CALAPAN CITY

“ MIMAROPA’S premiere center of

investments and agro-industry ”

MUPD 602: PLANNING AND DESIGN FUNDAMENTALS

CITIES AS PARTNER IN NATION BUILDING

Faltado, Lara Gale P.

MUPD 1101
Historical Background

Calapan, the gateway to Oriental Mindoro Province, is the first and only city in the
province of Oriental Mindoro. According to a theory, Calapan was pronounced as
“Kalapang”, which is a synonym for “sanga” or branch in Tagalog dictionary. It is believed
to be referred to the settlement of Kalapang as a branch of the first Religious District
which is Baco, the cities adjoining town and thus the word was later hispanized as
Calapan.

The city may be considered as a Religious Model as Calapan was founded as a parish
in 1679 by a Spanish Augustinian Recollect priest, Fr. Diego dela Madre de Dios. The
settlements on this time were established around the parish church which also serves as
beginning of the town. In 1733, the District Convent moved to Calapan and assumed
control over the Northern Mindoro Ecclesiatical Area. The town was merely a strip of land
running from Ibaba to Ilaya in a cross-created facing the existing church and cut-off by a
river-in the early 18th century. Successive barrios arouse over the course of the century.

Aside from religious influences, political and natural resources factored to be reasons
in the formation of the city. The province’s capital was juggled between Puerto Galera
and Calapan from 1837 and 1902 until it was retransferred to Calapan in 1903 for
geographical and transportation concerns.

The Presidents of Calapan and Naujan adjudicated the boundary dispute between
Calapan and Naujan in 1919 over a piece of region that is now recognized as the current
boundary. The agricultural region was given to Naujan making Calapan’s territory much
less than Naujan’s, which is now the province’s largest municipality.

The landmark event happened in the year 1998 as Calapan was converted from a
municipality into a component city by virtue of Republic Act No. 8475. On March 21, 1998,
the people of Calapan ratified the creation of the City of Calapan in a plebiscite, therefore
the said date marked as the Foundation Day of the City of Calapan. Its creation as a city
created significant advances in commerce and industry infrastructure and social services.
New commercial establishments were opened, an expanded program on social services
delivery, specifically in health care and education, upgraded physical infrastructure such
as new roads and drainage facilities and boosted tourism paved the way in providing
employment and opportunities for the residents.

Sixteen years later, the City of Calapan has developed its own identity as “Fly High as
ONE CALAPAN: The city of Discipline and Good Character,” a newly consitituted
component city. A firmer Vision of the City states: “METRO CALAPAN 2026:
MIMAROPA’s Premier center of Investments and Agro-Industry” thus making it a place
that will attract people to settle more particularly to those who would envision to live in a
city in a farm.

Currently, the urbanization of the city continuously grows and is expected to grow
in the next ten years, paralleling to higher population density due to the impacts of being
a premier center of development. Great spur on economic opportunities and employment
generation will boost the city as it will be the designation of Regional Government Center
of MIMAROPA. The city also situates the Capitol/ Provincial Government of Oriental
Mindoro. As a port city, it is also an important transportation center serving as a gateway
to the southern Philippines via the Strong Republic Nautical Highway. Having 85 schools
ranging from pre-school to colleges, Calapan is also considered the center for education
in the province. In addition, the Provincial Hospital is also located in the city together with
private hospital. Despite being an urbanized center of economic activities and services,
what separate it from other modern cities is that they also maximizing their assets in the
agro-industry sector. Calapan is still the leading producer of palay in the province. The
city also served as the primary market and distribution center for raw agricultural products,
secondary trade center, agro-processing center. Owning these assets and major
infrastructures, Calapan City has its stand in providing an attractive place to live in.

As the city continues to move, various demands will also arise, problems should
be addressed, efficient service must be sustained. To be able to keep up with the constant
changes in the society, goals such as accessible social services for all, affordable and
decent housing for the poor, responsive infrastructures, modernized agriculture and
fishery services, promotion of greener environment, are essentials forming a better city
for a resilient and sustainable development.
DEMOGRAPHY

Population Growth

According to 2015 Census of Population of the Philippine Statistics Authority

(PSA), the city registered a total population of 133,893, with a growth rate of 1.55%
between 2010 and 2015. This figure is higher than the increase in the provincial
population of 1.45% growth rate for the same period. The city's growth rate slightly
declined from 1.61% to 1.55% between the periods 2000 - 2010 and 2010 – 2015,
respectively. Based on the 1.55% growth rate, the population of the Calapan City is
expected to double in number in 45 years.

While the City of Calapan will continue to grow in the coming decade, the
population’s growth rate is expected to continue to slow down in the years to come. The
declining growth rate in the city may be attributed to out-migration. Economic
opportunities in Metro Manila and CALABARZON have attracted not a few Mindoreños
to leave the island. In addition, others pursue their educational degrees in the metropolis.
People from the other towns of Mindoro Oriental generally go to Calapan first. Afterwards,
they move on to the CALABARZON area and to Metro Manila

Barangay Population

Calapan City is composed of 62 barangays, 28 of which are classified as urban

barangays. The fastest growing barangay between the period of 2010 to 2015 was
Bondoc, with an annual growth rate of 16.36%, followed by Bulusan with a rate of 10.37%,
and Lazareto with a rate of 6.98%. On the other hand, the slowest growing barangay for
the same period was Calero with an annual growth rate of -10.07%, followed by San
Vicente East with a rate of -3.34% and San Vicente Central with a rate of -2.29%. The
decline of population in Calero was attributed to the boundary dispute with nearby
barangays. It was noted that these barangays with slow growth rate were located along
the central business district of the city.

Population Density

Calapan city registered a population density of 7.72 population per hectare in 2015.
The densest barangay was Ibaba West with a density of 429.43. It was followed by Libis
and Tibag with a density of 195.04 and 194.37, respectively. Based on the population
density gradient lines, there was a continued substantial densification of the city up to a
distance of about 10 kilometers from the city center based in 2015 population. Such
observation was seen since 1995. By 2030, it is expected that the city will have a
population density of 8.75.

SOCIAL SECTOR

Housing
 Calapan, being a vital link between Luzon and the Western Visayas islands, is not
exempt to the rising demand for new housing units. In-migration and natural population
growth easily contribute to rising housing demand. The number of households expected
in 2030 is 37,144. Its designation as the Regional Government Center of the MIMAROPA
Region, all the Regional Offices in the MIMAROPA are expected full transfer in the city
which will induce economic activities and spur development. Housing requirements
maybe inevitable for the provision of relocation of the employees from the regional line
agencies moving in the locale in addition to the existing informal settlers in both public
and private lands, where almost half of them are located in danger zones. The local
government in partnership with the private sector, needs to undertake housing programs
and projects covering houses and lots or home lots only for the underprivileged and
homeless families.

Education

Last 2017, there are 65 elementary schools of which 49 are public and 16 are
private, 23 secondary level with 11 public and 12 private, and 10 colleges in the locality.
Based on the study, as of now there are enough supply of classrooms for junior and senior
high. The scarcity of classrooms in elementary level is due to the volume of students
emanating from the neighboring towns of Baco and Naujan who opted to enroll in Calapan
City. The K-12 Program also contributed to this concern.

It is established that Calapan City has the quality of education sought not only by
the locals but also by peoples all over Oriental Mindoro. Number of students from neighbor
towns have opted enrolling here believing that a better standard is provided by the City’s
academic institutions, thus studying in the capital city has become a status symbol already.
And with the on-going innovations and institutionally-adaptive programs, it is expected that
more and more students will be coming over, from the sister province Occidental Mindoro
and from the MIMAROPA region especially with the operation of the Regional Government
Centre with which the number of migrants is anticipated to increase. The projected
enrollees for elementary, junior high and senior high for 2030 are 24,558, 13,117, and
3,927, respectively.

The City Government continuously strives in providing the young citizens

exceptionally good advantage in this aspect, in the pursuit of preparing them competitively
well for the future. However, while improving areas in academics, moral and spiritual
values, ethics and civility must also be injected conscientiously to the threadwork of the
youth’s formation. This is a foremost key to producing responsible and disciplined citizens,
and is a transcendental obligation that lies in the very hands of the basic institutions of
society: home, church, school and the government itself.

ECONOMIC SECTOR

Industry

Calapan serves as the province’s industrial hub. It plays a pivotal role in the economic
development of the province and its adjacent areas.

The city's economy is dependent on agriculture and fishing. However, a growing

industry in machinery and tourism has contributed well to the city's annual income making
it one of the fastest growing new cities in the country for the last 10 years. The top five
industries in Calapan are trading, tourism, services, marine and aquatic, and food
processing.

The city has experienced rapid development for the last 10 years. There proposed
establishment for a special development area, particularly an eco-zone for light industries
located at the Urban Development Area located at Lumangbayan and Guinobatan can
serve as growth area which generates employment and spurs economic opportunities.
Such industries focus on agro-industrial based activities such as food processing,
handicraft making, furniture making and other related activities.
Commerce and Trade

The primary income earners embrace the teaching profession on elementary,

services sector and agricultural segment. These endeavors are concentrated on Central
Business District that vary from wholesale and retail establishments, malls, restaurants,
hardware and construction supplies.

Enabling informal livelihoods is one of the programs that can provide by the city
government such as food processing and baking, to be considered as constitutional
players in the economic growth activity. Moreover, there should also be a support for
those informal sectors to upgrade them to formal one.

Agriculture

As the business, trade and commerce fluctuate in the now fast-urbanizing Calapan
City, agriculture still remains a major source of income, especially to the large portion of
the populace that depends on the tilled land for living. Thirty-four (34) out of the sixty-two
(62) barangays of Calapan City are still classified rural, with constituents basically
engaged in farming and related soil-based livelihood.

Calapan plays a major role in the Philippine economy as one of the major food
suppliers in the country. The city is also a major exporter of rice supplying to Metro Manila
and major parts of Luzon making it both an agriculturally-progressive and urbanized city.
The five major crops are rice, citrus, banana, rambutan and lanzones.

To support the manpower and sustain productivity, the present administration is

bent on maximizing the City’s agricultural potentials through different programs benefitting
farmers primarily and assisting farmers’ groups/associations.

The City has earned the reputation of being a top rice/palay producer in the Region
and Oriental Mindoro, as “Food Basket” yet there are special concerns however with
regards to the high prices of rice grains and of other agricultural products thus the
Calapeños, primarily, who are in the “main banqueting table” do not enjoy the feast they
should be accorded.

STRATEGIES

Most urban growth in the provinces in the Philippines has known or cared little
where it was going when it concerns to planning and development. Communities have
gotten somewhere after a long time. Nevertheless "getting somewhere" is not good
enough: it has, in many cases, been counterproductive and just plain bad planning.
Communities need to clarify where they want to go. The clear formulation of goals and
priorities is the key to sustainable success.
Sustainable development calls for improving the quality of life for all of the world’s
people without increasing the use of our natural resources beyond the Earth’s carrying
capacity. While sustainable development may require different actions in every region of
the world, the efforts to build a truly sustainable way of life require the integration of action
in three key areas:

• Economic Growth and Equity – Today’s interlinked, global economic systems

demand an integrated approach in order to foster responsible long-term growth while
ensuring that no nation or community is left behind.

• Conserving Natural Resources and the Environment – To conserve our

environmental heritage and natural resources for future generations, economically viable
solutions must be developed to reduce resource consumption, stop pollution and
conserve natural habitats.

• Social Development – Throughout the world, people require jobs, food, education,
energy, health care, water and sanitation. While addressing these needs, the world
community must also ensure that the rich fabrics of cultural and social diversity, and the
rights of workers, are respected, and that all members of society are empowered to play
a role in determining their futures.
 It is important to note that sustainability is not a “thing we do” or a “program we
carry-out”. Instead, it is a process by which we reason and a way we choose to live, a
process that uses common sense and intuition as a baseline. Sustainability should be
viewed as a philosophy, or ethic, affording people the ability to consider long-term
consequences of actions and to think broadly across issues, disciplines, and boundaries.
As a process, sustainable community development exposes citizens to the ramifications
of their thoughts and actions on others, their local environment, and the surrounding
landscape, as well as motivating and organizing people to direct change within the context
of a responsible and shared vision for a collective future.

Provide a development plan where is the first and most important objective or goal
is to improve the quality of life of all human beings.

In-order to direct the developmental strategies and practices that ensure livable,
self-sustaining communities over the long term, the development plan can be guided by
the principles of the following planning concepts and theories:

• GARDEN CITY: The Garden City ideal sought to raise the standard of health and
comfort, through providing a living environment that combined the best elements
of town and country life. The key values underpinning the Garden City ideal can
be summarized as:

➢ Country Lifestyle: appreciation of the beauty of nature and a high level of

residential amenity.
➢ Commerce and Trade: Access to services, facilities and commerce.
➢ Town Lifestyle: Access to safe, pleasant housing as well as the opportunity for
social interaction and the opportunity to participate in the community.