I.A.

BRIEF HISTORY
Sorsogon City was created by virtue of Republic Act 8806, which was signed into law
on August 16, 2000 and ratified during a plebiscite on December 16, 2000. RA 8806, also
known as the Cityhood Law, called for the merger of the municipalities of Sorsogon and
Baco n into a component city of the province of Sorsogon.
The merged municipalities of Bacon and Sorsogon more or less shared the same
establishment pattern with Bacon leading the way. The present-day settlements grew out
of the Spanish missionary efforts in the 1600s. They both started as missions that were
later made i nto parishes and eventually declared as civilian political units.
Both places were already settled when the Spanish missionaries came in the 1600s.
Pre -historic artifacts found pointing to human habitation ranged from the 3,000-year old
remains in a cave in Bacon and ancient burial sites dug upstream of rivers in Sorsogon.
Bacon was established as a mission in 1609 with Casiguran, the oldest town in
Sorsogon Province and one of the oldest in Luzo n, as the parochial center. It became a parish
in 1617. Sorsogon in turn was a mission of the parish of Bacon. Sorsogo n became an
independent parish in 1628.
Bacon was established as a civilian political unit (pueblo civil) in 1754. Sorsogon, on
the other hand, became a pueblo civil in 1864. Being under the province of Albay (then
composed of what are now the provinces of Albay, Sorsogon and Masbate) trade and travel
was by water transport through the Albay Gulf. Road building between the two towns was
done in the 1840s when the original bridges along the road connecting them were
constructed. At this time both towns had also enjoyed the prosperity brought by the abaca
trade when world supply was dominated by the Philippines. In the 1850s Albay was the richest
province in the country.
On October 17, 1894, the Spanish authorities organized Sorsogon province as an
administrative unit independent from Albay, with the town of Sorsogon as its seat of
government. The new province adopted the name of the town and has since been known as
the Province of Sorsogon. With the secession, Bacon lost Rapu-rapu which became a town of
Albay. By the turn of the century Bacon further lost some of its area when Prieto Diaz was
created as a town from the areas of Bacon and the town of Gubat.
At the start of the American period Sorsogon being the administrative center of the
province became hos t to the Sorsogon School of Arts and Trade (now Sorsogon State
University) and Sorsogon High School (now Sorsogon National High School). Both of these
institutions served Sorsogon and its neighboring towns.
During the first half of the 20th century corresponding infrastructure were constructed
to support the now thriving urban center. The water system and the road network were put up
at this time. The urban center was largely confined within the area defined by the church, public
market, the old municipal hall, capitol compound, and the two high schools. At the very center,
as it is now, were retail stores, shops, and eateries. In between these establishments and at the
periphery were residential houses.
The rest of the built-up areas were barangay (then called barrio) centers. All other land
uses were agriculture and forestry with the former largely monoculture of rice and coconut.
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These fertile rice and coconut areas and the abundant Sorsogon Bay defined the other role of
Sorsogon as an agricultural and fishery producing area.
The 1960’s saw the introduction of the residential subdivision concept through the
Encarnacion Village, Sts. Peter and Paul Ville Subdivision, and the Housing Project. These
developments virtually redefined the boundaries of the urban center which were further
extended with the establishment of the Our Lady’s Village Subdivisions in Bibincahan and
Pangpang during the 1970’s. By the end of the decade road networks and power supply system
were already in-place to support such extensive development.
Two cargo and passenger ships were by now serving the Sorsogon-Manila route aside
from the services of the Philippine National Railways extended to the province via train
connection buses. But the completion of the Manila South Road portion of the Pan-Philippine
Highway provided a more direct and faster access to Manila-based suppliers and buyers bypassing
regional dealers in Naga City and Legazpi City thereby turning Sorsogon into a subregional
center.
For the rest of the 1980’s and 1990’s subdivision building and the enhanced central
role of Sorsogon fueled the self -feeding character of urbanization and in-migration. The
pressure of urbanization was felt in the conversion of agricultural lands into residential and
commercial uses and forestlands into upland agricultural areas coupled with pollution and
siltation threats to Sorsogon Bay.
Sorsogon continues to evolve into a major growth area and center of activities of the
people of the province. It hosts offic es of government agencies, hospitals, schools, banks,
dealerships, and bus companies. The merger into a city in 2001 made a significant increase
in the internal revenue allotment (national share) as a component city of the province of
Sorsogon. Sorsogon City’s population of 168,110 as counted by the 2015 census has been
continuously growing providing in the process a sizable market base for goods and services
produced by its agriculture, commerce, and industry. Development of Bacon District continued
to expand on the beach front, in barangay centers, and along the main artery which is now a
national road.
At present, Sorsogon is faced with the challenge of balancing its three and often
conflicting roles. Being the administrative, commercial, and educational center of the
province entails a high degree of urbanization. Continuing as an agricultural and fishery
production area requires the conservation of land areas needed by these economic activities.
As an eco-tourism destination, the state of natural and man-made sites is often threatened
by the first two roles.
In addition the climate change impacts and disaster risk resiliency are added challenges in
ensuring sustainable development and protecting environment.

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Urbanization Level
Sorsogon City started as two separate municipalities before becoming a city in year 2000.
The former Municipality of Bacon has only Barangay Poblacion as its urban barangay classified by
NSO (now PSA). While the former Municipality of Sorsogon has 10 barangays classified as urban.
This has expanded through a legislation of the Sangguniang Bayan in 1981, expanding the area to
the Poblacion (urban area) adding 7 barangays to the urban center. Sorsogon City since the
merger, has now a total of 18 barangays comprising the urban areas. Considering population and
proximity to the urban center, and presence of facilities, three barangays can be considered
urbanizing. These are barangays Cambulaga in West District, Balete and San Roque in Bacon
District.
The level of urbanization of the combined municipalities of Bacon and Sorsogon declined
from 1990 until 2000. It escalated in 2007, declined in 2010 and again intensified up to 2015.
Sorsogon City has almost half of its population living in the urban areas. Of the 64 barangays, 18
are considered urban barangays and 47 percent of the population lives here. The increase in urban
population maybe associated with job opportunities, education, and migration from other
municipalities.

I.C. GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION

Sorsogon City lies from 123° 53’ to 124° 09’ east longitude and from 12° 55’ to 13° 08’
north latitude. It is 600 kilometers southeast of Manila and is located at the southernmost tip of
Luzon. As part of the geographical chain linking Luzon to the rest of the Philippines, it is a
transshipment corridor and serves as the gateway city to the Visayas and Mindanao Islands. Its
geographical location is such that it opens into both the Pacific Ocean (through Albay Gulf) and
the China Sea (through Sorsogon Bay and Ticao Pass). The city is bounded on the east by the
municipalities of Pto. Diaz and Gubat, on the south by the municipality of Casiguran and Sorsogon
Bay, on the west by the municipality of Castilla, on the northeast by the municipality of Manito in
Albay, and on the north by Albay Gulf.
Sorsogon City has an area of 27,600 hectares or 27.6 square kilometers. The shared
boundary with Pto. Diaz on the east is 10.64 kilometers and with Gubat municipality is 15.27
kilometers. On the south, adjoining boundary with Casiguran is 3.37 kilometers. The adjacent
Municipality of Manito, Albay Province has 15.56 kilometers boundary and with Castilla on the
west is 8.38 kilometers.
Sorsogon City has a coastline of 39.3 kilometers along Albay Gulf and approximately 33
nautical miles bordering the municipal waters with the municipalities of Manito, Rapu-rapu, and
Pto. Diaz. Along the Sorsogon Bay, the coastline stretches to 29.4 kilometers and 22 nautical miles
bordering the municipal waters of Casiguran, Juban, Magallanes, and Castilla. The total area of
the municipal waters of Sorsogon City is approximately 266 square kilometers for the two bodies
of water, 20,041 hectares at Albay Gulf and 6,609 hectares at Sorsogon Bay.
Sorsogon City is divided into three districts, East, West, and Bacon districts. East district
has 14 barangays, West district has 22 barangays, and 28 barangays for Bacon District. Of the total
64 barangays of the city, 18 are urban barangays while 46 are considered rural barangays. The
urban barangays land area totals 3,977.95 hectares or 14.78% of the city’s area. The rural
barangays total land area is 23,521.37 or 85.22% of the total area. Barangay Bibincahan ranks first
in terms of area among the urban barangays while Barangay Osiao is the biggest rural bararangay.
The smallest urban barangay is Polvorista and Cambulaga as the smallest rural barangay.
Figure 2. Location Map

II.B. EXISTING LAND USE AND LAND USE TRENDS

Existing Land Use
The commercial district of Sorsogon remained physically the same in area for the past
20 years. Existing settlement pattern tends to expand along the three strips defined by the
roads going to Legaspi City to the west, to Bacon district northward, and to Gubat eastward.
This development is partly due to the absence of circumferential and radial roads. Satellite
communities are present in Pangpang, Bibincahan, and Cabid-an.
Of the total area of 27,600 hectares, Sorsogon City has a total built up area of only 1,878
hectares or 7 percent of the city’s area. Agricultural use dominates the area with 19,772 hectares
or 72 percent of the total area. The forest area which is included in the reservation area where
the geothermal plant is located, has an area of 5,981 hectares or 22 percent of the total area.
The city’s municipal waters cover both portions of Sorsogon Bay and Albay Gulf. The
Sorsogon Bay portion shared with other 7 municipalities cover 25.545 hectares. This is used as
fishing ground of the small fishermen, green mussel farm, and fish culture.
Land Use Trends
Sorsogon City started with two urban centers from the former municipalities of Sorsogon
and Bacon. Sorsogon municipality started with 11 urban barangays and grew to 17 during the
1970’s while Bacon municipality remained with one urban center. The former expanded along the
main highway in three directions covering now Pangpang, Bibincahan, and Cabid-an. Barangay
Poblacion remained as the urban center although expansions are reaching Caricaran, Balete and
Rawis. Residential subdivisions have changed the agricultural areas to residential and commercial
uses particularly in the perimeter part of the urban areas.
After the merger into a city, more land use changes occurred. The construction of the
diversion road opened development along the highway covering the barangays of Cabid-an,
Bibincahan, San Juan, Macabog and Pangpang. The inauguration of the City Hall in 2007 marked
the opening of the satellite city,a planned unit development composed of institutional,
commercial and residential uses along the diversion road. Residential, commercial, institutional,
and industrial uses are now present in these areas. The same land use changes occurred in
portions of Guinlajon, Cambulaga, San Roque, and Balete with the pressure of development.

Figure 6. Existing General Land Use Plan

Agriculture lands including prime agricultural land has been affected by the pressure of
these developments. The expansion of the urban center with the formerly conceived “satellite
city” now a city government center leads in areas with most new infrastructures. An industrial
coconut processing facility and hospital now occupies former agricultural lands in the diversion
road. Permanent commercial establishments likewise have developed in Cabid-an along the
diversion road and national roads.
On the southern part of the city, the coastal portion of Sirangan and Talisay has turned
into an amenity and leisure center. A bypass road is on-going, which will link Cabid-an and
Pangpang without getting into the urban center through a coastal road.
The development in the East and West districts continued not only in-filling but with vertical multistorey
structure development in some areas.

II.C. INFRASTRUCTURE, FACILITIES AND UTILITIES

 Includes major physical infrastructure projects (i.e. major dams/energy facilities,
regional/sub-national transport/road network and facilities, etc.)
 Infrastructure and road network maps at 1:50,000 (provincial-municipal);
municipal/city-level local road network at 1:20,000 or suitable scale
Infrastructure (2016 Resource generation and utilization – construction materials and land use)
 The city imported in 2016 the following construction materials:
o Steel 2.55 kilo tons
o Sand – 21 kilotons
o Cement 9 kilotons
o Hollow blocks 18 kilotons
 Coconut lumber is the sole construction material produced in the city
 The dwelling density of Sorsogon City was computed at 539 persons per square
kilometer
 Population 168,110, rural – 88,898, urban – 79,212

II.D. TRANSPORTATION
 Local public transportation route plan (for completion)
 Road network
 5.6 Transportation Network (Internal and External Linkages)
 For air transport, it is also available via 45-minute flights, which land in Legazpi City. Plane
trips are served daily by the Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific that have regular early
morning flights to and from Manila. From there, travel time to Sorsogon is from one to 1
½ hours’ time to Sorsogon City by land via PUV’s, Fx vans or buses. The Sorsogon Airport,
a secondary airport, except for chartered flight in 2002, it has no commercial flights at
present although Air Manila flies twice a week in early 1960’s. A small building serves as
facility for the airfield. It needs rehabilitation for it to be serviceable.
 For land transport, Sorsogon City can be reached via land transport from Manila by bus
or private vehicle. Travel time is around 12 hours, depending on traffic conditions. The
city accounts for a high passenger volume as bus lines of other southern provinces and
municipalities have designated Sorsogon as their pick-up point. A total of twenty-seven
(27) registered (with mayor’s permit) buses from two (2) bus companies have destinations
from Sorsogon City to Legaspi City and Bulan or plying Bulan – Legaspi City just unloading
passengers bound for Sorsogon City as shown in Table 5.7.
 A total of five hundred forty-four (544) jeepneys that is the primary mode of
transportation within the city particularly in Bacon bound, south bound, and west bound.
Jeepneys are the mode of transportation when going to Bacon District, second district
municipalities outside Sorsogon’s perimeter can also be reached by public utility jeepneys
while three thousand and two hundred sixty (3,260) tricycles is the mode of
transportation from barangay to barangay, barangay to city, and within the city. Aside
from public utility jeepneys and buses, one hundred and thirty-six (136) UV Express vans
also serve the Sorsogon City-Legaspi City route.
 Ongoing
o Coastal road Talisay to Cabid-an
o Pangpang to Talisay bypass road
 Urban roads
o Costal road-Rizal Street connection
o Coastal road – Mons Barlin Street
o Coastal road – Barangay Road (Mahingan)
o San Juan roro – SPPVS Bibincahan
o Widening/Clearing of urban roads
o Installation of traffic lights
o Installation of street lights
 Rural roads
o Opening/concreting of FMRs
o Completion/Widening of Bacon Pto. Diaz Road
o Completion of Bacon Manito Road
o Concreting of barangay roads
 Includes major physical infrastructure projects (i.e. major dams/energy facilities,
regional/sub-national transport/road network and facilities, etc.)
 Infrastructure and road network maps at 1:50,000 (provincial-municipal);
municipal/city-level local road network at 1:20,000 or suitable scale

Figure 9. Road Network

II.L. FUNCTIONAL ROLE OF THE CITY

 Sub-regional center, with Legazpi and Naga as regional centers
 Center of commerce and trade of the province
 Educational center of the province
 Administrative center of the province
 Tourism hub of the province
 Geothermal energy producing LGU
Functional Role of the City
As defined in the Regional Development Plan, Sorsogon City is categorized as a sub-regional
center with Naga and Legazpi as Bicol’s regional centers.
Being the capital town/city of the Province of Sorsogon, Sorsogon City serves as the
administrative, commercial, educational center of the province.
As a tourism hub, Sorsogon City serves as jump off point to the local attractions in the
province.
Based on the comparative summary of hazards affecting the province, Sorsogon City has will
not be affected by volcanic hazard (Bulusan Volcano) together with Matnog, Magallanes,
Castilla, Pilar and Donsol and other municipalities. In case of extreme evacuation due to
vulcanic eruption, Sorsogon City may act as Evacuation Center considering proximity,
availability of facilities and utilities, and
Harmony with provincial and Regional Plans
On the Provincial Plan
Sorsogon province envisions to be a province where prosperous, where people are
prosperous, resilient, healthy and living in a high-trust society. Sorsogon City likewise
envisions to be a model city in climate change and disaster risk resiliency with a contented,
empowered and values-oriented society that pursues socio-economic development within
the limit of nature thru genuine commitment to good governance.
The same focuses on resiliency and good governance or a high trust society in its
development policies. Other consistency of the city’s plan with the provincial plan are
stipulated and in accordance with the mission on protecting the environment through
sustainable development. Social services are both on quality services and socio economic
development pursued.

On the Regional Plan

The Bicol Regional Development Plan adopted the Ambisyon 2040 of the national
government to shall aspire to contribute to the attainment of a “Matatag, Maginhawa, at
Panatag na Buhay para sa Lahat” by laying down a solid foundation for more inclusive
growth, a high-trust and resilient society, and a globally competitive knowledge economy.
This will be done by focusing on three pillars of: “Malasakit” (enhancing the social fabric),
“Pagbabago” (reducing inequality), and “Patuloy na Pag-unlad” (increasing potential growth
of the economy). In connection with this, the city’s vision is also anchored on Ambisyon 2040
in terms of contented citizenry and socio-economic development.

III.A. DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES AND POLICY ZONES

Most of the built-up areas and existing development are situated along the coastal
areas. These are found to be at very high-risk areas to storm surge, flooding, and tsunami. For
the Coastal/ Built-Up/ High-Risk policy zone, the development strategy is Disaster Risk
Sensitive Redevelopment. Development of such areas will have to consider disaster risk
reduction as its primary objective.
The development strategy for the Inland/ Agricultural/ Low-Risk policy zone is maximizing
agriculture and expansion areas of the urban center.
Agri Optimization and Planned Urban Expansion
Upland/ Agri-Forest/ Medium Risk
Limited Agro-Forestry and Eco Tourism Development
Upland/ Protected Forest/ High Risk
Conservation/ No-Build Zone
Minimize disaster impact to people
Zero casualty
Fast recovery
Minimize damage to physical development
Protect existing development
Locate future development in safer areas
Encourage mitigation and adaptation measures for those in high risk areas
Protect prime agricultural lands
Protect and enhance environmental assets
Coastal
Disaster risk sensitive redevelopment
Minimizing damage
Protection of existing assets
Assistance to vulnerable communities
Preserving and protecting natural environment
Preventing further development in very high risk areas
78 | P a g e
Inland
Agri Optimization and Planned Urban Expansion
Preservation of prime agricultural areas
Identification of urban expansion sites
Development of infrastructure in urban expansion sites
Waterways protection and wastewater management to protect downstream areas from
flooding and pollution
Explore possibility of floodwater retention areas
Upland
Limited Agro-Forestry and Eco Tourism Development
Agro-forestry (coconut, abaca, fruit trees)
Passive recreation (hiking, camping)
Watershed protection and management
Potential for leisure farms
Slope stabilization for existing critical government facilities (short-term)
Upland
Conservation/ No-Build Zone
Forest protection/ conservation
Slope protection
Reforestation
Limited tourism/ passive recreation
Springs/ headwater protection
Coordination with PNOC EDC in terms of management of resources and promotion of ecotourism
activities
 Policy Zones
o High Risk/Coastal/Built-up Areas
 No higher
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Policy Zones
The policy zones were developed after the vulnerability assessment which identified
policies to which development shall be based and common to the area. For existing
developments which are situated in the high risk areas, relocations, disaster resiliency
application, such as mitigating structures shall be considered.
Inland low risk areas are proposed as urban expansion. Urban/detailed site planning is
recommended. Since these are mostly agricultural but non-irrigated, most favorable crops
for the areas for agriculture are recommended.
Eco-tourism development is recommended for uplands in medium risk. These are the not
so steep slopes for backpackers and nature enthusiasts. Agro forestry is recommended for
these areas.
For high risk areas which are situated on the upland areas with steep slopes will remain as
protected forest. No development is recommended. However, with the area reserved for
geothermal exploration (currently with geothermal plants), the existing policy is still with
the national government responsibility.
In summary, the development for these policy areas are:
 Coastal/ Built-Up/ High-Risk
 Disaster Risk Sensitive Redevelopment
 Inland/ Agricultural/ Low-Risk
 Agri Optimization and Planned Urban Expansion
 Upland/ Agri-Forest/ medium risk
 Limited Agro-Forestry and Eco Tourism Development
 Upland/ Protected Forest/ High Risk
 Conservation/ No-Build Zone
The objectives on disaster risk reduction will be adopted in the development objectives in this
plan. The following policies shall prevail:
 Minimize disaster impact to people
o Zero casualty
o Fast recovery
 Minimize damage to physical development
o Protect existing development
o Locate future development in safer areas
o Encourage mitigation and adaptation measures for those in high risk areas
 Protect prime agricultural lands
 Protect and enhance environmental assets
Figure 13. Policy Zone Map

III.B. DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT AND STRUCTURE

The available land for development is more than 9,000 hectares. Less than ten of the
total land area of the city is existing built-up areas. The challenge for the city is to maximize
the utilization of land based on its need for the planning period.
Agricultural areas within the urban barangays will be prioritized for the area needed
as urban expansion. Where small /pockets of Riceland are affected, policies include the
irrigation of identified irrigable areas to compensate the areas affected by the pressure of
urbanization.
Compact development. The concept is recommended to reduce cost of infrastructure
needed. This can be done through in-filling of vacancies or underutilized urban areas.
Perimeters adjacent to existing development is also recommended with conforming use as
the existing ones.
Planned Unit Development. Same as the satellite city (location of the city all and
housing) when it was conceptualized, the planned unit is a mixture of land uses with
commercial, residential, institutional areas in a unit development. Although revisions to the
plan were made based on administrations priorities. The commercial portion (on the
government lot) was scrapped. Commercial establishment grew on the adjacent lots.
Deferred development. Areas identified as urban expansion but to maximize its use,
shall be deferred for the next half/third/quarter of the planning period.
Figure 14. Structure/Concept Map

Concepts and notes:

Based on the city’s area and allowable areas for development the following were observed
and findings include:
 Large area for development
 Conflicting uses—sporadic development
 With prime agriculture within developments
 Forest conservation by EDC
 Urban
o Deferred development in some areas
o In filling for compact development
The existing built-up area of the city consists of less than ten percent of the total area. Because
of this, deferred development areas maybe designated for the following reasons:
 Minimize speculation from the landowners of land prices as it has been identified as
development area and discourage unutilized or vacant lands;
 Maximize utilizatiion of land as agriciltural land while it has not been classifies as
commercial, residential or non agricultural areas.
 Deferred development areas maybe classified as non agricultural areas after five years
or earlier reviewed depending on the pace of urbanization

III.C. THE LAND USE PLAN

The urban areas of the city will continue to expand through the three linear directions,
going north of the city along Sorsogon-Bacon Road, going west along the Sorsogon-Legazpi
Road, and going West along the Sorsogon Bulan Road. With this urbanization trend, policies
on land and water use particularly on the areas for development will have to be followed and
incorporated to the City Zoning ordinance.
Areas for development
All potential areas for development Considering
With the identified potential areas for development, Identification of potential areas
(agricultural, identified as expansion areas
No rice irrigated zones (rice self-sufficiency), irrigations built by government-if pressure
cannot be avoided – equivalent or more area for conversion
No reclassification of ricelands or prime agricultural areas to higher order
Agricultural lands shall be check
Parks and playground use is the network of parks and playground proposed to be
established. The park system is composed of a city park, district parks, and children’s
playgrounds.
The agri-industrial park proposed to be developed is a 60-hectare in Bibincahan along
the diversion road and inside the delineated economic zone, 500 hectares in Abuyog, some
areas in Barangay Balogo, Sampaloc and San Juan-roro in East District and the existing 10
hectares in Cabid-an . The site will accommodate light industrial locators. The site will not be
purely agri-industrial but will also accommodate commercial uses that are needed by the city
in supporting the transshipment corridor role of the province. The site will host a food
terminal, various commercial warehouses, and other transport support businesses. The area
is indicative and suggested addition to existing industrial uses (cement mix), slaughterhouse,
cold storage owned by the city government (non-operational)
This will be subject to a feasibility study covering the viability of the area on several
aspects of the study.
The tourism area is the proposed development of Pinaculan Island into a tourism site,
the Bucalbucalan and Bulabog rest area and tourism market facility, and the low order
commercial development near the EDC site.
Figure 16. Proposed General Land Use Plan
III.E. MAJOR DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS
Roads and Bridges/Infrastructure Development Program
Completion of Bacon Manito Road
Construction/completion of Coastal Road
Construction of Pangpang-Tugos-Cambulaga-Talisay Alternate Road
Rehabilitation and Improvement of Buhatan-Jamislagan-Sugod Road
Rehabilitation and Organizational Development of Bacon Water System
Rehabilitation and Improvement of Sorsogon Community Airport
Rehabilitation and Improvement of Drainage Systems
Repair and Improvement of Urban and Rural Roads
Economic Development Program
Development of Light Agro-Industrial Center
Operationalization of Cold Storage Facility
Development of Pili Oil Processing Center
Development of Pinaculan Island Resort
Development of Rompeolas Leisure Park
Improvement of beaches, attractions, and tourism destinations
Development of Water Detention facilities for Irrigation
Establishment of Community Based Tourism program`
Social Development
Relocation of Informal Settlements in Vulnerable Areas
Identification, Acquisition and Development of Barangay Relocation/Expansion Areas
Construction of Water Impounding projects
Construction of School Buildings and Educational Facilities
Improvement of Health Centers
Construction of Balay Bukas Palad
Construction of Secondary Hospital/Dialysis Center
Construction and Improvement of Street Lights
Construction of City Jail
Environment
Construction of Sanitary landfill
Improvement of Materials Recovery facility
Urban Greening program
Parks and Public Open Spaces Development
Development of Wetlands and
Establishment of Water Quality Monitoring System
Establishment of Pollution Control
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Establishment of Septage facilities
Mangrove Reforestation
Institutional
Construction of City Hall (new)
Repair and Improvement of Existing City Hall (conversion to other use)
Organizational restructuring
Capacity Development Programs
Legislative Tracking System
Updating of Citizen’s Charter/ISO certification
Repair and Improvement of Barangay Halls
Automation of City Transactions
Information, Education and Communication (IEC) Plan /Advocacy

C. Commerce and Trade

The list of the commercial establishments operating in Sorsogon are mostly geared towards
retail and wholesale. All other economic activities fall under the service industry. Among these
are hotels, lodging houses and restaurants, repair shops, groceries and supermarkets, hospitals,
clinics, and transport and telecommunications companies.
Businesses are concentrated in the downtown area near the public market and major
commercial establishments. The presence of 12 financial institutions – nine of which are branches
of national banks – further reinforces Sorsogon City’s position as sub-regional center. With the
onset of cityhood, two medium-scale malls have been constructed, and a third is in the planning
and initial marketing stage. Also, a 300-hectare Economic Zone has been identified in the northeastern
part of the city. It covers the barangays of Buhatan, Cabid-an, and Bibincahan. Within the
Economic Zone and along the diversion road a 50-hectare agro-industrial zone is being proposed.
As support to the transshipment corridor role of the province, it will accommodate the food
terminal (bagsakan), warehouses, storage facilities, and light industries.
V. Physical Infrastructure (Urban Development)
A. Transportation
Sorsogon City has 74.76 kilometers of national roads. Based on the City Engineer’s
Office in 2015, about 30.44 km of the city’s national road has asphalted surface and 44.32
km has concreted surface. Also, the city has 15.25 km of concreted surface of provincial
roads. The city roads have a total length of 62.69 km and 61.78 km of the city roads are
concreted surface, 0.23 km are graveled surface and 1.04 km are earthed surface.
The barangay roads have a total length of 93.73 km comprising of 63.08 km of
concreted surface, 9.29 km of graveled surface and 21.36 km of earthed surface.
Furthermore, the city has 47.19 km of private roads comprising of 47.19 km of concreted
surface, 9.29 km of graveled surface and 21.36 km of earthed surface. On the other hand,
the city has not yet identified roads that has a total length of 27.58 km.
1. Roads and Bridges
Table 72. Transportation Analysis Matrix
VII. Heritage Conservation Profile
Heritage sites and structures are our links to the past. Preserving this built
heritage defines our cultural identity as a people. The city of Sorsogon has
numerous heritage sites and structures that possess inherent characteristics and
historical si gnificance. The legacy left by our colonizers span from Spanish period to
American Colonial era then towards the post war.
It is fortunate that some of which stand the test of time. Below is the
inventory of heritage sites in the city of Sorsogon, as described in the table.