Labo, Camarines Norte
Encyclopedia
Labo is a 1st class municipality in the province of Camarines Norte, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 81,388 people in 15,786 households.

The surface of the municipality is generally rugged, rolling hills and mountainous terrain with relative small rollings and flat terrain. Mt. Cadig (736 m above sea level), Mt. Labo(943 m above sea level), Mt. Bagacay (786 m above sea level) and Mt. Nalisbitan (265 m above sea level) form the Southern Cordillera. Boundaries of Camarines Norte
Camarines Norte
Camarines Norte is a province of the Philippines located in the Bicol Region in Luzon. Its capital is Daet and the province borders Quezon to the west and Camarines Sur to the south.-Demographics:...

, Camarines Sur
Camarines Sur
Camarines Sur is a province of the Philippines located in the Bicol Region in Luzon. Its capital is Pili and the province borders Camarines Norte and Quezon to the north, and Albay to the south...

, and Quezon
Quezon
-History:Originally, what now forms Quezon was divided among the provinces of Batangas, Laguna, and Nueva Ecija. The area was first explored by Juan de Salcedo in 1571-1572, during his expedition from Laguna to Camarines provinces....

 provinces converge on Mt. Labo, which is the highest peak in the province. Mt. Bagacay serves as a boundary between municipalities of Paracale and Labo and it as well guards the municipality from strong north winds especially during typhoons. Mt. Labo, Mt. Bagacay, and Mt. Cadig are the three major known dormant volcanoes in the municipality. The northwest portion of the municipality is greatly affected by 2 major fault and earthquake lines accruing in the province, while other trends affect north-northwest along Mt. Cadig passing through the barangays of Guisican and Bayabas.

History

Before the name of "Labo" was known, its former name was "BUSIG-ONN", a place of native inhabitants under the leadership of TARIK-KUDOOG" that is was said discovered by a former soldier of Capt. Juan de Salcedo
Juan de Salcedo
Juan de Salcedo was a Spanish conquistador. He was born in Mexico in 1549 and he was the grandson of Miguel López de Legazpi and brother of Felipe de Salcedo. Salcedo was one of the soldiers who accompanied the Spanish colonization of the Philippines in 1565...

 in 1586 when they returned to the Bicol Peninsula during those time. BUSOG_ON from where the name BUSIGON (river), the largest and upper part of Labo river got its name.

Labo became a royal encomienda in 1591 owned by the King of Spain due to its abundant natural resources having 2992 persons or 648 whole tributes. The villages of this encomienda were closed together including a place known as "AGUETTE" except six villages having 70 tributes which were up the river four or five leagues from the capital. One priest furnished the instruction in this encomienda, namely the canon PAZ; but he made the following visits.

In 1600, there was a period of darkness in the history of Labo when encomienda system was abolished by Spain through Royal Order issued by the King due to some abuses by the encomienda system. In 1603, the Labo encomienda became an original Spanish pueblo but new group of Spanish conquistadores was released to Labo as per ordered from Alcadia Nueva Caceres who took over in 1615 and made Labo a barrio and annexed to Indan (now Vinzons) where missionaries established its parish in 1581. In 1654 the place nearby what is now Labo river was known to the community as center of trade and commerce aside from religious festivities being conducted by Spanish missionaries for the cause of Christianity.

As early historians would write, the name LABO did not come from any legal decree nor was there a public clamor for a name. It was actually a product of clashing languages that resulted in bumbling misinterpretation. It was said that a native was asked by coming Spaniards after a flood (under the leadership of Sgt. Manuel Gonzalo de Villaceran, a missionary) a man with a boat came sailing across. The Spanish sergeant asked "QUE PUEBLO ESO ESTE" thinking that the sergeant was referring to the flooded Labo river, the native replied "MALABO PO ANG TUBIG" (the water is murky). The first word stuck since then.

In 1800, Labo was already included in the book of Agustin dela Cavada, Vol. 1 page 237 entitled CAVADA HISTORICAL DE FILIPINAS as one of the towns in the complete lists of all municipalities in the Philippines.

The Sangguniang Bayan passed a resolution #177-97, Ordinance #108 declaring September 8, 1800 as the creation of the municipality of Labo and approved by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan Resolution #325-97 dated September 19, 1997 and by the Governor dated September 29, 1997.

Geography

The town of Labo is geographically located relatively at the center of the province of Camarines Norte. It is approximately 335 kilometers south of Manila and 15 kilometers away from Daet, the capital town of the province. It is situated at the coordinates between 14°01'06" and 14°11" North latitudes and 122°21'00" and 122°52'20" East longitudes. On the North, it is bounded by the municipalities of Paracale
Paracale, Camarines Norte
Paracale is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Camarines Norte, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 42,453 people in 8,431 households.-Barangays:Paracale is politically subdivided into 27 barangays.* Awitan...

, Jose Panganiban
Jose Panganiban, Camarines Norte
Jose Panganiban is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Camarines Norte, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 80,064 people in 8,969 households....

, and Capalonga
Capalonga, Camarines Norte
Capalonga is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Camarines Norte, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 26,577 people in 5,031 households.-HISTORY:...

, on the South, by the province of Quezon
Quezon
-History:Originally, what now forms Quezon was divided among the provinces of Batangas, Laguna, and Nueva Ecija. The area was first explored by Juan de Salcedo in 1571-1572, during his expedition from Laguna to Camarines provinces....

, adjoining province of Camarines Sur
Camarines Sur
Camarines Sur is a province of the Philippines located in the Bicol Region in Luzon. Its capital is Pili and the province borders Camarines Norte and Quezon to the north, and Albay to the south...

, on the East by the municipalities of Vinzons
Vinzons, Camarines Norte
Vinzons is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Camarines Norte, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 39,470 people in 7,407 households. The first recorded name of Vinzons was Tacboan and was later changed to Indan at which time the Mayor was Pedro Barbin. The...

 and San Vicente
San Vicente, Camarines Norte
San Vicente is a 5th class municipality in the province of Camarines Norte, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 8,984 people in 1,765 households.-Barangays:San Vicente is politically subdivided into 9 barangays.* Asdum...

, and on the West by the municipality of Sta. Elena
Santa Elena, Camarines Norte
Santa Elena is a 4th-class municipality in the province of Camarines Norte, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 27,625 peoples.-Barangays:Santa Elena is politically subdivided into 19 barangays.* Basiad* Bulala* Maulawin...

. The Maharlika highway links this municipality to provinces and cities of the Bicol Region
Bicol Region
The Bicol Region or Bicolandia is one of the 17 regions of the Philippines. Its regional center is Legazpi City...

 and the Calabarzon (Region IV-A)
CALABARZON
CALABARZON is one of the regions of the Philippines. It is also designated as Region IV-A and its regional center is Calamba City in Laguna...

 region.
Its aggregate land area of 648.84 km² occupies more than 25% of the total land area of the province. Its 52 component barangays represent 18.44% of the total barangays of the province. There are ten (10) classified as urban barangays namely Bagacay, Cabusay, Fundado, Anahaw, Bagong Silang I, Dalas, Gumamela, Kalamunding, Malasugui, Pinya, San Francisco, Talobatib and Tulay na Lupa, and the remaining forty two are considered as rural.

Culture, tradition and folklore

  • Social traditions and beliefs - It is typical Filipino to be religious and fanatic. They believe on spirits that affects the daily lives. These beliefs and traditions are passed through generations.
  • Conception and Giving Birth - A pregnant woman is prohibited to frown or laugh at despicable things for the baby will acquire properties of the despised thing. She is also prohibited to go to isolated places because when a bad spirit sees her, she may give birth too soon.
  • Baptism - It is important that a baby should be baptized on time. Unbaptized babies are closer to the devil because they are not holy to protect themselves. It is also important that the Godparents of the baby are good individuals because the baby will get such behavior from them.
  • Courting and Engagement - There are instances that marriage is agreed by the parents while the boy and the girl are still babies. Unknowingly, a woman may have been agreed to be married to a specific man. Most of the time, a man who likes a lady, talks to the lady's parent's to win their approval. The man, helps with the household chores and avoids to do things perfectly, any mistake may mean failure.


These traditions and beliefs are still widely practiced. Despite the growth of modern technologies, almost everybody still believes in luck.

Economy

Labo being located at the center of the province and the most populous town serves as the agricultural center as well as potential investment destination and promotion center for business, trades, and secondary industrial growth center. It is abundant with natural resources such as gold, nickel, iron, magnetite sand, copper, lead and manganese. Most of the provincial water supplies are located at barangay Tulay na Lupa and Lugui which serves seven out of the 12 municipalities. Agriculture is the leading livelihood of the residents of Labo. Due to abundant forest products such as rattan and bamboo, local folks tend to manufacture and market handicrafts.

An area of 390.39 km² (65.17% of municipal's land area) is devoted to agricultural crop production, 343.46 km² of which are coconut plantations. On the other hand, 18.47 km² is used for rice production. Banana production is also popular in the province, followed by Pineapple and Pili.

Tourism is also a good source of income for Labo, being surrounded by freshwater and mountains suitable for hikings.

Other community livelihood follows: pineapple and coco-based processing and preservation, pineapple weaving (Barong
Barong Tagalog
The barong Tagalog is an embroidered formal garment of the Philippines. It is very lightweight and worn untucked , over an undershirt. In Filipino culture it is a common wedding and formal attire, mostly for men but also for women...

), jewelry making and accessories, foods manufacturing and beverages processing, other tourism related industries and wood and bamboo furniture making.

Tourism

Waterfalls
  • Saltahan Falls - barangay Awitan
  • Palanas Falls - barangay Pag-asa
  • Maligaya Falls - barangay Submakin
  • Binuan Falls - barangay Daguit
  • Malatap Falls - barangay Malatap
  • Burok-Busok Falls - barangay Bagong Silang II
  • Turayog Falls - barangay Fundado


Caves
  • Mt. Cadig Cave - Located at Mt. Cadig, barangay Bayabas. Along the highway it is 52 km drive from the town proper. From Maharlika highway it can be hiked via barangay Bayabas or barangay Guisican. Hills, trees and rocky slopes hide this cave from view. The cave is composed of several dark compartments of stalactites and stalagmites. This cave is getting attention to become town's priority tourist attraction.
  • Mambuaya Cave - barangay Fundado
  • Pintong Gubat


Rivers
  • Busig-on River
  • Labo River
  • Matogdon River
  • Abasig River - barangay Baay


Resorts
  • Donya Eusebia Resort and Restaurant
  • Ina's Resort
  • Sinagtala Resort
  • Nature's Resort


Recreation and hiking
  • Saltahan Falls - barangay Awitan
  • Labo People's Park
  • Kukod Kabayo Rest Area
  • Tan-awan / Bilad na Bato - barangay Fundado


Festivals and cultural entertainment
  • Busig-on Festival
  • May Festival
  • Agro-Industrial Fair
  • Search for "Miss Labo"
  • Search for "Mr. Labo"
  • Miss Gay Beauty Pageant
  • Annual Marian Exhibit and procession - held every 8th of September as part of Mary´s birthday celebration, an exposition of priceless arts composed of antiques, vintages and new images of Maria the mother of Jesus. The local artisans, camameros and florists of the province of Camarines Norte joined together in cooperation with the local government of Labo and the Diocese of Daet for the preparation of this event, from the exhibition ended with Marian procession.


Historical landmarks
  • Gen. Vicente R. Lukban Landmark
  • Battle of Tigbinan
  • Saint John The Apostle & Evangelist Parish Church
  • Hagdan Bato
  • Labo Museum
  • Veteran's Monument
  • Centennial Monument
  • Basilio Bautista

Barangays

Labo is politically subdivided into 52 barangay
Barangay
A barangay is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district or ward...

s.


  • Anameam
  • Awitan
  • Baay
  • Bagacay
  • Bagong Silang I
  • Bagong Silang II
  • Bakiad
  • Bautista
  • Bayabas
  • Bayan-bayan
  • Benit
  • Anahaw (Pob.)
  • Gumamela (Pob.)
  • San Francisco (Pob.)
  • Kalamunding (Pob.)
  • Bulhao
  • Cabatuhan
  • Cabusay

  • Calabasa
  • Canapawan
  • Daguit
  • Dalas
  • Dumagmang
  • Exciban
  • Fundado (Brgy. Capt. Caesar Bardon)
  • Guinacutan
  • Guisican
  • Iberica
  • Lugui
  • Mabilo I
  • Mabilo II
  • Macogon
  • Mahawan-hawan
  • Malangcao-Basud
  • Malasugui

  • Malatap
  • Malaya
  • Malibago
  • Maot
  • Masalong
  • Matanlang
  • Napaod
  • Pag-Asa
  • Pangpang
  • Pinya (Pob./Punong barangay Minnie c Londres)
  • San Antonio
  • Santa Cruz
  • Bagong Silang III (Silang)
  • Submakin
  • Talobatib
  • Tigbinan
  • Tulay Na Lupa


External links

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