Sorsogon City


', officially the ', is a of the Philippines| and capital of the province of,. According to the, it has a population of people.
The city was formed in the year 2000 by the merging of Bacon and Sorsogon towns. The city's total population spread across 64 barangays.
It serves a trans-shipment point from the Visayas and Mindanao provinces, and is dubbed as the "Gateway to Southern Philippines". Sorsogon City is one of the region's leading cities in urbanization and the most promising city in terms of development.

History

Evidence of human habitation come from 3,000-year old remains in a cave in Bacon and ancient burial sites dug upstream of Sorsogon rivers. Spanish missionaries came upon settlements in both sites when they arrived in the 1600s. Moro pirates had already frequented the territorial waters before the arrival of the Spanish missions.
Bacon was established as a visita of Casiguran while Sorsogon, originally in Sitio Pocdol in Capuy, was then established as a visita of Bacon. Sorsogon then became an independent, full-fledged parish in 1628 due to an increase in population. The two parishes later became civilian political units.
The Pueblo Civil de Bacon was established in 1754, with Juan Elias as its first gobernadorcillo. Sorsogon became an independent pueblo in 1864. Both Bacon and Sorsogon were under the territorial jurisdiction of the province of Albay until the establishment of the independent province of Sorsogon on October 17, 1894.

Foundation

Sorsogon City was created by virtue of Republic Act 8806 which was enacted on August 16, 2000, and ratified in December 2000.

Geography

Sorsogon City covers a land area of. It is at the southernmost tip of the Bicol Peninsula and of Luzon Island. The city is bounded by Castilla in the west, Manito in the northwest, Albay Gulf in the north, Prieto Diaz in the east, Gubat in the southeast, Casiguran in the southwest, and Sorsogon Bay in the south. Sorsogon is characterized by an irregular topography; mountain ranges on the north-west, sloping uplands on the central part of the city, plain areas south western and central north and southeast portion, and marshlands on the southeast deltas. It is also surrounded by water, with Sorsogon Bay to the west Albay Gulf to the north east, and Philippine Sea in the east.
Sorsogon City is southeast of Manila and south of Legazpi City. The 2015 Census puts the city's population at 168,110 with an annual growth rate of 0.84%. Sorsogon City ranked as the 3rd largest city in terms of population in the Bicol region. The only city in the province of Sorsogon, Sorsogon City is the largest in terms of land area in the Bicol region.
The Pan-Philippine Highway which runs from northwest to southeast through the city, connects Sorsogon City to the municipalities of Castilla, Pilar, in the northwest towards Daraga, Legazpi City, Naga City and the rest of Luzon. It also connects to the municipalities of Gubat, Casiguran and the rest of the second district municipalities of the province of Sorsogon in the southeast.

Barangays

Climate

Sorsogon City features a tropical rainforest climate with copious amount of rainfall throughout the course of the year. There is no pronounced dry season, but it has very pronounced maximum rain from November to January with December as the wettest month of the year; experiencing 23 days of rain. Temperature is constant throughout the year. Sorsogon City's average yearly rainfall is just over. April is the driest month of the year which only sees 12 rain days and of rainfall. Average High temperature is at and its Average Low temperature is at. The coolest month is January with a daily mean of and the hottest months are jointly April and May with a daily mean of.

Demographics

Demographic statistics:
Sorsogon City, as the capital town of the province of Sorsogon, is a hub of trade and commerce. Business is concentrated in the downtown area near the public market and major commercial establishments primarily geared towards retail and wholesale and the Bacon District is the secondary business district of the City.
As of 2012, Sorsogon City ranked third among the cities with most revenue in the Bicol region with an estimated annual income of P432,978,837, only behind Naga City and Legazpi City. Despite being a city and its increasing annual income, agriculture and fisheries sector is still the driving force of its economy. The main agricultural products include rice, coconut, abaca, pili nuts, root crops and vegetables.
The Bay City Sorsogon, that is currently being built at the coast of Barangay Balogo will definitely have a huge impact on the economic growth of the city. It is a priority project of LKY Development Corporation, a privately owned real estate company. The Bay City Sorsogon includes a Commercial Complex, Five Star Hotel, Coliseum, Outdoor Dining Area, a Central Bus Terminal and a lot more. The excavation of this 16-hectare property just started during the last quarter of 2010 and the completion is expected by the 3rd quarter of 2011.

City government

The city's local government is headed by a mayor elected by popular vote. The Vice Mayor serves as the presiding officer of the Sangguniang Panlungsod, with 12 Councilors elected by popular vote as its members. The Sangguniang Panlungsod serves as the city's legislative body and its role is to enact ordinances, approve resolutions, appropriate funds for the general welfare of the city and its inhabitants. Both the council members and the mayor serve three-year terms; and eligible for re-election for two more three-year terms.
Since the city's creation in 2000, only two people have served as Mayor of the City namely Sally A. Lee who is the incumbent Mayor and also served as the first elected mayor of the city, and Leovic R. Dioneda who served from 2007 to 2013. A third person, outgoing provincial vice governor Ester Hamor, will be the new city mayor by noon of June 30, 2019.

Proposed projects

A Sorsogon City Coastal Road is already underway. The construction of the coastal highway was pledged by Senator Francis Escudero and Sorsogon 1st District Representative Evelina Escudero. The 22-hectare coastal highway will help alleviate the traffic congestion once completed and provide an additional space for a walkway.

Notable people

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