Everything you need to know about Baao

Municipal Profile Quick Facts

History has it that the town of Baao started its township upon the establishment of the independent parish in honor of St. Bartholomew the apostle in the year 1590. Baao was then a barrio of Bula.

The chronology of events that followed led its destiny to the present-day urban center. This means that- from the banks of the Bicol River called Sitio Layuan, it moved southward to Sitio Langday and Sitio Binabaloy looking for the stable land, but then when the place proved unsuitable for habitation it further moved to the present day población.

Baao is among the rare places in the Philippines that consistently maintained its deep devotion to its faith, making it a home for famous religious patriarchs such as the First Filipino Bishop Msgr. Jorge I. Barlin and numerous priests among others.

Early People

The pre-Hispanic Baao peoples belong to two different ethnolinguistic groups, the Agtas and the Indo-Malays. It is believed that the semi-nomadic Agta (also known as Itom or Tabangnon) of Negroid stock were the first people who roamed the hinterlands of Baao., Hunter-gatherers, the Agtas lived off the forests’ bounty in the hills of west Baao. These people are now limited to small settlements in the barangays of Caranday, Tapol, Iyagan, Nababarera and Antipolo.

The second wave of migrants belonging to the Indo-Malayan stock with their sedentary riverine culture settled on the fertile lowlands along the banks of the Bicol River and its tributaries. These sea-faring people may have come inland to the Bicol River valley by following the river’s course from its mouth in the San Miguel Bay-Libmanan-Cabusao area and settling the open drylands along the riverbanks by leap-frogs. Following the seasonal cycle of the Baao area, these people fished when floodwaters cover most of the lowlands and cultivated rice when low water levels during summers permitted them to plant. Most native Baaoeños today draw their ancestry from these people.

Archeological evidence and oral history tell of commerce flourishing in these early settlements as Baaoeños traded among themselves and with other people from foreign lands. Agtas bartered forest products such as honey, rattan, and wild boar meat for the lowlanders’ rice, salt, cooking pots, and pieces of clothing. Porcelain pottery shards found in Binanuaanan of 14th to 18^th-century mainland Chinese origin may indicate contacts with foreign peoples or the extent of trade long before the coming of the Spaniards.

Overview of Demographic Information

Population size, growth, and distribution

• The population of Baao according to the latest national census (2020) is placed at 61,493, which is 2.97% of the total population of Camarines Sur province, or 1.01% of the overall population of the Bicol Region. This represents an increase of 4.49% over the previous (2015) census figure. However, the annual growth rate has considerably decreased as compared to the previous census year. This could be attributed to lower levels of immigration, and population aging in the municipality.
• Currently, the municipality of Baao is the 12th most populous municipality out of the 38 component cities/ municipalities of Camarines Sur. The extent of household size and the magnitude of the population entails greater implications in terms of access to basic social services and economic opportunities. This scenario puts forward sustainable and equitable growth through the provisions of inclusive poverty-reduction programs and projects in all sectors of the municipality.
• There is an overwhelming concentration in the urban core area, particularly in the población barangays, Barangays San Nicolas, and San Roque.
• From 2015 to 2020, the population of Baao increased by 0.93 percent annually, on average. By comparison, the rate at which the municipality’s population grew during the period 2010 to 2015 was higher at 1.31 percent.
• Worthy of consideration is the noticeable growth rate in the rural areas for the past ten (10) years (2010-2020). This means that the local population is gradually dispersing itself from the urban to the rural areas.
• Twelve (12) out of thirty (30) Barangays experienced a decrease in their local population. Seven (7) of these are in urban areas while the remaining five (5) are in the rural areas.

• There is a minimal increase of 6 persons per square kilometer in the urban areas from the previous record of 915 persons per square kilometer, now with 921 persons per square kilometer and a slightly larger increase of 36 persons per square kilometer in the rural areas recorded at 248 persons per square kilometers.

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Overview of Economic Data

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Overview

• Base/Administrative Map