History

Captain Luis Enriquez de Guzman and Fray Alfonzo Gimenez first explored the province in 1569. As they went deeper they encountered many rice granaries, which in Spanish were called camarines. In 1571, the Spanish conquistador Juan de Salcedo came to the Bicol Region from the north and two years later, penetrated the peninsula as far south as Santiago de Libon. A little later, the city of Nueva Caceres was erected and became the ecclesiastical and administrative center of the province of Bicol or Ibalon. Nueva Caceres became the seat of a diocese in 1595, which covered the entire Bicol Region as well as the province of Tayabas (Quezon). The northern areas around the Bicol river plains became a partido or division known as Camarines, which in 1636, through a royal decree, was separated from the southern portion of Bicol and made into a separate province of Camarines.

During the 17^th and 18^th centuries, the coastal regions of Camarines were raided by the Moro slavers from Mindanao and Sulu. The most disruptive raids occurred between 1750 and 1800 during which time the southern coast was almost completely depopulated. The province became an important center of Revolutionary activity in 1896. Fifteen Bicolano Martyrs were executed by the Spanish authorities in Naga (Nueva Caceres) after being accused of complicity in the Katipunan uprising.

In 1829, Camarines Norte was taken out of the province of Camarines and the remaining portions became Camarines Sur. Between 1829 and 1919, the two provinces were divided and fused several times until, in 1919, under the American colonial government, the final separation was effected.

People, Culture and the Arts

The province of Camarines Sur is considered the center of Bicolano culture. The language spoken in the province is Bicol, a language that has many variations and dialects. The variation spoken in the vicinity of Naga, called Bikol sa Naga is widely considered by linguists as standard Bicol in comparison with the other dialects with similar shades of diction and word usages.

The Camarines Sur Bicolanos are mostly farmers, who produce crops like rice, coconuts and abaca, and fishermen, who catch fish in the rich fishing grounds of San Miguel Bay and Lagonoy Gulf. Coupled with these, they also engage in an assortment of home industries like pili nut processing, bamboo craft, embroidery, sinamay weaving and fiber craft as well as wine distilling. Naga is the commercial center that draws these products together and from where it is sold or exported to other regions.

Camarines Sur is the center of religious observances that are shared by all Bicolanos who are, by far, the most staunchly Roman Catholic people in the country. Our Lady of Penafrañcia in Naga is considered the patron of all Bicolanos. The image's crown of diamonds and precious stones, which adorns the its head was a donation of thousands of Bicolanos lovingly devoted to their beloved Ina or mother. Every September, the Bicolanos celebrate the feast of Penafrañcia with a festival that begins with a traslacion, a procession of the barefooted male devotees of Our Lady, followed by a Mass, and a fluvial parade where the image of the Virgin is carried on a barge on the Bikol River. The annual festival draws thousands of Bicolanos and tourists to Naga.

Iriga City holds the annual harvest-offering Tinagba Festival on the occasion of the feast of our Lady of Lourdes held every 11th of February. It is based on an old indigenous Bicolano tradition where the first bountiful harvest is offered in thanksgiving. In doing so, God will make succeeding harvests more bountiful. During the festival, the different barrios join in the celebration by making a well-decorated cart drawn by a carabao and laden with all the products harvested from their farms.

The town of Nabua celebrates its fiesta with the Boa-Boahan Festival every May 2. The highlight of the festival is the reenactment of the traditional "Boa Feast", a 13^th century rite where ancient Bicolanos offered chains of coconut embryos called boa to their deities, in the belief that this would make their life more prosperous throughout the year. The feast is enlivened with a display of colorful costumes.

Other towns celebrate rituals in honor of their patron saints or in remembrance of an important Catholic feast such as Lent or Christmas. The Camarines Sur Bicolanos have incorporated many of their indigenous songs and dances into these celebrations that make these festivals unique. In Minalabac, the devotees of San Felipe and Santiago perform the tumatarok, a prayer offering and oratory accompanied by song and dance. Tambo in Buhi, is well known for its interpretation of the tanggal, a three-day passion play performed during Holy Week. Another unique tradition is called the Aurora, a tradition of prayer and singing to implore the Almighty’s aid in times of calamity.

Trade and Investments

Camarines Sur is the unrivalled center of the Bicol Region. More than half of the region’s rice and corn production comes from the province because of its extensive plains and irrigated lands. It also produces substantial quantities of coconuts, hemp and root crops. The province’s two mountains, Mt. Isarog and Mt. Iriga (Asog) as well as the Caramoan Peninsula, are heavily wooded and are home to exotic wildlife and studded with waterfalls and caves. One of its three lakes, Lake Buhi, is famous for the world’s smallest commercial fish, the mistichis luzonensis or the sinarapan or tabius. The municipalities of Lagohoy, Caramoan and Presentacion contain vast reserves of gold. Other mineral deposits of commercial quantity found in the province include iron, manganese, chromate, silver and nickel. More than 1.4 million Bicolanos live in Camarines Sur and of this population, more than 1 million are employable. Camarines Sur’s population is highly literate, with the presence of many schools of higher learning and training centers. This gives the labor force in the province a definite advantage.

The newly opened Quirino highway makes the province even more accessible from Manila and Southern Tagalog Region. A network of good roads crisscrosses the Camarines Sur countryside and interconnects the municipalities together. Several bus companies regularly ply the Naga-Manila route, and the city is the hub of transportation in the province as well as in the region. The province can also be reached via the Philippine National Railway system. A secondary airport serves the province. The Bikol River system connects the province’s three lakes and provides the needed irrigation for agriculture. The Camarines Sur Electric Cooperatives distribute the power requirement from the existing Tiwi and Bacman plants in Albay.

Being centrally located and blessed with natural resources, the province is the natural hub of industry and commerce in the region. Naga City is an agro-industrial growth center with continued investments in marine and agriculture related activities, metalworking, food processing, beverages, garments and houseware and gift manufacture. Five more economic zones are being identified to decongest Naga and among these zones are the Calabanga Agro-Industrial Center, Pamplona Ecozone and the Iriga City Mini Industrial Park. The province is also participating in a regional development strategy called the LIND (Legaspi, Iriga, Naga, Daet) Growth Corridor that seeks to focus development in areas with established support facilities and link these into a swathe of economic activity. The province encourages additional investments in sugar processing, agriculture based industries, non-traditional agriculture, feeds manufacture, electronics manufacture and assembly, geothermal power generation and information technology.

Camarines Sur is developing its tourism potential and hopes to attract additional investments in tourism related businesses. The province boasts of a wide range of tourist attractions like the forests, waterfalls, caves, volcanoes and lakes that dot the landscape as well as the white sand beaches, off shore islands and coral reefs along the coasts of the province. Accommodations, resorts, transport facilities, diving facilities and restaurants are ventures that can take advantage of this tourism potential.

Development Initiative Highlights: