Calabanga, Province of Camarines Sur, Bicol Region, Philippines

History | Cityhood | Geography | Topography and slope | Soil and water resources | Land use | Geography : Barangays | Economy | Shopping Centers | Banks | Trade | Tourist Industry | Poblacion Economic Zone (PEZ) | Calabanga CBD III project | Agriculture | Culture | Transport : Road

🇵🇭 Calabanga, officially the Municipality of Calabanga, is a 1st class municipality in the province of Camarines Sur, Philippines.

History In 1578 when the head Mission of Quipayo was established, Calabanga was only a visita or barrio. At that time, the place had vast forests and swamps and an abundance of wildlife such as monkeys, wild chickens, and forest lizard. Others say, it derived its name from the Bicol word “Calabangan”, the plural term of “labang” or “litag”, meaning a kind of snare for catching wild animals. Another legend says that Calabanga originated from the word “Calagbangan” meaning the wide, long, and straight street spanning from the church through the poblacion, east to west, called locally as “calabaan” or “calacbangan”.

Calabanga became known with 400 tributes. On July 15, 1749, it was separated from Quipayo by virtue of the approval of Don Fray Joan de Arechera, Bishop Elect of Nueva Segovia of the Commissary of the King, in the petition signed & filed by 37 Calabangueños on April 28, 1749, for town to be conveniently administered.

There were 2 visitas, visita de Cagapad and visita de hinarijan and 12 barrios. The barrios were san Antonio, San Vicente, Santa Catalina, Nuestra Señora de Salud, San Lucas, San Miguel, Santa Isabel, Nuestra Señora del Carmen, San Roque, San Pablo, San Jose (now Balongay) and Belen.

Calabanga is one of the municipalities of the province of Camarines Sur and a member of the Metro Naga Development Council. With its fishing grounds and the vast agricultural area, it is a major supplier of fish and other marine products and prime agricultural products in the province as well as in Metro Manila.

Quipayo or Calabanga used to own Tinambak (Tinambac), Masirum (Siruma), Bombon, Magarao, Cabusao, and Piglabanan (Libmanan). Libmanan is the oldest that was established in 1580 while Bombon was the last being separated which was created in 1949.

Cityhood Attaining a steady progress through time, the fishing town is now preparing to be the next chartered city in the province of Camarines Sur. This is through the Executive Order No. 25, Series of 2021 on October 25, 2021, which created the "Calabanga Cityhood Committee" headed by Mayor Eduardo A. Severo. Calabanga will be known as "The sardine capital of Bicol". If so Calabanga will be the 4th city in Camarines Sur after Naga, Iriga and Pili.

Geography It is bounded on the west by the Bicol River and beyond the municipality of Cabusao; on the south by the municipality of Bombon and Naga City; on the east by the forest lands of Mount Isarog, the Tigman River and each tributary forming the natural boundary and beyond the municipality of Tinambac; on the north by the fishing grounds of San Miguel Bay, and beyond, the municipalities of Sipocot, Basud and Mercedes.

Calabanga is divided into six areas: • West Coast • Harbour • East Coast • Poblacion • Highland • Quipayo.

Topography and slope The topographic landscape of the municipality could be characterized as generally flat with a slope 0-3%, gently sloping (3-8%) towards the direction of the eastern portion and finally rolling up to higher steeps towards the direction of the south-eastern part going to Mt. Isarog. The 0-3% slope is a broad area of flat to nearly level land which extends from Barangay Balongay along the Bicol River to Poblacion area and surrounding areas down to Barangay Manguiring. This is the dominant slope of the municipality.

Soil and water resources There are six soil types that could be found in the Municipality. These are the (1) Hydrosol which is dominant along the Bicol River covering parts of Barangays Balongay, San Bernardino and Punta Tarawal; (2) Balong Clay; (3) Pili Clay Loam; (4) Tigaon Clay which covers the poblacion; (5) Annan Clay Loam which could be found toward the direction of Tinambac and (6) Mountain Soil in the Mt. Isarog area.

The municipality of Calabanga is endowed with abundant natural resources. The major river systems, the Tigman, Hinaguianan and Inarihan rivers are presently utilized for irrigation purposes. They originate their main tributaries from Mt. Isarog and flow down in the north-western direction ultimately discharging the flow to San Miguel Bay.

Calabanga is blessed with many natural spring water resources found in the eastern portion of the municipality along the north-western flanks of Mt. Isarog. Most of these are found to be potential sources for potable water supply of the municipality, aside from the Hamislag and Tawang rivers.

Calabanga is bounded by water bodies, the San Miguel Bay on the northern part and the Bikol River on the western part which are sources of abundant supplies of fish of various species and other marine products.

Land use With its generally flat terrain, the dominant land use is agricultural. The built-up areas and major rivers have the smallest portion of the total area. Built-up areas are clustered within the urban barangays. The urban areas expand in an almost linear development or ribbon like development pattern.

Proposed land use as embodied in the comprehensive land use plan has delineated the residential, commercial, institutional area within the urban land use while the agricultural, agro-industrial, special use could be found in the general land use.

Geography: Barangays Calabanga is politically subdivided into 48 barangays, fourteen of which are within the urban area while the remaining 34 barangays belong to the rural areas. It has 11 coastal barangays and 3 highly urbanized barangays. • Balatasan • Balombon • Balongay • Belen • Bigaas • Binanuaanan Grande • Binanuaanan Pequeño • Binaliw • Bonot-Santa Rosa • Burabod • Cabanbanan • Cagsao • Camuning • Comaguingking • Del Carmen • Dominorog • Fabrica • Harubay • La Purisima (Quipayo) • Lugsad • Manguiring • Pagatpat • Paolbo • Pinada • Punta Tarawal (National Museum) • Quinale • Sabang • Salvacion-Baybay • San Antonio Poblacion • San Antonio (Quipayo) • San Bernardino • San Francisco • San Isidro • San Lucas • San Miguel • San Pablo • San Roque • San Vicente • Santa Cruz Poblacion • Santa Cruz (Quipayo) • Santa Isabel • Santa Salud • Santo Domingo • Santo Niño (Quipayo) • Siba-o • Sibobo • Sogod • Tomagodtod.

Economy Calabanga is the fifth largest commercial centre in Camarines Sur next to Pili, followed by Libmanan and the 11th largest commercial centre in Bicol Region next to Polangui and followed by Nabua. It became a 1st class municipality in October of 2009.

Calabanga is blessed with rich natural resources. It has big uplands and vast fishing grounds. Agricultural areas are the most extensive areas covering more than half of the total land area in this municipality. It is the dominant land use. Land devoted to crop production is approximately 7,609.79 has. Which include rice, corn and coconut as the major crops and other crops such as abaca, coffee, vegetables, rootcrops and fruit trees.

Side by side with agriculture, fishing and livestock raising constitutes major economic activities. The fish grounds of San Miguel Bay as well as the Bikol River are the rich sources of plentiful fish, shellfish, oysters, capiz shells, prawns, shrimps and other marine species providing various livelihood industries such as fish processing, fish paste and bagoong making and other marine by-product. These marine by-products as well as shrimps, prawn, mudcrabs are supplied to the city of Naga, other neighboring provinces as well as in Manila. Other water sources include Inarihan, Tigman and Hinaguinan river aside from the fishponds for the brackish and freshwater species.

Livestock raising is a thriving industry in the municipality, an inventory of livestock and poultry farms shows that there are 5 commercial piggery and 3 commercial poultry farms operating in the municipality aside from the backyard animal raising which is very common in rural areas.

Next to agriculture and fishing, commerce, trade and industry are important and significant aspects in the economy of the municipality. Commercial and industrial activities are more concentrated in the urban areas that include among others wholesale and retail trade, minor service centres, transport business, community and personal services, drugstores, agri-supplies, gasoline stations while industrial activities include rice milling, fish processing, bamboo craft, furniture making, garments, metal crafts, ice plant, welding and auto repair shops as well as other small enterprises. Nipa shingle production is also one industry predominant at western barangays where nipa swamps could be found. The products are sold not only within the municipality but to nearby towns and Naga City.

The presence of a new Calabanga Public Market which started operation last 1998 finally resolved the demands for a bigger marketing centre, while Cooperatives throughout the municipality are gradually developing its enterprises.

Shopping Centers The municipality is home to major shopping mall in the region, the LCC Mall Calabanga which is located in the poblacion of the town. Other major establishments in the centre of the municipality are CitiTrends, Calabanga Town Center (Which is adjacent to the market), Star Master Plaza, and Angena Supermarket also in the poblacion, and the small Quipayo Community Center which no longer exists today. It is a very promising that it is a progressive town however it still is heavily dependent on Farm and Fishing.

Banks • Producer's Bank • Landbank • ARDCI Microfinance • Rural Bank of Calabanga • SEC Bank • Bank of the Philippine Islands • BDO Unibank. Inc • Union bank.

Trade Calabanga is the centre, or at least near the centre of San Miguel Bay it is the source of income in the municipalities surrounding San Miguel Bay and also some parts of Camarines Norte particularly Basud and Mercedes. The municipality's economy and population changed dramatically in the past 10–13 years.

Tourist Industry Calabanga has a quite a number of tourism potentials and attractions. Famous among the scenic beauties are the group of small islets/islands of Kawit, Tanglad, and Cabgan which is a few minutes from the shore. These islands are frequently visited by excursionists particularly during summer but these places need more development. Other places that invite picnickers to its cool and clear water are Tigman, Hinaguianan and Inarihan rivers and private commercial resorts.

Historical sites worthy to see is the “Ladrillo” or a brick old church and ruins of Quipayo built sometime in 1578, more than four centuries ago, being the seat of the Catholic mission. Another is the “HINULID”, Santo Entiero shrine at Santa Salud which is an object of Friday devotion and pilgrimage. Thousands of devotees not only from Calabanga but other parts of Bicol Region and the country flock to the shrine during Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.

Calabanga also has apartments and condo buildings along the main street in Poblacion.

Poblacion Economic Zone (PEZ) Poblacion Economic Zone is an economic zone in Calabanga between Barangay San Miguel and Santa Cruz Ratay. This area hosts a lot of business establishments ranging from low class eateries to high end restaurants. This is also called the Calabanga Urban Belt. It is often busy in this area. This is where restaurants, churches, parks, stadiums, cockpit arenas, municipal hall, museum, market, malls, banks, financial institution are found.

Calabanga CBD III project Just before the National Elections in 2022. The Local Government Unit and the provincial government proposed a project named "Calabanga CBD 3". This was headed by Former Governor Migz Villafuerte and mayor Eduardo Severo. As of August 2022 a road project that stretches from the market to Casureco II is ongoing. The new CBD has a land of 596,543 m² and will have Condominiums. The new municipal hall, police station, Calabanga high school and college, Calabanga Hospital, and other government buildings and malls will be built there. It is a very ambitious project for the people of Calabanga. The CBD will also have a large park with dining and bars just near the town proper. The New CBD is just adjacent to the market with a new bus terminal that will enhance transportation in the municipality. The Star Master Plaza Mall that is the first building in the CBD and the largest mall in Calabanga is expected to be completed by 2024. The CBD will be fully finished by 15 to 20 years. This project was headed by former Mayor Eduardo Severo with his mission and vision named "AmBisyon natin Calabanga 2040!"

Agriculture Produces the following products: • Coconut • Rice • Abaca • Corn.

Most people are farmers and fishermen.

Culture For sports and recreation, the municipality has a covered court at the poblacion area wherein the municipal-wide annual competitions for various sports activities such as basketball, volleyball and other sports are held. However, almost all barangays have multi-purpose play areas which are usually being utilized by the residents especially the youth, as volleyball and basketball courts. There is also a municipal park at the centre of the poblacion area where people could spend their time and relax.

Transport: Road Calabanga only has one highway that traverses the municipality. It is the Naga North road or widely known as Naga - Siruma road. The highway starts at the boundary of Naga City in the intersection of Bagumbayan St, San Vicente Road and Capilihan St to Amuris Beach in Siruma.

Other roads are Pagatpat Road or diversion road and Balongay road.

There is a new ongoing project for a new road from Casureco II station to the Local Market.

Manila Time 
Manila Time
Image: Adobe Stock hit1912 #261425074

Calabanga has a population of over 88,906 people. Calabanga also forms one of the centres of the wider Camarines Sur Province which has a population of over 2,068,244 people.

To set up a UBI Lab for Calabanga see: https://www.ubilabnetwork.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/UBILabNetwork

Twin Towns, Sister Cities Calabanga has links with:

🇵🇭 Bombon, Philippines 🇵🇭 Cabusao, Philippines 🇵🇭 City of Muntinglupa, Philippines 🇮🇩 Depok, Indonesia 🇵🇭 Legazpi, Philippines 🇵🇭 Libmanan, Philippines 🇵🇭 Lucena, Philippines 🇵🇭 Mariveles, Philippines 🇵🇭 Mercedes, Philippines 🇵🇭 Muntinlupa, Philippines 🇵🇭 Pasig, Philippines 🇵🇭 Pili, Philippines 🇺🇸 San Leandro, USA 🇵🇭 Sipocot, Philippines 🇵🇭 Siruma, Philippines 🇵🇭 Tinambac, Philippines 🇲🇾 Tuaran, Malaysia
Text Atribution: Wikipedia Text under CC-BY-SA license

East of: 123.207

🇨🇳 Tiexi 123.212

🇵🇭 Canlaon 123.218

🇵🇭 Pili 123.267

🇵🇭 Guihulngan 123.273

🇵🇭 Cadiz 123.3

🇵🇭 Dumaguete 123.303

🇵🇭 Dipolog 123.337

🇨🇳 Sujiatun 123.346

🇵🇭 Tinambac 123.375

🇵🇭 Iriga 123.402

West of: 123.207

🇵🇭 Naga City 123.186

🇨🇳 Liaoyang 123.176

🇵🇭 Naga 123.17

🇵🇭 Tanjay 123.16

🇵🇭 Bais 123.121

🇮🇩 Gorontalo 123.067

🇮🇩 Gorontalo City 123.062

🇵🇭 Victorias 123.06

🇨🇳 Anshan 122.994

🇵🇭 Sipocot 122.978

Antipodal to Calabanga is: -56.793,-13.706

Locations Near: Calabanga 123.207,13.7059

🇵🇭 Naga City 123.186,13.624 d: 9.3  

🇵🇭 Naga 123.17,13.62 d: 10.4  

🇵🇭 Pili 123.267,13.55 d: 18.5  

🇵🇭 Tinambac 123.375,13.783 d: 20.1  

🇵🇭 Sipocot 122.978,13.768 d: 25.7  

🇵🇭 Goa 123.489,13.698 d: 30.5  

🇵🇭 Iriga 123.402,13.42 d: 38.2  

🇵🇭 Daet 122.956,14.114 d: 52.9  

🇵🇭 Ligao 123.54,13.24 d: 63.1  

🇵🇭 Albay 123.568,13.21 d: 67.6  

Antipodal to: Calabanga -56.793,-13.706

🇧🇷 Lucas do Rio Verde -55.917,-13.067 d: 19896.6  

🇧🇷 Tangará da Serra -57.491,-14.621 d: 19888.5  

🇧🇷 Sorriso -55.7,-12.533 d: 19839  

🇧🇷 Cuiabá -56.096,-15.596 d: 19791.9  

🇧🇷 Várzea Grande -56.139,-15.652 d: 19787.6  

🇧🇷 Sinop -55.633,-11.833 d: 19771.8  

🇧🇷 Primavera do Leste -54.333,-15.517 d: 19682.6  

🇧🇷 Vilhena -60.11,-12.708 d: 19639.2  

🇧🇷 Rondonópolis -54.622,-16.466 d: 19629.8  

🇧🇷 Cacoal -61.447,-11.439 d: 19450.6  

Bing Map

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