Bacolod | |
|---|---|
| City of Bacolod | |
 .jpg)   .jpg)  From top, left to right: Bacolod central skyline;San Sebastian Cathedral,Bacolod Public Plaza, Bacolod City Government Center, Lacson Street,Capitol Park and Lagoon | |
 Flag  Seal | |
| Nickname: | |
 Map of Negros Occidental with Bacolod highlighted | |
OpenStreetMap  | |
.svg)  Bacolod City Location within thePhilippines | |
| Coordinates:10°40′35″N122°57′03″E / 10.676458°N 122.950917°E /10.676458; 122.950917 | |
| Country | Philippines |
| Region | Negros Island Region |
| Province | Negros Occidental(geographically only) |
| District | Lone district |
| Founded | 1755 or 1756 (town) |
| Cityhood | June 18, 1938(de jure) October 19, 1938(de facto) |
| Highly urbanized city | September 27, 1984 |
| Barangays | 61 (seeBarangays) |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Greg G. Gasataya |
| • Vice Mayor | Claudio Jesus Raymundo A. Puentevella (NPC) |
| • Representative | Albee B. Benitez (Ind) |
| • City Council | Members
|
| • Electorate | 355,880 voters (2025) |
| Area | |
• City | 162.67 km2 (62.81 sq mi) |
| • Metro | 2,265.30 km2 (874.64 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 105 m (344 ft) |
| Highest elevation | 1,461 m (4,793 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Population (2024 census)[6] | |
• City | 624,787 |
| • Density | 3,840.8/km2 (9,947.7/sq mi) |
| • Metro | 1,435,593 |
| • Metro density | 633.732/km2 (1,641.36/sq mi) |
| • Households | 142,936 |
| Demonyms | Hiligaynon (Ilonggo): Bacolodnon English: Bacolodian Spanish: Bacoleño (masculine)/Bacoleña (feminine) |
| Economy | |
| • Gross domestic product (GDP) | ₱120,933 billion (2021)[7] $2,400 billion (2021)[8] |
| • Income class | 1st city income class |
| • Poverty incidence | 3.4 |
| • Revenue | ₱ 3,447 million (2022) |
| • Assets | ₱ 8,099 million (2022) |
| • Expenditure | ₱ 2,771 million (2022) |
| • Liabilities | ₱ 2,932 million (2022) |
| Service provider | |
| • Electricity | Negros Electric and Power Corporation (NEPC) |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (PST) |
| ZIP code | 6100 |
| PSGC | |
| IDD : area code | +63 (0)34 |
| Languages | Hiligaynon Filipino English |
| Website | bacolodcity |
Bacolod, officially theCity of Bacolod (/bɑːˈkɔːləd/;Tagalog:[bɐˈkɔlɔd];Hiligaynon:Dakbanwa sang Bacolod;Filipino:Lungsod ng Bacolod), is ahighly urbanized city in theNegros Island Region in thePhilippines.[10] According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 624,787 people,[11] making it the most populous city in the Negros Island Region and the second most populous city in the entireVisayas afterCebu City.[12]
It is the largest city and capital of theprovince ofNegros Occidental wherein it is geographically situated and grouped under the province by thePhilippine Statistics Authority, but governed administratively independent. It is one of the two regional centers of Negros Island Region, with the other beingDumaguete. It is also the center of theBacolod metropolitan area, which includes the cities ofSilay andTalisay.
It is notable for itsMassKara Festival held during the third week of October and is known for bearing the nickname "The City of Smiles". The city is also famous for its local delicaciespiaya,cansi,napoleones, andchicken inasal.[13][14][15]
Bacólod (English:Bacolod), is derived frombakólod (Old Spelling:bacólod), theOld Hiligaynon (Old Ilonggo) (Old Spelling:Ylongo and Ilongo) word for a "hill, turtle, mound, rise, hillock, down, any small eminence or elevation",[16] since the resettlement was founded on a stony, hilly area, now thebarangay of Granada.[17] It was officially calledCiudad de Bacólod (City of Bacolod) whenMunicipalidad de Bacólod (Municipality of Bacolod) was converted into a city in 1938.[citation needed]
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Historical church accounts provide a glimpse of the early years of Bacolod as a mere smallsettlement by the riverbank known asMagsungay (translated as "horn-shaped" in English). When the neighboring settlement ofBago was elevated into the status of a small town in 1575,[18] it had several religious dependencies and one of which was the village of Magsungay. The early missionaries placed the village under the care and protection ofSaint Sebastian sometime in the middle of the 18th century. Acorregidor (English:magistrate) by the name of Luis Fernando de Luna, donated a relic of the saint for the growingmission, and since then, the village came to be known asSan Sebastián de Magsung̃ay.[19]
Bacolod was not established as a town until 1755 or 1756, after the inhabitants of the coastal settlement ofSan Sebastián de Magsung̃ay, were attacked byforces underDatuBantílan ofSulu on July 14, 1755, and the villagers transferred from the coast to a hilly area calledBacólod (which is now the barangay of Granada). Bernardino de los Santos became the firstgobernadorcillo (English:municipal judge or governor). The town of Bacolod was constituted as aparroquia (English:parish) in 1788 under thesecular clergy, but did not have a residentpriest until 1802, as the town was served by the priest fromBago, and laterBinalbagan. By 1790, slave raids on Bacolod byMoropirates had ceased.[20]
On February 11, 1802, Fr. Eusebio Laurencio became acting parish priest of Bacolod. In September 1806, Fr. León Pedro was appointed interim parish priest and the following year became the first regular parish priest.[21] In September 1817,Fray (English:Friar) Julián Gonzaga fromBarcelona was appointed as the parish priest. He encouraged the people to settle once again near the sea. He also encouraged migration to Bacolod and the opening of lands to agriculture and industry.[21]
In 1846, upon the request of Romualdo Jimeno,bishop ofCebu andNegros at that time,Governor-GeneralNarciso Clavería y Zaldúa sent to Negros a team ofRecollect missionaries headed by priest Fernando Cuenca.[19] A decree of June 20, 1848, byGobernador General Clavería ordered the restructuring of Negros politically and religiously. The following year (1849),Negros IslandGobernadorcillo Manuel Valdevieso y Morquecho transferred the capital of theProvince of Negros fromHimamaylan to Bacolod and theAugustinian Recollects were asked to assume spiritual administration of Negros, which they did that same year. Transfer of Bacolod to the Recollects, however, took place only in 1871.[20]Fray Mauricio Ferrero became the first Augustinian Recollect parish priest of Bacolod and successor to thesecular priest, Fr. Mariano Ávila.[21] In 1863, a compulsory primary public school system was set up.[22][23]
In 1889, Bacolod became the capital ofOccidental Negros when the province of Negros was politically divided into the separate provinces ofOccidental Negros (Spanish:Negros Occidental) andOriental Negros (Spanish:Negros Oriental).
The success of the uprising in Bacolod and environs was attributed to the low morale of the local imperial Spanish detachment, due to its defeat inPanay andLuzon and to the psychological warfare waged by GeneralsAniceto Lacson andJuan Araneta. In 1897, a battle in Bacolod was fought at Matab-ang River. A year later, on November 5, 1898, theNegrense Revolucionarios (English:Negrense Revolutionary Army), armed with knives,bolos, spears, and rifle-likenipa palm stems, and pieces ofsawali oramakan mounted on carts, captured the convent, presentlyPalacio Episcopal (English:Bishop's Palace), where Colonel Isidro de Castro y Cisneros, well-armedcazadores (English:hunters) andplatoons ofGuardias Civiles (English:Civil Guards), surrendered.
On November 7, 1898, most of the revolutionary army gathered together to establish a provisional junta and to confirm the elections ofAniceto Lacson as president,Juan Araneta as war-delegate, as well as the other officials. For a brief moment, the provinces ofOccidental Negros andOriental Negros were reunited under the cantonal government of theNegrense Revolucionarios, from November 6, 1898, to the end of February 1899, making Bacolod the capital. In March 1899, theAmerican forces led byColonel James G. Smith occupied Bacolod, the revolutionary capital ofRepública Cantonal de Negros (English:Cantonal Republic of Negros). They occupied Bacolod after the invitation of theRepublic of Negros which sought protectorate status for their nation under the United States.
The Cantonal Republic of Negros became aU.S. territory on April 30, 1901. This separated Negros Island once again, reverting Bacolod to its status as the capital ofOccidental Negros.
The public school ofInstituto Rizal (English:Rizal Institute) opened its doors to students on July 1, 1902.[24]Colegio de Nuestra Señora de la Consolación (English:College of Our Lady of Consolation), the first private institution in the province of Negros Occidental, was established in Bacolod by theAugustiniansisters on March 11, 1919, and opened in July 1919.[25][26] Soon, Bacolod welcomed a large number of immigrants from Spain, mainlyBasques andCatalans, who became plantation owners.[27]
A historic event took place in 1938 whenMunicipality of Bacolod was elevated into a city throughCommonwealth Act No. 326 passed by the1st National Assembly of the Philippines creating the City of Bacolod.[28] Assemblyman Pedro C. Hernáez of thesecond district of Negros Occidental sponsored the bill. The law was passed on June 18, 1938. Bacolod was formally inaugurated as achartered city on October 19, 1938, by virtue of Commonwealth Act No. 404,[29] emphasised by the visit ofCommonwealthPresidentManuel L. Quezon. President Quezon appointedAlfredo Montelíbano, Sr. as the first city mayor of Bacolod.[30]
InWorld War II, Bacolod was occupied by theJapanese forces on May 21, 1942.[31][32] Lieutenant General Kawano "Kono" Takeshi, the Japanesecommanding officer of the 77th Infantry Brigade, 102nd Division, seized the homes ofDon Generoso Villanueva, a prominent sugar planter—whose home, theDaku Balay served as the "seat of power" (occupational headquarters for the Japanese Forces in Negros and all of the Central Visayan region of the Philippines) and being the tallest building of Bacolod it served as the city's watchtower—and the home of his brother-in-law, Don Mariano Ramos, the first appointedMunicipal President of Bacolod. The home of Don Generoso was lived in by Lt. General Takeshi throughout the duration of the war and also served as his office and the home of Don Mariano was occupied by a Japanese Colonel serving under the command of Lt. General Takeshi. The city was liberated by jointPhilippine and American forces on May 29, 1945. It took time to rebuild the city after liberation. However, upon the orders of Lt. General Takeshi, both the homes of Villanueva and Ramos were saved from destruction by the retreating Japanese forces.
In March 1945, upon the invasion of the American and Philippine Commonwealth forces, the withdrawal of the Japanese army into the mountains and the temporary occupation of Bacolod by the combined U.S. and Philippine Commonwealth armed forces, the house of Villanueva was then occupied by Major General Rapp Brush,[32] commander of the 40th Infantry Division, known as the "Sun Burst" Division, for approximately five months. The local Philippine military built and established the general headquarters and camp bases of thePhilippine Commonwealth Army which was active from January 3, 1942, to June 30, 1946. The 7th Constabulary Regiment of thePhilippine Constabulary was also active from October 28, 1944, to June 30, 1946, and was stationed in Bacolod during and after World War II.
When the country finally gainedindependence from the United States, the city's public markets and slaughterhouses were rebuilt during the administration of then Mayor Vicente Remitió from 1947 to 1949. In 1948, a fire razed a portion of the records section of the old city hall that consumed the rear end of the building and with it, numerous priceless documents of the city.[33]
Bacolod was classified as a highly urbanized city on September 27, 1984, by the provision of Section 166 and 168 ofthe Local Government Code and the DILG Memo Circular No. 83-49.
In January 1985, the original hardwood and coral structure ofPalacio Episcopal was almost entirely destroyed by a fire. Among the damage of the raging fire were items of significant historical value. The reconstruction ofPalacio which took more than two years, was completed in 1990.[34]
In 2008, Bacolod topped a survey byMoneySense Magazine as the "Best Place to Live in the Philippines".[35] The city has also been declared by theDepartment of Science and Technology as a "center of excellence" forinformation technology andbusiness process management operations.[36] In 2017 & 2019, Bacolod was awarded the "Top Philippine Model City" as the most livable urban center in the country byThe Manila Times.[37][38][39] In 2021, Bacolod received the "2021 Most Business-Friendly Local Government Unit (LGU) Award" under the category of highly urbanized cities outside the National Capital Region (NCR) in the search organized by thePhilippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI). This was the second time Bacolod received such award having won the same title in 2007.[40]
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Bacolod is located on the northwestern coast of the large island ofNegros. Within the island, it is bounded on the north by the city ofTalisay, on the east by thetown of Murcia and on the south by the city ofBago. As a coastal city, it is bounded on the west by theGuimaras Strait, serving as a natural border of northwesternNegros Island Region to the neighboringWestern Visayas. The global location of Bacolod is 10 degrees, 40 minutes 40 seconds - north and 122 degrees 54 minutes 25 seconds - east withBacolod Public Plaza as the benchmark.
Bacolod has a total land area of 16,267 hectares (162.67 km2; 62.81 sq mi), including straits and bodies of water and the 124 hectares (310 acres) reclamation area; and is composed of 61 barangay (villages) and 639 purok (smaller units composing a barangay/village). It is accessible by sea through the ports of Banago; the BREDCO Port in the Reclamation Area, and the port of Pulupandan. By air, it is accessible through theBacolod–Silay International Airport, which is approximately 13 (four is counting from the Lagoon) kilometers away from the center of the city.
Bacolod is ideally located on a level area, slightly sloping down as it extends toward the sea with an average slope of 0.9 percent for the city proper and between 3 and 5 percent for the suburbs.[citation needed] The altitude is 32.8 feet or 10.0 metres abovesea level, with the Bacolod City Public Plaza as thebenchmark.
Bacolod has atropical monsoon climate (KöppenAm) with two pronounced seasons, wet and dry. The rainy (wet) season starts from May to December with heavy rains occurring during August and September. The dry season starts from January until the last week of April.
| Climate data for Bacolod | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 31 (88) | 31 (88) | 32 (90) | 34 (93) | 33 (91) | 32 (90) | 31 (88) | 31 (88) | 31 (88) | 31 (88) | 32 (90) | 31 (88) | 32 (89) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 23 (73) | 23 (73) | 24 (75) | 25 (77) | 25 (77) | 25 (77) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 39 (1.5) | 37 (1.5) | 38 (1.5) | 57 (2.2) | 156 (6.1) | 237 (9.3) | 376 (14.8) | 338 (13.3) | 250 (9.8) | 191 (7.5) | 134 (5.3) | 114 (4.5) | 1,967 (77.4) |
| Source 1:worldweatheronline.com | |||||||||||||
| Source 2:www.myweather2.com | |||||||||||||
Bacolod is politically subdivided into 61barangays. Each barangay consists ofpuroks and some havesitios.
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1903 | 15,983 | — |
| 1918 | 19,424 | +1.31% |
| 1939 | 57,474 | +5.30% |
| 1948 | 101,432 | +6.52% |
| 1960 | 119,315 | +1.36% |
| 1970 | 187,300 | +4.61% |
| 1975 | 223,392 | +3.60% |
| 1980 | 262,415 | +3.27% |
| 1990 | 364,180 | +3.33% |
| 1995 | 402,345 | +1.88% |
| 2000 | 429,076 | +1.39% |
| 2007 | 499,497 | +2.12% |
| 2010 | 511,820 | +0.89% |
| 2015 | 561,875 | +1.79% |
| 2020 | 600,783 | +1.42% |
| 2024 | 624,787 | +0.94% |
| Source:Philippine Statistics Authority[41][42][43][44][45] | ||
As of 2020, Bacolod has a total population of 600,783,[12] and its registered voting population is 312,816 voters (2019). Bacolod is the largest city in the Negros Island Region in terms of population.
Poverty incidence of Bacolod
Source:Philippine Statistics Authority[46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53]
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Bacolod is the Philippines' third fastest growing economy in terms ofinformation technology (IT) andbusiness process outsourcing (BPO) activities.[54] The city has been recommended by the Information and Communication Technology Office of theDepartment of Science and Technology (DOST) and Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) as the best location in the Visayas for BPO activities.[54]Bacolod ranked 3rd among the top ten "Next Wave Cities" of the Philippines for the best location for BPO andoffshoring according to a 2010 report of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology.[55][56] In 2013, the city was declared a "center of excellence" for IT-business process management operations by the DOST, joining the ranks ofMetro Manila,Metro Cebu andClark Freeport Zone.[36]
Among the notable BPO andKPO companies operating in the city areConcentrix,Teleperformance,TTEC,iQor,Transcom, Ubiquity Global Services,[57][58] Panasiatic Solutions,[59]Focus Direct Inc. – Bacolod,[60] Pierre and Paul Solutions Inc.,[60][61] TELESYNERGY Corp. – Bacolod,[62] Hit Rate Solutions/Next Level IT Teleservices Inc.,[63][60] Focusinc Group Corporation (FGC Plus),[64] Pathcutters Philippines Inc.,[65] TeleQuest Voice Services (TQVS),[60][61] ServiceFirst Call Center and BPO, Fair Trade Outsourcing, Global Strategic Business Process Solutions, Monster Group Bacolod, Orbit Teleservices, VISAYA KPO Bacolod, and iReply Back Office Services.
In 2012, a two-hectare (4.9-acre) portion of the four-hectare (9.9-acre)Paglaum Sports Complex was partitioned for the construction of the provincial government-owned Negros First CyberCentre (NFCC) as an IT-BPO Outsourcing Hub with a budget of P674-million. It is located at Lacson corner Hernaez Streets and offers up to 22,000 square meters of mixed IT-BPO and commercial spaces. Its facilities are divided into three sections — Information Technology, Commercial Support Facilities, and Common IT Facilities. It was inaugurated in April 2015 in rites led by PresidentBenigno S. Aquino III.[66] The area was initially a residential zone and has been reclassified as a commercial zone as approved by the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance.[67]
Along its highways, sugarcane plantations are a typical scene. As of 2003, 7,216 hectares (17,830 acres) of the city's 8,560 hectares (21,200 acres) of agricultural land were still planted with sugarcane. Meanwhile, 915 hectares (2,260 acres) were devoted to rice, 120 hectares (300 acres) to assorted vegetables, 100 hectares (250 acres) to coconut, 43 hectares (110 acres) to banana and 34 hectares (84 acres) to corn.[68]
According to the "Philippine Cities Competitiveness Ranking Project 2005" ofAsian Institute of Management (AIM), Bacolod tops the list in terms of infrastructure, ahead of such other mid-size cities likeIligan,Calamba andGeneral Santos. The city also tops the list in terms of quality of life, ahead of such other mid-size cities likeSan Fernando,Baguio,Iloilo andLipa. AIM also recognized Bacolod as one of theTop Five most competitive mid-size cities together withBatangas, Iligan, Iloilo, and San Fernando.[69]
In 2022, PresidentBongbong Marcos unveiledMegaworld Corporation's plan to build a 34-hectare mixed-used development called Megaworld Upper East. The project is said to generate over 500,000 direct and indirect jobs in the province of Negros Occidental, 100,000 of which are BPO employees.[70]
Bacolod hosted the2005 Southeast Asian Games Football tournament, the2007 ASEAN Football Championship qualification, the2010 AFC U-16 Championship qualification and the2012 AFC Challenge Cup qualification play-off first leg was held at the Panaad Stadium where thePhilippines won 2–0 overMongolia.[71] Likewise the city has the home football stadium of thePhilippines national football team (Azkals).
ThePhilippines Football League sideCeres–Negros F.C. is based in the city, playing their home games at the newly renovatedPanaad Stadium.
Since Bacolod is also being tagged as a "Football City" in the country,[72] an ordinance was approved by the City Council in June 2015, setting the third week of the month of April every year as the "Bacolod City Football Festival Week".[73]
Ceres-Negros FC is the Philippines Football League 2018 Champion.
Bacolod is home to two professional basketball teams, both in theMaharlika Pilipinas Basketball League, with theBacolod City of Smiles andNegros Muscovados both playing their home games atLa Salle Coliseum. It is also the former home of theNegros Slashers of the defunctMetropolitan Basketball Association.
The 2008 and 2024 PBA All-Star Weekend was held in the city and has since been a regular venue of thePhilippine Basketball Association's out-of-town games. The Sandugo Unigames 2012 was also hosted by the city participated by various universities across the country.to The Greg Gasataya Basketball (GGBL) League is the most prominent and prestigious inter-barangay basketball league of the city since 2017 to the present.
The 1996Philippine Karatedo Federation (PKF) National Championships and the 20th PKF National Open 2007 were held in the city. Both events were hosted byLa Salle Coliseum of theUniversity of St. La Salle. The tournaments were contested by hundreds of karatekas all over the country.[74][75]
There are two major golf courses in the city: the Bacolod Golf and Country Club and the Negros Occidental Golf and Country Club. The city hosted the 61stPhilippine Airlines Inter-club Golf Tournament and the 2008 Philippine Amateur Golf Championship. A Golf tournament sponsored by the City Mayor is also held every Masskara.
Bacolod is home to many mixed martial arts competitions including quarterly fights hosted by theUniversal Reality Combat Championship.[76]
The firstParkour team in Negros, known as "Parkour Bacolod", started in late 2007.[77][78]
TheMassKara Festival (Hiligaynon: Pista sang Maskara, Filipino: Fiesta ng Maskara) is an annual festival held on the fourth Sunday of October in Bacolod. Dancers wear masks, which is where the festival gets its name.
ThePanaad sa Negros Festival, or just the Panaad Festival (sometimes spelled as Pana-ad), is a festival held annually during the month of April. Panaad is the Hiligaynon word for "vow" or "promise"; the festival is a form of thanksgiving to Divine Providence and commemoration of a vow in exchange for a good life.[79]
The celebration is held at the Panaad Park, which also houses the Panaad Stadium, and is participated in by the 13 cities and 19 towns of the province. For this reason, the province dubs it the "mother" of all its festivals.
Bacolod's Chinese New Year Festival. It comes from the word "Bacolod" and "Lao Diat" which means celebration.[80]
ThePanaad Park and Sports Complex is a multi-purpose park in the city owned by the Provincial Government of Negros Occidental. Situated in the complex is thePanaad Stadium which is currently used mostly for football matches. It is the home stadium ofPhilippines Football League teamCeres–Negros F.C. It was used for the2005 South East Asian Games and was the venue of the pre-qualifiers of the2007 ASEAN Football Championship or ASEAN Cup.
The stadium has a seating capacity of 15,500, but holds around 20,000 people with standing areas. It is unofficially designated as the home stadium of the Philippines national football team. Aside from the football field, it also has a rubberized track oval, anOlympic-size swimming pool and other sports facilities.The stadium is also the home ofPanaad sa Negros Festival, a week-long celebration participated in by all cities and municipalities in the province held annually every summer. The festival is highlighted by merry-making, field demonstrations, pageant and concert at the stadium. The stadium itself features replicas of the landmarks of the 13 cities and 19 municipalities of Negros Occidental.
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TheBacolod Public Plaza is one of the notable landmarks in Bacolod, the capital of Negros Occidental, which is found right in the heart of downtown area, very near to the city hall and right across theSan Sebastian Cathedral.
The plaza is the celebrated place ofMassKara Festival.[81] It is a week-long festival held each year in Bacolod City every third weekend of October nearest October 19, the city'sCharter Anniversary. Bacolod public plaza is the final destination of Masskara street dancing competitions which is the highlights of the celebration.
TheCapitol Park and Lagoon is a provincial park located right in the heart of Bacolod City, Negros Occidental, in the Philippines. One of the landmarks of the park is thecarabao (water buffalo) being reared by a woman. This carabao is located at the northern end of the lagoon. On the southern end, there is also another carabao sculpture being pulled by a man. Locals are known to feed pop corns, pop rice, and other edible delicacies sold within the park to the fishes in the lagoon.
Negros Museum is a privately owned provincial museum situated in the Negros Occidental Provincial Capitol Complex in Bacolod City, Philippines. The structure was built in 1925 as the Provincial Agriculture Building. Negros Museum Cafe serves the needs of museum goers and walk-in guests, situated in the West Annex of the museum. It includes a separate entrance, which includes an open-air and an in-house station occasionally used for small theater plays and art exhibitions. The cafe and the resident chef serves as the official caterer of the Office of the Governor and the Provincial Government of Negros Occidental for official dignitary functions[82][circular reference]
ThePaglaum Sports Complex is a provincial-owned sports venue adjacent to theNegros Occidental High School established during the 1970s that hosted various football events, such as the 1991 Philippines International Cup and the football event of the2005 Southeast Asian Games. It also hosted three editions of thePalarong Pambansa (1971, 1974, 1979). However, the stadium became unfit to host football matches following the erection of business establishments around the area. In 2012, a two-hectare portion of the four-hectare complex was partitioned for the construction of the Capitol-owned Negros First CyberCentre (NFCC) as an IT-BPO Outsourcing Hub. As of 2013, the provincial government has been proposing for a renovation of the stadium to serve as alternative venue toPanaad Park and Sports Complex, particularly for football competition. Recently, the Paglaum Sports Complex also serves as an alternative venue to the Bacolod Public Plaza for the MassKara Festival celebration.
TheNegros Occidental Multi-Purpose Activity Center (NOMPAC) is a provincial-owned multi-usegym adjacent to theCapitol Park and Lagoon. It is currently used mostly forbasketball,karatedo andboxing matches. Aside from the gym, it also serves asevacuation site of the province during calamities likewise also serves ascultural facilities in many events.
TheBacolod Arts & Youth Sports Center (BAYS Center) is a multi-usegym fronting theBacolod Public Plaza. It is used mostly forbasketball,karatedo andboxing matches, and was previously used in events in the city like theMassKara Festival activities and other government related activities like seminars, business and political gatherings.
The gym has a seating capacity of more than a thousand. It is officially designated as theCOMELEC tally headquarters for both local andnationalelection in thePhilippines.
The Bacolod Baywalk is a privately ownedesplanade situated near the Bacolod Real Estate Development Corporation (BREDCO) at the city's Reclamation Area. It was first opened in 2013 and re-opened to the public in 2022.
Art District located along Lacson Street is known for its street art mural and graffiti, restaurants and nightlife.[83]
Bacolod has onepublictertiaryteaching-learning hospital under the direct management of theDepartment of Health – Negros Island Regional Office (regional hospital): theCorazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH). In September 2022, as per Republic Act 11564, the city government-owned Bacolod City General Hospital held its groundbreaking and is expected to be completed and operational in 2025.[84][85] The Bacolod City Health Office is responsible for the implementation and planning of the health care programs provided by the city government, which also operates and supervises Health Centers in the barangays of the city.Private hospitals in Bacolod that providetertiary care include the: Dr. Pablo O. Torre Memorial Hospital (owned and operated by The Riverside Medical Center Inc.); The Doctors' Hospital Inc.; Adventist Medical Center – Bacolod; Bacolod Queen of Mercy Hospital; South Bacolod General Hospital and Medical Center Inc., Metro Bacolod Hospital and Medical Center; and the upcoming Asia–Pacific Medical Center Bacolod Inc.
Bacolod currently has 5 large universities and more than a dozen other schools specializing in various courses. Currently, as sanctioned by theDepartment of Education, all primary and secondary institutions in the city use theK-12 and the MATATAG educational system.
The city alone currently hosts five of well-known educational institutions in the nation. These are:
Other noteworthy educational institutions include:
TheBacolod–Silay Airport, located in nearbyCity of Silay, is 15 kilometers north-east from Bacolod. Bacolod is 1 hour by air fromManila, 30 minutes by air fromCebu, 1 hour by air fromCagayan de Oro and 1 hour and 10 minutes by air fromDavao City.
Bacolod City Domestic Airport was the former airport serving the general area of Bacolod. It was one of the busiest airports in theWestern Visayas region, when Bacolod and Negros Occidental were both still part of it. This airport was later replaced by the new Bacolod–Silay International Airport, located in Silay. It was classified as such by theCivil Aviation Authority of the Philippines or CAAP, a body of theDepartment of Transportation that is responsible for the operations of all other airports in the Philippines except the major international airports. The Bacolod City Domestic Airport ceased operations on January 17, 2008, prior to the opening of the Bacolod–Silay International Airport which began operations the day after.[86]
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BREDCO Port and Port of Banago are the vessels entry point in Bacolod. It has Fastcrafts going to Iloilo City daily, with different companies such asWeesam Express,OceanJet, andMontenegro Lines. It also has Roll-on/Roll-off (RORO) vessels going daily, to the Port ofDumangas,Iloilo with companies such asMontenegro Lines,FastCat,Starlite Ferries, and Tri-Star Megalink.
2GO Travel has routes from Bacolod going toManila,Batangas,Iloilo andCagayan de Oro.
Bacolod is 18 to 23 hours from thePort of Manila, 12 to 15 hours from thePort of Cagayan de Oro, 2 to 3 hours from thePort of Dumangas and 1 hour from thePort of Iloilo.
Current Routes going to Bacolod as of October 2024:
Manila - Batangas - Iloilo - Bacolod - Manila
Served by
Manila - Iloilo - Bacolod - Cagayan De Oro - Manila
Served by
Bacolod - Iloilo
Served By
Bacolod (BREDCO) - Dumangas
Served by
Bacolod (Banago) - Dumangas
Served By
Bacolod has two main roads, Lacson Street to the north and Araneta Street to the south. The streets in the downtown area areone way, making Bacolod free from traffic congestion. Recently, Bacolod City is experiencing an increase in traffic congestion due to an increase in number of vehicles.[87]
By land-ferry, Bacolod is approximately an hour directly fromIloilo City while by land-RORO-land, Bacolod is approximately 3 hours from Iloilo City viaDumangas route. By land-ferry-land, Bacolod City is approximately 4 hours and 30 minutes fromCebu City viaToledo-San Carlos/Don Salvador Benedicto route while it takes approximately 6 hours by land-RORO-land via same route. By land-RORO-land, Bacolod is approximately 7 hours and 30 minutes from Cebu City viaTabuelan–Escalante, Toledo-San Carlos/Escalante and Toledo-San Carlos/Canlaon routes. Bacolod toDumaguete viaMabinay route is approximately 6 hours while viaCadiz–San Carlos route takes approximately 8 hours, both routes goingNegros Oriental. Bacolod is 215 kilometres (134 mi) fromDumaguete via Kabankalan-Mabinay-Bais Road.
As of 2021:[88]
Bacolod has the followingsister cities:[89][90][91][92][93][94][95][96][97]
Andong, South Korea[98]
Darwin, Australia
Kamloops, Canada[99]
Keelung, Taiwan
Long Beach, California, United States – However,Sister Cities International designates Bacolod and Long Beach as Friendship Cities.[100]
Singaraja, Indonesia
Places adjacent to Bacolod | |
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