Canaman
Canaman, officially the Municipality of Canaman, is a municipality in the province of Camarines Sur, Philippines. According to the, it has a population of people.
It is known for its upscale shopping, heritage which dates back to Spanish era, and its new first class housings.
Etymology
The area that is now Canaman used to be very thickly forested. According to Fr. Frank Lynch, S.J., who said that Canaman is the purest among Bicol dialects: “The name Canaman is locally said to be derived from the root kana, meaning "building materials". The suffix -man is taken as a locative, the name thus indicating “place where there are building materials”. In the book, Canaman through Four Centuries written by Danilo M. Gerona, the historian argues that the etymology of the town's name came from a kind of wood used as a decorative material.History
Spanish colonization in Canaman began around the 1580s when Nueva Caceres missionaries were returning from gospel work in either the visita of Quipayo or San Gabriel. Their incorrect bearings had led them to believe that they had entered the tributary of Nueva Caceres. Instead, they had entered the Canaman creek which was a rapid and deep stream, prompting them to paddle until they had ended up at a native settlement in what is now the barangay of Poro.In June 1583, it was organized into a parish, administered by Fray Pedro Matias de Andrade, a Franciscan who later became the fifth Bishop of Diocese of Caceres. In the 1590s, its church was constructed, which was rebuilt in 1669. The patron saint at that time was San Roque, whose image said to have come all the way from Spain was met at its arrival by the people of Canaman in Pasacao.
Philippine-American War
In 1900, after militant Canamanons heard that the Americans were closing in, they burned the church to the ground in an act of self-immolation to prevent desecration of the church at the hands of the American forces. The burning was a deliberate and intentional act; with the perpetrators gathering and piling dry grass on top of the church's organ and tree boughs to amplify the propagation of fire of the 231-year-old building.In 1902, during the provincial governorship of Captain George Curry, the Municipality of Canaman and its office of the presidente municipal was dissolved and lost its municipal independence. Canaman was annexed to Nueva Caceres, though some barrios were attached to Magarao and Canaman's concurrent top position of presidente municipal was downgraded to concejal encargado.
The American-institutionalized public educational system reached Canaman in 1903 with the arrival of Miss Long, an American schoolteacher. She opened the first public school, now the Canaman Central School in Dinaga, at the house of Don Basilio Severo which the local government rented.
In 1909, Canaman regained its status as an independent municipality, initially when it was separated from Nueva Caceres by an act of the First Philippine Legislature. This was mainly due to the efforts of Tomas Arejola, the representative of the first district of Ambos Camarines to the first legislature.
World War II
On March 8, 1942, three months after Japanese Imperial Forces landed in Legaspi and Naga City, the Tangcong Vaca Guerilla Unit was organized in Barangay San Nicolas, with Juan Miranda as the Commanding Officer, Leon Aureus as the Executive Officer and Elias Madrid as the Finance Officer.Among the numerous Canamanons who joined up soon afterwards either in the unit's intelligence or combat components were Jose and Antonio Madrid, Mamerto Sibulo, Andres Fortaleza, Marcos Severo, Damaso Avenilla, Federico Crescini, Nicolas Vargas, Venancio Begino, Eugenio Ragodon, Juan Pachica, Santiago Amaro, Jose Gervas, Pedro Angeles, Aproniano Lopez, Andres Alzate, Modesto Sanchez, Blas Alcantara, Andres Aguilar, Florencio Frondozo, Alfredo de la Torre and Flaviano Estrada.
In April 1945, Canaman was liberated by the 5th, 52nd, 53rd, 55th, 56th and 57th Infantry Divisions of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and the Bicolano guerrilla resistance fighters of the Tangcong Vaca Guerrilla Unit.
Geography
A landlocked municipality centrally located in the province of Camarines Sur, it is bounded on the north by Magarao, on the south by Gainza and Camaligan, on the east by Naga City, and on the south-west by the broad Bicol River. From north to south it is long, and wide from east to west.Climate
Barangays
Canaman is politically subdivided into 24 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.- Baras
- Del Rosario
- Dinaga
- Fundado
- Haring
- Iquin
- Linaga
- Mangayawan
- Palo
- Pangpang
- Poro
- San Agustin
- San Francisco
- San Jose East
- San Jose West
- San Juan
- San Nicolas
- San Roque
- San Vicente
- Santa Cruz
- Santa Teresita
- Sua
- Talidtid
- Tibgao
Demographics
Rapid urbanization is a primary result of Canaman's commercial opportunity for inhabitants west of the municipality, deflating the congruence of population from western localities. The rising demand of basic public utilities in predominantly rural-based barangays has extended urbanization far from the central poblacion and arterial urban corridors.
Government
Economy
Canaman has the lowest poverty rate in the province of Camarines Sur. There are still urban sprawls present throughout unmaintained localities within the municipality, usually resulting in the denigration of infrastructure and stagnating local growth in certain barangays. The impoverished communities in Canaman throughout the years have seen somewhat of a reformation as accessibility to higher education have increased the standards of living and conceptions of perceptions more tolerant of education.Canaman is 3 km east of Naga City and is primarily a residential municipality. Suburbs have been built all over the town such as Leticia Heights, Villa Salvacion, RJ Village, Peace Village, and Progress Homes.
Some provincial offices are located in the town such as Mariners College, CAAP, and DPWH.
Agriculture, fishing, and small business are the primary sources of employment and household income.
While most of the people's market activities are done in Naga City, Canaman has a public market and a privately owned "talipapa". Two agro-industrial establishments are found in Canaman: the poultry feeds and palay.
Various types of cottage industries like handicraft, furniture, fan making, ragiwdiw and nipa shingles are conducted in this town.
In 1998, it was recorded that agricultural workers made up only 27.3% of the work force while 70.8% were engaged in non-agricultural activities. 88.38% of the total land area is devoted to agriculture.
In 2014, Canaman Dragon Boat Camp was launched in the village of Mangayawan along the Bicol River which serves as the turf of the Bicol River Hot Paddlers.
Canaman was formerly included in the Metro Naga area before the designation was discontinued in 2017.
Agriculture
Agriculture remains the cornerstone of Canaman's economy, with 71.7% of the total land area of the municipality, covering 3,101 hectares, used for agricultural purposes. 51% of this is irrigated and generated P126,243,400 of value in 2011, while 48.16% is non-irrigated and generated P96,771,000 of economic output.Decrease in volume of production is a key issue in this sector. Low production could be accounted to typhoon, flood, saline intrusion, pests and diseases and also due to excessive use of synthetic fertilizers. Ongoing programs to work with farmers regarding synchronized planting, composting instead of burning of rice straws, shifting towards the organic farming approach, diversified and integrated farming and the use of high yielding varieties are needed, such as those being showcased at the Canaman Livelihood Centre at Sta Cruz.
Farming, fishing, employment and small business are the primary sources of most household income of in the municipality. It is estimated that more than 60 percent of the households depend in agriculture and agriculture related activities for their main livelihood. Bicol River Basin Management Project in 1950s envisioned to deliver unprecedented improvement in the economic life not only of Canaman but the entire district.
Abaniko-making
Various types of small cottage industries like handicraft, furniture, tiklad making are also conducted in this town to augment household income, and are considered as minor activities. Taga-Canaman have valued the uses of Livistona rotundifolia or anahaw, National Leaf of the Philippines, and its cultural significance. They have also recognized its importance, albeit not indigenous, to their livelihood. Anahaw does not only serve as raw material for roof shingles but it has also become an alternate material for other forms of products such as bags, purse, mats, slippers, costumes and others. Abaniko fan making in Canaman started in the 1960s in barangay Sta. Cruz as a leisure pursuit by Macario Adolfo and wife Victoria Bobis.Commercial and Services Sector
The economic relationship between Canaman, similarly with other contigious municipalities of Camarines Sur, and neighbouring Naga had historically maintained a socio-economical mutuality due to Naga's regional economic prominence, temporarily ratified by the policies of the Metropolitan under Jesse Robredo's term, and the nearby municipalities output of essential resources for local production and manpower, spanning from Naga's educational superiority, job opportunities, and consumerist developments.Small sari-sari stores are also prevalent in all barangays while big business establishments are sprouting in barangays adjacent to Naga City and along the national highway. Among the notable Small-Medium Enterprises located in the municipality are Arrow Feeds Corporation in barangay San Vicente, Daluro Shell Station in San Agustin and J. Emmanuel Pastries in barangay Haring. The Canaman Public Market serves as the hub of economic activities in the poblacion area.