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Brief information About Baguio City

The City of Baguio (Ilokano: Ciudad ti Baguio; Filipino: Lungsod ng Baguio) is a 1st class highly urbanized city in northern Luzon in the Philippines. Baguio City was established by Americans in 1900 at the site of an Ibaloi village known as Kafagway. Baguio City was designated by the Philippine Commission as the Summer Capital of the Philippines on June 1, 1903 and incorporated as a city by the Philippine Assembly on September 1, 1909. There is a presidential mansion, as well as supreme court and legislative offices in Baguio. Baguio is the seat of government of the Cordillera Administrative Region. The name of the city is derived from the word bagiw in Ibaloi, the indigenous language of the Benguet Region, meaning 'moss'. The city is at an altitude of approximately 1500 meters (5100 feet) in a moist tropical pine forest conducive to the growth of mossy plants and orchids.

According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 252,386 in 52,302 households

TRANSPORTATION

 

Air transport

Loakan Airport in Baguio is about 20 minutes by car south of the city. Because of the length of the runway, commercial jet aircraft are not able to use the airport. The airport is only used by propeller-driven aircraft. Currently, Asian Spirit flies daily to and from Manila, a 50 minute flight. Flights to Baguio are scheduled only in the morning, as visibility approaches zero in afternoons when fog starts to form.

 

Land Transport

It takes an average of six hours to travel the 250-km distance between Manila and Baguio by way of Kennon Road. It is about fifteen minutes longer through the Marcos Highway and could take three more hours when going through Naguilian Road. Kennon Road is occasionally blocked by landslides during the rainy season and the same problem occurs on the other two access roads. The route to Baguio through Kennon Road is as scenic as it is dangerous. There is another access to Baguio from Aritao in the province of Nueva Vizcaya but this is less traveled, the road is not well maintained, and public transportation through this route is not as regular. Another road, Halsema Road (also known as "Mountain Trail") leads north through the mountainous portion of the Cordillera Autonomous Region. It starts at the northern border of Baguio, in the Municipality of Trinidad (Trinidad Valley).

There are several bus lines linking Baguio with Manila and Central Luzon, and provinces such as Pangasinan, La Union, and those in the Ilocos region. Most transportation companies also offer express and air-conditioned buses at a much higher fare.

Bus services that ply Baguio include Philippine Rabbit, Dangwa Tranco, Dagupan Bus, Victory Liner, Partas, Genesis, Saulog Transit, and Greenland.

 

Economy

The areas of Session Road, Harrison Road, Magsaysay Avenue and Abanao Street comprise the trade center of the city. It is in these areas where commercial and business structures abound. First class movie houses, hotels, restaurants, department stores, and shopping centers are found in this downtown area. Shopping at the famous city market offers one a wide array of locally sourced goods and products, from colorful woven fabrics and strung beads to primitive wood carvings, cut flowers, strawberries and vegetables. (Strawberries and string beans - known as 'Baguio beans' across the Philippines - are shipped to major urban markets.

Baguio is also home to one of the country's most profitable Philippine Economic Zone Authority areas (PEZA), called the Baguio City Economic Zone (BCEZ), located in the southern part of the city between the Camp John Hay leisure resort and the Philippine Military Academy. Firms located in the BCEZ mostly produce and export knitted clothing, transistors, small components for vehicles, electronics and other computer parts. Notable firms include Texas Instruments Philippines, MOOG, and Client Logic. Recently, there has been an influx of call centers in the city with American companies outsourcing their technical support facilities in the country.

Tourism is one of Baguio's main industries. Commonly, overseas visitors pass through Baguio, while Filipinos make it a destination