorso Sorsogon gon City

14

541

470 2,141.4 02nd Class 740,743 [12] 5 471 5

Raul Lee

The Split
From May 2014 onwards, the Bicol Region will be split into Regions 5-A (CAMCATAN) and 5-B (ALMASOR). Provinces of future Region 5-A (CAMCATAN):

Camarines Norte Camarines Sur Catanduanes

Provinces of future Region 5-B (ALMASOR):

Albay Masbate Sorsogon

Geology
Bicol Region is volcanic in origin and part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. Known as the Bicol Volcanic Arc or Chain, the volcanoes are the results of the Philippine Sea Plate subducting under the Philippine Mobile Belt, along the Philippine Trench. Volcanism is evident by the number of hot springs, crater lakes, and volcanoes that dot the region starting from Mount Labo in Camarines Norte to the Gate Mountains in Matnog, Sorsogon.[13] Mayon Volcano is the most prominent of the volcanoes in the region, famous for its almost perfect conical shape and for being the most active in the Philippines. Its eruptions have repeatedly inflicted disasters on the region, but during lulls in activity, it is a particularly beautiful mountain. The southernmost tip of the peninsula is dominated by Bulusan Volcano, the other active volcano in the region. Tiwi in Albay and the Bacon-Manito area between Sorsogon and Albay are the sites of two major geothermal fields that contribute substantially to the Luzon Power Grid.

Language

The people of the Bicol region, called Bicolanos, speak any of the several languages of the Bikol sociolinguistic language, also called Bikolano, an Austronesian language closely related to other Central Philippine languages such as Cebuano and Tagalog. Bicol languages include the Inland Bikol of Bikol-Rinconada (Rinconada area), Bikol-Cam. Sur (Buhi, Cam. Sur; Libon, Oas, Daraga, Albay and Donsol, Sorsogon), Bikol-Pandan (Northern Catanduanes). Standard Bikol is based from the coastal Bikol language of the dialect of Naga City and is understood widely throughout the region even though they cannot speak it fluently. Bikol is the dominant language of the region. The Filipino language (Tagalog) is also spoken in northern parts of Camarines Norte as well as in the municipality of Del Gallego, Camarines Sur. Two Visayan languages, Sorsoganon and Masbateo or Minasbate, are spoken in Masbate and Sorsogon; they are collectively referred to as Bisakol.

Religion

The region retains Roman Catholicism as the overwhelming religion of the great majority. The Catholic religion has the highest number of followers than any other area in the Philippines. Fiestas (Feast day of saints) are annual celebrations of parishes, from a simple barrio fiesta honoring a patron associated for good harvest, to a town fiesta honoring a miraculous saint, adiocesan fiesta like the feast of Our Lady of Salvation, or a regional one such as the Our Lady of Peafrancia Fiesta, a week-long celebration to honor the Virgin Mary, dubbed as the "Queen Patroness of Bicolandia". It is widely acknowledged that in Luzon, it is Bicol Region that holds the most number of men entering the seminary for Catholic priesthood, or women entering the religious life to become Catholic nuns.

Archaeology
Albay's archaeology shows concrete evidence of trade with China, Malaya and Indonesia going back two thousand years. The first Spanishcontact was in 1565, when a treasure-galleon returning to Cebu from Acapulco, Mexico, was swept off course and the captain recorded his awe at the sight of Mt. Mayon erupting.

Economy

Bicol Region has a large amount of rich flat land, and agriculture is the largest component of the economy with close to 50% depending their livelihood on the industry. Coconuts, abaca, banana, coffee and jackfruit are the top five permanent crops in the region. Rice and maize are among the chief seasonal crops of the region. Commercial fishing is also important with thirteen major fishing grounds supplying fish markets in places as far as Metro Manila. Agriculture and fishing are the major factors in the province's economy. Mining is also one of the contributors to the region's economy. Several handicrafts, jewelry manufacturing, other small-scale industries and manufacturing enterprises bolster rural incomes.

Tourism
The region has recently seen a revival in its tourism industry, due to the popularity of Mayon Volcano, the new CamSur Water Sports Complex, whale shark spotting, among others, which consequently increased the number of upscale resorts in the region. Owing to its location, Region V offers plenty of choices for visitors - beautiful natural features like beaches, mountains and waterfalls with lush vegetation; activities could include scuba diving to wrecked galleons, spelunking, mountaineering; or visits to man-made attractions like church architecture from the Spanish Colonial Period; etc. The municipality of Daet and Catanduanes province have long been destinations for surfers. The opening of the Southern Luzon International Airport in Legazpi City, which is under construction, is hoped to further boost tourism in the region.

3 comments:
darvin's species said...
I believe that love is untrue when it is kept and left unsaid. There are things in life that have to wait or be kept, even if it hurts so much, even if it means being dishonest to yourself and to the whole world. Love, in this poem, is one that is true..although not reciprocated. It does not ask for anything in return. (Ma. Daphne Regina T. Toledo) December 12, 2004 5:46 PM

anonymous said...
Not being able to express what you truly feel for a person is a sign of cowardice. If you love someone, tell him, show him. You shouldn't be afraid of rejection because nothing will happen if you are too scared to admit what you really feel. If you get rejected, then just accept it even if it hurts because love can really be painful at times. December 16, 2004 11:18 PM

Sounds to me like when she was young she thought she had all the time in the world to get crazy sexual and now when she's older she regrets not getting any when she was young.

begrudge
verb 1. resent, envy, grudge, be jealous of, be envious of, be resentful of I certainly don't begrudge him the Nobel Prize. 2. be bitter about, object to, be angry about, be pissed (off) about (taboo slang), give reluctantly, bear a grudge about, be in a huff about, give stingily, have hard feelings about She spends 2,000 a year on it and she doesn't begrudge a penny.
Clichs; jargons and slangs, these are the commonplace start-ups in the world of love, so does the world of investment? Nobody denies that love is like investment and investment is like love. Everything needs to be defined such that everything needs to be measured. Undefined goals and unsupported developments can badly influence the outcome. Yet more than these usual parameters, love and investment, are both expressed in indefinite terms and possibilities. Just as what Manalang-Gloria had implied in her poem I Have Begrudged the Years, both love and investment needs to be managed, nurtured and evaluated. In the first instance, both seem to act as an indifferent matter, per se. But consequently it would develop into what it really is, and the need for efficient management comes in. To illustrate, a man who admired a woman is not immediately identified as love, yet in the consequent stages, love is

to develop otherwise none at all. Likewise, a business venture talked about but not yet agreed upon is not an investment, still it is a precedent of an investment. Second, after it has developed, it often needs to be nurtured and cared about. Though at times, it is better to have it left alone as it is. Nonetheless, it is in the natural human psychopathic senses that it must respond to such apparent instances of both love and investment. In short, demand; worry and attention eventually become part of what is concomitant in the situation. Accordingly, there would result a case that your mind and soul is mostly if not wholly committed for the status quo of both. Also, in this stage it entails a lot of effort to maintain the best conditions that may happen. Decisions made wrong at this point can cost you an assurance of failure in the outcome. In similar fashion, actions made wrong at this point of time can cause earlier efforts to be disregarded. For that reason, attention and observation become necessary to facilitate an existent relationship. Unless a person in a relationship (love or investment) declines, there is no telling how much good things you can earn from it or from your efforts. In addition, the tendency of insensitivity or futility may unknowingly overlook or diminish the value of a preceding effort. Existing boy-girl relationships and corporate investment agreements would be the best examples. Finally, the need for evaluation enters the love/investment relationship scene. A primary concern would be returning where a thing is belonging. If things get worse and a matter, per se, cannot be returned to more than what it is before, it must at least be returned to what it is before. In like manner, it is also significant to take note of an excerpt of Manalang-Gloria which was, let others give to Caesar, Caesars own. The said excerpt has different interpretations resulting from different angle of perspective. In brief, evaluation can be conducted through weighing of expected returns. After all, a check is to investment and a letter is to love, same paper-ignition scheme. In the final analysis, love and investment really has correlation as the preceding paragraph proves. And it is so obvious that the phases, processes and requirements bear resemblance of both. However, not all people have the same perspective that I have. They may have a contrasting perspective, and their findings follow suit. Above all, love and investment at par has its own virtual situations and limitations.

Call me maybe I threw a wish in the well Don't ask me, I'll never tell I looked to you as it fell And now you're in my way I trade my soul for a wish Pennies and dimes for a kiss I wasn't looking for this But now you're in my way Your stare was holdin' Ripped jeans, skin was showin' Hot night, wind was blowin' Where you think you're going, baby? Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy, But here's my number, so call me maybe It's hard to look right, at you baby, But here's my number, so call me maybe Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy, But here's my number, so call me maybe And all the other boys, try to chase me, But here's my number, so call me maybe You took your time with the call I took no time with the fall You gave me nothing at all, but still you're in my way I beg and borrow and steal Have first sight and it's real I didn't know I would feel it, but it's in my way
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsty.com/carly-rae-jepsencall-me-maybe-lyrics.html ]

It's hard to look right, at you baby, But here's my number, so call me maybe Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy, But here's my number, so call me maybe And all the other boys, try to chase me, But here's my number, so call me maybe Before you came into my life I missed you so bad I missed you so bad... I missed you so, so bad Before you came into my life I missed you so bad And you should know that... I missed you so, so bad It's hard to look right, at you baby, But here's my number, so call me maybe Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy, But here's my number, so call me maybe And all the other boys, try to chase me, But here's my number, so call me maybe Before you came into my life I missed you so bad I missed you so bad... I missed you so, so bad Before you came into my life I missed you so bad And you should know that So call me maybe

Your stare was holdin', Ripped jeans, skin was showin' Hot night, wind was blowin' Where you think you're going, baby? Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy, But here's my number, so call me maybe