CAMARINES SUR

'Camarines Sur' is a province of the Philippines located in the Bicol Region in Luzon. Its capital is Pili and the province borders Camarines Norte and Quezon to the north, and Albay to the south. To the east lies the island province of Catanduanes across Maqueda Channel.
Camarines Sur is the largest among the six provinces in the Bicol Region both in terms of population and land area. It's territory encompasses two cities: Naga City, the lone chartered city, is the province's and the region's commercial, educational, financial, and cultural center, while Iriga City, a component city, is the center of the Rinconada area. Lake Buhi is where the smallest commercially-harvested fish can be found, the Sinarapan (''Mistichthys luzonensis'').

Contents

People and culture

History

Economy

Physical

Tourist Attractions

Political

External links

People and culture

'Population.' According to the May 2000 census, there are a total of 1,551,549 residents in Camarines Sur, making it the most populous in the region and the 15th most populous in the whole country. The same census also states that Camarines Sur has 288,172 households with an average household size of 5.37 persons, significantly higher than the national average of 4.99. The annual growth rate is 1.86%, much lower than the national growth rate of 2.36%. This rate of growth will double the population of Camarines Sur in 38 years.
'Languages.' Being in the Bicol Region, the main language spoken in Camarines Sur is Bikol. Filipino linguists consider the dialect of Bikol spoken around Naga City, ''Bicol Central'', the standard Bikol easily understood by all Bicolanos, also known as ''Bikol Naga'', not to be confused with Bikol Canaman, the purest dialect of Bikol according to Jesuit Anthropologist Frank Lynch, S.J.). Some of the other dialects spoken in the province are ''Buhi-non'' (a dialect of ''Bicol Albay''), spoken in the southern part of the province around Lake Buhi, and ''Rinconada Bikol'' (also known as ''Bikol Nabua''), which is used in the area around Nabua. A dialect of Naga Bikol, called ''Partido'' is used in the eastern portion of the province around Lagonoy Gulf. Most inhabitants understand Tagalog and English.

History

Economy

Agri-based, producing rice, corn, feedmeal, freshwater fish, livestock.
Entrepreneurs engage in trading, often branching out towards neighboring provinces in the south as local demand might be limited, indicated by its mostly 3rd-5th income class municipalities.

Physical

'Terrain.' Camarines Sur lies at the center of the Bicol Peninsula. The province is also the largest in the Bicol Region with a land area of 5,266.8 square kilometers. At the center of the province is Bicol Plain. Surrounding it are mountains, two of which are Mount Isarog and Mount Iriga. The eastern part of the province lies on the mountainous Caramoan Peninsula, which faces the island of Catanduanes to the east.
The Bicol River drains the central and southern parts of the province into San Miguel Bay. Mt. Asog is surrounded by three lakes: Buhi, Bato, and Baao.
'Climate.' The climate in Camarines Sur like most of the rest of the country is very tropical. It is dry from March to May and wet the rest of the year. June to October marks the typhoon season. Annual average rainfall is 2,565 millimeters. Camarines Sur has an average temperature of 27.0 °C and a relative humidity of 25.8%.

Tourist Attractions

For religious tourism- Our Lady of Penafrancia Church in Naga, 19th century churches in Goa, San Jose and Sagnay. For ecotourism- The world's smallest fish is found in Lake Buhi. There are two active (or considered dormant) volcanoes with trails: Mt. Isarog and Mt. Asog. The beaches of Sagnay and Caramoan have coral reefs, and white and black sand beaches. Naga city has night life and metropolitan needs.For that perfect getaway from the hussle and bussle of the city visit SURFERS PARADISE BEACH RESORT located in PASACAO,CARANAN.I visited the resort myself and found that SURFERS which its known by,is the best resort in PASACAO.friendly, welcoming and best of all,really good value for money.TRY IT.

Political

Camarines Sur is subdivided into 35 municipalities and 2 cities.

City/Municipality		No. of Barangays	Area (km²)	Population (2000)	Mayor (2007-2010)
	Baao	30	143.05	46,693	Quirino Boncayao Jr.
	Balatan	17	63.720	22,537	Nena B. Borja
	Bato	33	98.720	42,739	Jeanette Bernaldez
	Bombon	8	44.20	12,843	Ma. Luisa D. Angeles
	Buhi	38	191.79	67,762	Rey P. Lacoste
	Bula	33	151.25	57,474	Benjamin S. Decena
	Cabusao	9	46.81	16,201	Norberto U. Genova
	Calabanga	48	163.84	67,408	Evelyn S. Yu
	Camaligan	13	13.00	19,188	Rolando C. Eduardo
	Canaman	24	27.41	27,719	Emmanuel S. Requejo
	Caramoan	49	225.01	39,642	Constantino Cordial, Jr.
	Del Gallego	32	286.76	20,456	Bayani B. Veluz
	Gainza	8	18.21	8,412	Romeo A. Gontang
	Garchitorena	23	218.12	23,021	Solon O.Demetriois, Jr.
	Goa	34	210.38	48,490	Antero S. Lim
	Iriga City	36	119.63	88,476	Madeleine A. Gazmen
	Lagonoy	38		42,636	Delfin Pilapil
	Libmanan	75	336.20	88,476	Rodolfo A. Jimenez Sr.
	Lupi	38	253.12	26,148	Roberto M. Matamorosa
	Magarao	15	39.01	20,964	Nelson B. Julia
	Milaor	20	23.41	22,635	Roger Flores
	Minalabac	25	156.13	41,734	Leovigildo D. Basmayor Jr.
	Nabua	42	96.23	70,909	Fernando D. Simbulan
	Naga City	27	77.48	137,810	Jesse M. Robredo
	Ocampo	25	118.33	36,316	Leonilo Sarte
	Pamplona	17	80.62	29,177	Gimeno Imperial
	Pasacao	19	149.54	38,423	Asuncion Arsenio
	Pili	26	122.65	67,393	Alex San Luis
	Presentacion	18		16,410	Jaime V. Deleña
	Ragay	38	272.35	47,743	Renato E. Aquino
	Sagñay	19	108.19	26,619	Roberto A. Briones
	San Fernando	22		27,433	Fermin Mabulo
	San Jose	29	39.01	32,512	Gilmar S. Pacamarra
	Sipocot	46	211.60	56,576	Theresa B. Dela Peña
	Siruma	22	127.43	16,339	Nonito M. Vier
	Tigaon	23	91.02	40,210	Arnie Fuentebella
	Tinambac	44	314.65	55,608	Ruel T. Velarde

External links

★ Official Website of the Provincial Government of Camarines Sur