Baguio City

Baguio ( ,
), officially the City of Baguio ( ilo, Siudad ti Baguio; fil, Lungsod ng Baguio), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. It is known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines", owing to its cool climate since the city is located approximately above mean sea level, often cited as in the Luzon tropical pine forests ecoregion, which also makes it conducive for the growth of mossy plants, orchids and pine trees, to which it attributes its other moniker as the "City of Pines".

Baguio was established as a hill station by the United States in 1900 at the site of an Ibaloi village known as ''Kafagway''. It was the United States' only hill station in Asia.

Baguio is classified as a Highly-Urbanized City (HUC). It is geographically located within Benguet, serving as the provincial capital from 1901 to 1916, but has since been administered independently from the province following its conversion into a chartered city. The city is the center of business, commerce, and education in northern Luzon, as well as the seat of government of the Cordillera Administrative Region. According to the 2020 census, Baguio has a population of 366,358.

Etymology

Baguio was called "Kafagway" by indigenous peoples. The name "Baguio" originates from the American period and is derived from the Ibaloi word ''bagiw'' ( moss), which was then Hispanicized as "Baguio". A demonym for natives of the city, "Ibagiw", is also derived from ''bagiw''. It is also the name for the city's annual arts festival.

History

Pre-colonial period

Baguio used to be a vast mountain zone with lush highland forests, teeming with various wildlife such as the indigenous deer, cloud rats, Philippine eagles, Philippine warty pigs, and numerous species of flora. The area was a hunting ground of the indigenous peoples, notably the Ibalois and other Igorot ethnic groups. When the Spanish arrived in the Philippines, the area was never fully subjugated by Spain due to the intensive defense tactics of the indigenous Igorots of the Cordilleras.

Igorot oral history states the Benguet upper class, ''baknang'', was founded between 1565 and the early 1600s, by the marriage of a gold trader, Amkidit, and a Kankanay maiden gold panning in Acupan. Their son, Baruy, discovered a gold deposit in the area, which he developed with hired workers and slaves.

Spanish colonial period

In 1755, the Augustinian Fray Pedro de Vivar established a mission in Tonglo (Tongdo) outside Baguio. Before he was driven out the following year, this ''rancheria'' included 220 people, including several ''baknang'' families. The Spanish tried to regain the mission in 1759, but were ambushed. This prompted the Governor General Pedro Manuel de Arandía Santisteban to send Don Manuel Arza de Urrutia on a punitive expedition, which resulted in the mission being burned to the ground.

During the period of Spanish rule in 1846, the Spaniards established a ''comandancia'' in the nearby town of La Trinidad, and organized Benguet into 31 ''rancherías'', one of which was Kafagway, a wide grassy area where the present Burnham Park is situated. Kafagway was then a minor ''rancheria'' consisting of only about 20 houses. Most of the lands in Kafagway were owned by Mateo Cariño, who served as its chieftain. The Spanish ''presidencia'', which was located at Bag-iw at the vicinity of Guisad Valley was later moved to Cariño's house where the current city hall stands. ''Bag-iw'', a local term for "moss" once abundant in the area was spelled by the Spaniards as ''Baguio'', which served as the name of the ''rancheria''.

During the Philippine Revolution in July 1899, Filipino revolutionary forces under Pedro Paterno liberated La Trinidad from the Spaniards and took over the government, proclaiming Benguet as a province of the new Philippine Republic. Baguio was converted into a "town", with Mateo Cariño being the ''presidente'' (mayor).

American colonial period

When the United States occupied the Philippines after the Spanish–American War, Baguio was selected to become the summer capital of the then Philippine Islands. Governor-General William Taft, on his first visit in 1901, noted the "air as bracing as Adirondacks or Murray Bay..."Kane, S.E., 1933, Life and Death in Luzon or Thirty Years with the Philippine Head-Hunters, New York: Grosset & Dunlap

In 1903, Filipinos, Japanese and Chinese workers were hired to build Kennon Road, the first road directly connecting Baguio with the lowlands of La Union and Pangasinan. Before this, the only road to Benguet was Naguilian Road, and it was largely a horse trail at higher elevations. Camp John Hay was established in October 1903, after President Theodore Roosevelt signed an executive order setting aside land in Benguet for a military reservation for the United States Army to rest and recuperate from the lowland heat. It was named after Roosevelt's Secretary of State, John Milton Hay.

The Mansion, built in 1908, served as the official residence of the American Governor-General during the summer to escape Manila's heat. The Mansion was designed by architect William E. Parsons based on preliminary plans by architect Daniel Burnham.

Burnham, one of the earliest successful modern city planners, designed the mountain retreat following the tenets of the City Beautiful movement. In 1904, the rest of the city was planned out by Burnham. On September 1, 1909, Baguio was declared as a chartered city and nicknamed the "Summer Capital of the Philippines".

The succeeding period saw further developments of and in Baguio with the construction of Wright Park in honor of Governor-General Luke Edward Wright, Burnham Park in honor of Burnham, Governor Pack Road, and Session Road.

World War II

Prior to World War II, Baguio was the summer capital of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, and the home of the Philippine Military Academy. As such, it was very important in military and political terms. Philippine President Manuel Quezon was even in Baguio when the war began.

On December 8, 1941, 17 Japanese bombers attacked Camp John Hay,as part of the first Japanese air raid on Luzon. Baguio was declared an open city in December 27.

Following the Japanese invasion of the Philippines in 1941, the Imperial Japanese Army used Camp John Hay, an American installation in Baguio, as a military base. The nearby Philippine Constabulary base, Camp Holmes, was used as an internment camp for about 500 civilian enemy aliens, mostly Americans, between April 1942 and December 1944.

By late March 1945, Baguio was within range of the American and Filipino military artillery. President José P. Laurel of the Second Philippine Republic, a puppet state established in 1943, departed the city on March 22 and reached Taiwan eight days later, on March 30. The remainder of the Second Republic government, along with Japanese civilians, were ordered to evacuate Baguio on March 30. General Tomoyuki Yamashita and his staff then relocated to Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya.

A major offensive to capture Baguio did not occur until April 1945, when the USAFIP-NL's 1st Battalion of the 66th Infantry, attached with the United States Army's 37th Infantry Division, the USAFIP-NL's 2nd Battalion of 66th Infantry, attached with the US 33rd Infantry Division, and the USAFIP-NL's 3rd Battalion of the 66th Infantry, converged on Baguio. By April 27, 1945, the city was liberated and the joint force moved on to liberate the Trinidad valley.

Baguio is the site of the formal surrender of General Yamashita and Vice Admiral Okochi at Camp John Hay's American Residence in the presence of lieutenant generals Arthur Percival and Jonathan Wainwright.

Post-World War II

Baguio ceased to be the official "Summer Capital of the Philippines" in 1976.

In the wake of the Snap Presidential elections of 1986 antidictatorship organizers were based largely in the Azotea Building midway up session road, and in Cafe Amapola further up Session, on its intersection with Governor Pack road. Because the United States' Armed Forces Radio and Television Network station at Camp John Hay was transmitting news from Manila, they learned early on that the People Power revolution had begun in Manila. Deciding that their locations were too unsafe, they encamped in the courtyard of the Baguio Cathedral, which was located on higher ground. They were later joined by Lt. Benjamin Magalong, of the Philippine Constabulary detachment in Buguias, Benguet, who had defected from the government, gone to the nearby Central Police Station in Baguio, and disarmed its personnel to prevent any untoward incidents while Baguio residents continued to gather at the cathedral to protest the abuses of the Marcos administration. The Baguio Cathedral, and Session Road adjacent to it, thus became the center of the People Power revolution in Baguio - paralleling similar protests in Cebu, Davao, Bacolod, Manila, and other major Philippine cities, eventually leading to the ouster of President Ferdinand Marcos on February 25, 1986.

On July 15, 1987, President Corazon Aquino issued ''Executive Order 220'' which created the Cordillera Administrative Region, and made the Highly urbanized city of Baguio its seat of government. Various attempts at legally turning the Cordillera Administrative Region into an autonomous region have been pursued, but failed to gather enough public support in two separate autonomy plebiscites.

The 1990 Luzon earthquake ( = 7.7) destroyed some parts of Baguio and the surrounding province of Benguet on the afternoon of July 16, 1990. A significant number of buildings and infrastructure were damaged, including the Hyatt Terraces Plaza, Nevada Hotel, Baguio Park Hotel, FRB Hotel and Baguio Hilltop Hotel; major highways were temporarily blocked due to landslides and pavement breakup; and a number of houses were leveled or severely shaken with numerous casualties. Some of the fallen buildings were built on or near fault lines; local architects later admitted structural building codes should have been followed more religiously, particularly regarding concrete and rebar standards, and "soft stories." Baguio has been rebuilt with aid from the national government and international donors such as Japan, Singapore and the United States.

Geography

Baguio is located some above sea level, nestled within the Cordillera Central mountain range in northern Luzon. The city is enclosed by the province of Benguet. It covers a small area of . Most of the developed part of the city is built on uneven, hilly terrain of the northern section. When Daniel Burnham drew plans for the city, he made the City Hall a reference point where the city limits extend from east to west and from north to south.

Barangays

Baguio is composed of 129 barangays. They are led by their own captains assisted by a 7-man barangay council.

* A. Bonifacio-Caguioa-Rimando
* Abanao-Zandueta-Kayong-Chugum-Otek
* Alfonso Tabora
* Ambiong
* Andres Bonifacio
* Apugan-Loakan
* Asin Road
* Atok Trail
* Aurora Hill Proper
* Aurora Hill, North Central
* Aurora Hill, South Central
* Bagong Lipunan
* Bakakeng Central
* Bakakeng North
* Bal-Marcoville
* Balsigan
* Bayan Park East
* Bayan Park Village
* Bayan Park West
* BGH Compound
* Brookside
* Brookspoint
* Cabinet Hill-Teacher's Camp
* Camdas Subdivision
* Camp 7
* Camp 8
* Camp Allen
* Campo Filipino
* City Camp Central
* City Camp Proper
* Country Club Village
* Cresencia Village
* Dagsian, Lower
* Dagsian, Upper
* Dizon Subdivision
* Dominican Hill-Mirador
* Dontogan
* DPS Compound
* Engineers' Hill
* Fairview Village
* Ferdinand
* Fort del Pilar
* Gabriela Silang
* General Emilio F. Aguinaldo
* General Luna, Upper
* General Luna, Lower
* Gibraltar
* Greenwater Village
* Guisad Central
* Guisad Sorong
* Happy Hollow
* Happy Homes
* Harrison-Claudio Carantes
* Hillside
* Holy Ghost Extension
* Holy Ghost Proper
* Honeymoon
* Imelda R. Marcos
* Imelda Village
* Irisan
* Kabayanihan
* Kagitingan
* Kayang Extension
* Kayang-Hilltop
* Kias
* Legarda-Burnham-Kisad
* Liwanag-Loakan
* Loakan Proper
* Lopez Jaena
* Lourdes Subdivision Extension
* Lourdes Subdivision, Lower
* Lourdes Subdivision, Proper
* Lualhati
* Lucnab
* Magsaysay Private Road
* Magsaysay, Lower
* Magsaysay, Upper
* Malcolm Square-Perfecto
* Manuel A. Roxas
* Market Subdivision, Upper
* Middle Quezon Hill Subdivision
* Military Cut-off
* Mines View Park
* Modern Site, East
* Modern Site, West
* MRR-Queen of Peace
* New Lucban
* Outlook Drive
* Pacdal
* Padre Burgos
* Padre Zamora
* Palma-Urbano
* Phil-Am
* Pinget
* Pinsao Pilot Project
* Pinsao Proper
* Poliwes
* Pucsusan
* Quezon Hill Proper
* Quezon Hill, Upper
* Quirino Hill, East
* Quirino Hill, Lower
* Quirino Hill, Middle
* Quirino Hill, West
* Quirino-Magsaysay, Upper
* Rizal Monument Area
* Rock Quarry, Lower
* Rock Quarry, Middle
* Rock Quarry, Upper
* Saint Joseph Village
* Salud Mitra
* San Antonio Village
* San Luis Village
* San Roque Village
* San Vicente
* Sanitary Camp, North
* Sanitary Camp, South
* Santa Escolastica
* Santo Rosario
* Santo Tomas Proper
* Santo Tomas School Area
* Scout Barrio
* Session Road Area
* Slaughter House Area
* SLU-SVP Housing Village
* South Drive
* Teodora Alonzo
* Trancoville
* Victoria Village

Proposed merger of barangays

A proposed merging of the city's 130 barangays had not been implemented since its inception in 2000. Several local officials stressed that many of the city's barangays did not comply with the minimum requirements in the Local Government Code of the Philippines that a highly urbanized city must have a certified population of least 5,000 inhabitants. According to Mayor Mauricio Domogan, in the past, benefits granted to local governments were based on the number of existing barangays. This led former local officials to create as many barangays as possible in the city in order to acquire additional benefits from the national government. The proposed merger, which will reduce the barangays from 130 to about 40 to 50 by merging adjacent ones, is believed to solve several issues concerning barangay boundary disputes, seemingly biased allocation of funds for larger barangays in relation to barangays with lesser area and population, as well as the inadequate honorarium of barangay officials.

Climate

Under the Köppen climate classification, Baguio features a subtropical highland climate (Köppen climate classification: Cwb). The city is known for its mild climate owing to its high elevation. The temperature in the city is usually about cooler than the temperature in the lowland area. Average temperature ranges from with the lowest temperatures between November and February. The lowest recorded temperature was on January 18, 1961, and in contrast, the all-time high of was recorded on March 15, 1988, during the 1988 El Niño season. The temperature seldom exceeds even during the warmest part of the year.

Precipitation

Like many other cities with a subtropical highland climate, Baguio receives noticeably less precipitation during its dry season. However, the city has an extraordinary amount of precipitation during the rainy season from June to October. The city averages over of rainfall annually, the highest in the country.

Environment

Pollution

Baguio suffers from air pollution and is one of the cities with the dirtiest air in the country according to a 2014 WHO report. A slight improvement in the city's air quality was cited in 2017 by the DENR's Environmental Management Bureau. In a 2018 WHO report, the city was again listed among 8 other cities alongside Cebu, Dagupan, Davao, Manila, San Carlos, Urdaneta and Zamboanga. Eco-vehicles and Euro 4 compliant vehicles have been tested whether or not they are suited for the city's steep slopes in line with efforts to modernize its Public Utility Vehicles (PUVs). Public Utility Vehicles, specifically jeepneys have been pushed for its modernization, in line with President Duterte's PUV modernization initiative.

Another problem that plagues the city is its garbage and waste disposal. The city has been dumping its garbage in a landfill in Urdaneta City, but rising costs are putting a strain on the city's budget. In early 2018, the city government started using its garbage transfer station in the city outskirts near Marcos Highway, drawing protests from residents of the nearby town of Tuba, who cited the facility poses health hazards to their communities. As of 2019, the Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) has offered to test a waste-to-energy technology as a possible solution to its garbage woes. The city's waste water treatment plant is also eyed for an expansion as it not been able to fully cater to the city's needs. Those which the plant have not been able to cater to were dumped in the Balili River, leading to its high coliform levels, even higher than that of Manila Bay's.

Landscape

Baguio is also a planned city. American Architect and Urban Planner Daniel Burnham was commissioned to design the new capital. His design for the city was based on the City Beautiful movement, which features broad streets and avenues radiating out from rectangles.

During the Second World War, Baguio was razed to the ground during the Japanese forces' invasion and the subsequent shelling by American forces during the liberation. After the liberation, rebuilding began and most of the historical buildings were thoroughly reconstructed. However, some of the historic buildings from the 19th century that had been preserved in reasonably reconstructible form were nonetheless eradicated or otherwise left to deteriorate. During the 1990 Luzon earthquake, it further devastated Baguio's old buildings. A total of 28 collapsed buildings, including hotels, factories, and government and university buildings, as well as many private homes and establishments resulted from the quake.

Baguio's current landscape is mostly of contemporary architecture.

Architecture

Baguio's contemporary architecture is largely of American build, owing to the fact that Americans were the ones to establish a station here. A few examples include those built at Teacher's Camp and Camp John Hay, previous American installations in the city as well as the current Baguio City Hall. Some buildings are also influenced by Spanish building concepts, such as ''Porta Vaga Mall'' and ''La Azotea''. One of the more modern buildings in the city is SM City Baguio, established back in 2003.

Moves by various groups with the goal to preserve these buildings have been made. Baguio City Hall, being a historic building, has faced opposition to renovation of its grounds, since that may be against laws on national cultural heritage sites. The renovations, however, continued as there has been no documentation that supports Baguio City Hall as a national heritage site. The construction of the park was finished in May 2019 as was said to define the city's new moniker as a creative center for crafts and folk arts.

Demographics

The original inhabitants of Baguio are the Ibaloi people (natively pronounced as "Ivadoi"). When the Americans established the city in the early 1900s, early settlers in the city include members of other Igorot tribes (''Igudut'' in Ibaloi), the lowlander Ilocanos (''Iduko''), Americans (''Merikano''), and '' mestizos''. A significant number of Chinese and Japanese laborers were also hired to build Kennon Road, many of whom later settled in the city.

The city's population as of May 2000 was placed at 250,000 persons. The city has a very young age structure as 65.5 percent of its total population is below thirty years old. Females comprise 51.3 percent of the population as against 48.7 percent for males. The household population comprises 98 percent of the total population or 245,000 persons. With an average of 4.6 members per household, a total of 53,261 household are gleaned. During the peak of the annual tourist influx, particularly during the Lenten period, transients triple the population.

Crime

Crime in Baguio is concentrated in theft and vehicular accidents. Crime in the city is also directly related to its changing demographics and unique criminal justice system. The illegal drug trade is also a problem of the city as 24 of its 129 barangays are considered as drug affected as of December 2017.

In 2018, Baguio was listed as one of the safest cities both in the ASEAN region, ranking sixth with a crime index of 40.57 and safety index of 59.43. The Baguio City Police Office also has the highest crime solution efficiency nationwide of 84%, compared to the national 77% and the region's 70%. In May 2019 BCPO also reported a drop of 27% in crimes, from 1,150 in 2018 to 834 in 2019. The BCPO was awarded as the country's best city police station in 2018.

Religion

Christianity

Baguio is a predominantly Christian city, as of 2015; Roman Catholics at , Evangelicals ( Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches) at , National Council of Churches in the Philippines at , and Iglesia ni Cristo at .

Other faiths

As of 2015, Muslims comprise of the city's total population. The largest mosque in the area is ''Masjid Al-Maarif'', which is a centre of Islamic studies in the Philippines. The city also has smaller numbers of Buddhists and atheists, along with members of other faiths.

Economy

Baguio is the melting pot of different peoples and cultures in the Cordillera Administrative Region. Because of this, numerous investments and business opportunities are lured to the city. Baguio has a large retail industry, with shoppers coming to the city to take advantage of the diversity of competitively priced commercial products on sale. The city is also popular with bargain hunters. Some of the most popular bargaining areas include Baguio Market and Maharlika Livelihood Center. The city is home to numerous shopping centers and malls catering to increasing commercial and tourist activity; these include: SM City Baguio, Baguio Center Mall, Abanao Square, and Tiong San.

Various food and retail businesses run by local residents proliferate, forming a key part of Baguio's cultural landscape. Several retail outlets and dining outlets are situated along Bonifacio Street, Session Road, Teacher's Camp, Mines View Park and Baguio Fastfood Center near the market.

The areas of Session Road, Harrison Road, Magsaysay Avenue and Abanao Street comprise the trade center of the city, where commercial and business structures such as cinemas, hotels, restaurants, department stores, and shopping centers are concentrated. The City Market offers a wide array of locally sourced goods and products, usually from Benguet province, which includes colorful woven fabrics and hand-strung beads to primitive wood carvings, cut flowers, strawberries and "Baguio" vegetables, the latter often denoting vegetable types that do well in the cooler growing climate. Strawberries and string beans—referred to as ''Baguio beans'' across the Philippines—are shipped to major urban markets across the archipelago.

Another key source of income for Baguio is its position as the economic hub of the Cordillera Administrative Region. The economy of the city has benefited from the vibrant mining industry in several towns of Benguet. Many agricultural goods produced in Benguet pass through Baguio for processing, sale or further distribution to the lowlands.

Industrial

Baguio is one of the country's most profitable and best investment areas.

A Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA)-accredited business and industrial park called the Baguio City Economic Zone (BCEZ) is located in the southern part of the city between Camp John Hay Country Club and Philippine Military Academy in Barangay Loakan. Firms located in the BCEZ mostly produce and export knitted clothing, transistors, small components for vehicles, electronics and computer parts. Notable firms include Texas Instruments Philippines, which is the second largest exporter in the country. Other companies headquartered within the economic zone include Baguio Ayalaland Technohub, Moog Philippines, Inc., Linde Philippines, Inc., LTX Philippines Corporation, Texas Instruments Philippines, and Sitel Philippines, Baguio.

Outsourcing

Outsourcing also contributes to the city's economy and employment. Sitel, whose main office is located in the Baguio City Economic Zone, is the largest BPO company in the city with four sites established within the BCEZ. There are also multiple BPOs present in the city with numerous PEZA-accredited private economic zones established to cater to this industry. The Ayala Technohub located in Camp John Hay hosts Cocentrix and InterContinental Hotels Group alongside other commercial establishments. Teleperformance Baguio and Thoughtfocus is established at the SM Cyberzone Building (also known as SM Fiesta Strip) located in front of Sunshine Park, while other call centers downtown are Optimum Transsource, Sterling Global and Global Translogic. Tech-Synergy operates a large transcription and back office operation near Wright park.

In recent years, there has been a surge of ESL (English as a Second Language) Tutorial Schools throughout Baguio that caters to students from other countries and also provide online services. This industry however has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic with foreign students returning to their home countries.

Culture

Arts and museums

The city became a haven for many Filipino artists in the 1970s–1990s. Drawn by the cool climate and low cost of living, artists such as Ben Cabrera (now a National Artist) and filmmaker Butch Perez relocated to the city. At the same time, locals such as mixed-media artist Santiago Bose and filmmaker Kidlat Tahimik were also establishing work in the city. Even today, artists like painters and sculptors from all over the country are drawn to the Baguio Arts Festival which is held annually. The city houses several museums, such as the Baguio Museum, Museo Kordilyera, Emilio F. Aguinaldo Museum, the Laperal White House and the SLU Museum of Arts and Cultures.

Baguio has been included in UNESCO's Creative Cities Network

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