Negros Occidental
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| Negros Occidental | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| — Province — | |||
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 | |||
| Coordinates: 10°25′N 123°00′E / 10.417°N 123°ECoordinates: 10°25′N 123°00′E / 10.417°N 123°E | |||
| Country | Philippines | ||
| Region | Western Visayas (Region VI) | ||
| Founded | 1890 | ||
| Capital | Bacolod City | ||
| Government | |||
| - Governor | Alfredo G. Marañon, Jr. (NPC) | ||
| - Vice Governor | Genaro M. Alvarez, Jr. (NPC) | ||
| Area | |||
| - Total | 7,802.5 km2 (3,012.6 sq mi) | ||
| Area rank | 9th out of 80 | ||
| Population (2007) | |||
| - Total | 2,370,269 | ||
| - Rank | 6th out of 80 | ||
| - Density | 303.8/km2 (786.8/sq mi) | ||
| - Density rank | 19th out of 80 | ||
| Divisions | |||
| - Independent cities | 1 | ||
| - Component cities | 12 | ||
| - Municipalities | 19 | ||
| - Barangays | 601 including independent cities: 662 | ||
| - Districts | 1st to 6th districts of Negros Occidental including independent cities:Lone district of Bacolod City | ||
| Time zone | PHT (UTC+8) | ||
| ZIP Code | |||
| Spoken languages | Hiligaynon, Cebuano, Tagalog, English | ||
History
Negros Island was originally known to the natives as "Buglas". When the Spaniards arrived in April 1565, they named it "Negros" because of the dark-skinned natives they found. Two of the earliest native settlements were Binalbagan and Ilog which later became towns in 1572 and 1584, respectively. Other settlements were Hinigaran, Negros Occidental, Bago, Marayo (now Pontevedra), Mamalan (now Himamaylan) and Candaguit (a sitio in San Enrique).Ilog was made the first capital of the province in 1743. This was later transferred to Himamaylan. Bacolod became the capital in 1849.
The island was divided into Negros Oriental and Negros Occidental in 1890.
Main article: Negros Revolution
During the succeeding decades between 1901 to the 1930s, Negros Occidental was under American occupation as with the rest of the country. Nonetheless, the economic growth continued especially with Philippine sugar having a part of the US market despite some accompanying socio-economic problems during this period. When the Japanese landed in the province on May 21, 1942, civilian and military leaders in Negros Occidental refused to surrender and instead organized a free government and guerrilla movement under Gov. Alfredo Montelibano Sr. in Negros Island. They helped bring about the surrender of the Japanese forces in Negros in 1945, continued the liberation in Negros Occidental by joint Filipino and American troops together with Negrosanon guerrillas who fought the Japanese forces until the end of World War II.
The history of the province for the post-World War II period has yet to be formally written. Suffice it to briefly note here that this was mainly a period of rehabilitation from destruction of the war. With the sugar industry, the major pillar of the province's economy, as well as other areas being revived, consequent socio-economic growth in the province followed.
The socio-economic life of Negros Occidental from the 1950s up to the 1980s depended as before mainly on the sugar industry. Producing annually about 60% of the country's sugar output, an expansion in the industry with the establishment of several new mills in the late 1960s spurred increased production. A downturn caused by the low world sugar prices in the mid-1970s was followed by possibly the worst sugar prices hitting rock bottom in 1985. The province was also hit by two destructive typhoons in 1984, Nitang and Undang, after a serious drought in 1983.
Negros del Norte was created from Negros Occidental on January 3, 1986. Its creation was declared unconstitutional on July 11, 1986, and was abolished on August 18, 1986.
Towards the end of 1987, the rays of hope started to shine when the over-all economic situation showed a positive upturn. The campaign for agricultural diversification had been gaining momentum, paving the way for more landowners to invest in prawn farming and high-value crops such as fruits, vegetables, livestock and other cash crops.
Investments upswing became apparent by 1988. The participation of the industrial sector accelerated the consumer-led economic growth and development manifested by the increase in sales of consumer goods and by-products.
Today Negros Occidental remains one of the most progressive and largely developed Philippine province, in large due to the profits from the sugar industry but also due to diversification to other fields.
[edit] Geography
Negros Occidental is located in the western side of Negros Island, the fourth largest island in the Philippines with a total land area of 972,607 hectares or 9,726.06 km2. The province is approximately 375 kilometers long from north to south. It is bounded by the Visayan Sea in the north, Panay Gulf on the west, Tanon Strait and Negros Oriental province on the east and Sulu Sea on the south. Negros is basically volcanic, making its soil ideal for agriculture. Eighty percent of all arable land is cultivated.The north and western parts of the province are largely composed of plains and gentle slopes. A mountain range lines the eastern part of the province, forming the basis of the border with Negros Oriental. Mount Kanlaon, which is partially located in Negros Oriental, rises to a height of 2465 m (7987 ft) and is the highest peak in the Visayas.
[edit] Demographics
Most residents are of Austronesian heritage. Residents of Negros are called "Negrense". Negros Occidental is predominantly a Hiligaynon-speaking province. However, the cities and towns facing the Tañon Strait are Cebuano-speaking due to their proximity to the island-province of Cebu. English is widely spoken on both sides of the island.[citation needed]Negros Occidental is the second-largest province in terms of population after Cebu, with the second largest number of congressional districts.
[edit] Culture, arts and people
Negros Occidental has long been a center of culture and arts; the wealth brought about by the sugar industry made sure that the Negrense principalia enjoyed the very best.
This blossoming in art was due to the economical importance of the area during the Spanish era, Negros became probably the most hispanized area and pro-Spanish area, due to the enormous investments of Spain in the sugar business.
Another famous treasure of Negrense art heritage is to be found in Victorias City, within the confines of the Victorias Milling Company in its chapel is the world famous mural of the Angry Christ, painted by artist Alfonso Ossorio, a scion of the Ossorio family who owned the mill.
The Negrenses' joie de vivre is manifested in the various festivals all over the province, foremost among which are famous MassKara Festival of Bacolod, Pasalamat Festival of La Carlota, Bailes de Luces of La Castellana and Pintaflores Festival of San Carlos. These and other local festivals are featured during the Pana-ad sa Negros Festival staged every April at the 25-hectare tree-lined Panaad Stadium in Bacolod City. Dubbed as the "Festival of Festivals", Pana-ad brings together the 13 cities and 19 towns in a showcase of history, arts and culture, tourism, trade, commerce and industry, beauty and talent as well as games and sports.
[edit] Media
Bacolod City is noted for being the home of the Negros Summer Workshops, founded by multi-award-winning film-maker and Negrense Peque Gallaga. Founded in 1991, Workshops has long been training students from different parts of the country who wish to learn courses in film-making, acting, writing, and more. Some of its alumni include actors in mainstream Philippine show business.
Negros Occidental has also been used as a setting and location shoot for various films and television shows, most notable of which is the 1981 epic Oro, Plata, Mata. Recent films that were set and filmed in Negros are Ligaw Liham (2007) and Namets! (2008).
[edit] Sports
[edit] Football
The province has been touted[by whom?] as the sports capital of the Philippines. The Panaad Stadium in Bacolod City has been a venue for national and international athletic events,. most notable of which is the 23rd Southeast Asian Games men's football and the 2006 ASEAN football qualifiers. Bacolod City is also nicknamed the Philippine "football city" for its patronage of the sport in the country[edit] Boxing
Aside from hosting sporting events Negros Occidental has produced many of the nation's finest athletes, particularly in boxing. The likes of World Flyweight boxing champion 1923, Francisco Guilledo a.k.a Pancho Villa, current WBO minimum weight champion Donnie Nietes, 1970's WBA world junior lightweigh champion Ben Villaflor, to cite a few have all come from this province.It is also notable for producing Olympiads, Silver Medalist Mansueto Velasco in the 1996 Summer Olympics, his brother Roel Velasco who in turn won a bronze medal in the 1992 Summer Olympics both for boxing of course.
[edit] Softball
Negros is also home to the Junior League World Series (softball) Champions for 2003.[edit] Golf
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.[edit] Karatedo
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.[1][2][edit] Basketball
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. Another major sports team in the past is the Negros Slashers arguably the most successful team of the now defunct Metropolitan Basketball Association[edit] International tournaments
Many other athletes of the province have also won medals, in the Asian Games, the Southeast Asian Games and international billiard 9-ball championships.[edit] Track and field
Negros Occidental produce a lot of national athletes which competes to other nations in and out of the Philippines.[citation needed][edit] Swimming
One of the product of Negros Occidental who competed in 1986 Olympic in Los Angeles, California was Francisco Guangco.[edit] Modern Arnis
Main article: Modern Arnis
The Philippines' national martial arts and sports was founded in its modern incarnation in Negros Occidental by the late Remy Presas, Beginning with a small gymnasium in Bacolod in the 1950s, he attempted to spread the art to the local youth as both a cultural legacy and a form of physical development or sport. He also taught the art at the University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos[edit] Economy
Known as the "Sugarbowl of the Philippines", the sugar industry is the lifeblood of the economy of Negros Occidental, producing more than half of the country's sugar. There are 15 sugar centrals located throughout the lowland areas the north and west of the island, stretching from northwest along the coasts of the Visayan Sea and Guimaras Strait. Victorias Mill in Victorias City is the largest sugar mill in the country, and the world's largest integrated sugar mill and refinery. Sugar is transported from plantations to refineries by large trucks that use the national highway. Because of the priority given to sugar plantations, much of the province's food has to be imported from neighboring islands.A fishing industry is found in Cadiz City, and other fishponds dot the province. One of the country's largest copper mines is located in Sipalay City. There also exists a cottage industry which produced handicrafts made from indigenous materials.
Bacolod City is the center of commerce and finance in Negros Occidental. It is where you[who?] find oil companies, factories, bottling plants, allied industrial businesses, steel fabrication, power generation, agri-businesses, prawn culture and other aqua-culture ventures.
[edit] Infrastructure
Through its capital, Bacolod City, Negros Occidental is only 50 minutes from Manila and 30 minutes from Cebu by air. By sea, it is an 18-hour cruise from Manila and an hour by fast ferries from Iloilo. It is also accessible by sea and land trip from Cebu via Escalante City, San Carlos City and Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental. Travel from Bacolod to Dumaguete is only 5 to 6 hours by land. Seven airline companies, including Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific and Air Philippines, serve the province. Four inter-island shipping lines call on nine seaports of Negros Occidental[edit] Bacolod-Silay Airport
Main article: Bacolod-Silay Airport
[edit] Kabankalan City Domestic Airport
Main article: Kabankalan City Domestic Airport
is a new airport designed to serve the general area of Kabankalan City, The airport would be the second airport in Negros Occidental, after the New Bacolod-Silay Airport, and the third airport on the island of Negros. It is located four kilometers northeast of Kabankalan City proper on a 100-hectare site in Barangay Hilamonan.[edit] Road network and accommodations
All cities and municipalities are linked by an extensive road and bridge network stretching more than 1,500 kilometers crisscrossing the province with seven alternative scenic routes to the nearby province of Negros Oriental. Within the province, travel is also easy, comfortable and even enjoyable by air-conditioned and non-aircon buses or metered taxis. Car rental services are also available. However, the jeepney is still the most common means of transport among the towns and cities. For accommodations, visitors may choose from a wide range of about 67 hotels, pension and lodging houses and tourist inns. The better known hotels are L’ Fisher, Bacolod Convention Plaza, Pagcor Hotel, and Business Inn, Sugarland Hotel, all in Bacolod City.[edit] Energy and water
The province has adequate power and water supplies. It is currently interconnected to the Visayas Power Grid whose main sources of power are geothermal. Aside from its existing 170 megawatts capacity, Negros Island by the year 2006 has an additional 105 megawatts of locally produced power from geothermal plants in Bago City and Palinpinon, and from bagasse co-generation facility of First Farmers Sugar Mill. Ample water supply for household, commercial, industrial and agricultural uses is assured by 73 thousand hectares of proclaimed and protected major watersheds, regular rainfall and six major river systems.[edit] Communications and medical facilities
[edit] Banking, finance and accessibility
Banking and finance is likewise a thriving industry in Negros Occidental. According to the latest count, there are 389 financial institutions competing for businesses in the province. 149 of these are banks. Negros Occidental offers several advantages for those who are doing business in the province. It is strategically located near Metro Manila, Cebu and Davao, all major international gateways with maximum travel time of only about 4 hours between the Philippines and its neighbors in Asia. It is equipped with major infrastructure facilities for easy travel and shipment of goods within and outside of Negros.It has adequate information and communication facilities with excellent connection capabilities necessary for, among others, call center operations for business communication and transmission of data. The province is also blessed with abundant water supply and dependable power supply for almost any type of business endeavor. Modern health care facilities with competent medical s are available, as well as excellent schools to care for the needs of the investor and his family.
[edit] Landmarks
[edit] Panaad Stadium
Main article: Panaad Stadium
The Panaad Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in the province. It is currently used mostly for football matches, and 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, Timor Leste, 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.
[edit] Capitol Park and Lagoon
Main article: Capitol Park and Lagoon
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 quiet 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.[citation needed]
[edit] Fountain of Justice
Main article: Fountain of Justice
[edit] Bacolod Public Plaza
Main article: Bacolod Public Plaza
The plaza was constructed in 1927 as a place for recreation, political, spiritual and cultural activities. It is quite a popular site for outdoor picnics and concerts. The gazebo is often used to house a bandstand and inscribed along the sides of the roof are the names of Western classical music composers Beethoven, Wagner, Haydn, and Mozart.
[edit] Balay Negrense
Main article: Balay Negrense
The Balay Negrense was originally the ancestral house of Victor F. Gaston, a son of Yves Leopold Germain Gaston and Prudencia Fernandez. The elder Gaston is credited as one of the pioneers of sugarcane cultivation in this portion of the Philippine archipelago. A native of Normandy in France, he married a Filipina from Batangas where he initially began experimenting with sugar production before relocating to Negros.Built in 1897,[2] the structure housed Victor Gaston and his twelve children from 1901 until his death in 1927. Left unused by the family, the structure was abandoned in the mid-1970s and fell into disrepair until a group of concerned Negrenses formed what would later become the Negros Cultural Foundation and managed to acquire the house from the heirs of Gaston through a donation. With donations from prominent individuals and later the Department of Tourism, the structure was repaired and furnished with period furniture and fixtures. The museum was officially inaugurated on October 6, 1990.
[edit] Mariano Ramos Ancestral House
Main article: Mariano Ramos Ancestral House
During World War II, the house was the most prominent structure with an[clarification needed] over the whole city. The commanding Japanese generals seized the Ramos family house in order to use it as a watchtower and as a headquarters.
[edit] San Diego Pro-cathedral
Main article: San Diego Pro-cathedral
[edit] Education
[edit] Food and agriculture
However, the volatility of the sugar industry forced the province to shift, albeit slowly, to other high-value crops and alternative industries. The diversification has proven to be successful. Production of rice, the basic commodity for food security, has been increasing. By 2003, annual output of 437 thousand metric tons of palay was 33% better than two years ago. This allowed the province to significantly raise its sufficiency level from 65% to more than 84%. The improvement could be attributed to the introduction and promotion of hybrid rice, which increased rice yields to 3.8 metric tons per hectare. Because of the success of the program, area planted to hybrid rice has increased nearly fivefold. The highest hybrid yield was recorded at 10.3 tons per hectare.
Corn also registered increasing gains. Production for 2003 of 42 thousand metric tons outperformed 2001 output by 18%. Average yield per hectare has also grown by 18%. Other fruit and vegetable crops, except for banana and cassava, likewise improved their harvest. Harvested coconut was placed at 139 million nuts, while production of banana; fruit and vegetable crops totaled 110 million kilograms. Livestock and poultry are industries where Negros Occidental has strongly diversified.
With the province successfully quarantined from the dreaded foot and mouth disease and the Bird Flu, and with other endemic diseases under control, total production of livestock and poultry in 2003 of 49 thousand metric tons exceeded estimated local demand by 18%. Fishing is likewise an industry where the province has remained focused. After all, 9 of its cities and 16 of its municipalities are located along the coast and a great portion of the population depends on fishing for their livelihood.
The area for exploitation by this industry is huge, covering most of the coastal areas and the rich fishing grounds of the Visayan Sea on the north, Sulu Sea on the south, Tañon Strait on the east, Guimaras Strait and Panay Gulf at the southern portion of the province. These rich coastal areas and fishing grounds continue to be generous to the people of Negros Occidental. In 2003, products from deep-sea fishing, municipal marine and inland waters, and aquaculture reached 87 thousand metric tons, 30% better than 2001 production.
The province is rich in mineral deposits. Minerals that abound in the province are primary copper with estimated reserve of 591 million metric tons and gold ore with estimated reserve of 25 million tons. Silver and molybdenum deposits are also abundant, as well as non-metallic minerals suitable for agricultural and industrial uses. Notwithstanding its great potential, the mining industry in Negros Occidental has remained virtually dormant since the biggest copper mine in Sipalay suspended its operation.
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