Monday, March 3, 2014

Naga City


Naga City is an urbanized Independent Component City, soon to be Highly-Urbanized in the vast archipelago of the Philippine Islands. The city was established under the Spanish Governor-General Francisco de Sande, the city, then named Ciudad de Nueva Caceres (New Caceres City), earned its status as the third Spanish royal city in the Philippine islands, after Cebu and Manila.

Naga City is the largest city in the Bicol Region and Southern Luzon, in all aspects, being also the richest, and Most Progressive, Most Vibrant, and Most Sustainable City in the Bicol Region.

Naga City is the center of economic activities, trade, commerce, finance, business, industry and tourism in Southern Luzon. It is also the city with the highest population, reaching up to 280, 000 people, with 35% from other neighboring municipalities in the province of Camarines Sur.

 Known as the Convention City of Southern Luzon, Naga City is also the cultural center of Bicol because of large convention centers, and most cultural food, festivals, and poetry are located in the city, as well as the second largest coliseum in the Philippines, the Jesse M. Robredo Coliseum.

Naga City's territory highlighted with Camarines Sur at the background

Naga City is known as the Queen City of Bicol; as the Heart of Bicol due to its central location in the Bicol peninsula; and as the Pilgrim City because Naga is also home to the largest Marian pilgrimage in Asia, the Our Lady of Penafrancia.

Our Lady of Peñafrancia
The city is the seat of the Metropolitan Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Caceres, whose jurisdiction includes all the suffragan sees of Bicol, the Dioceses of Daet, Legazpi, Libmanan, Masbate, Sorsogon, and Virac.


Moreover, the city is also the seat of the widely venerated Our Lady of Peñafrancia, the Patroness of Bicol. The image is one of the most popular objects of devotion in the country.


Naga is at the core of Metro Naga, an official designation given the city and 14 municipalities in the area administered by the Metro Naga Development Council. MNDC covers the entire 2nd district of the province of Camarines Sur, and part of its 1st, 3rd and 4th districts.

History

Spanish Colonial Era

 n 1573, on his second expedition to this region, the conquistador Juan de Salcedo landed in a village and named it "Naga" because of the abundance of Narra trees ("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", which originally conmes from the Indian Sanskrit "Naga" meaning "Serpent". 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, just like in India (see Snake Boats) and rest of South East Asia.
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 in Spain. 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 and Nueva Segovia, and made it the seat of the new bishopric under the Archdiocese of Manila.
The cathedral in the 1800s
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 and cabildo of its own. At the beginning of the 17th century, there were only five other ciudades in the 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 hierarchy during most of the Spanish regime. By virtue of the papal bull of Gregory XIII, ecclesiastical cases originating in the Spanish East Indies, which ordinarily were appealable to the Pope, were ordered to be terminated there and no longer elevated to Rome. 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 were subject to review by the Bishop of Cáceres whose jurisdiction then extended from the whole Bicol region, the island-province of Marinduque and the present-day Aurora, 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.
For hundreds of years during the Spanish colonial era, Naga grew to become the center of trade, education and culture, and the seat of ecclesiastical jurisdiction in Bicol.
The old Camarines Sur capitol

  American colonial period

Americans arriving in Naga to rename it in 1919
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.

World War II and Japanese Occupation

Old Aguinaldo theatre
Japanese fighter and bomber planes invaded and attacking the town municipality of Naga on December 1941 and became occupied by the Imperial Japanese troops on 1942. The establishment of the military garrison of the Japanese Imperial Army was located in Naga during Japanese Occupation.
The Philippine Commonwealth Army on 1942 to 1946 and the Philippine Constabulary 2nd Infantry Regiment on 1944 to 1946 was founding establishment and military active on 1942 to 1946 at the general headquarters and stationed in Naga. Many Bicolano resistance groups was downfall conflicts and insurgent invasion of Naga on 1942 to 1945 and aided and supporting them by the local ground troops under the Philippine Commonwealth Army units and attacking Imperial Japanese soldiers. After the conflict siege, some Bicolano freedom fighters are retreating by the Japanese and before the liberation on Naga by Allied troops until 1945.
On 1945, combined U.S. and Philippine Commonwealth troops liberated the town municipality of Naga and aided by the Bicolano resistance groups and defeated Imperial Japanese troops and ended in the Second World War.

Independent Philippines

After Naga was liberated from the Japanese, Naga began on rebuilding the town. With only a few casualties, Naga City was able to rebuild quickly after the war. After many petitions, Naga became a city in June 18, 1948.


Demographics

Population

Over the past few years, Naga City has always been the largest city in Bicol. Compared to Legazpi who has a metropolitan population (Legazpi and Daraga) of  300,000 based on the 2010 census, Naga City who has a metropolitan population (Metro Naga) of nearly 742,000 citizens. Metro Legazpi's land area is 280 square km., while Metro Naga has 1,284 square kilometers, making Naga City or Metro Naga the largest and densest area in Southern Luzon.

Naga City's population reached 174,931 last 2010, but to predict its present population, the range might be in between 220,000 and 185,000 people.

Religion

Roman Catholicism

The original image of Ina
The Naga Metropolitan Cathedral
The city is the ecclesiastical seat of the Archdiocese of Caceres. The city is also the seat of the Primate of the Bicol region. This dominant faith is supported by the presence of old and influential Catholic institutions, from universities to churches run by different religious institutes, notably the Ateneo de Naga University by the Jesuits; the Universidad de Sta. Isabel by the Daughters of Charity; the Naga Metropolitan Cathedral; Peñafrancia Basilica Minore; Peñafrancia Shrine; and Our Lady of Peñafrancia Museum.

Peñafrancia Shrine


Evangelicalism

Other Christian organizations are represented by Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) whose imposing church is a landmark along Panganiban Drive, Also having considerable number of members are Members Church of God International popularly known as Ang Dating Daan, 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

One of the other major religions that are represented in Naga City is Islam where a mosque is located at Greenland in Brgy. Concepcion Pequeña. Followers of Hinduism has a temple along Basilica Road in Brgy. Balatas. A shrine for the followers of Taoism is located along Lerma Street in Brgy. Triangulo.

Economy

The whole downtown Naga with the Coliseum and SM at the background.

Naga City is cited as one of the "Most Business-Friendly Cities in Asia" and is considered to be one of the "Philippines Top 20" cities, that major in export, commerce, trade, electronics, manufacturing, education and high-employment. Naga City is the only place in Bicol where large, long offices of the most massive international companies in the Philippines. Naga City is also the only city in where there is a cyber zone that specializes in free internet to everyone. Foreign and local tycoons also reside in the city. Many entrepreneurs cited the city as the most business-friendly in the Bicol region.
Strategically located at the heart of Bicol, Naga City is also the trade city in Bicol that is the embarkation point and resting point of goods from Visayas and Manila.

Central Business District 1

The Centro Naga

Elias Angeles St.  the busiest street in the city.
The first Central Business District, commonly known as 'Downtown Naga' or simply 'Centro' which means center is located in the southern part of the city. In the north, it boundaries on the Naga University Belt and boundaries to the south by the historical Naga City Peoples Mall or simply Naga City Community Supermarket. It surrounds the triplet plazas of Naga City, The Plaza Kinse (15) Martires, The Plaza Quezon, and the main monument that is the center of the Central Business District 1, the Plaza Rizal. The Central Business District 1's main road are the Elias Angeles Road that starts from the Metropolitan Cathedral and ends at the Naga City Supermarket. The Central Business District 1 is the location of some large local businesses that sells a few local delicacies and native products from neighboring municipalities and provinces.

Central Business District 2

CBD II

Panganiban Drive, the largest road in Naga.
The second Central Business District is the location of international, and national businesses and is located along the Jesse M. Robredo Coliseum which is the second largest coliseum in the Philippines, after Smart Araneta Coliseum in Metro Manila. The Central Business District 2 is also the location of the largest mall in Bicol, the SM City Naga, the largest bus terminal in the Bicol Region, the Naga City Central Bus Terminal, and the large Camarines Sur Industrial and Technological Park which houses several Business Process Outsourcing Offices. Though comparably smaller, the second Central Business District also is the location of the delivery point, and resting point of trade goods from Legazpi City, Sorsogon City, Masbate City, and Catanduanes. This is also the place where the Naga City Regional Trade Center opened beside the Jesse M. Robredo Coliseum. The district also is the location of some hotels and some cheap convention centers.

South Riverfront Growth Area

The South Riverfront Growth Area is found only a few blocks west of CBD-I. It is geared to accommodate medium- to high-end commercial development. It is one of the largest economic allocations made by the local government of Naga.
South Riverfront is composed of the whole of Brgy. Sabang– except those areas which are socialized housing sites or are otherwise excluded by the Naga City Land Use Plan for commercial or industrial development. Aside from CBD-I, it is bounded by the Naga River and the town of Camaligan.
The development of the area is anchored on Naga City’s biggest shopping mall– LCC Central Mall.
The development area is the location of the Naga City IT Park.

Agro-Industrial Zone

This area is envisioned as an agro-industrial hub, capitalizing on Bicol’s extensive agricultural resources, the market offered by Naga itself, and the city’s character as the regional center of trade and services– providing access to markets in Metro Naga, Camarines Sur, Bicol and South Luzon.
The Agro-Industrial Zone spans barangays Del Rosario, Cararayan, San Isidro, Pacol and Carolina– Naga’s traditional agricultural areas. It has an area of 309 hectares. It will be the site of the 105-hectare Naga Agro-Industrial Ecozone, operated by the Pacol Agro-Industrial Corporation with incentives from the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA).

Magsaysay District

The main road in the city is Magsaysay Avenue or Magsaysay Boulevard which starts from the City Hall district, connecting it to the Magsaysay District where accommodations and restaurants catering to travelers are found. Businesses are open till late at night with some shops also open 24/7. Naga City also has its share of fastfood restaurant chains. The city hall, provincial capitol and several provincial offices are also located in the district around the Peniafrancia Basilica.

Banking and Finance

Naga City is the Financial Center of the Bicol Region. The Total Banks in the city is around 57 including Banco Sentral ng Pilipinas. The city hosts the Regional offices of Banco De Oro, Philippine National Bank, Development Bank of the Philippines, Metrobank, RCBC, Allied Bank,and the Philippine Postal Savings Bank. Banks with many branches are Banco De Oro with 7 branches, Bank of the Philippine Islands has 5 branches including BPI family bank, MetroBank has 4 branches, China bank and Landbank has 3, RCBC and Security bank 2 branches . A leading thrift bank, RCBC Savings Bank, enjoys patronage from 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. Land bank -Magsaysay branch, Security Bank-Diversion branch and Philippine Planters Bank, are the three latest banks to open in the city this year 2013. Meanwhile Banco de Oro opened their seventh branch in Deca building and Maybank at Panganiban Drive.

Shopping Malls



SM City Naga
SM City Naga is the most visited shopping mall in the Bicol Region, ranging from 25,000-50,000 every week. SM City Naga is located at the second Central Business District and beside the Naga City Central Bus Terminal, the largest bus terminal in the Bicol Region. Naga City also has another largest mall in ,the E-Mall that is strategically located in the Central Business District 1 or Centro Naga, with Robisons Supermarket as its anchor store. LCC Mall is also located in Abella Street near Central Business District. There are two Puregold Malls in Naga City, the Puregold Centro Naga, and the Puregold Naga which is located in Diversion Road. Naga City is also proud of the new SM Savemore that opened at the back of Puregold Centro Naga beside Master's Square. The Gaisano Mall Naga, Robinsons Place Naga, and Ayala Mall-Naga are also set to open in the next years.
LCC Central Naga

Business Process Outsourcing

Naga City has been cited as one of the Top 5 best BPO places in Southeast Asia.
The city currently has three IT parks—the Naga City IT Park, the Camarines Sur Industrial and Technological Park, and the newly inaugurated Naga City Technology Center that are all highly conducive for outsourcing businesses. The three facilities offer about 20,000 call center seats that could provide jobs to some 60,000 agents in three-shifts. Pioneering the business in Naga City is the Incubation Center of Southern Luzon Technological College Foundation Inc. (SLTCFI) which is an extension of Naga City Industries District, the third IT ecozone in the Bicol region inaugurated in August 13, 2011.
Sutherland Company had already opened their call center and is located at Pili, Camarines Sur. The Australian BPO Company is set to open their own respective call centers in Naga City in the next few years. the international BPO company IBM also constructed their own call center office just infront of SM City Naga. IBM is to undergo a major expansion this 2014 constructing a new 6-floor building and heightening the first building from 2 floors to 5 floors. Concentrix had began construction of their own 8-floor BPO Complex in the South Riverfront Growth Area, while Accenture and Convergys Incs. are planning to construct their own call centers in Naga.

Industry

The Naga City Industries District, and the Camarines Sur Industrial and Technological Park produce 56% of the total industries in the Bicol Region.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the second highest in production of all industries in Naga. One of the old industries is the Plastic Manufacturing Factory but was closed due to the plastic-ban in the city. Naga City usually manufactures canned goods like corned beef, and canned sisig. Other manufacturing industries are the Meat-Packing manufacturers, and the Brewery manufacturers. The manufacturing industries are located at the Naga City Industries District.
Native Industries
After the one town, one product provincial project was released in Camarines Sur, many native making and food industries moved to Naga City. One of this industries is the Manila Hemp bag-making factories along the Camarines Sur Industrial and Technological Park. This factories produce the most beautiful and most famous bags in the Bicol Region. Another native industry is the cloth-making industry that makes clothes that are made of native materials. Another industry is the small-time wood-sculptors factories.

 

 

Places of interest

Churches and monasteries

The Cathedral Rotunda
  • Naga Metropolitan Cathedral is the oldest cathedral established in the whole southern Luzon. It was built in 1573, and was inaugurated in 1575. It is also the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Caceres.
  • Our Lady of Peñafrancia Shrine is the original home of Our Lady of Peñafrancia for two centuries. It was established in 1750.
  • Peñafrancia Basilica Minore, established in 1985, it is the new home of Our Lady of Peñafrancia where the Traslacion starts when her image is led into procession around the city streets then brought to the cathedral.
  • San Francisco Church, established in 1578, it is the first church in the region built by the Franciscan Friars. The surrender of the Spanish forces to the Bikol revolutionaries Elias Angeles and Felix Plazo took place here on September 18, 1896. The church was reduced to rubble by the heavy bombing of Naga in World War II, and the church remained in ruins until the present new edifice was constructed.
  • St. Jude Churches in del Rosario
  • Carmelite Church and Monastery - home of the Carmelite nuns in Bicol.
  • Holy Rosary Minor Seminary and Museum - oldest seminary in the Bicol Region, it houses the old paraphernalia, and items used by the old Catholic Church, including the documents of Our Lady of Peñafrancia’s verified devotion, and coronation.
  • Holy Rosary Major Seminary and Church - one of the largest seminaries in the Bicol Region.
  • Immaculate Conception Church
  • Caritas Mariae Church in Pacol
  • Christ the King Church, Ateneo de Naga University
    • San Francisco Church
  • Holy Cross Parish Church in Barangay Tabuco

Natural attractions

Malabsay Falls

Historical landmarks

Nine sites and landmarks in the city with historical value
  • Calle Via Gainza, now Peñafrancia Avenue, was first known as Via Gainza in honor of Bishop Francisco Gainza, O.P. (1863–1879), the 25th and considered as the greatest Spanish bishop of the See of Caceres.
  • Calle Real, now Elias Angeles Street, was one of the earliest streets in Spanish Nueva Caceres laid out at the close of the 16th century. The street figured as a historic backdrop to the events of September 1898, which established the Filipino revolutionary government headed by Elias Angeles.
  • Calle de Legaspi at the western portion of Panganiban Drive, was established in 1839 after the Naga River was straightened as a short cut from Calle Real to the new western bank of the river.
  • Casa Real site on General Luna Street. The Casa Real, the government building of Nueva Caceres, was established at this location in 1588
  • Casa Tribunal site on Elias Angeles Street was the original site of the Casa Tribunal or “common house” which provided free rooms to travelers until 1839.
  • Casino Español site at the corner Elias Angeles and Arana Street, was the location of 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.
  • House of Tomas Prieto site at the corner Panganiban Drive and Peñafrancia Avenue was the home of the Bicolano martyr, Tomas Prieto, who was executed on January 4, 1897 at the Bagumbayan Field in Manila together with ten others, collectively known as the "Bicol Martyrs."
  • The Naga City Police Station on Barlin Street was the site of the Cuartel General of the Guardia Civil in Camarines that was constructed in 1870, but was razed by fire caused by faulty electrical wiring.
  • Puente de Naga, now Lt. Delfin Rosales Bridge, the massively designed concrete bridge was constructed in 1847 and was known as Puente de Naga, and until the 1920s when the bridge was renamed in honor of Bicolano Jose Maria Panganiban. It was renamed again in 1989, to honor Lt. Delfin C. Rosales in World War II, during the battle for Naga in April 1945.

Museums


Bicol Science Centrum
  • The Holy Rosary Minor Seminary Museum showcases Bicol's ancient relics and artifacts like burial jars, ancient china wares,rare stones and ritual objects. The museum also features local church history where old Church vestiges and sacred objects are displayed.
  • The Penafrañcia Museum contains sacred vestiges related to Marian devotion to Our Lady of Peñafrancia.
  • The University of Nueva Caceres Museum is one of the oldest museums outside Manila and recognized by the International Association of Museum. It houses historical artifacts of the ancient Bikol, its people and culture.
  • Bicol Science and Technology Centrum is a science museum established in 1993 in partnership with the Department of Science and Technology to cater to the science and technology education for the young, professionals, teachers andenthusiasts alike. It features an exhibit of interactive gadgets, a skywatch gallery, a sci-cubby hole for the kids, an audio-visual room and a cybercafé for internet users.
  • The Naga City Art Gallery, established by the Salingoy Art Group in partnership with the Naga City government, houses traditional and contemporary art works of Bicolano artists.

Culture

 Naga City is the cultural center of Southern Luzon. It is where the largest of the large festivals are held to commemorate basic principles in every day life.

Festivals

The Peñafrancia Festival

The city celebrates the Feast of Nuestra Señora de Peñafrancia Our Lady of Peñafrancia, the Patroness of the Bicol Region starting second Friday of September each year. The start of the 10-day feast, the largest Marian devotions 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 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. The next day, marks the feast day of the Our Lady of Peñafrancia, Pontifical High Masses are celebrated in the Basilica Minore, attended by hundreds of thousands of faithful devotees.

Kamundagan Festival

Naga City celebrates the Kamundagan Festival every Christmas time. It begins with the lighting of the Christmas Village in the Plaza Quezon Grandstand. After the lighting of the Christmas Village, six locally handmaid stars, known locally as parols are lighted with different meanings. Love, progress, peace, happiness, prosperity, and joy symbolize the stars. The Giant Christmas Tree is lighted 2 weeks before Christmas. Every night, different fantasy-themed Christmas shows are held in the Plaza Quezon. A Grand Christmas Bazaar is also held near the Cathedral, exhibiting different talents in Magic, Trickery, Beauty, and Brains. The Bazaar also has some stores that sell locally made Christmas themed products for visitors.

Kinalas Festival

Naga City celebrates Kinalas Festival during its yearly anniversary of Chartership or Cityhood. It honors the most famous local delicacies, the Kinalas, and Siling Labuyo, with it having a food contest. Also known as Charter Day Festival, different organizations and schools, compete in Sports and Academics, as sponsored by the local government.

Food and delicacies

Naga is known to have some native foods and delicacies:
  • Kinalas - Kinalas and log-log are noodle soup dishes served Bicol style, similar to mami except for a topping of what looked like a Pansit Palabok sauce, and the meaty dark soup made from boiling a cow or a pig’s head until the flesh fell off. Kinalas/luglog, from the Tagalog word "kalas", refers to the "fall off the bone" meat that is placed on top of the noodles. The soup is the broth of beef bone and bone marrow (sometimes skull and brain included) or what Manileños call "bulalo". The soup is topped with very tender meat slices that also came from the pig's head. It is usually served hot with an egg, sprinkled with roasted garlic and spring onions. Kalamansi and patis may be added according to taste. Kinalas is usually paired with Baduya/Banana Cue or Camote Cue.
  • Buko Juice - Juice freshly extracted from a young coconut.
  • Nata de Coco
  • Pan de Naga - the local bread of the city

Sports

  • Metro Naga Sports Complex in Barangay Pacol has Olympic-sized swimming pools, tennis courts and a track oval.
  • Naga City Coliseum- Later renamed as Jesse M. Robredo Coliseum in honor of the late DILG Secretary and Former Mayor of Naga City.

Nightlife

  • The nightlife in Naga City is concentrated along Magsaysay Avenue where restaurants, bars and music lounges are lined up catering to tourist and locals alike.



Naga City is easily accessible by air and land. The city is served by the Naga (WNP) Airport which is located in the barangay of San Jose in the nearby town of Pili. Flights from Ninoy Aquino International Airport to Naga takes approximately 35–40 minutes with services provided by Cebu Pacific and Air Philippines 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 with ferry transfers in Sorsogon, the southernmost province of the Bicol peninsula. Buses ply to Sorsogon and Tacloban.

Railways

Naga City is the Regional head office and the Center point of the Philippine National Railway's Bicol Line. Naga Prosper and flourished as it serves as a transit point of Commerce in Camarines' Area. Daily rail services to and from Manila were provided by the Philippine National Railways under Bicol Express Service.
Naga with adjacent towns and cities from Tagkawayan, Quezon province to Ligao, Albay is served daily by Bicol Commuter's express. A plan has been expressed upon completion of the rehabilitation of the Line to Legazpi City the Bicol Commuter's Express will be extended up to Legazpi in the near future.

Phone services

Naga is served by landline and mobile phone companies like BayanTel and Digitel of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company. Major mobile phone providers in the area include Globe, Smart, and Sun Cellular.

Health care 

The government owned Bicol Medical Center and the Universidad de Sta. Isabel - Mother Seton Hospital owned and operated by the Daughters of Charity. It also houses the only medical district in Bicol, The Metropolitan Naga Medical District.
  • Bicol Medical Center (BMC), formerly called the Camarines Sur Regional Hospital, is located in Concepcion Pequeña, 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.
  • Universidad de Sta. Isabel- Mother Seton Hospital (USI - MSH), is one of the biggest private hospital in the Bicol Region for 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.
  • Camarines Sur Provincial Hospital is one of the largest hospital in the Bicol Region and in Camarines Sur. It was created and founded in 1989 through Republic Act 9963. This integrated hospital is one of the first-class hospitals in the Philippines.
  • The Plaza Medica houses the Naga Endocrine Laboratory (also called the Endolab), a modern specialty laboratory facility and hormone laboratory Naga.
  • St. John Hospital (tertiary hospital)
  • Ago Foundation Hospital (tertiary hospital)
  • Dr. Nilo Roa Memorial Hospital (secondary hospital)
  • Metropolitan Naga Medical Center (secondary hospital)
  • Naga City Hospital (government hospital)
  • Bicol Access Health Centrum (Private hospital)
  • NICC Naga Doctors Hospital (Private hospital)

Education

Naga City is the capital of all level education in Southern Luzon having 6 universities in the city. The Ateneo de Naga University, Central Bicol State University of Agriculture, Bicol State University of Applied Sciences and Technology, University of Nueva Caceres, Universidad de Santa Isabel, and the Camarines Sur State University of Polytechnics (Camarines Sur Polytechnic Colleges).

Tertiary education

The Ateneo de Naga University
The Universidad de Sta. Isabel
The Ateneo de Naga University (ADNU) is Jesuit university in the Bicol Region. The school is accredited with PAASCU since 1979, making it one of the best universities in the country. 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. It has produced top animators in the country since it launched its Bachelor's Degree in Animation. The university is also the alma mater of the very first Bicolano Jesuit priest, Father Juan Bonafe, S.J. --> The Universidad de Santa Isabel is the oldest normal school for girls in Asia inaugurated on April 12, 1869. It is a sectarian school run by the religious Daughters of Charity Sisters. The University of Nueva Caceres is the very first university south of Luzon, outside of Manila.
The Philippine Women's University has its Career Development and Continuing Education Center in the city, while the University of the Philippines opened its Open University in USI to cater to distant-education students. The Bicol College of Arts and Trade, Then Camarines Sur Polytechnic Colleges, now Bicol State College of Applied Sciences and Technology 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.--> 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 University of Nueva Caceres

The Naga College Foundation
The Naga College Foundation is the leading Criminology school in the region. It has produced topnotch placements in the National Police Commission Examinations and the Criminologist Licensure Exams through 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 oldest live-in Christian higher educational institute for the clergy in the country was established in the city 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.
University of Santo Tomas will open its own campus in Naga City in the next 10 years.

Secondary education and lower

The Naga Parochial School
The government-run Camarines Sur National High School registers over 12,000 enrollees every school year and it is the biggest secondary school in the region. Naga City Science High School was established in Naga City in 1994, it is considered to be one of the top-notch science schools in the country. The school contains pilot curricula in Bicol Region, the Spanish Curriculum, and the Journalism Curriculum. Two schools in the city, Saint Joseph School(SJS) and Naga Hope Christian School (NHCS), caters to Filipino-Chinese students.
The Naga Parochial School (NPS) is the largest Parochial school in the Bicol region receiving 850 enrollees yearly. It is run by priests of the Archdiocese of Caceres. It is the first PAASCU-accredited parochial school in the Philippines. Some members of the clergy (63 as of 2007 with 3 bishops) assigned to the city are alumni of the school. This is an exclusive Catholic school for boys with Most Rev. Rolando Joven Tria Tirona as chair of the Board Trustees. Well-known personalities such as the late Raul Roco, Jesse Robredo, Francis Garchitorena, Luis R. Villafuerte, Jaime Fabregas, Jonathan Dela Paz Zaens, Archbishop Tito Yllana, Bishop Jose Rojas PC, DD are graduates of NPS. -->
STI Naga
Arborvitae Plains Montessori, Inc. (formerly Casa Dei Bambini Montessori), is a Montessori school with eleven branches spread all over the Philippines offering education according to the Montessori method modified for the Philippine curriculum. The Naga City Montessori School was established in 1989 offering pre-school, grade school and high school education. The Village Montessori on 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 Society.
Specialized computer schools have also mushroomed in the city due to popularity of computer courses, both degree and short-term. AMA Computer University and STI College 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 for higher education are found in the city. Some of these 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.


Truly, Naga City is the best city in the Philippines.




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