Chapter II BASIC HISTORICAL EVENTS

A.

HISTORY AND CHARACTERISTICS

1.

Historical Background
Baguio was a wide span of pasture and grazing land first inhabited by mountain tribes (Igorotes) called Ibalois and Kankanais . Baguio was
partly planted with coffee and partly used as grazing ground for cattle. Huts were sprawled on different sections and from one main path horse and cart
trails led to other parts of the city.
Though little can be said of pre-hispanic Baguio, it must be noted that the Igorotes had developed their own set of customs and beliefs, and a
common, systematic trade system called barter before the westerners arrived.
Hearing of Benguets need for missionary activities and its potentials for gold, Commandante Galvey established Commandancias Politico
Militar to rule the natives. Benguet was then divided into 31 rancherias. Baguio was one of these. It was then composed of only 21 scattered h ouses.
Don Q.M. Quirante was assigned by Galvey to explore Benguets gold mines. As a result, mining activities started off in An tamok, Itogon and
Suyoc areas. The introduction of Christianity and new techniques in coffee and cattle raising are credited to the Spaniards.
Before the close of 1800s, Antonio Bejar (Juan Carino) was made the first Governor of Benguet. The Spanish rul e ended during the early 1900s
as soon the Americans came.
Shortly after the defeat of the Spanish Navy in the battle of Manila Bay, Captain Rudd came to Baguio to set up the first civil government ever
established in the Philippines, under the governorship of H.P. Whitmarsh. From a military form of government, a township form of government was
adopted in November 1900 by virtue of Act No. 48 and Act No. 1397. To escape lowland heat, the Americans found in Baguio a re st and recuperation
center with a climate akin to that of temperate United States. Soon a 15-bed sanitarium was inaugurated and military camps were built for vacationing
soldiers and their families.
In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt appointed Cameron Forbes to develop Baguio. Architect Daniel H. Burnham made a plan for an expected
population of 25,000 people. This followed the Philippine Commissions declaration to make the town of Baguio in the province of Benguet, as the
summer capital of the Archipelago. Gov. Forbes also encouraged the development of Baguio as an Administrative Center. Reservations were given to
various national government offices. This was followed by the building of the Kennon and Naguilian Roads. In 1906, William Ha ube built Session Road,
so named because members of the Commission passed through it on their way to the Session Hall.
On September 1, 1909, the Charter of the City of Baguio authored by G.A. Malcolm was promulgated pursuant to Act No. 1963.
Mining went to high-geared production. American prospectors came and worked in the mines until full operations were reached. As Baguio
was fast gaining ground as a commercial center, the public market was opened. Various commercial enterprises were established along Session Road,
Harrison Road and Trinidad Road (now Magsaysay Road).

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From 1909 to 1957, the mayors of the city were all appointed. Americans were appointed mayors of the city from 1909 to 1937. It was only in
1937 . After that, a Filipino Engineer took over the reigns of the city. Baguio has its first local elections in 1957. Representatives to the Mayor-Council
government set-up became elective since then.
Now Baguio has developed into a major urban center evolving multiplicity of roles as a Regional Administrative Center, Commer cial Trading,
Industrial, Educational and Tourist Center.

2.

Planning Efforts
In questions of development, one inescapable phenomenon is the establishment of an overall plan, which will serve as a basic guideline of all
development efforts.
In the 1900s following the Philippine Commissions declaration to make Baguio the summer capital of the Philippines, physical developments
were initiated by General Cameron Forbes.
The first plan was drafted by Architect Daniel H. Burnham for an expected population of 25,000 p eople, which provided the existing physical
pattern of the city. The plan, however, was largely slanted towards civic design and aesthetics.
Though no complete improvements were done on Burnhams plan, several legislations were passed in an attempt to further develop and
improve Baguios physical layout. In 1948, the first Zoning Ordinance of Baguio, Ordinance 86, was passed in accordance with the general plans of the
National Urban Planning Commission and pursuant to Executive Order No. 98, dated March 11, 1946 of the then president of the Republic of the
Philippines. Among others, this ordinance moved for the creation of a Baguio Coordination Committee to control and direct Baguios development.
In 1951, Ordinance 86 was amended by Ordinance 127, which authorized the construction of more than one house and/or building on a lot. In
1954, the Revised Ordinance on buildings and building districts including the general provisions on light and sewage was amen ded by Ordinance 188.
Ordinance No. 319 which provides for subdivision regulations within the city of Baguio was passed on September 3, 1959.
Other similar legislations that followed were Ordinance 325 which provided for the establishment of a government district emb racing all
existing government reservations, and Ordinance 344 which provided for the rules governing the establishment and disposition of subdivision lots (like
Quirino-Magsaysay Subdivision in Baguio). Together with this was the creation of a Control Committee and a position for Subdivisio n Administrator.
Ordinance 344 was later amended by Ordinance 412.
With the tremendously increasing problems on housing, environmental degradation, peace and order, public services and growing problems on
social and economic aspects of community living, the local and national government proposed the inclusion of the City of Baguio into a NEC- USAID
funded Urban Development Project. It was selected as one of the five (5) pilot cities by the joint NEC and USAID Project, ta sked to evolve a unified,

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long range comprehensive development plan for the city. This started the formal planning in the City of Baguio.
In 1968, the City of Baguio was selected as one of the five (5) pilot cities by the joint NEC and USAID Project, tasked to evolve a unified, long
range comprehensive development plan which shall serve as the basic guideline for Baguios development. This started formal plan ning and
development in the City of Baguio.
The Urban Development Project provided community and technical assistance in the preparation of the Comprehensive Development Plan. For
its part, the City of Baguio through the Office of the City Planning & Development Coordinator coordinates project studies an d plans and most
importantly, enlists the cooperation and participation of the citizenry on a continuing basis.
In 1976, Letter of Instruction 511 was promulgated which gave birth to the National Coordinating Council for town planning, h ousing and
zoning. It provided a new perspective in planning which aims both at institutionalizin g the planning process at the local level and in building the
planning capabilities of local development staffs. Baguio was one of the identified sixteen growth centers in Region I, which benefited from the planning
assistance program. This endeavor evolved the Citys Land Use Plan in 1977, which was subsequently approved in 1978 by the Human Settlements
Regulatory Commission of the Ministry of Human Settlements.
While this plan and its basic policies set the ideal direction for growth, the plan has become too outdated especially after the city has gone thru
several calamities that have drastically changed the situations. The city's development continues without the benefit of a wo rkable plan hence relies on
the piece meal approach, which tends to be reactive only and temporary. The impact of undirected growth is manifest by what planners term as the
URBAN SPRAWL.
The Citys Socio-Economic Development Plan for 1996-2000 was prepared and officially adopted by the Sangguniang Panlungsod in October
1996. The preparation of this Comprehensive Land Use Plan hopes to guide development efforts through the rational allocation of land.

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PRELIMINARY PLAN OF BAGUIO, PROVINCE OF BENGUET, P.I.

By D.H. Burnham and Peirce Anderson.

Figure II-1 Burnham Plan (1905)

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Figure II-2 Baguio City Map

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Figure II-3 Location Map

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Figure II-4 District Map

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