Iriga

Iriga

Iriga, officially the City of Iriga (Rinconada Bikol: Syudad ka Iriga; Central Bikol: Syudad nin Iriga; Filipino: Lungsod ng Iriga), is a component city in the province of Camarines Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 114,457 people.[3] Barely half a century after Ferdinand Magellan discovered the Philippines on March 16, 1521, Iriga, now a city, was only a visita of Nabua, Provincia de Ambos Camarines. Because of the disastrous floods that occur during rainy seasons in suburban Poblacion of Nabua, Father Felix de Huertas, the then parish priest, advised the farmers to move to I-raga (donde hay tierra or where there is land) where they can plant their crops without fear of being under flooded. The flood victims of Nabua who moved earlier and followed the suggestions of their parish priest were the fortunate beneficiaries of the harvest of their agricultural plantation coming from the rich and fertile soils of I-raga, more so, those who planted at the foot of Sumagang Mountain (Mountain of the Rising Sun, now Mt. Iriga) said to be nature's given symbol of the Irigueños lofty ideals and noble visions.[5]