Bacolod City Philippines – The City Of Smiles

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Bacolod City is the capital and largest highly urbanized mid-size Philippine city of the province of Negros Occidental. Having a total of 499,497 inhabitants as of August 1, 2007, it is the most populous city in the Western Visayas Region. It is notable for its MassKara Street Festival held during October. Known for being a relatively friendly city, it bears the nickname “City of Smiles.” Bacolod City recently topped a survey by MoneySense Magazine publisher as the “Best Place to Live in the Philippines.

History

The city’s name is derived from the Hiligaynon word bakolod ? meaning “stonehill” ? since the settlement was based in 1770 on a stony, hilly area, now the district of Granada.
Due to Muslim rebel raids in 1787, Bacolod was transferred towards the shoreline. The old location was called Da-an Banwa, meaning “old town”.
In 1894, by order of Regulator General Claveria, through Negros Island Governor Manuel Valdevieso Morquecho, Bacolod was made the capital of the Province of Negros. Bernardino de los Santos became the first gobernadorcillo and Fray Julian Gonzaga the first parish priest.
The success of the coup in Bacolod was attributed to the low morale of the local Spanish detachment, due to its defeat in Panay and Luzon and to the psychological warfare waged by Generals Aniceto Lacson and Juan Araneta.

In 1897, a battle in Bacolod was fought at Matab-ang River. A year later, on November 5, 1898, the Negrense “Revolucionarios,” armed with knives, bolos, spears, and rifle-like nipa stems, and pieces of sawali or amakan mounted on carts, captured the convento where Colonel Isidro de Castro y Cisneros, well-armed cazadores and platoons of civil guards, surrendered. Two days later, on the 7th, most of the revolutionary ground forces gathered together to establish a Provisional Junta and to confirm the elections of Aniceto Lacson as president, Juan Araneta as war-delegate, as well as the other officials. On March 1899, the American forces led by Colonel James G. Smith occupied Bacolod, the revolutionist capital of the Provisional Republic of Negros.

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By virtue of Commonwealth Act No. 326, enacted by the National Assembly, Bacolod was made a chartered city on October 19, 1938.
In World War II, Bacolod City was occupied by Japanese forces on May 21, 1942. The Japanese commanding general took over the Mariano Ramos Ancestral House, home of the first appointed Presidente Municipal of Bacolod, which served as the seat of power and a watchtower over city. The city was liberated by joint Filipino and American forces on May 29, 1945. It took time to reconstruct Bacolod after liberation. The city’s public markets and slaughterhouses were rebuilt during the administration of former mayor Vicente Remitio from 1947 to 1949.
On 02 20, 1981, Pope John Paul II visited Bacolod City as part of his historical first tour of Asia.
 

Geography & Climate

Bacolod City is located on the NW coast of the Province of Negros Occidental. It is bounded on the northwest by the town of Talisay; on the east by the City of Silay; on the east and southwest by the town of Murcia; on the southwest by the City of Bago; and in the west by the Guimaras Strait. The global location of Bacolod City is 10 degrees, 40 minutes 40 seconds – north and 122 degrees 54 minutes 25 seconds – east with Bacolod Public Plaza as the benchmark.

Bacolod has a total land area of 16,145 hectares, including straits and bodies of water and the 124 hectare reclamation area; and is composed of 61 villages (barangays) . It is approachable by sea through the ports of Banago; the BREDCO Port in the Reclamation Area, and the port of Pulupandan. By air, it is approachable through the Bacolod Airport, which is roughly (3 to 4) kilometers away from the center of the city.

Bacolod is ideally located on a level area, slightly sloping as it extends toward the sea with an average slope of 0.9 percent for the city proper and between 3 to 5 percent for the suburbs. The altitude is 32.8 feet or 10.0 meters above sea level with the Bacolod City Public Plaza as the benchmark. Bacolod has two distinct seasons, wet and dry. The showery season starts from May to January of the following year with heavy rains occurring during the months of August and September. Dry season starts from the month of February until the last week of April.

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