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Bais | |
|---|---|
| City of Bais | |
  San Nicolas de Tolentino Roman Catholic Parish Church of Bais (top),Iglesia Filipina Independiente Parish Church of St. Nicholas de Tolentino, Bais (bottom) | |
 Flag  Seal | |
 Map of Negros Oriental with Bais highlighted | |
 Interactive map of Bais | |
.svg)  Bais Location within thePhilippines | |
| Coordinates:9°35′26″N123°07′17″E / 9.590661°N 123.121269°E /9.590661; 123.121269 | |
| Country | Philippines |
| Region | Negros Island Region |
| Province | Negros Oriental |
| District | 2nd district |
| Cityhood | September 7, 1968 |
| Barangays | 35 (seeBarangays) |
| Government | |
| • Type | Sangguniang Panlungsod |
| • Mayor | Luigi Marcel T. Goñi |
| • Vice Mayor | Mercedes T. Goñi (NPC) |
| • Representative | Ma. Isabel L. Sagarbarria (Lakas) |
| • City Council | Members
|
| • Electorate | 62,996 voters (2025) |
| Area | |
• Total | 319.64 km2 (123.41 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 179 m (587 ft) |
| Highest elevation | 926 m (3,038 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Population (2024 census)[3] | |
• Total | 88,050 |
| • Density | 275.5/km2 (713.5/sq mi) |
| • Households | 20,047 |
| Economy | |
| • Income class | 3rd city income class |
| • Poverty incidence | 30.89 |
| • Revenue | ₱ 1,130 million (2022) |
| • Assets | ₱ 4,435 million (2022) |
| • Expenditure | ₱ 583.6 million (2022) |
| • Liabilities | ₱ 756.3 million (2022) |
| Service provider | |
| • Electricity | Negros Oriental 1 Electric Cooperative (NORECO 1) |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (PST) |
| ZIP code | 6206 |
| PSGC | |
| IDD : area code | +63 (0)35 |
| Native languages | Cebuano Ata Tagalog |
Bais, officially theCity of Bais (Cebuano:Dakbayan sa Bais;Filipino:Lungsod ng Bais), is acomponent city in theprovince ofNegros Oriental,Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 88,050 people.[5]
In the early days of Spanish exploration, some Spaniards came upon a swampy land and docked their boats at the vicinity of the two small islets that guarded the village. While exploring the place, they saw natives fishing along the coast. The Spaniards approached the natives and asked for the name of the place. The natives could not understand Spanish, and believing that the Spaniards were asking for the name of their catch, the natives answered saying "Ba-is"; from that day on, this swampy valley of the Old Panlabangan and Talamban Hills became known as Bais.[6]
Another explanation of the origin of the name Bais is that it was derived from the Visayan word "ba-is" for brackish-water eel – a fish species native to the city and one which has become the city's delicacy.
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Pioneer in the sugar industry
Negros Oriental's economy was far from progressive, and its rich soil was not utilized to its full capacity in the 1850s. During those years, people inNegros Island are depicted as having a life of content for they tended to produce only enough goods to meet their daily needs. Even before the sugar boom of the 1850s, Negros was already producing cash crops. The transport of most of its product was mainly done from the ports ofIloilo, which explains the fast moving pace of development of thesugar industry in Negros Occidental, primarily due to its proximity to Iloilo. This situation was a disadvantage on the movement of sugar from the oriental plantations further away to the east.
The pioneeragricultores and adventurers includeRodrigo Rubio y Pérez,Diego Baena y García-Gil, andJosé Romero Moreno, fromCádiz,Agustín de Sandes ofMexico City,Juan José de Altónaga ofErandio,Hermenegildo Villanueva Dee y Regis, achino cristiano from Parián,Cebu. Many more agricultural titans of the time came and went until the decline of the industry in the 80s and 90s when the town was beset by low international commodity prices.
A wide array of difficulties barred the development of the sugar industry in the Oriental part of the island. After hearing about the fertility of the flatland of Bais, these aforementioned individuals carved away the virgin forests of the eastern side of the island. Many came and settled in the area and planted fragrant rice, native coffee, and sugar cane. The small-scale production ofmuscovado sugar is attributed toDumaguetechino cristiano rice merchant Vicente Anunciación TevesTan Ing-Lai from their mills which was then exported to Spain via Iloilo, the principal shipping point in the Visayas. This was loaded in large sailboats calledlorchas orbatél built by Aniceto VillanuevaDee and marketed Joaquín Montenegro Mascato since the ships of YCO have not plied the Tañón Strait yet.
Bais credits much of its progress to theCentral Azucarera de Báis y Tanjay, the largest producer of raw sugar in Negros Oriental. It was established by theCompañía-General de Tabacos de Filipinas, S.A. of Spain around 1917 (Baisanon Historian Prof. Penn T. Larena )
The sugarcane industry reached its peak in the 1930s, and again in the 1950s and 1960s, bringing affluence to the Negrenses and enabling them to build statelyfincas and to acquire properties all over the province, and even as far asMakati's posh neighbourhoods, rivalling that of the Iloilo sugar barons.
TheCentral Azucarera de Báis itself is an old foreboding structure of metal and hard wood. The offices may have seen better days, the dank smell of nostalgia hang heavy in the air, but are still functional. Nearby is the Casa Grande, an equally old residential compound surrounded by tall acacia trees, which was built for the use of the employees of the Azucarera. The two-storey wooden houses are greatly influenced by oldSpanish design and architecture. Much of the houses have undergone restoration and continue to be used as homes of the representatives of the executives of the new management.
In 1959, PresidentCarlos P. Garcia signed Republic Act No. 2469, where fourteen of the municipality's sitios seceded to form the municipality ofMabinay.[7]Trinidad seceded before the war to form its own municipality. Bais officially became a city on the 9th of September, 1968 (R.A. No. 5444). Currently, there have been calls for the charter to be amended to bring back the seceded cities back into the fold since the population has exploded. The latest development is attributed to theCebuana Lhuillier Group which owns half of the prime real estate, and a third of the whole city.
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Located 45 kilometres (28 mi) from the provincial capitalDumaguete and 170 kilometres (110 mi) fromBacolod, it has a land area of 31,964 hectares (78,980 acres). There are twobays in the area, hence the name "Bais." The shore line is mostlymangroves, which are in danger of destruction due to the increasing population. The richness of marine life in the bays is because of these mangroves.
The city is characterized by widespread lowlands that are ideal for sugar planting because of the city's naturally fertile soil. At least 73% of the city's total land area is devoted primarily to agriculture, primarily to creating sugar plantations.
The territorial jurisdiction of Bais includes two islets (Olympia and Dewey) and the Bais Bay. The Bais Bay area holds a diversity of animal life and is a rich breeding and fishing ground for demersal and other fish species, and also invertebrates. North Bais Bay is also famous fordolphin watching.
The Pelarta River runs beside the city center. The river has been the source of irrigation water for the nearby sugar farms, making it vital in the success of sugar plantations in this area. This river also has a big influence on the city's geography, as it deposits sediments in the former mangrove areas during the (formerly annual) flood season. These former mangrove swamps have now dried out and become populated with residents. In the late 1970s, under the Genaro Goñi administration, a river control system stretching from the city center toward the low-lying areas was established in order to lessen flooding during the rainy season.
Further south are the stately plantation houses owned by sugar planters, mostly standing on one of the lots in the family hacienda. Inside the haciendas are chapels whose altar and icons date back to 1917. Educational visits to these places may be arranged at the Bais City Tourism Office. Visitors get to tour via the old railroad trams used by the milling companies to hasten sugar cane transport.
Bais is politically subdivided into 35barangays. Each barangay consists ofpuroks and some havesitios.
| PSGC | Barangay | Population | ±% p.a. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024[8] | 2010[9] | |||||
| 074604001 | Barangay I (Pob.) | 4.0% | 3,478 | 3,868 | ▾ | −0.77% |
| 074604002 | Barangay II (Pob.) | 10.8% | 9,483 | 9,904 | ▾ | −0.31% |
| 074604003 | Basak | 2.5% | 2,175 | 1,610 | ▴ | 2.20% |
| 074604004 | Biñohon | 1.5% | 1,347 | 1,506 | ▾ | −0.81% |
| 074604005 | Cabanlutan | 2.7% | 2,417 | 1,996 | ▴ | 1.40% |
| 074604006 | Calasga-an | 2.8% | 2,484 | 2,556 | ▾ | −0.21% |
| 074604007 | Cambagahan | 8.2% | 7,234 | 4,990 | ▴ | 2.73% |
| 074604008 | Cambaguio | 1.6% | 1,371 | 1,244 | ▴ | 0.71% |
| 074604009 | Cambanjao | 1.8% | 1,597 | 1,504 | ▴ | 0.44% |
| 074604010 | Cambuilao | 2.1% | 1,816 | 1,633 | ▴ | 0.77% |
| 074604011 | Canlargo | 2.5% | 2,179 | 1,636 | ▴ | 2.10% |
| 074604012 | Capiñahan | 2.1% | 1,822 | 1,682 | ▴ | 0.58% |
| 074604013 | Consolacion | 0.7% | 638 | 586 | ▴ | 0.62% |
| 074604014 | Dansulan | 1.2% | 1,076 | 1,220 | ▾ | −0.91% |
| 074604015 | Hangyad | 0.3% | 238 | 206 | ▴ | 1.05% |
| 074604030 | Katacgahan | 1.5% | 1,350 | 1,029 | ▴ | 1.99% |
| 074604017 | La Paz | 1.3% | 1,169 | 962 | ▴ | 1.42% |
| 074604018 | Lo-oc | 2.9% | 2,543 | 2,226 | ▴ | 0.97% |
| 074604019 | Lonoy | 3.5% | 3,088 | 2,855 | ▴ | 0.57% |
| 074604020 | Mabunao | 1.7% | 1,488 | 1,413 | ▴ | 0.38% |
| 074604021 | Manlipac | 3.7% | 3,228 | 2,598 | ▴ | 1.59% |
| 074604022 | Mansangaban | 1.5% | 1,296 | 1,368 | ▾ | −0.39% |
| 074604023 | Okiot | 4.3% | 3,822 | 3,536 | ▴ | 0.57% |
| 074604024 | Olympia | 1.1% | 980 | 866 | ▴ | 0.90% |
| 074604025 | Panala-an | 4.6% | 4,065 | 3,790 | ▴ | 0.51% |
| 074604026 | Panam-angan | 1.2% | 1,015 | 1,244 | ▾ | −1.46% |
| 074604027 | Rosario | 0.7% | 576 | 273 | ▴ | 5.56% |
| 074604028 | Sab-ahan | 8.0% | 7,046 | 6,241 | ▴ | 0.88% |
| 074604029 | San Isidro | 0.4% | 389 | 340 | ▴ | 0.98% |
| 074604031 | Tagpo | 3.1% | 2,709 | 2,488 | ▴ | 0.62% |
| 074604032 | Talungon | 4.2% | 3,714 | 2,083 | ▴ | 4.28% |
| 074604033 | Tamisu | 4.3% | 3,827 | 2,884 | ▴ | 2.07% |
| 074604034 | Tamogong | 0.7% | 583 | 418 | ▴ | 2.44% |
| 074604035 | Tangculogan | 1.5% | 1,278 | 1,100 | ▴ | 1.09% |
| 074604036 | Valencia | 0.9% | 796 | 867 | ▾ | −0.62% |
| Total | 88,050 | 74,722 | ▴ | 1.20% | ||
| Climate data for Bais, Negros Oriental | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 29 (84) | 29 (84) | 30 (86) | 32 (90) | 31 (88) | 30 (86) | 30 (86) | 30 (86) | 30 (86) | 30 (86) | 29 (84) | 29 (84) | 30 (86) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 23 (73) | 23 (73) | 23 (73) | 24 (75) | 25 (77) | 25 (77) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) | 23 (73) | 24 (75) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 35 (1.4) | 28 (1.1) | 38 (1.5) | 51 (2.0) | 125 (4.9) | 195 (7.7) | 194 (7.6) | 173 (6.8) | 180 (7.1) | 192 (7.6) | 121 (4.8) | 64 (2.5) | 1,396 (55) |
| Average rainy days | 9.2 | 8.2 | 9.9 | 11.3 | 22.5 | 27.3 | 28.0 | 27.2 | 27.1 | 26.9 | 19.7 | 12.7 | 230 |
| Source: Meteoblue(Use with caution: this is modeled/calculated data, not measured locally.)[10] | |||||||||||||
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| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1903 | 8,016 | — |
| 1918 | 13,952 | +3.76% |
| 1939 | 22,471 | +2.30% |
| 1948 | 17,869 | −2.51% |
| 1960 | 33,653 | +5.42% |
| 1970 | 40,095 | +1.76% |
| 1975 | 45,672 | +2.65% |
| 1980 | 49,301 | +1.54% |
| 1990 | 59,591 | +1.91% |
| 1995 | 63,355 | +1.15% |
| 2000 | 68,115 | +1.57% |
| 2007 | 74,702 | +1.28% |
| 2010 | 74,722 | +0.01% |
| 2015 | 76,291 | +0.40% |
| 2020 | 84,317 | +2.13% |
| 2024 | 88,050 | +1.05% |
| Source:Philippine Statistics Authority[11][12][9][13][14] | ||
Poverty incidence of Bais
Source:Philippine Statistics Authority[15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]
Sugar is the major commercial crop in the city. Bais is the largest producer of raw sugar in Negros Oriental. There are twosugar mills in the city. The Central Azucarera de Bais was established by Tabacalera of Spain in the early 1918 and is the oldest in the country. The other mill is URSUMCO (Universal Robina Sugar Milling Corporation) which was formerly known as UPSUMCO (United Planters Milling Corporation) and constructed in the mid-1970s by Marubeni Corporation of Japan as a project of Ignacio Longa Vicente (also ofSpanish roots). An ethanol plant of the Universal Robina Corporation (URC) that produces bioethanol for the local market was inaugurated.[23]
The local economy is dominated by agricultural activities and output. Seventy-three percent of the city's total land area is devoted to agriculture. The existing urban area in the city covers only 109.12 hectares. About 36% of the city's agricultural land is planted in sugarcane, yielding 1.16 million gross kilograms annually for the domestic and foreign markets.
Fish production is the city's second income earner, with about 428 hectares of the land area devoted to fishpond development and operation and fish culture. Bangus (milkfish) culture is the dominant activity. In 2000, the bangus yield in the city was at 722 tons.
An annualfiesta is held each year on September 10 in honor of the city's patron saintSan Nicolás de Tolentino, a celebration inherited from the Spanish era. On this occasion, most of the residents prepare food for anyone who visits - a tradition practiced not only in Bais but also in most towns and cities in the Philippines. Lately, the celebration has included mardigras and parades.
The government of Bais operates ecotourism activities in the city, highlighted by whale and dolphin watching and nature treks. Two annual Bais festivals have also become tourism events: the Hudyaka sa Bais Mardigras (which was changed to Sipong Festival and later on changed back to Hudyaka) and the Christmas Festival (which showcases the city's, perhaps the province's only, giant rotating Christmas tree and colorful decors) since 1950.
A concern of the city is its liquid and solid waste management. At present, liquid wastes are emptied directly without treatment into the Bais basin. The current dump site for solid waste is due for closure, and site development for a new 12.5-hectare sanitary landfill is being finalized.
Bais is reported to be the last stronghold of the Spanish language in the Philippines, since some of the Spaniards are in the first settlement area of Negros, (and southeast of Bais) Tanjay.
The public schools in Bais are administered by the Schools Division of Bais City.
Integrated schools:
Accredited Transport Cooperative as of January 2021:
Places adjacent to Bais, Negros Oriental | |
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| International | |
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| National | |
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