BAGUIO CITY

I. INTRODUCTION

Baguio name as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines" is one of the cleanest and
greenest cities in the country. Baguio is one of the most visited tourist destination in
Asia. Situated in the mountains of the Cordillera Region, 1,500 m above the sea, 250
km north of Manila, Baguio is the place where you will enjoy the cool climate all year
round. Baguio is made for sightseeing because of the attractive and lovely scenic
views and a number of magnificent tourist attractions. Baguio is a perfect place to
unwind yourself and is a perfect mountain retreat.

Baguio is rich in natural resources especially gold and silver. That is why Baguio is one
of the gold-mining region of the Philippines. Beautiful and exotic handicrafts are also
produce here.

Baguio is one of the popular golf destination in the Philippines. The city is proud in its
Baguio Country Club and Camp John Hay. Baguio is also known to the world because
of its world class resort and is also the biggest pine tree conservation area.

II. CLIMATE
The average temperature is from 15-26˚C, and it can drop down to 8˚C from December
to early February. The weather follows the typical Philippines' seasons: Dry Season
from October to May and the Wet Season from June to September.
 In general, Baguio is 8˚ cooler on any given day compared to any place in the Philippine
lowlands. When Manila heats up at at 35˚C, Baguio seldom exceeds 26˚C at its
warmest. The lowest temperature reading made was 6.27˚C, recorded in January 18,
1961. Recently, on January 29, 2007, the temperature dropped to a chilly 7˚C.
Baguio can get pretty foggy and damp during the Philippines' rainy season, with the
largest amount of rainfall in the country, due to the high altitude and the heavily forested
areas of the Cordillera mountain range. The record for the heaviest volume of rainfall
occurred in July 1927 when it measured 4.77 meters.
In November, wild sunflowers appear on the hillsides signaling the end of the rainy
season, and Baguio becomes a tropical paradise until May. Christmas season is when it
glows with the nippy wintry air, and coats, hats and scarves are the outfits of choice.
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.
Precipitation
Like many other cities with a subtropical highland climate, Baguio receives noticeably
less precipitation during its dry season. However, the city has an extraordinary amount
of precipitation during the rainy season with the months of July and August having, on
average, more than 700 mm (28 in) of rain. The city averages over 3,100 mm (122 in) of
precipitation annually.

Climate data for Baguio

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year

Average high °C 22.6 23.6 24.7 25.1 24.6 23.6 23.0 22.0 22.9 23.5 23.2 22.8 23.47
(°F) (72.7) (74.5) (76.5) (77.2) (76.3) (74.5) (73.4) (71.6) (73.2) (74.3) (73.8) (73) (74.25)

17.8 18.4 19.6 20.4 20.5 20.0 19.6 18.9 19.3 19.5 19.0 18.4 19.28
Daily mean °C (°F)
(64) (65.1) (67.3) (68.7) (68.9) (68) (67.3) (66) (66.7) (67.1) (66.2) (65.1) (66.7)

Average low °C 12.9 13.1 14.3 15.5 16.2 16.2 16.0 15.9 15.7 15.4 14.8 14.0 15
(°F) (55.2) (55.6) (57.7) (59.9) (61.2) (61.2) (60.8) (60.6) (60.3) (59.7) (58.6) (57.2) (59)

Average rainfall 12.1 35.8 55.9 102.9 331.1 480.6 670.8 847.9 582.3 262.4 152.3 28.8 3,562.9
mm (inches) (0.476) (1.409) (2.201) (4.051) (13.035) (18.921) (26.409) (33.382) (22.925) (10.331) (5.996) (1.134) (140.27)

Average rainy
4 2 4 9 19 22 26 27 25 17 9 5 169
days

Average relative
80 78 78 80 86 88 90 92 90 87 83 80 84
humidity (%)
 Source: PAGASA

III. GEOGRAPHY

Panorama of Baguio

Baguio is located some 1,540 meters (5,050 feet) above sea level, nestled within
the Cordillera Central mountain range in northern Luzon. The city is enclosed by the
province of Benguet. It covers a small area of 57.5 square kilometres (22.2 sq mi). Most
of the developed part of the city is built on uneven, hilly terrain of the northern section.
When Daniel Burnham draughted plans for the city, he made the City Hall a reference
point where the city limits extend 8.2 kilometres (5.1 mi) from east to west and 7.2
kilometres (4.5 mi) from north to south.
Baguio City occupies about 57 square kilometers of hilly land about 1,524 meters high
in the southwestern portion of the Cordillera Central mountain range in northern Luzon
in the Philippines. It is completely surrounded by the province of Benguet, which Baguio
used to be a town of before being made into an independent city. It is bordered by the
municility of Tuba to the south and west, by Itogon to the east and to the north by
Benguet's capital, La Trinidad.

IV. GEOLOGY
The Baguio Formation was originally defined by Smith and Eddingfield (1911) and
modified by Dickerson (in Smith, 1924) but has been virtually subsequently
abandoned. This is equivalent to the Pico Pyroclastics of Dumapit (1966), which was
regarded by Balce and others (1980) as a coeval member of the Klondyke
Formation. De los Santos (1982) proposes the resurrection of the term for the
pyroclastic rocks around Baguio, which apparently rest above the Mirador
Limestone. Aside from exposures around Baguio City and Pico, Trinidad, the formation
is also exposed on the northeast flank of mt. Santo Tomas, where it appears to rest on
top of the Mirador Limestone as observed along the road going up to Mt. Santo Tomas.
The rocks constituting this formation include tuff (sometimes enclosing blocks of
andesite and volcanic breccia), volcanic conglomerate, andesite and volcanic breccia as
well as poorly indurated polymictic conglomerate. Mahdi (1992) observes that in Camp
8, the tuff is overlain by basaltic flow breccias and pyroclastic flow deposit with an
overall thickness of 25-40 m. At Trinidad, the formation consists of andesitic tuff breccia
and poorly indurated conglomerates. The poorly indurated conglomerate is equivalent
to the Irisan Formation of Maleterre (1989) that outcrops between Naguilian Road and
Trinidad Valley and estimated to be about 100 m thick.
Maleterre (1989) reports a 3.57 Ma K/Ar dating (equivalent to Early Pliocene) of a basalt
clast from a conglomerate between Zigzag Road and the Loakan airport. This basalt is
correlated by Maleterre (1989) with the basalt layer at the top of Rosario
Formation. Datings of volcanic clasts from Malaya Formation in Bontoc give values of
6.2 – 3.7 Ma, corresponding to a volcanic phase during Late Miocene to Early Pliocene
time. The Baguio Formation could be taken as the equivalent of such volcanic phase, in
which case its age of formation would fall between Late Miocene and Early Pliocene
time.
 V. RELIGIOUS
The majority of Baguio's population are Roman Catholics. Other religious groups active
in the city include the Pentecostal Missionary Church of Christ (4th Watch), Episcopal
Church, Iglesia ni Cristo, Iglesia Filipina Independiente, Jehovah's Witnesses, United
Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP), Jesus Is Lord Church (JIL), Jesus Miracle
Crusade (JMC), the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS), the United
Methodist Church, Assemblies of God (AG), and Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran,
Members Church of God International (MCGI), Bible Fundamental, and
other Evangelical churches.
There is also a significant number of Muslims in the cities, consisting of Filipino
Muslims of different ethnicities and Muslims of other nationalities. The largest mosque in
the area is Masjid Al-Maarif, which is a known centre of Islamic studies in the
Philippines. The city also has smaller numbers of Buddhists and atheists, along with
members of other faiths.

VI. SOCIO-CULTURAL/HISTORICAL

General Information
A Brief History of Baguio City

The area now known as Baguio City was first called Kafagway and occupied by the
Kankaney and Ibaloi tribes of the Cordilleras.

Spanish Occupation. During their occupation of the Philippines, the Spanish colonizers
conducted a series of expeditions, led by Juan Salcedo in 1572 and Don Q. M. Quirante
in 1694 to the cool mountains of Benguet.
A series of failed attempts to conquer the natives were made until foothold was finally
gained by Commandante de Galvey in 1846, when he was able to establish
a commandancia or military garrison in a beautiful stretch of fertile flat land.
This he named after his wife, and is now known as La Trinidad. Galvey went on to
establish the province of Benguet with 31 'rancherias' (camps or rural settlements). The
area known as Kafagway was then a small rancheria composed of about 20 houses. La
Trinidad remains the capital of Benguet province to this date. The 'presidentia' (civil
government) was first established in the Guisad Valley area. It was later moved to the
present site of the Baguio City Hall.
One of the notable contributions of the Spanish era was the introduction of coffee, of the
arabica variety, which is still grown in this area and known as Benguet coffee.
American Occupation. When the Americans arrived in Baguio, after Spain ceded the
entire Philippine islands to the United States of America for $20,000.00, they found the
pine-covered hills and the cool heights ideal for retreats from the sweltering heat of the
lowlands. In what was termed a "supreme feat of engineering" they carved Kennon
Road from the mountains surrounding the Bued River Canyon, connecting Kafagway to
the Pangasinan and Ilocos lowlands.
Early in 1900 the Americans established their government with H. Phelps Whitmarsh as
the first civil governor appointed for the first provincial government established in the
Philippine Islands, Benguet. At that time, the Philippines was still under the U.S. Military
Government.

Baguio was then the capital of Benguet, and the American's best administrators and
teachers were fervent boosters and promoters: Worcester, Wright, Forbes, Pack,
Barrows, Eckman and others who together with Filipinos committed to make the place a
virtual heaven on earth. It was set up as both a mining town and a recreational facility.
The mountains surrounding Kennon were mined with camps erected from the base to
the plateau that Baguio sits on. In 1903, Camp John Hay was developed for the rest
and recreation of the U.S. Armed Forces.

Baguio City was designed by premier American architect and urban planner Daniel H.
Burnham, who also master-planned Chicago's One Magnificent Mile and Manila's
Roxas Boulevard. American missionaries came and "Christianized" the natives and
English became the lingua franca.
On September 9, 1909, Baguio was declared a chartered city and the "Summer Capital
of the Philippines" with The Mansion as the residence of the American governor-general
during the summer to escape Manila's heat. The Philippine Commission held it's
session in Baguio City, in the area on top of what is now known as Session Road.
 This plaque can be found at the Baden Powell Inn on Gov.

Pack Road near the corner of Session Road. It reads:

"PHILIPPINE COMMISSION'S FIRST SESSION IN BAGUIO

This is the site of the building where the Philippine Commission held its first Session in Baguio from
April 22 to June 11, 1904, inclusive, initiating use of Baguo as the Philippines' Summer Capital. The
Commission was composed of Governor-General Luke E. Wright, President, and Commissioners Henry
C. Ide, Dean C. Worcester, T. H. Pardo de Tavera, Benito Legarda, Jose R. de Luzuriaga, James F.
Smith, and W. Cameron Forbes. In this Session, 74 Acts and 273 Resolutions were approved. 1940"

Japanese Occupation. After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor the war in the
Pacific broke out and the Philippines, being the only colony of the United
States, became a prime target. The Japanese bombed Baguio on December
8, 1941 and occupied it on December 27 of the same year, setting up their
headquarters at Camp John Hay. However, the war eventually changed
course and on September 3, 1945, General Yamashita formally surrendered
to the Americans at the US Ambassador's residence in Camp John Hay, after
which, Baguio immediately set to the task of rehabilitation.
Philippine Independence. When the Philippines was granted independence in
1946, Baguio City resumed its role as the Summer Capital of the
Philippines, with Camp John Hay being retained by the Americans under the
RP-US Bases Agreement.
During summers, the whole of the Philippine Government conducted its
business in the City of Pines, a tradition that is continued today only by the
Philippine Supreme Court. This partly accounts for the ownership of a lot of
beautiful vacation homes by the country's oldest families in areas like
Leonard Wood Road, Park Drive and South Drive. Most of the prime property
in Baguio City is owned by the national government: Cabinet Hill, Engineer's
Hill, Supreme Court Compound, Court of Appeals Compund, Comelec
Compound.
Baguio was the Philippines' top tourist destination from 1946 until July 16,
1990, when a 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit the city, after which it rebuilt
quickly and all traces of the devastation removed.
Camp John Hay was turned over to the Philippine Government on July 1,
1991 simultaneously with the turnover of all U.S. Bases in the Philippines,
and was, in turn, awarded to a private developer in 1997 on a long-term
lease contract.
Today, the city is the seat of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR),
composed of the provinces of Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga, Apayao and
Mountain Province, and kept the monicker "Summer Capital of the
Philippines."

 Folks say the city got its name from "Bag-iw" a mossy flowering
plant that grew in these parts the American colonizers pronounced
as "Bág-ee-yow"

CULTURE

A float by the Scouts Royale Brotherhood used at the 2012 Panagbenga Festival

The languages commonly spoken in Baguio are Ibaloi, Kankana-ey and Ifugao, as well
as Ilocano, Pangasinan and Kapampangan. Filipino and English are also understood by
many inhabitants within and around the city. Several restaurants also serve different
types of local and foreign cuisine.
The Panagbenga Festival, the annual Flower Festival, is celebrated each February to
showcase Baguio's rich cultural heritage, its appreciation of the environment, and
inclination towards the arts. Aside from tourism, the festival also helped the younger
generation of indigenous people to rediscover their culture's old traditions. The
indigenous people were first wary with government-led tourism because of the threat
that they will interfere or change their communities' rituals.
The city became a haven for many Filipino artists in the 1970s-1990s. Drawn by the
cool climate and low cost of living, artists such as Ben Cabrera (now a National Artist)
and filmmaker Butch Perez relocated to the city. At the same time, locals such as
mixed-media artist Santiago Bose and filmmaker Kidlat Tahimik were also establishing
work in the city. Even today, artists like painters and sculptors from all over the country
are drawn to the Baguio Arts Festival which is held annually.
Many Baguio artists used the context of cultural diversity of the Cordillera Region to
establish their work. Other notable Baguio artists include Narda Capuyan (weaving),
Kawayan de Guia (painting), Kigao (sculpture), Willy Magtibay, Peter Pinder (fiber glass
sculpture, painting, mixed media), Art Tibaldo (mixed media-visual arts) and Franklin
Cimatu (poetry.)

ADDITIONAL HISTORY

Spanish colonial period

During the Spanish occupation in 1846, the Spaniards established a comandancia in
the nearby town of La Trinidad, and organized Benguet into 31 rancherias, one of which
was Kafagway, a wide grassy area where the present Burnham Park is situated. Most of
the lands in Kafagway were owned by Ibaloys even prior to the appointment of Mateo
Cariño as chieftain . The Spanish presidencia, which was located at Bagyiw at the
vicinity of Guisad Valley was later moved to Cariño's house where the current City Hall
stands. Bagyiw, a local term for "moss" once abundant in the area was converted by the
Spaniards into Baguio, which served as the name of the rancheria.
During the Philippine Revolution in July 1899, Filipino revolutionary forces under Pedro
Paterno liberated La Trinidad from the Spaniards and took over the government,
proclaiming Benguet as a province of the new Republic of the Philippines. Baguio was
converted into a "town", with Mateo Cariño being the presidente (mayor).
American colonial period

Summer offices of the Philippine Insular The tents and dormitories of Teachers Camp in

Government in Baguio in 1909 Baguio, 1909, the summer retreat for American
educators
When the United States took possession of the Philippines after the Spanish–American
War, Baguio was selected to become the summer capital of the Philippine Islands.
Governor-General William Taft on his first visit in 1901, noted the "air as bracing
as Adirondacks or Murray Bay ... temperature this hottest month in the Philippines on
my cottage porch at three in the afternoon sixty-eight."
In 1903, Filipino, Japanese and Chinese workers were hired to build Kennon Road, the
first road directly connecting Baguio with the lowlands of Pangasinan. Before this, the
only road to Benguet was Naguilian Road, and it was largely a horse trail at higher
elevations. The Camp John Hay was established on October 25, 1903
after President Theodore Roosevelt signed an executive order setting aside land
in Benguet for a military reservation under the United States Army. It was named after
Roosevelt's Secretary of State, John Milton Hay.
The Mansion, built on 1908, served as the official residence of the American Governor-
General during the summer to escape Manila's heat. The Mansion was designed by
architect William E. Parsons which was based on preliminary plans by architect Daniel
H. Burnham, the planner of the city of Baguio, designed the mountain retreat following
the tenets of the City Beautiful Movement. In 1904 the rest of the city was planned out
by the American architect Daniel Burnham, one of the earliest successful modern city
planners. On September 1, 1909 Baguio was declared as a chartered city and the
"Summer Capital of the Philippines". The period after saw further development of
Baguio with the construction of Wright Park in honor of Governor-General Luke E.
Wright, Burnham Park in honor of Burnham, Governor Pack Road, and Session Road.

World War II
Main article: Battle of Baguio (1945)

Prior to World War II, Baguio was the summer capital of the Commonwealth of the
Philippines, and the home of the Philippine Military Academy. Following the Japanese
invasion of the Philippines in 1941, the Japanese used Camp John Hay, an American
installation in Baguio, as a military base. The nearby Philippine Constabulary
base, Camp Holmes, was used as an internment camp for about 500 civilian enemy
aliens, mostly Americans, between April 1942 and December 1944.
On April 26, 1945, Filipino troops of the 1st, 2nd, 11th, 12th, 13th, 15th and 16th Infantry
Division of the Philippine Commonwealth Army, 1st Infantry Regiment of the Philippine
Constabulary and the USAFIP-NL 66th Infantry Regiment and the American troops of
the 33rd and 37th Infantry Division of the United States Army entered Baguio and fought
against the Japanese Imperial Army forces led by General Tomoyuki Yamashita which
started the Battle for the Liberation of Baguio during World War II.
By late March, Baguio City was within range of the American and Filipino
military artillery. President José P. Laurel of the Second Philippine Republic, a puppet
state established on 1943, departed the city on March 22 and reaching Taiwan on
March 30. The remainder of the Second Republic government, along with Japanese
civilians, were ordered to evacuate Baguio on 30 March. Yamashita and his staff then
relocated to Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya. A major offensive to capture Baguio did not
occur until mid-April, when United States Army's 37th Infantry Division, minus the 145th
Infantry Regiment, was released from garrisoning Manila to launch a two-division
assault into Baguio from the west and south.
Baguio is the site of the formal surrender of General Tomoyuki Yamashita and Vice
Admiral Okochi at Camp John Hay's American Residence in the presence of lieutenant-
generals Arthur Percival and Jonathan Wainwright. It is where they gave up the
entire Imperial Japanese Armed Forces to American authorities at the High
Commissioner's Residence (now the United States Ambassador's Residence) in Camp
John Hay on September 3, 1945, marking the end of World War II.
1990 earthquake
The 1990 Luzon earthquake (Ms = 7.8) destroyed much of the city of Baguio on July 16,
1990. A significant number of buildings and infrastructure were damaged, including the
Hyatt Terraces Plaza, Nevada Hotel, Baguio Park Hotel, FRB Hotel and Baguio Hilltop
Hotel; major highways were temporarily severed; and a number of houses were leveled
or severely-shaken with a significant loss of life. Some of the fallen buildings were built
on or near fault lines. Baguio City was rebuilt with the aid from the national government
and various international donors such as Japan, Singapore and other countries. After
moving past the earthquake, Baguio City then known as City of Pines was also able to
attain theThe Summer Capital of the Philippines title.

VII. PLANNING DETAILS

Revisiting Daniel Burnham’s plan for Manila and Baguio

BY ARCHITECT FELINO A. PALAFOX, JR.
“The space of time in which a great work can now be accomplished is not marvelous. Brain,
muscle, materials, and the means of rapid transport are instantly at command. If one has capital
and a well-considered plan, the thing does itself.”
-Attributed to Daniel Burnham in Charles Moore (1921) Daniel H. Burnham,
“Architect, Planner of Cities”

Baguio is aptly dubbed the Philippines’ Summer Capital, and Daniel Burnham, who
visited the city in 1909, was commissioned to develop a plan for a health resort where
“American soldiers and civilian employees could find respite from the sweltering lowland
heat.” The plan provided the first physical framework plan for the City that would pave
the way for rapid physical development. The skeleton of the plan remains in the city
center, but just like Manila, the city’s urbanization became too rapid to control, and the
plans lay forgotten.

A sustainable mountain city

Baguio city is located 5,000 feet above sea level. This city of the north has attracted
thousands of people from all walks of life, eager to escape the sweltering humidity and
smog of Metro Manila.

Burnham, in his early plans for Baguio, advocated a strictly controlled growth and
development, and the acquisition of the hills and forests as part of public domain to
protect the fine view of pines. The physical framework embodied in the plan integrates a
road and park systems into one, a compact garden city for 25,000 to 30,000 people.
The concentration of business and the necessary public activities should be in a single
compact group.

After identifying the three horizontal areas in Baguio, Burnham recommended the
placement of commercial and governmental activities in and around the Baguio
Meadow, the largest identified horizontal area. The municipal buildings should be kept
close to the business quarter, on the northwest ridge of the valley, a location that shows
unmistakable dignity. The National buildings should be placed on Governor’s Mountain,
on the southeast of the Valley, on a high plateau that would make the buildings pop out
and show their preeminence over all other buildings in the city. From a macro scale, the
municipal and national buildings face each other from the opposite ends of the valley,
bisecting it and forming a natural main axis for the town.

Just like Manila, Burnham laid out three fundamental elements in the Baguio Plan. The
first one focused on the street system. Since Baguio is a mountainous area, its street
system must be planned carefully and follow the contours of the valley, carrying the
lines of streets to commanding points on the hillsides where the monumental buildings
are located. Burnham and his partner, Pierce Anderson, envisioned Baguio’s streets like
the hill towns in Italy, France, and Japan where the lines of the level streets are carried
steeply up the hillsides to terminate the vista at points of special interest. A railroad
system was also planned in Baguio and would serve as a gateway to the city.

In terms of the placement of important institutions, the plan designated the hills
surrounding the Baguio plain as sound locations for schools, hospitals, and churches.
The Pakdal site in Baguio should be a fashionable quarter for the residences of the
more wealthy people, while the edge of the plateau at Outlook Point should be the site
for a public terrace. A mall-like park, now called Burnham Park, is located at the center
of the city.

Since Baguio is planned primarily as a recreational area, most of the principal axes are
planned with green areas and continuous parkways, open-air theaters, and recreational
fields. Burnham and Anderson even suggested a way to maintain the predicted urban
sprawl in the city by recommending that the government take protective measures from
the “energetic lumbermen that will soon cause the destruction of this beautiful scenery.”

When Palafox Associates helped create the masterplan of Camp John Hay in Baguio,
we made sure to follow Burnham’s plan for Baguio and the principles behind it. One of
our recent architecture plans for a residential condominium on Outlook Drive respects
the surrounding pine trees that envelop the property.

Baguio City is now a highly-urbanized city with a population of more than 300,000. The
city has now become the center of business and commerce known for its thrift shops
(ukay-ukay) as well as the center of education in the entire Northern Luzon. The urban
basin that Baguio City has now become is slowly losing its character as a vibrant and
green city for residents and visitors alike. But the spatial character that, Burnham
 created can still be seen and forms a significant part of the city’s urban landscape, a
surviving evidence of the American colonial planning in the Philippines. Today, Filipinos
only remember the name Burnham for the park named after him in Baguio.

VIII. BUILDING/STRUCTURES/DWELLINGS

IX. REFERENCES/SOURCES
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baguio

http://www.asiavtour.com/Philippines_Baguio_Introduction_a628.html

http://www.gobaguio.com/history-of-baguio-city.html#.WRcdweWGO00

http://www.manilatimes.net/revisiting-daniel-burnhams-plan-manila-baguio/118772/