Naga, officially the City of Naga (; ), is a
component city 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
Cebu
Cebu ( ; ), officially the Province of Cebu (; ), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 surrounding islands and islets. The coastal zone of Cebu is identified as a ...
,
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 has a population of 133,184 people.
Naga City is bordered to the north by the town of
Minglanilla
Minglanilla, officially the Municipality of Minglanilla (; ), is a municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 151,002 people.
It is known as the "Sugat Capital of the South" (wher ...
, to the west is the city of
Toledo, to the east is the
Cebu Strait
Cebu Strait (Tagalog language, Tagalog: ''Kipot ng Cebú''; also Bohol Strait) is a strait in the Central Visayas region in the Philippines.
Geography
The Cebu Strait (and its 3 channels, the Mactan Channel, Mactan, the Olango Island Group, Ol ...
, and to the south is the town of
San Fernando. It is from
Cebu City
Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu, is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 964,169 people, making ...
.
It lies within the
Cebu metropolitan area.
It is one of the two Philippine cities named Naga, the other being
Naga, Camarines Sur
Naga, officially the City of Naga (Central Bikol language, Central Bikol: ''Siyudad nin Naga''; Rinconada Bikol language, Rinconada Bikol: ''Siyudad ka Naga''; ; ), or the Pilgrim City of Naga, is an Cities of the Philippines#Legal classificat ...
in
Luzon
Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...
.
History
Colonial Era
Naga was previously named by the first settlers as ''Narra'' due to the abundance of
narra trees. The name eventually became ''Naga''. Naga became a municipality on June 12, 1829. It was partitioned from San Nicolas, now part of Cebu City. The original barrios are Inayagan, Tinaan, Langtad, Pandan, Cantag-an, Lutac, Uling, and Alpaco.
Soon after, Spanish authorities discovered coal in the upland barangays of Uling and Lutac. However, mines were developed intermittently. In 1901, during American occupation, the Uling-Lutac coal and rail concession (also known as the Macleod concession) was identified as one of the three coal mines in Cebu that the government wanted to develop further.
In 1921, the Philippine government established the first cement plant in the country in Tinaan, Naga. It was called Cebu Portland Cement Company (CEPOC). Today, the plant still exists and able to produce 3.8 million metric tons (MMT) of cement per year. It is now known as the APO Cement Plant.
During World War II, around three-quarters of the town was destroyed.
Post-war Era
The manufacturing and industrial sector continued to grow in Naga. The Naga Coal Plant was established in 1981. It was the first grid-connected coal plant in the country and was built for the
National Power Corporation. It had a capacity of 105 MW up to its retirement in 2015.
Cityhood
Cityhood was ratified in a plebiscite on September 2, 2007. The
Supreme Court
In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
declared the cityhood law of Naga and 15 other cities unconstitutional after a petition filed by the
League of Cities of the Philippines in its ruling on November 18, 2008. On December 22, 2009, the cityhood law of Naga and 15 other municipalities regain its status as cities again after the court reversed its ruling November 18, 2008 ruling.
On August 23, 2010, the court reinstated its ruling on November 18, 2008, making Naga and 15 other cities regular municipalities. Finally, on February 15, 2011, Naga and the other 15 municipalities declared that the conversion to cityhood met all legal requirements.
In 2013, after six years of legal battle, in its board resolution the
League of Cities of the Philippines acknowledged and recognized the cityhood of Naga and 15 other cities on July 19, 2013.
Geography
Barangays
Naga is politically subdivided into 28 barangays. Each barangay consists of
purok
A ''purok'' () is an informal division within a barangay in the Philippines. While not officially considered a local government unit (LGU), a ''purok'' often serves as a unit for delivering services and administration within a barangay. ''Pur ...
s and some have
sitios
A ''sitio'' (Spanish language, Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own bar ...
.
Climate
Demographics
Economy
Naga is home to several
heavy industries
Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); o ...
, and as such, the city bills itself as the ''Industrial City of the South''. Among the industries in Naga are the Apo Cement Corporation, the largest factory in the country, producing per day;
FSP Group; the 290-megawatt
KEPCO Philippines Corporation power plant;
MRC Allied Industries; Pryce Gases, Inc.; Rikio Southeast Asia; the 147-megawatt coal-fired Salcon Power Corporation plant; Asian Grains Corporation, a flour milling company; Sugbo ACS Food Manufacturing Corporation, the maker of Ichipan bread; UNAHCO Feeds, Inc.; and Provera Nutritional Solutions Corp. (feedmill), among other industries.
The Naga Valley Industrial Park (NAVA) is a
Philippine Economic Zone Authority
The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), formerly known as the Foreign Trade Zone Authority (FTZA) and Export Processing Zone Authority (EPZA), is a Philippine government agency attached to the Department of Trade and Industry.
It was ...
(PEZA)-registered
industrial park
An industrial park, also known as industrial estate or trading estate, is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more heavyweight version of a business park or office par ...
in Barangay Cantao-an. Locators in NAVA include Cebu Mitsumi, Inc.,
Kyocera Kinseki Philippines, Inc., and Tokyo Microshaft Corporation. The industrial park was a part of the New Cebu Township One (NCTO) of MRC Allied before it was acquired by
Cebu City
Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu, is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 964,169 people, making ...
-based developer Primary Properties Corporation.
Sports venues
In December 2015, the Naga City government officially opened the Teodoro Mendiola Sports Field and Oval, located along North Poblacion. Its inauguration was in time for its usage as the main venue for the 2016 Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association (CVIRAA) games in February. The ₱68 million project comprises a track and field oval, swimming pool (Olympic-sized), and basketball, tennis, and volleyball courts.
2017 the first time a host became back-in-back in the venue for the CVIRAA again.
References
Sources
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External links
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Philippine Standard Geographic Code*
{{Authority control
Cities in Cebu
Cities in Metro Cebu
Populated places established in 1829
1829 establishments in the Philippines
Component cities in the Philippines