Laoag City
Laoag City (Ilocano: Ciudad ti Lawag) is a city in the province of Ilocos Norte, Philippines. It is the capital city of Ilocos Norte, and the province's political, commercial, and industrial hub. It is also the location of the Ilocos region's only commercial airport. The municipalities of San Nicolas, Paoay, Sarrat, Vintar, and Bacarra form its boundaries. The foothills of the Cordillera Central mountain range to the east, and the South China Sea to the west are its physical boundaries.
Laoag experiences the prevailing monsoon climate of Northern Luzon, characterized by a dry season from November to April and a wet season from May to October, occasionally visited by powerful typhoons.
According to the latest census, it had a population of 102,457 people in 19,751 households.
"Laoag" (Ilocano for "light or clarity"), is an old, flourishing settlement known to Chinese and Japanese traders when the Spanish conquistador Juan de Salcedo arrived at the northern banks of Padsan River in 1572. Augustinian missionaries established the Roman Catholic Church in the area in 1580 and designated Saint William, the Hermit as its patron saint.
At the arrival of the Spaniards in the Philippine Islands, they found out that the natives were divided into community groups, each having its own independent government. That there were centers of population as was observed by Captain Juan de Salcedo, Ilocos was extraordinary in size. In Laoag alone, the population reached as high as 6,000. This was the greatest number of inhabitants in a “barangay” or “purok” in the whole country at the advent of the Spaniards. The houses of the natives, made of bamboo and cogon numbered to no less than a thousand. These were built and compactly arranged around a hill known as “Ermita Hill”, located at the Southeastern section of what Laoag is now at the very brim of the northern bank of the Padsan River. The natives must have chosen this spot for the location of their community not only of its proximity to the river which is indispensable to them as the source of their protein, that is, fish, shellfish, and water for drinking and washing. Buzeta, commenting on the practice of the Ilocanos in constructing their houses very close to one another., that no space was left for their orchards contrary to the common practice of the natives in their places of island who constructed their houses isolated in the fields adjacent to their farms. The late Don Luis Montilla, who for several years, was Director of the National Library (now the Rizal Centennial Commission) unquestionable documents in the national Archives which mention 1580 as the real data of the organization of Laoag as a parish under the Patronage of St. William, the Hermit, whose feast is celebrated on the 10th of February every year.
Before the end of the 16th century, the missionaries, in their desire to improve the living conditions of the natives, resettled the big center of the community of Laoag from Ermita Hill to its present location. This center is the present Plaza of the city of Laoag. Following the gridiron pattern of Greco-Roman origin in laying out towns, Laoag was resettled by the Spanish missionaries by first laying out the central rectangle where the location of the plaza, church, convent, tower, “tribunal”, and other important edifices were indicated. These were followed by the laying out of rectangular street blocks. The Laying out of the poblacion done, the indigenous population was prevailed upon to construct their houses in proper places within the reach of the church bells. The poblacion was subsequently divided into different barrios, each named after a patron saint assigned to them.
In 1942, Landed from the Japanese Imperial forces entered in Laoag
In 1945, the U.S. & the Allied Philippine Commonwealth forces with the help of Ilocano guerrilla units headed by Gov. Roque Ablan Sr. went against the Japanese troops by which making Laoag and the whole Ilocos Norte region the only local government unit who has not surrendered to the Japanese Imperial Forces to the combined Filipino & American soldiers in Laoag.
Though Laoag was converted into a city in 1965 through a plebiscite, leaving its municipal status, it remained the capital of Ilocos Norte. The first city mayor was Hon. Eulalio F. Siazon.
The inhabitants of Ilocos at the arrival of Salcedo were a sturdy and industrial race predominantly Austronesian.
The first wave of Austronesian immigrants to the Philippines came about 200 to 300 B.C. These immigrants were the less civilized Austronesians – ancestors of the Igorots, Ifugaos, Bontocs, and Tinguians of Northern Luzon.
The second wave came after the Christian Era, beginning about the first century A.D. and continuing through the succeeding centuries until the 13th century. These migratory waves saw the advent of the alphabet-using Austronesians – ancestors of the present Ilocanos, Tagalogs, Visayans, Bicols, Pampangos, and other christian Filipinos. To these better civilized Austronesians belonged the Ilocanos that Salcedo found in the Ilocos in 1572.
The Spaniards found the inhabitants of Ilocos with distinctive peculiarities in character and culture. They looked very similar to the Tagalogs with faded hair, big eyes, olive-like color, flat nose and with very thin beard or none at all. However, they spoke a different dialect that, although belonging to a common mother tongue as the Tagalogs, had required certain modifications and idiosyncracies making the Ilocano dialect quite different from the Tagalog. Laoag City, the sparkling gem of Ilocandia, is located at the west central part of the province of Ilocos Norte in Northern Luzon, nestles in the vast plain in the idyllic bank of the Padsan River that course its way from the east towards the South China Sea. Laoag City is along the Manila North Road. Vigan is 78 km. from Laoag, 217 km. from San Fernando City, La Union, 363 km. from Tarlac and 488 km. from Manila. It is 274 km. from Baguio City.
Pagudpod, Ilocos Norte
Pagudpud is a coastal resort town on the northernmost tip of Luzon in the Philippines. According to the latest census, Pagudpud has a population of 20,385 people in 3,804 households.
The town is bounded to the south by the town of Bangui and to the east by the Cordillera Mountain Range, the town of Adams and the province of Cagayan. The South China Sea lies to the west and north. The town rolls over mountains, hills, valleys and flat coastal land. It lies 45 miles north of Laoag City, the provincial capital, and about 350 miles north of Manila. They reside in 3,804 homes that are spread across 83 square miles. Most make their living through farming, fishing and subsistence retailing. Tourism is a growing part of the economy.
Pagudpud was made a municipality on February 5, 1954. Unlike Laoag City, the province's only autonomous city, Pagudpud derives its authority from the provincial government. It had previously been a part of the neighboring town of Bangui.
Its white-sand beaches and crystal-blue water makes Pagudpud a haven for tourists. Maira-Ira Point is also an emerging attraction with its secluded beach known as the Blue Lagoon. Access to this public beach is from a secondary concrete road on the north side of the Maharlika Highway just before approaching the Patapat Viaduct. On the way to the Blue Lagoon, a sea arch can be seen. Coconut trees line much of the town's coast. On a clear day, the Batanes Islands are visible from Patapat National Park.
The Patapat Viaduct, elevated 31 meters over sea level, is 1.3 km concrete coastal bridge that connects the Maharlika Highway from Laoag, Ilocos Norte to the Cagayan Valley Region. It rises along the town's coastal mountains, which is the starting point of the Cordillera Mountain Range that snakes through Northern Luzon. It is the 4th longest bridge in the Philippines. Located more than 16 kilometers from the town proper, it offers a scenic view of Pasaleng Bay- a view that leads towards wide and pristine beaches backed by mountains with breathtaking waterfalls Kabigan and Mabaga, along with the many cool, refreshing springs waiting to be discovered within.
Vigan
The City of Vigan [spanish: La Ciudad de Vigan / ilocano: Siyudad ti Vigan] is a third class city in the province of Ilocos Sur, Philippines. It is the capital of the Province of Ilocos Sur. The city is located on the western coast of the large island of Luzon, facing the South China Sea.
It is a World Heritage Site in that it is one of numerous Hispanic towns in the Philippines, and is well-known for its cobblestone streets, and a unique architecture that fuses Philippine building design, and construction with colonial European architecture.
According to the latest Philippines census, it has a population of 47,246 people in 9,193 households.
Former Philippine president Elpidio Quirino, the 6th president of the Philippines, has a residence in Vigan, the Syquia Mansion.
Vigan is an island which is separated from the mainland by three rivers. These rivers include the Abra River, the Mestizo River, and the Govantes River. The city is unique in the Philippine because it is one of many extensive surviving Philippine historic cities, dating back to the 16th century.
Vigan was a coastal trading post in pre-colonial times. Long before the Spaniards arrived; Chinese traders sailing from the South China Sea came to Isla de Vigan (Island of Vigan) via the Mestizo River that surrounded the island. On board were sea-faring merchants that came to trade goods from Asian kingdoms in exchange for gold, beeswax, and other mountain products brought by the indigenous peoples from the Cordilleras region.
In the book The Philippine Island (Vol. III, p. 276, Blair and Robertson) two letters from Governor General Guido de Lavezaris to King Philip II of Spain mention: "It seemed best to send Captain Juan de Salcedo with 70 or 80 soldiers to explore the coast of Los Ilocano on the shores of the river called Bigan." The Spaniards marched north from Manila on May 20, 1572, and arrived in Vigan on June 12, 1572.
Thus, after the successful expedition and the exploration of the North, Don Juan de Salcedo founded "Villa Fernandina de Vigan" in honor of King Philip II’s son, Prince Ferdinand of Spain who died at the tender age of four. From Vigan, Salcedo rounded the tip of Luzon and proceeded to pacify Camarines, Albay, and Catanduanes.
As a reward for his services to the King of Spain, Salcedo was awarded the old province of Ilocos which consisted of the modern provinces of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Abra, La Union and a part of Mountain Province as his hacienda (estate), and was accorded the title of "Justicia Mayor de esta Provincia de Ylocos" (Province Mayor of Ilocos).
In 1576, Salcedo returned to the capital of his encomienda (trusteeship), Vigan, bringing with him his soldiers, and some Augustinian missionaries to pioneer the evangelization of the Ilocos region. He established a Spanish city for the purpose of controlling the neighboring country.
Governor General Gómez Pérez Dasmariñas, in his Account of encomienda dated in Manila on May 31, 1591 states: The town of Vigan called Villa Fernandina consisted of Spanish settlers; a priest; a Justice Alcalde Mayor (Governor); and a Deputy. The King collects 800 tributes (equivalent to 3,200 subjects). During this period, Vigan was composed of 19 barrios (districts).
Between 1645 to 1660, Vigan was divided into 21 Cavezas de Barrios (Town Mayors) as mentioned in the Libro de Casamiento (Book of Marriage); from the records of the parish house of Vigan found in its Archives. Separated from the indigenous population; the Chinese migrants were residents in a neighbourhood called pariancillo, Los Sangleyes del parian (The Sangleyes of Parian); and the Spanish settlers were residents in a town called Los Españoles de la Villa (The Town of the Spaniards).
Cagwait White Beach
Cagwait is a 4th class municipality in the province of Surigao del Sur, Philippines. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 19,899 people in 3,426 households.
Cagwait has an all-weather port at Barangay Bitaugan West (named Aras-asan Port by the Philippine Ports Authority) secured by the natural protection of Arangasa Islands. It has also an abandoned aerodome made and used by the private planes of Aras-asan Timber Company, Inc. (ARTIMCO) during its peak of timber operation in the late 70's.
Barangay Poblacion is the seat of governance while the center of trade of the municipality is in Barangay Aras-asan. It houses three (3) rural banks, two (2) pawnshops, three (3) bakeshops, a public terminal and public market. Telecommunication is at par with other neighboring municipalities using cellular phones, internet via GPRS, and cable television are available. There are also good tourist inns, beach resorts and homestay (bread and breakfast). Motorized tricycles, jeepneys, and buses ply its roads and concrete highways.
Cagwait is the home of the now defunct company ARTIMCO, Inc., which happened to be one of the largest suppliers of timber in the country. Its concession is a sanctuary of the Philippine Eagle as validated by Charles Lindbergh during his wildlife campaign visit that made him also discovered the beautiful white-sand beach cove of Cagwait which he called similar to that of Waikiki Beach in Hawaii.
Mount Pulag
Mount Pulag (or sometimes Mount Pulog) is the third-highest mountain in the Philippines. It is Luzon’s highest peak at 2,922 meters above sea level. The borders between the provinces of Benguet, Ifugao, and Nueva Vizcaya meet at the mountain's peak.
Because of its high elevation, the climate on Mt. Pulag is temperate with rains predominating the whole year. Rainfall on the mountain averages 4,489 mm yearly with August being the wettest month with an average rainfall of 1,135 mm.
On February 20, 1987, a large part of the mountain was designated as a National Park with Proclamation No. 75. This act aims to preserve the environment around the mountain due to threats from increased development such as conversion to agricultural lands, timber production, hunting, and increased tourism.
The indigenous people of Benguet consider the mountain to be a sacred place.
The mountain hosts 528 documented plant species. It is the natural habitat of the endemic dwarf bamboo, (Yushania niitakayamensis) and the Benguet pine (Pinus insularis). Among its native wildlife are 33 bird species and several threatened mammals such as Philippine deer, giant bushy-tailed cloud rat, “bowet,” and long-haired fruit bat. Mt. Pulag is the only place that hosts the 4 cloud rat species. It has one of the most diverse biodiversity of the Philippines, with the newly found (since 1896) 185 grams dwarf cloud rat, Carpomys melanurus, a rare breed (endemic to the Cordillera) and the Koch pitta bird among its endangered denizens.
Anilao
Anilao, Batangas is a VERY popular spot for diving and snorkeling. It is known worldwide. The waters are teeming with marine life, plenty of corals and amazing diversity of fishes. It is hard to imagine that this beautiful place is just about 3 to 4 hours from Manila.
The northwest shore of the Calumpang Peninsula, from Anilao to Bagalangit, is lined with plenty of good resorts that cater primarily to divers. From any of the resorts, you can rent a boat for island hopping or arrange for a dive tour and visit the superb diving spots, coves, and islands like the Sombrero and Maricaban islands.
Anilao, Batangas is the name of two Philippine barangays: Anilao Proper and Anilao East. They are located in the municipality of Mabini, Batangas, which is south of Manila on the large island of Luzon.
Subic Bay
Subic, the former US naval base in the Philippines, is now a hub for commerce and tourism. Just two-and-a-half hour drive north from Manila, Subic offers a full view of the blue mountain and sea and of the green background of a three-layered virgin forest.
Points of interest include the 18-hole Binictican Golf Course and Clubhouse, a white-sand beach, bowling and arcade center,a ship wharf past a restricted forested area, firing ranges, fishing grounds and an area for bungee jumping.
Visitors to Subic can take a 12-hour jungle survival course, visit an Aeta tribal village, take a bay cruise, explore the coves, end up at the white-sand beach of Grande Island, engage in water sports, go horseback riding or simply enjoy the scenic view of the sea.
Subic Bay is complete with tourism-support facilities that include a marina, a yacht club, hotels, shopping arcades and food shops. It also boasts of an international airport.
Its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility named U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay, it is now the location of an industrial and commercial area known as the Subic Bay Freeport Zone under the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.