Buhi, Camarines Sur
', officially the ', is a of the Philippines| in the province of,. According to the, it has a population of people.
Buhi is not just known for Lake Buhi but it is likewise the home to the world's smallest commercial fish locally known as the sinarapan.
Geography
Buhi is located in the south-eastern part of the province of Camarines Sur. It is bound on the east by Mount Malinao, on the west by Mount Asog and Iriga City, on the north by Sagñay-Buhi mountain ranges and on the south by the low-lying ranges of Polangui, Albay, with the following coordinates: 13 degrees 25’ 32.4" north latitude and 123 degrees 30’ 49.1" east longitude. It is north-east of Legaspi City and and south of Naga City.The municipality has been divided into five sectors, namely:
- The Poblacion
- The Lake/Mt. Asog sector
- the Road/cross road sector
- The Mountain sector
- The Malangkaw Sector
Topography
Mt. Malinao and Mt. Asog dominate the town's surface terrain whose highest elevations are and above main sea level respectively.
Itbog Falls located in Barangay Santa Cruz, on the south-eastern side of Lake Buhi, is a twin waterfalls. It could be reached by means of a motorized boat ride from the town proper, then a 30-minute trek.
Climate
Buhi has a warm, humid climate. During the warmest months from March to June, temperatures reach. The weather cools off during the rainy season which last from August to February with an average temperature of.Land use
A total area of is occupied by the municipality, about 13,000 hectares of which are part of the watershed in Rinconada. of its land area are within the watershed declared as protected area by virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 573 and Executive Order no. 224. All other areas are cultivated for agriculture, quarry and human settlement. Higher slopes east and north of Lake Buhi are predominantly forests and secondary brushland. Total area utilized as built-up areas is.Farmlands make up about of which about have access to irrigation, while are non-irrigated. About are open water spaces of Lake Buhi, and other lakes and streams.
Barangays
Buhi is politically subdivided into 38 barangays.History
The town known today as Buhi began as a small settlement by refugees fleeing the outrage of Mayon Volcano hundreds of years ago. These people founded a permanent settlement in an area close to the lake and flourished as time passed.The general exodus of people fleeing and being able to escape grave calamities such as Mayon's eruption was known in local vernacular as "naka-buhi". Local lore takes this as the most probable explanation as to how the town acquired its present name – Buhi. One version of local legend attributes the town being accorded the name to the time when the first Spaniards came and asked local settlers the name of the area. The local settlers misunderstood the question as how they came to be there and so gave the response "Naka-Buhi".
There were two patron saints with whom the town directed their devotion. The first was St. Francis of Assisi placed in the church made of wooden materials. Unfortunately, in 1730 the church was razed down by fire. It was, however, replaced by a stone structure built under the supervision of Rev. Fray Jose de Cerda. Another saint was installed, St. Anthony of Padua.
Demographics
In the, the population of Buhi, Camarines Sur, was people, with a density of.The total population was 70,756 in 2007, with a growth rate of about 2.1%. The total number of households was 13,238 and with an average household size of 5 persons. At the 2010 census, the population has increased to 73,809 persons. The local language is Buhinon, a dialect of Bikolano.
Literacy rate of Buhi is about 99%. The labor force is about 24,000 people strong, or 63% of economically productive people age 15 to 64 years old.
8 out of 10 persons are Roman Catholics; Iglesia ni Cristo makes up about 2% of the total population which is the largest minority religion in the municipality.
Language
Buhinon is the mother tongue of the majority of the population especially those residing around the lake area with Rinconada Bikol as its first language especially the folks residing on the eastern part of the municipality near Iriga City. Buhinon is classified as a lone language, and the only one used in the province of Camarines Sur. Buhinon, the Albay Bikol languages, and Rinconada Bikol are members of Inland Bikol group of languages and share common vocabulary.Economy
- Two thirds of the population depends on agriculture
- More than one-fifth of the total land area is devoted to agriculture primary crops are rice, corn, coconut, and abaca
- Rice grows in the vast field of Road sector while corn and abaca are being grown at Mountain sector
Infrastructure
Transportation
- Three major road networks that link the town to the adjacent province of Albay, Partido District and Iriga City. Most of its roads are gravel, especially those in the lake, road and mountain sectors.
- Presence of tricycles and jeepneys
- Presence of non-aircon and aircon buses
- Presence of motorized boats and bancas
- Presence of motorcycles called door-to-door
Utilities
- Rural Waterworks Multi-Purpose
- Cooperative provides the potable drinking water to at least 1,683 households in 7 suburban areas
- Pongol Hot Spring
- Balerite Resort
- Lologon Resort
- Burabod ririgusan- tubog Lourdes Buhi Camarines sur
- Magindara
- CASURECO III delivers electricity to 63% of households and business establishments and 97% of barangays
- Host to a 1.2 MW mini hydro-electric power plant of the National Power Corporation
Health
Public Hospital:
- Buhi Community Hospital
- Claveria Clinic
- Portugal Clinic
- Sabio-Valenciano Clinic
Education
- No. of pre-schools: 33 public and 4 private schools
- No. of elementary schools: 33 public and 4 private schools
- No. of high schools: 3 private and 6 public schools
- No. of colleges: 1 state college
- No. of universities: 1 state university
- Camarines Sur Polytechnic Colleges
- Santa Justina National High School
- Tambo Barangay National High School
- San Vicente Barangay National High School
- Lourdes High School
- Iraya High School
- Salvacion High School
- Santa Isabel High School
- John Mark Memorial High School
- Buhi St. Joseph's Academy Inc.
- Buhi Lyceum
- St. Bridget School
- Buhi Institute Foundation
- Holy Child Educational Center
- Buhi Lyceum
Media
- Buhi Online: www.buhi.com
- Buhi Forum : @buhiforum
- Banwaang Mauyay : @BanwaangMauyay
- 88.5 DWLF-FM Barita 88.5 - Inactive
- 97.7 DWEA FM – Buhi Celebrates its 7th anniversary
- 100.1 Radyo Natin-Buhi
- 102.9 DWLR – Lauyay Radio
Gallery