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Thursday, March 31, 2016

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Alaminos city hall

Cagayan de Oro city hall

General Santos city hall

Mandaloyong city hall

Naga city hall, Camarines Sur

Passi city hall

Puerto Princesa city hall

Pasig city hall

Parañaque city hall

Pasay city hall

Quezon city hall

Roxas city hall

Sagay city hall

Samal island garden

San Carlos city hall- Pangasinan

San Carlos city- Negros

San Fernando city Pampanga

San Fernando city-La Onion

San Jose city-Nueva Ecija

San Jose city- Del Monte

San Juan city hall

San Pablo city hall Laguna

San Pedro city -Laguna

Santa Rosa city hall-Laguna

Santiago city hall -Isabela

Silay city hall

Sorsogon city hall

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Surigao city hall

Tabaco city hall

Tabuk city hall

Tacloban city hall

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Tagaytay city hall

Tagbilaran city hall

Taguig city hall

Tagum city hall

Talisay city hall Cebu

Talisay city hall Negros

Tanauan city hall

Tandag city hall Surigao

Tangub city hall

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Tarlac city hall

Tayabas city hall

Toledo city hall

Tuguegarao city hall

Urdaneta city hall

Valenzuela city hall

Victorias city hall

Vigan city hall- Ilocos

Zamboanga city hall

Thursday, March 10, 2016

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City Hall in the Philippines

Escalante, officially City of Escalante, is a fourth-class component city in the province of Negros Occidental, Philippines. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 94,070 people.

HISTORY

Pre-Spanish Era

Virtually nothing is known of Escalante during the pre-Hispanic era. But archaeological findings in October 1975 and May 1976 made by a team of Anthropology students led by Professor Lionel Chiong of Silliman University reveal an early record of men who inhabited not only the present city but also the island of Negros during the pre-Spanish time. The findings were recovered in nine (9) graves in what seemed to be an ancient burial ground in Brgy. Japitan, a coastal barangay lying along the Tañon Strait, facing the island of Cebu, some 17 kilometers from the city proper. The artifacts consisted of celadon plate and bowls, stoneware bowls and jars, a Sung Dynasty (960-1280 A.D.) jarlet, gold beads, iron implements, daggers and a hunting knife with an ivory bone handle.

Obviously buried with the dead, the plate, bowls, jars and iron implements were found alongside the skeletal remains, the daggers and hunting knives on top of the breast section and the gold beads inside the skulls in-between the upper and lower jaws. When carbon-14 tested, these findings together with the human skeletal remains were found to date as far back as the 12th century A.D. All this proved that present-day Escalante was inhabited by settlers with a relatively developed culture who were engaged in some form of trade and commerce with the outside world, such as the Chinese and Japanese traders who could have brought the jarlet, stoneware and celadon pieces during the Ages of Contacts and Trade with the East (11th & 12th centuries A.D.)

Spanish Era

The northeastern part of Negros Island was "one of the most cultivated regions" in the mid-19th century.

On November 28, 1856, Governor-General Manuel Crespo issued a decree creating the towns of Escalante and Saravia. The decree ordered "that the two towns in question would be separated immediately from their mother town, Silay," although the spiritual separation of the two "would await the building of churches and convents in Saravia and Escalante." The latter had its seat of government in the barrio of Nueva Sevilla (Brgy. Old Poblacion).

The Parish of Escalante was finally established on May 22, 1860 with Fr. Cipriano Navarro, OAR, as the first Parish Priest. Fr. Navarro, in a report to the Recollect Provincial in 1861, wrote that the inhabitants of his Parish and its 14 barrios lying along the northeast portion of the island from Calatrava to Himogaan, "speak the Cebuano dialect and all, or the majority, came from Cebu, with the exception of those from Barrio Marianas (Himogaan) . . . who came from the district of Iloilo and speak the Hiligaynon dialect."

In 1859, a politico-Military Command was established in Bacolod under Governor Emilio E. Saravia with six towns under its jurisdiction: Escalante, Guihulngan, Jinuboan, Jimalalud, Tayasan, and Ayungon.Two more were added, Arguelles (Sagay) and Calatrava when these were created into separate towns on July 3, 1863. This ended with the division of Negros into two provinces in 1889.

Schools for boys and girls were established in the late 1860s. By 1869 a school for boys and another for girls were already operating in the town. By 1890, these schools were among the very few managed by Normal School graduates.

As early as 1871, Escalante was a major link between Bacolod and Cebu. A mail service route, Bacolod-Escalante-Tutuban-Toledo, Cebu was already exclusively in use by May 1871. In 1875 a mail boat belonging to Emerenciano Amante, the Gobernadorcillo (Mayor) of Escalante, transported mail between Toledo and Escalante every week.

A telegraphic station was established in 1894. The telegraphic cable was extended later on to Tuburan, Cebu and was operational by October 1897.

The inhabitants of the town lived from subsistence agriculture. They produced among others, rice, corn, buri, edible root crops, and tobacco. Their second most important economic activity was fishing.

Tobacco was grown commercially but its production decreased when monopoly was established starting from the time of Don Emilio Saravia (1855–1857), the first politico-military of the Negros Island. In its stead, sugarcane was gradually being grown. It was not clear when the first sugar mill was established in town. But by 1891, Escalante had already 6 steam-engine sugar mills; 36 powered by horses; and 11 by carabaos. Approximately 848 hectares were planted to sugarcane..

American Era

The American period covering some 45 years (December, 1898 to July 3, 1946, except for a few years under the Japanese occupation) saw marked changes in the socio-cultural, economic and political complexion of the area and its people. To capture the hearts and minds of the inhabitants without the use of guns and cannons, the Americans opened the first free elementary school at Old Poblacion in the early 1900s.

A Gabaldon-type elementary school building was constructed at Old Poblacion during the term of Mayor Fernando Lucot (1912–1918). The municipal hall and the town plaza were constructed and developed during the time of Francisco Ferrer, Sr. Also at this time, the first municipal school site where the first elementary school was located, was formally acquired, and the installation of the Rizal Monument at the public plaza completed. The municipal portal and Rizal Monument was built on Sept. 15, 1955. The bandstand and skating rink was constructed on September 28, 1935.

Japanese Era

In 1942, the occupation by the Japanese Imperial forces entered the towns in Escalante. The establishment of the general headquarters of the Philippine Commonwealth Army was active on January 3, 1942 to June 30, 1946 and the 7th Infantry Regiment of the Philippine Constabulary was active again on October 28, 1944 to June 30, 1946 and military stationed in the town municipality of Escalante during the Japanese Occupation.

In 1945, local Filipino soldiers of the 7th, 71st, 72nd, 75th and 76th Infantry Division of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and the 7th Infantry Regiment of the Philippine Constabulary was liberated the towns in Escalante, Negros Occidental and helping Negrosanon guerrilla fighters defeats and attacking Japanese Imperial forces and ended of the Second World War.

In 1941, Victor Bedonia succeeded Francisco Ferrer Sr. as mayor, and was supported by the local guerillas. The siege of all Filipino troops of the Philippine Army and Constabulary units was found liberated in the town municipality on 1945 against the Japanese. He served until 1948. The Japanese however installed Enrique Ballesteros as mayor until the end of the war.

Post War Era

Two (2) years after liberation, Escalante was divided into two (2) municipalities. President Elpidio Quirino issued Executive Order 141 dated May 19, 1948 "Organizing certain barrios of the Municipality of Escalante, Province of Negros Occidental, into an independent municipality under the name Toboso", to take effect July 1, 1948. Victor Bedonia who was then the incumbent mayor of Escalante opted to become the first mayor of the newly created town of Toboso. Pedro Benignos took over until 1950. In 1951, Evaristo Sanz took over and was replaced thereafter by Amando Tambo. It was during Mayor Tambo’s time when the seat of government, by virtue of Executive Order No. 301 issued by President Carlos P. Garcia on May 30, 1958, was transferred from Brgy. Old Poblacion to its present site at Brgy. Balintawak.

The first high school, the Escalante National High School, was donated by Manuel A. Lopez in 1946 and established in 1948. A decade later, in 1961, the Mount Carmel College was established by the Order of the Carmelites. Aside from the churches in the Municipality of Toboso, in Escalante and in Brgy Old. Poblacion, it also erected the Magdalen Hospital which was run by the Sisters of Julie Postel. This hospital is now called the Dr. Vicente Gustilo District Hospital, under the management of the Provincial Government. This placed the new town in an enviable position, not only being a center of higher education and quality medical care in this part of Negros.

This brought about profound changes in the socio-cultural, economic and political life of the town as it provided the much-needed opportunity for children of poor families in the area to acquire college education. Other public schools were opened up later on, such that there are now 27 public elementary schools, 6 national public high schools and 3 extension high schools.

Geography

Escalante has a total land area of 19,276.303 hectares (47,632.78 acres). It is located on the northeastern tip of Negros Occidental, facing the island of Cebu. It is 49 kilometres (30 mi) from San Carlos City and 95 kilometres (59 mi) from Bacolod City, the provincial capital. It is bounded on the north and west by the city of Sagay, on the south by the town of Toboso and on the east by the Tañon Strait.

Outside the city center of Escalante, there is a separate region of low rolling hills, especially going to its upland barangays towards Mt. Lunay. The hill land section is the remnant of past volcanism and probably, represents either dormant volcanic cinder cones or outliers of a once more extensive volcanic formation. Local residents in the upland barangays of Escalante at the foot of Mt. Lunay testify to period rumblings of a volcano generally believed 'to be dead'. An indicator of the dormant character of Mt. Lunay is the existence to this day of a sulphur spring at its foot. Often, the slopes of these hills as in Barangay Binaguiohan are quite steep. However, the steepness of the slope has not stopped Escalantehanons in cultivation of the hillside.

Coastal enviroment

The diversity of plants in the coastal environment of Escalante is one of the richest in Occidental Negros. Its coasts comprise two surviving ecosystems: the mangrove, consisting of trees and shurbs that occupies the landward portion of its coastal areas; the seagrass, or grasslike plants, that thrive on it shallow nearshore area. In a limited coastal zone, remnants of a third ecosystem, coral reef may be found but in residual, degraded form. The marine waters of Escalante are generally warm throughout the year, except for early mornings of the cool months of December, January and February. Salinity of its waters is within reasonable amount, at 28-36 parts per thousand.

Climate

The atmospheric conditions influencing the climate of Escalante as a whole are the same conditions operative in Negros Island. During the summer months (April to December) an air stream is directed from the south. This air current follows a counterclockwise path as it approaches the low-pressure center of the Asian continent, and reaches the Philippines from a southwestern direction as the southwestern monsoon or habagat. During the period from November to January, Negros has relatively cool weather as the Asian continent cools more rapidly than the surrounding seas, resulting in high-pressure centers leading to winds being deflected in a clockwise fashion.

This period is known as the northeastern monsoon or amihan. From March to April the northeastern wind system dominates. The cool season in Escalante is from December through March. It is also the time when low tides called aya-ay prevail, making beachcombing of its shores more pleasurable. The latter part of March through June is when the highest temperatures prevail. But being largely coastal, Escalante enjoys a constant flow of refreshing sea breeze.

Demographics

The city has grown at a respectably fast rate, averaging 1.63% in the ten years (2000 thru 2010). The May 2010 Census on Population showed that population increased to 93,005 persons. This means that on average that population grew by 1.63% annually since 2000. This is only about 3.20% of the province’s population which includes Bacolod City or 3.88% without it. At this rate, the city’s population is expected to double by year 2053.

The average household for 2000 was 4.89 persons per household, which is lower than the 5.0 national, 5.1 regional and the 5.24 provincial averages. NSO estimates there were 92,035 persons in 2007 in 18,644 households. This means, the average households size increased to 4.94.

As of December 2009, the average age is 24 years old.

Escalante has the highest population density (persons/square kilometer) in 2007, among the provinces's cities at 736.3, second only to the provincial capital, Bacolod City. The provincial average is 362.1, while the cities average 417.8.

Wednesday, March 09, 2016

Dumaguete city

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City Hall in the Philippines

Dumaguete City, is a component city in the Philippines. It is the capital of the province of Negros Oriental. Having a total of 131,377 inhabitants as of 2015 census, it is the most populous city in the province. The city is nicknamed The City of Gentle People.

Dumaguete is referred to as a university city because of the presence of four universities and a number of other colleges where students of the province converge to enroll for tertiary education. The city is also a popular educational destination for students of surrounding provinces and cities in Visayas and Mindanao. The city is best known for Silliman University, the country's first Protestant university and the first American university in Asia. There are also 18 public elementary schools and 8 public high schools. The city's student population is estimated at 30,000.

Dumaguete attracts a considerable number of foreign tourists, particularly Europeans, because of easy fast ferry access from Cebu City in Central Visayas, the availability of beach resorts and dive sites, the attraction of dolphin and whale watching in nearby Bais City. Dumaguete is listed 5th in Forbes Magazine's "7 Best Places to Retire Around the World".

The power source of the city comes from the geothermal power plant in Palinpinon, Valencia. The city has redundant fiber optic lines and is a focal point for telecommunications. It is the landing point for fiber optic cables linking it to Manila (the capital of the nation), the whole Visayas and cities south of Luzon, as well as to other cities north of Mindanao.

Etymology
"Dumaguete" was coined from the Cebuano word dagit, which means "to snatch". The word dumaguete, meaning "to swoop", was coined because of frequent raids by Moro pirates on this coastal community and its power to attract and keep visitors, both local and foreign. In 1572, Diego López Povedano indicated the place as Dananguet, but cartographer Pedro Murillo Velarde in 1734 already used present name of Dumaguete for the settlement.

Geography and climate
The city has a land area of 3,362 hectares (8,310 acres), situated on the plains of the southeastern coast of the island of Negros near the mouth of the Banica River. Of the province's 19 municipalities/towns and 6 cities, Dumaguete is the smallest in terms of land area. It is bounded on the north by the town of Sibulan, on the south by the town of Bacong and on the west by the town of Valencia.

As a coastal city, it is bounded on the east by the Bohol Sea and the Tañon Strait, serving as a natural border of Negros Oriental to the neighboring island provinces of Cebu, Bohol and Siquijor. The city's topography is generally flat from two to six kilometers from the shoreline. It slopes gently upwards to the adjoining municipality of Valencia. The highest ground elevation is located at the boundary of the municipality of Valencia, about one hundred meters above mean sea level. About 93% of the land have slopes of less than 3%. The remaining areas have 3% to 5% slope.

Demographics
As of the census in 2015, there are 131,377 people and 21,582 households residing in the city (as of 2010). The city has the least poverty incidence among urban centers in Visayas, according to the 2009 Small Area Estimates (SAE) of Poverty done by the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB). It has an average daylight population of 400,000 people. Dumaguete is the most populous city in Negros Oriental, comprising 9.05% of the province's total population. Its total voting population is 68,648 as of 2010.

Education
Dumaguete has earned the distinction of being known as the "center of learning in the South," or a university city due to the presence of universities that have made their mark nationally and abroad. The city is a melting pot of students, professionals, artists, scholars and the literati coming from different parts of the country and the world.

Silliman University is the dominant institution of higher learning in Dumaguete, providing the city with a distinct university town atmosphere. It is the first Protestant university in the country and the first American university in Asia. The 610,000 m² campus is adjacent to and intermixed with the city's downtown district. Some of its buildings have likewise been recognized as landmarks. These buildings include the Silliman Hall, Hibbard Hall, Katipunan Hall, the Luce Auditorium, and the Silliman Main Library (considered as one of the biggest libraries in the Philippines).

Other universities located in the city are: Foundation University (1949), a private non-sectarian university, its Main Campus where the site of a very popular Sofia Soller Sinco Hall dubbed as White House of Dumaguete is located at Meciano Road offers tertiary education programs while North Campus along Locsin Street is the home of Foundation Preparatory Academy for basic education programs. The Negros Oriental State University (NORSU) which was founded on 1907, has its two main campuses in the city, the Main Campus 1 is beside the Provincial Capitol building while Main Campus 2 is located in barangay Bajumpandan. It is the only state university in Negros Oriental and is very popular among students from different towns and cities of the province and some other parts of the country. St. Paul University Dumaguete (1904) is the first Saint Paul educational institution to be established in the Philippines by the Sisters of Saint Paul of Chartres (SPC) from France and considered as premier Catholic university of Dumaguete City.

Hotels and tourism
Data from the Department of Tourism show that Dumaguete and Negros Oriental are among the top ten most visited tourist destinations in the country. Tourists visit popular sites such as: the historic Rizal Boulevard aligned with some hotels, coffee shops, fine-dining restaurants and bars including the latest dining commercial complex, Paseo Perdices is the preferred location of Max's Restaurant, Yellow Cab Pizza and among others; Silliman Hall-home of University's Anthropology Museum; St. Catherine of Alexandria Cathedral being the oldest stone church of the island of Negros and ecclesiastical seat of the bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of Dumaguete and Campanario de Dumaguete which is considered as one of the oldest heritage landmarks of Negros Island Region. Dumaguete serves as the main gateway to Negros Oriental.

Transportation

Air

Sibulan Airport (IATA: DGT, ICAO: RPVD), also known as Dumaguete Airport or Dumaguete-Sibulan Airport, is the city's domestic airport located in neighboring Sibulan town in the north. It provides daily flights to and from Manila, Cebu City and other Philippine cities through Cebu Pacific, Cebgo and PAL Express. However, a new airport is being planned to be built in Bacong, a town bordering Dumaguete in the south The proposal for the transfer and upgrading of this airport to international standards has already been approved and should be completed before 2025. An initial PHP 500 million budget has already been released for initial study and procurement of free lands.

Sea
Dumaguete, as a major port city is a jump-off point for passengers/tourists who are going to other Visayas and Mindanao areas. There are daily ferry connections to the islands of Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor and Mindanao operated by Archipelago Philippine Ferries Corporation (Fast Cat), Montenegro Lines, Ocean Jet Shipping, Cokaliong and other companies. Dumaguete is an access city for passengers/tourists going to Cebu which is dubbed as economic hub of the Visayas. There are smaller ports north of the city where short and frequent ferry connections are available to that island as an alternative. Dumaguete is a port of call for travelers to Manila and Zamboanga City by ship serviced by 2GO Travel.

Land
The main form of public transport in Dumaguete is the motorized tricycle. The Dumaguete version of the motorized tricycle can fit up to 6-8 passengers. For transport to destinations outside the city limit, there are jeepney and buses travelling set routes. Meanwhile, Vallacar Transit Corporation, the company that operates Ceres buses recently constructed a 2-storey terminal building in Dumaguete just beside the newly erected commercial center, the Marketplace.