Daraga, Albay


', officially the ', is a of the Philippines| in the province of,. According to the, it has a population of people.
The town is home to the landmark Cagsawa Ruins.

History

The word daraga historically referred to a "maiden", and is the modern term for an "unmarried woman" in many of the Bikol languages. The original settlement of Daraga dates back to 12th century, but has changed location repeatedly due to the constant threats posed by Mayon Volcano. The town was previously named Budiao, Cagsawa, and Locsin.
YearEvent
12th c.Early settlers were mostly traders. The name Daraga came from a type of tree that was abundant on the hill where a baroque Catholic church now stands.
1578Franciscan missionaries arrive, and christen the place Budiao, later renaming it to Cagsawa.
1595Cagsawa becomes a visita attached to the town of Camalig.
1772Governor-General Simón de Anda renames Cagsawa to Salcedo, which is later renamed Daraga.
1814Town is destroyed in the deadliest eruption of Mayon Volcano, killing 1,200 people that sought refuge inside the church.
1815Government for Daraga is formally organized, with Venancio Espíritu Salomon as Barangay Captain.
1892Under the Becerra Law, Daraga becomes a constituent of Legazpi City.
1922Daraga regains its autonomy when the Philippine Assembly ordered the partition of Daraga from Albay, composed of Albay and Legazpi City.
1948Under Republic Act 306, Daraga is again incorporated into Legazpi as one of its districts.
1954Republic Act 993 officially recreates the Municipality of Daraga.
1959Daraga renamed to Locsin, through Republic Act No. 2505.
1967Republic Act 4994 restores the name Daraga.
1973Under Presidential Decree 125, Daraga is again incorporated as part of Legazpi City; implementation of decree was suspended.
1993Daraga adjudged the 'cleanest and greenest' municipality in Bicol.
2001Mayon Volcano erupts in June, blanketing the town with an inch of ash.
2002Municipal government finishes construction of modern supermarket.
2006Mudflows from Mayon Volcano, triggered by heavy rains from Typhoon Reming buried at least eight villages. More than 20,000 Individuals were evacuated, and thousands lost their homes.
2007The National Museum declared the town's 400-year-old Our Lady of the Gate Parish Church a national cultural treasure.
2008Daraga experiences economic boom with the opening of several national food chains and the opening of LCC Supermarket.
2010The government of Daraga negotiates for the establishment of the Bicol International Airport in the town, with the proposed construction site in Barangay Alobo.
2012Daraga holds first ever Cagsawa Festival in February.
2016Daraga became the first applicant for cityhood in the 17th congress.

Geography

Daraga is located at, in the south-west portion of Albay province, along the Maharlika Highway, making it accessible from Manila, the Visayas, and the other municipalities of eastern Bicol Peninsula. It is roughly "boot-shaped", with the "tall" part ranging 13.05-13.25° north latitude and 123.66-123.73° east longitude and the "wide" part ranging 13.02-13.09° north latitude and 123.56-123.71° east longitude. It is bounded on the north and east by Legazpi City, south by Sorsogon, and west by Camalig and Jovellar.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the has a land area of constituting of the total area of Albay. This municipal land area is distributed among the present 16 urban barangays and 42 rural barangays. The urban barangays total and the rural barangays make up the remaining of the total municipal land area.

Elevation

67.3% of the total municipal land area has a predominantly low elevation of up to. The surface terrain is generally characterized by combination of level to nearly level areas, gentle to undulating areas and undulating to rolling areas.

Soil

The different soil types to be found within Daraga are the Mayon Gravelly Sandy Loam, Annam Clay Loam, Gravelly Sandy Loam, Legazpi Fine Sandy Loam, Sevilla Clay Loam and Sevilla Clay.
The underlying geology are made up of several types: Alluvium, Shale and Sandstone Limestone and Basalt and Andesite Series. The prevalent geologic type is the Shale and Sandstone Sequence and other equally significant geologic types such as alluvium. Recent Volcanic, Crystalline Limestone and Psyroclastine Limestone are found near the base of Mayon Volcano mostly in the urban barangays.
Minerals available within the municipality of Daraga are non-metallic consisting of Gravel, and Boulders. These minerals are abundant in Barangays Budiao, Busay, Bañadero and Matnog brought down from the slopes of Mayon Volcano during occurrences of volcanic eruptions and rains.

Drainage

The surface drainage pattern of Daraga is largely affected by the water runoff coming from Mayon Volcano coupled with those from other directions. Major river systems which convey and act as natural drainage channels as well as water source include:
  1. Yawa River in Barangay Cullat, Malobago, Kilicao, Tagas, Binitayan & Bañag which connects to the Albay Gulf in Legazpi City
  2. Colabos Creek in Bañag, San Roque, Market Area, Sagpon, and Bagumbayan
  3. Quillarena River in Malabog & Budiao
  4. Gumacon Creek in Barangay Maroroy, Tagas
  5. Gulang-Gulang Creek in Barangay Pandan

    Climate

Daraga has a generally wet climate characterized by a lack of dry season. Maximum rainfall is from November to January, and average monthly rainfall is. Prevailing winds are generally from north-east to south-west. Average temperature is.
But the climate change phenomenon has changed the past climate pattern. Dry spells are becoming more pronounced, as it is with the wet season. The phenomenon is felt all over the country as well.

Barangays

Daraga is politically subdivided into 54 barangays.
BarangayPopulation Area ClassBarangay head
AlcalaRuralEster L. Llandeza
AloboRuralDexter L. Marmol
AnislagUrbanElmer Lodronio
BagumbayanUrbanMark C. Magalona
BalinadUrbanDarren Maceda
BañaderoRuralArchie Bajamundi
BañagUrbanGayzel M. Cardiño
BascaranUrbanJulius L. Duran
BigaoRuralSalvador Miravalles
BinitayanUrbanCelilia A. Arevalo
BongalonRuralFerelyn M. Seva
BudiaoRuralJefferson M. Mapula
BurgosRural Pilar L Llanera
2017–Present
BusayRuralSalvyn Mandane
CanaromRuralEfren M. Llasos
CullatRuralLuis D. Espejo
de la PazRuralMaria L. Marjalino
DinoronanRuralHirfa M. Espadilla
GabawanRuralRoberto C. Obispo
GapoRuralJesus M. Magdaong Jr
IbauganRuralRaul Ll. Malto
IlawodUrbanCecil Mirabete
InaradoRuralRommel N. Marticio
KidacoRuralNelson Magallano
KilicaoUrbanEriberto M. Madrona
KimantongUrbanRamon D. Paran Jr.
KinawitanRuralEduardo N. Lubiano
KiwaloRuralJanet L. Lorilla
LacagRuralArthur L. Llabore Sr.
MabiniRuralRanulfo N. Llorera
MalabogRuralPaulo Montallana
MalobagoRuralWilliam Marbella
MaopiRuralAlex M.LoteriÑA
Market AreaUrbanWilfredo N. Nayve
MaroroyUrbanRobinson "toto" Lubiano
MatnogRuralBonifacio M. Odiver
MayonRuralAdoracion Blazo
Mi-isiRuralElmer A. Lorica
NabasanRuralMenche A. Llamasares
NamantaoRuralDanilo Llaneta
PandanRuralRosalito Cimanes
PeñafranciaUrbanJose M. Lobas
SagponUrbanLoreto Barajas
SalvacionRuralNelson N. Mabini
San RafaelRuralAlodea M. Lisay
San RamonRuralAidar L. Llaguno
San RoqueUrbanGina Callada
San Vicente GrandeRuralElena M. Vibar
San Vicente PequeñoRuralJesus Oarde
SipiUrbanDexter Billy M. Lorica
Tabon-TabonRuralRic M. Rodrigueza
TagasUrbanCherry M. Mayor
TalahibRuralNieves M. Jacob
VillahermosaRuralEladio L. Rodrigueza

Demographics

In the, had a population of. The population density was.
In 2010, the 2010 municipal population of 115,804 was distributed among the urban and rural Barangays. The urban population was 48.54% while rural population completed the remaining 51.45%. The "built-up density" was 5,659 persons/km2. It had a literacy rate of 96.08% and a municipality growth rate of 1.3%.
In terms of employment and livelihood, farming ranks high at 33.53%, crafts and related workers as well as elementary occupations follow second with 17.71% and 21.89% respectively.

Language

The languages spoken in Daraga include East Miraya, Bicol, Tagalog, and English.

Economy

Daraga's economy, originally agriculture-based, has rapidly transformed into an emerging urban system, benefiting from the economic opportunities of being located contiguously with the urban center of Legazpi. It draws trade relations with the island province of Masbate through the nearby Port of Pilar.
Daraga will be the site of the future Bicol International Airport which will further boost tourism in the region and will introduce more opportunities especially in this town. Local officials are now considering cityhood in the near future or upon the completion of the said international airport, if that so, Daraga would be the fourth city in Albay.
Daraga has the highest number of business establishments among towns in Albay. As of 2011 it has over 2,300 business establishments registered with the Permits and Licensing Office. The town is a center of handicraft manufacturing with several handicraft factories choosing their location in the municipality.

Government

The present town mayor is Victor U. Perete.

Tourism

Daraga's existing tourist spots/attractions are the Cagsawa Ruins and Resort and Our Lady of the Gate Parish.
Cagsawa Ruins and Resort is located in Barangay Busay. Its prominent attraction is the Belfry of the Cagsawa Church which submerged in mudflow during the February 2, 1814 Mayon Volcano Eruption which killed 1,200 people.
The Our Lady of the Gate Parish was constructed in 1773 atop Santa Maria Hill in barangay San Roque and is uniquely known for its rich baroque architecture.

Transportation

Daraga has a total Road Network of about. This is categorized either as National Roads, Provincial Roads, Municipal Roads and Barangay Roads. These barangay Roads comprised the bulk of the municipality road network system. About 24.97% are concrete paved while the remaining 75.03% remains in Asphalt, Gravel of Earth fill pavement conditions. These are about 25 bridges within the municipality and 66.22% of which are within barangay roads while the other bridges are part of national, provincial of barangay roads.

Education

Elementary

Each barangay in town has an elementary school.

High school