The Bicol Region, designated as Region V, is an administrative region of the Philippines. It comprises six provinces, four on the Bicol Peninsula (the southeastern end of Luzon): Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, and Sorsogon, and two off the shore: Catanduanes and Masbate, and one independent component city of Naga.
The regional administrative center and the most populous city is Legazpi, while the region's commercial and educational center is the independent component city of Naga. The region is bounded by Lamon Bay to the north, the Philippine Sea to the east, and the Sibuyan Sea and Ragay Gulf to the west. The northernmost provinces, Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur, are bordered to the west by the province of Quezon in the Calabarzon region.
Geography The Bicol Region comprises the Bicol Peninsula, the southernmost and easternmost part of Luzon, the largest island in the Philippine archipelago as well as two adjacent islands and their satellite islands. The total land area is 5.9% of the total land area of the country. Around 69.3% of the total land area is alienable and disposable while the remaining 30.7% is public forest areas.
History
The Bicol region was known as Ibalong, variously interpreted to derive from ibalio, "to bring to the other side"; ibalon, "people from the other side" or "people who are hospitable and give visitors gifts to bring home"; or a corruption of Gibal-ong, a sitio of Magallanes, Sorsogon where the Spaniards first landed in 1567. The Bicol River was first mentioned in Spanish documents in 1572. The region was also called Los Camarines after the huts found by the Spaniards in Camalig, Albay. No prehistoric animal fossils have been discovered in Bicol and the peopling of the region remains obscure. The Aeta from Camarines Sur to Sorsogon strongly suggest that aborigines lived there long ago, but earliest evidence is of middle to late Neolithic life.
A barangay (village) system was in existence by 1569. Records show no sign of Islamic rule nor any authority surpassing the datu (chieftain). Precolonial leadership was based on strength, courage, and intelligence. The native seemed apolitical. Thus, the datu's influence mattered most during crises like wars. Otherwise, early Bicol society remained family centered, and the leader was the head of the family.
The Spanish influence in Bicol resulted mainly from the efforts of Augustinian and Franciscan Spanish missionaries. The first churches in Bicol, the San Francisco Church, and the Naga Cathedral, both in Naga City, along with the Holy Cross Parish in Nabua, Camarines Sur, are instituted by the Holy Order of the Franciscans. One of the oldest dioceses in the Philippines, the Archdiocese of Caceres, was also instituted in the Bicol Region. During this time, Bicol was dotted by many astilleros (shipyards) which were focused on constructing Manila Galleons, the heaviest ships in their time, from the local hardwood forests and these Manila Galleons were responsible for trade between Asia and the Americas. Bicol also has Latin-American settlements and cultural influence mostly from Mexico due to the abundance of chili pepper plantations in the area, as it is Mexican in origin. Bicolano cuisine is noted for the propensity of being spicy. However regardless, the region throughout its history has been among the hardest to control by Spanish, American, and Japanese occupants due to heavy resistance among the populace.
The 1818 Spanish census however showed that among the provinces of Bicol, Albay had 1,311 Spanish-Filipino families, Camarines Norte had 1,810 Spanish-Filipino families,(Page 605) Camarines Sur had 964 Spanish-Filipino families, Sorsogon had 149 Spanish-Filipino families, Masbate had 1 Spanish-Filipino clan, and Catanduanes had 150 Spanish-Filipino families, some of these Spanish families were from the Spanish Americas while some were from Spanish Europe.
Administrative divisions Provinces
The region comprises six provinces: Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Sorsogon and the island-provinces of Catanduanes and Masbate, 107 Municipalities and 3,471 Barangays
As of 2020, Camarines Sur is the region's largest province in area and population, occupying or around 30.4% of the total land area with a population of 2,068,244. Catanduanes is the smallest in area as well as population with only or 8.4% of the total regional area and a population of 271,879.
Province Capital Population Area Density Cities km2 sq mi /km2 /sq mi Legazpi City 3 15 720 Daet 0 12 282 Pili 2 35 1,063 Virac 0 11 315 Masbate City 1 21 550 Sorsogon City 1 14 541 Total 6,082,165 18,114.47 7 107 3,471• Figures for Camarines Sur include the independent component city of Naga.
Governors and vice governors
ProvinceImageGovernorPolitical PartyVice GovernorNoel E. Rosal Farida S. CoRicarte R. Padilla Joseph Ascutia Luis Raymund F. Villafuerte Jr. Salvio Patrick Edmund F. Fortuno Jr.Patrick T. Azanza Robert A. FernandezRichard T. Kho Fernando P. TalisicJose Edwin B. HamorKrunimar Antonio D. Escudero II
Cities
The region has one independent component city, Naga, and six component cities – Iriga, Legazpi, Ligao, Masbate City, Sorsogon City, and Tabaco. Masbate and Sorsogon are cities in their eponymous provinces.
City Population Area Density City class Income class Province km2 /km2 Iriga City 114,457 Component 4th Camarines Sur† Legazpi City 209,533 Component 1st Albay Ligao 118,096 Component 4th Albay Masbate City 104,522 Component 4th Masbate Naga 209,170 Independent component 1st Camarines Sur Sorsogon City 182,237 Component 2nd Sorsogon Tabaco City 140,961 Component 4th Albay
Demographics
The Bicol Region has a population of 6,064,426 as of 2024 census, decreasing at an average annual rate of −0.07% percent between 2020 and 2024. The region's population density increased to 320 persons per square kilometer in 2015.
In 1970, Camarines Sur was the only province with close to a million population. Albay, which was next in rank, reached the 1970 population level of Camarines Sur only 20 years later. Masbate and Sorsogon were in the same level every census year from 1970 to 1980. It is noteworthy that distribution and growth of the 1970 population were towards areas that were sparsely populated but agriculturally rich and/or endowed with fishery resources. The island province of Catanduanes and its municipalities have exhibited very low population growth from 1970 to 1980.
In 1980, the pattern was towards urbanization. This was due to the pull of newly installed infrastructures, particularly roads, and the sporadic growth of trade in strategically situated municipalities that have better economic opportunities. The 1990 growth originated from the strong attraction of employment opportunities in established urban centers, which have become a source of growth of adjacent municipalities. This situation was highly evident in Naga and Legazpi areas, whose surrounding municipalities exhibited high growth rates. Unmistakably, the spill-over effects of development permeated those initial high growth areas.
Population spill-over happened in the Legazpi, Naga and Daet areas. Due to more population and more opportunities, Naga, Daet and Legazpi spilled their population to their neighboring and adjacent towns.
The Bicolanos are descended from the Austronesian-speaking people who came during the Iron Age. Many of Bicolanos also have Chinese, Arab, and Spanish admixtures. Most of the townsfolk have Spanish mixtures and their language is referred to as Bikol or Bikolano. Bicolanos have a high percentage of Spanish introgression with a government sponsored study showing 2 out of 10 Bicolanos or 2/10ths of the population being of Spanish descent. Only the Chavacanos among the Philippine ethnic groups, have a higher Spanish percentage at 4/10ths of the population, compared to Bicolano's 2/10ths,Supplementary information for while the average percentage of Spanish descent among other Filipino Lowland Christian Ethnic groups are 6% out of 100%. The Bicolano language is very fragmented, and its dialects are mutually incomprehensible to speakers of other Bicolano dialects. The majority of the Bicolano people are devout Roman Catholics due to the Spanish conquering the country and converting them to their religion. Catholic Mass is celebrated daily in many churches in the Bicol Region.
Language
The people of the Bicol Region, called Bicolanos, speak any of the several languages of the Bikol language subgroup, called Bikol macrolanguages, Austronesian languages closely grouped under the Central Philippine languages family such as the Visayan languages and Tagalog. The four major groups of language in Bikol are Coastal Bikol (with four sub-languages), Inland Bikol (with six sub-languages), Pandan Bikol (lone language) and Bisakol (with three sub-languages). The majority of Bicolanos understand and speak Central Bikol language (a member of Coastal Bikol group of languages), since it is the language used in literature and mass media, but with varying degrees. A known misconception of many Bicolanos is that Central Bikol, used in the cities of Legazpi and Naga, is the standard Bikol. Central Bikol, though spoken by the majority and with speakers represented in all provinces in the region, is not a standard Bikol, since other forms of Bikol used in the region are separate languages and usually unintelligible. However, the standard form of Central Bikol language is the Canaman dialect.
Other Bikol languages are Rinconada Bikol, spoken in southern part of Camarines Sur province, Pandan Bikol spoken in northern part of Catanduanes island and the Albay Bikol group of languages that include Buhinon, Libon, West Miraya and East Miraya. Albay Bikol speakers can be found in Buhi, Camarines Sur, central and eastern parts of Albay and in Donsol, Sorsogon. The standard form of Rinconada Bikol both in pronunciation and writing is the Sinabukid (Highland) dialect of Iriga variant. On the other hand, Buhinon of Buhi, Camarines Sur and Libon of Libon, Albay are the languages that are only used in their respective municipalities. Rinconada Bikol and Albay Bikol group of languages are members of Inland Bikol, while Pandan Bikol is the only language with no sub-languages or division.
The majority of the population in Masbate and Sorsogon speaks Masbateño, Waray Sorsoganon and Northern Sorsoganon. The three are Visayan languages but influenced by Bikol languages (especially the latter), thus tagged and collectively referred to as Bisakol (Being Visayan languages spoken in Bicol), a portmanteau of Bisaya (Visayan) and Bikol (Bicolano).
Aside from Masbateño, three more Visayan languages are spoken in Masbate, including Hiligaynon/Ilonggo are spoken in the southwestern tip, while Cebuano and Waray-Waray are spoken in the southern part of the island province respectively. Tagalog is the dominant and native language of Bicolanos living in the municipalities in the northern half of Camarines Norte and the town of Del Gallego in Camarines Sur.
Bicolanos also speak and understand Filipino, the national language of the Philippines, aside from native Tagalog-speaking Bicolanos in northern half of Camarines Norte and Del Gallego. The Bicolano languages are unique in the world for being the only ones with an angry register or a coded slang for forceful informal use.Lisboa, M. de. (1865). Vocabulario de la lengua bicol. Establecimiento tipográfico del Colegio de Santo Tomás.Lobel, J. W. (2005). The angry register of the Bikol languages of the Philippines. University of Hawai'i Working Papers in Linguistics, 36(1), 1–48.
Religion