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This chapter describes the historical, geographical, and socioeconomic background of Naga City. The Bicol Region, which is in the southern most part of Luzon Island, is composed of six provinces. Naga City is located in the province of Camarines Sur. It is about 337 kilometers away from Metro Manila, and it takes around forty-five minutes to get there by airplane. As the plane approaches, 1,976-meter Mt. Isarog can be seen at the east end of the city, and the Naga River can be seen flowing through the city. Three plazas, Plaza Rizal, Plaza Quezon, and Plaza Quince Martirez, are set in the center of the city. People come to watch TV programs on a big screen, which is set up in one of the plazas, and older men gather in the shade of the plazas to talk. From dancing contests to political debates during elections, these plazas provide an arena for citizen activities. They are literally the center of the city. The biggest public market in the whole of southern Luzon stands nearby, and the plazas are surrounded by retail stores large and small, restaurants, and fast-food shops.
A considerable number of churches and schools also catch the eyes of tourists in the city. These indicate that Naga City has been the center of religion and education in the Bicol Region. Metropolitan Cathedral, the center of the Catholic Archdiocese of Caceres, is located in the city. Holy Rosary Minor Seminary was founded in the city in 1783. The largest religious festival in the region, the Peñafrancia fiesta, attracts many tourists every September. The city also has about seventeen college-level educational institutions ineluding old schools like Ateneo de Naga, the University of Nueva Caceres, and Colegio de Sta. Isabel.1
History
Naga City is one of the oldest cities in the Philippines, having been founded in the early years of Spanish rule in the country. This rule began with the arrival in Cebu of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi in 1565. The Naga area was occupied by Spaniards in 1576, a mere eleven years after Legazpi's arrival. Naga was renamed Nueva Caceres and became the center of administration and religion in the Bicol Region.2
What Norman G. Owen (1984) describes as "prosperity without progress," the Bicol Region...