Bula, officially the Municipality of Bula ( Rinconada Bikol: ''Banwaān ka Bula''; Tagalog: ''Bayan ng Bula''), is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of Camarines Sur,

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 73,143 people.

History

The town of Bula is historically considered one of the first four mission towns of Camarines Sur founded by the Spanish

conquistadores Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

when they set foot on the Bicol soil coming from the

Visayas The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands (Bisayan languages, Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; Filipino language, Filipino: ''Kabisayaan'' ), are one of the three Island groups of the Philippines, principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, a ...

in 1576. The other premier towns were Naga, Quipayo and Nabua. The Spaniards who first came to this place asked the men who were splitting bamboo about the name of the area, and since they did not understand the language, they thought they were being asked about the name of the bamboo, so they got the answer "Bu-la." And so Bula became the name of the town. However, it was only in 1578 when the natives were Christianized, so the National Historical Commission dates back the town's history to 1578. From this, the town chose St. Mary Magdalene as its patron saint and celebrated its fiesta every 22nd day of July, which is the birthdate of the saint. The original location of Bula's town proper was located in the now Barangay Ombao Polpog. The location had to be changed due to the town proper's isolation from other Rinconada city centers.

Geography

Bula is bounded on the north by the municipalities of Pili and Ocampo, on the east by the municipality of Baao, on the southeast by the Municipality of Nabua, on the south it is bounded by the Municipality of Balatan, on the southwest by Ragay Gulf, and on the west by the Municipality of Minalabac.

Barangays

Bula is politically subdivided into 33

barangay The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...

s. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios. * Bagoladio * Bagumbayan * Balaogan * Caorasan * Casugad * Causip * Fabrica * Inoyonan * Itangon * Kinalabasahan * La Purisima * La Victoria * Lanipga * Lubgan * Ombao Heights * Ombao Polpog * Palsong * Panoypoyan * Pawili * Sagrada (Sagrada Familia) * Salvacion ( Poblacion) * San Agustin * San Francisco * San Isidro * San Jose * San Miguel * San Ramon * San Roque ( Poblacion) * San Roque Heights * Santa Elena * Santo Domingo * Santo Niño * Taisan

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Bula, Camarines Sur, was 73,143 people, with a density of .

Language

Majority of the people speak the Bula-Pili variant, a lowland dialect (sinaranəw) of Rinconada Bikol language, also known as Riŋkonāda. The population can also understand and speak Tagalog or Filipino language and English.

Religion

Majority of the population are Roman Catholic members which is the biggest bulk of Bulaeños adhering to Christian faith. The rest of population are followers of different Protestant denominations.

Economy

Despite staying as a 2nd class municipality, there have been improvements brought along by the

Local Government Unit In the Philippines, local government is divided into three levels: provinces and independent cities, component cities and municipalities, and barangays, all of which are collectively known as local government units (LGUs). In some areas, abo ...

from the mid-2010s to the present to the year. This is because some areas need improvement of infrastructures. This also makes Bula a 1st class municipality.

Commercial and Industrial

Commercial and Industrial are focused in the

Centro Centro may refer to: Places Brazil *Centro, Santa Maria, a neighborhood in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil * Centro, Porto Alegre, a neighborhood of Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil * Centro (Duque de Caxias), a neighborhood of Du ...

part of the town situated in Sagrada. At the start of the 2020s, Micro Businesses in the town bloomed — recent developments such as the Palmeda Transcend Park in Brgy. Sagrada Familia acts as a center for Micro and franchise businesses.

Agriculture

The agricultural output of Bula mainly consists of rice, wheat, coconut, and corn.

Tourism

The town of Bula has views of Tan-Awan Park, Nalalata Falls, and Burabod. Tan-Awan Park, located in Barangay Bagoladio atop a hill, attracts a number of tourists because of its views overlooking the areas of its neighboring towns in Rinconada. Bula is also home to beaches on its easternmost side, neighboring Minalabac in the north and Balatan to the south.

Gallery

File:Bula Municipal Hall.JPG, Bula Municipal Building File:Bula Church, Bula, Camarines Sur (May 2022).jpg, St. Mary Magdalene Parish Church File:Bula Cementery.JPG, Bula Catholic Cemetery File:Team piltik in action at Bula market WTR.JPG, Bula Public Market File:Bula National High school WTR.JPG, Bula National High School File:Nalalata Cave.jpg, Nalalata Cave File:Nalalata Falls 01.jpg, Nalalata Falls File:Bula Parochial School.JPG, Bula Parochial School

Notes

References

External links

* Philippine Standard Geographic Codebr>Philippine Census InformationOfficial Site of the Province of Camarines Sur
{{Authority control Municipalities of Camarines Sur Metro Naga