Republic of the Philippines
Bulacan State University
GRADUATE SCHOOL
City of Malolos, Bulacan
CITY OF BAGUIO
(Governance and Administration)
A Report Submitted to:
DR. ARSENIO RIVERA PASCUA, REA
Professor I
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Course
LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND REGIONAL ADMINISTRATION (PA 309)
Prepared By:
Joie Marie S. Caballero
2nd Trimester, S.Y. 2017 - 2018
January 27, 2018
CITY OF BAGUIO
“City of Pines”
“Summer Capital of the Philippines”
OVERVIEW
Baguio City is a mountain resort city located in Northern Luzon. Baguio is classified
as a Highly Urbanized City (HUC). It is geographically located within Benguet, serving as
the provincial capital from 1901 to 1916, but has since been administered independently from
the province following its conversion into a chartered city. The city has become the center of
business, commerce, and education in northern Luzon, as well as the regional center of the
Cordillera Administrative Region.
HISTORY
The arrival of the Americans in the early 1900s spurred development in the City. The
American Governor Luke E. Wright commissioned Architect Daniel H. Burnham, a
prominent Urban Planner to develop a plan for a health resort where the American soldiers
and civilian employees could find respite from the sweltering lowland heat. This plan, better
known as the Burnham Plan greatly altered the original mountain settlement and provided the
first physical framework plan for the City. It paved the way for rapid physical development,
the undertones of which are still visible up this date.
The physical framework as embodied in the Burnham Plan integrates a road and park
system into one. It envisioned evolving in a compact garden city for 25,000 to 30,000 people.
Supporting this development plan was the enactment of a charter approved on September 1,
1909 that provided administrative as well as managerial autonomy for the city. Soon after the
city’s charter was enacted, scenic Kennon Road was opened to vehicular traffic. This
triggered the mining boom in surrounding areas in the early to mid 1930’s. Baguio City was
the service and operations center for the mining industry, and hence a direct beneficiary of
the economic growth. The events of the Second World War stalled all development, leaving
the city in total devastation. Fast placed development however ensued following the war
years. Such development trends transformed the city into what it is today, a premier urban
center north of Manila, performing a municipality of roles, as an educational, trade, tourism
and administrative center.
GEOGRAPHY
Baguio City is approximately 250
kilometers north of Manila, situated in the
Province of Benguet. The area of the city is
49 square kilometers enclosed in the
perimeter of 30 kilometers. The developed
portion of the city corresponds to the plateau
that rises to an elevation of 1,400 meters.
Most of it lies in the northern half of the city.
The City is landlocked within the province
of Benguet, thus bounding it on all sides by its different municipalities; on the North by the
capital town of La Trinidad, on the East by Itogon and to the South and West by Tuba. With
City Hall as reference point, it extends 8.2 kilometers from East to West and 7.2 kilometers
from North to South. It has a perimeter of 30.98 kilometers. The City has twenty
administrative districts among which its 129 barangays are divided.
CLIMATE
Under the Köppen climate classification, Baguio features a subtropical highland
climate (Cwb) that closely borders a tropical monsoon climate (Am). The city is known for
its mild climate owing to its high elevation. The temperature in the city is usually about 7-8
degrees Celsius lower than the temperature in the lowland area. Average temperature ranges
from 15 to 23 °C (59 to 73 °F) with the lowest temperatures between November and
February. The lowest recorded temperature was 6.3 °C (43.3 °F) on January 18, 1961 and in
contrast, the all-time high of 30.4 °C (86.7 °F) was recorded on March 15, 1988 during the
1988 El Niño season. The temperature seldom exceeds 26 °C (79 °F) even during the
warmest part of the year.
DEMOGRAPHICS
Population census of Baguio
The city’s population as of May 2000 was placed at
Year Pop. ±% p.a. 250,000 persons. The projected population for the current year
1918 5,464 —
2001 is 254,499 and is expected to further increase to reach
1939 24,117 +7.33%
1948 29,262 +2.17% 275,472 by 2005 and as little over the three hundred thousand
1960 50,436 +4.64%
mark, 303,540 by 2010. The city has a very young age structure
1970 84,538 +5.29%
as 65.5 percent of its total population is below thirty years old.
1975 97,449 +2.89%
1980 119,009 +4.08% Females comprise 51.3 percent of the population as against 48.7
1990 183,142 +4.41%
percent for males. The household population comprises 98
1995 226,883 +4.09%
2000 252,386 +2.31%
percent of the total population or 245000 persons. With an
2007 301,926 +2.50% average of 4.6 members per household, a total of 53,261
2010 318,676 +1.98%
household are gleaned. During the peak of the annual tourist
2015 345,366 +1.54%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[2][24][25][26]
influx, particularly during the Lenten period, transients triple the
population.
GOVERNANCE AND ADMINISTRATION
Like most Philippine cities, Baguio is governed by a mayor, vice mayor, and 12
councilors. However, being a highly urbanized city with its own charter, it is not subject to
the jurisdiction of Benguet province, of which it was formerly a part.
The current mayor of Baguio is Mauricio Domogan, vice mayor is Edison Ramos
Bilog and the lone congressional district is currently represented by Congressman Mark Go.
They were elected in May 2016.
The main thrust of public governance is to maintain functional administrative
machinery that will ensure effective and efficient delivery of public services to the
constituents.
In order to achieve operational efficiency, the city is bent in pursuing major
development innovations that will enhance more effective service delivery. Administrative
capability build-up includes hiring for vital and vacant positions and training of personnel.
Support for the Computerization Program continues in this plan to upgrade and make more
efficient the operations of the various city government offices with primary focus on
departments concerned with real property assessment and taxation and revenue collection.
The continuing executive-legislative cooperation is a salient feature in local
management. This fostered teamwork that evolved faster and more effective decision
making, particularly on major development issues and budgetary allocations.
The Baguio City Government copped the 2016 Seal of Good Local Governance
(SGLG), an incentives program of the Department of the Interior and Local Government
(DILG), for turning in good performance in various areas of governance. This is the city’s
third SGLG in as many years since the program was launched in 2014 as a scaled up version
of the Seal of Good Housekeeping. The SGLG symbolizes “the city’s commitment towards
good local governance and passing five out of six Local Governance Assessment Areas for
the year 2016” particularly in financial administration, disaster preparedness, social
protection, business friendliness and competitiveness and environmental management.”
ISSUES AND PROBLEMS
Rapid growth of population
- Uncontrolled migration from underdeveloped areas of the Cordillera and Regions
I and II resulting to informal settling
Due to the rapid population growth of the city, its security, peace and order became at
stake
Congestion and vehicle population increase
People’s participation in governance is minimal
RECOMMENDATIONS
Creation of programs that aim to decongest the city by distributing tourism and other
industries to its adjacent municipalities
- Strong political will (both of Baguio City administration and nearby
municipalities)
Better parking management strategy and adequate infrastructure for non-motorized
transport
Opening and developing more opportunities and avenues for people’s participation to
consider all sectors; more systematic and effective information dissemination; muster
the efforts of Non-government organizations
CONCLUSION
The most critical issue challenging the local government of Baguio City and its
people is the identification of the city’s unique competences by designing a “climate smart”
long term development plan which clearly specifies its regional role. If planning is to remove
the city from the precipice of this environment and climate recipes, all efforts should be
coordinated in the pursuit of a multi-year plan through a transparent participatory process. If
Baguio City envisions itself to maintain environmentally competitive and sustainable, it must
concentrate on striking a balance among local ambitions, demographic realities and the
emergent challenges of the environmental impact of urban sprawl as well as climate change.
REFERENCES
The COMPREHENSIVE LAND USE PLAN of Baguio City (2012 – 2020)
University of the Philippines – Baguio (Cordillera Studies Center)
“Assessing People’s Participation in Governance: The Case of Baguio City”
CSC Issue Paper Series No. 07
http://www.baguio.gov.ph/about-baguio-city
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/baguio/local-news/2016/11/07/baguio-awarded-seal-
good-local-governance-508108
