Accessibility to all modes of transportation has always been one of Legazpi’s advantages. The city has a bustling airport, a vibrant seaport and will soon have a new, modern and high-tech integrated land transport terminal that will serve not only the city of Legazpi but the entire Bicol Region as well. The new Legazpi City Integrated Transport Terminal will start operation in August. Wow Legazpi cornered Mayor Noel Rosal while inspecting the facility last week. Here’s a transcript of our conversation:

The Embarcadero, one of the most anticipated developments in the city of Legazpi, “soft” opened last July 18, 2009 with two locators opening its doors to the public. The Embarcadero is a waterfront development located at the harbor area of Legazpi City adjacent to the alluring Kapuntukan Hill (also called Sleeping Lion Hill).

The Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. will spend nearly a billion pesos for a five-year period to roll out landline telephones and Internet services in the Bicol region. PLDT’s project to install and operate a local telephone service that integrates information communications technology in Legaspi City, Tabaco City, Municipalities of Polangui, Bacacay, Oas, Guinobatan and Daraga, all in the province of Albay, was approved by the National Telecommunications Commission on July 17. PLDT’s CPCN is valid 18 months from date of the order.

The Bicol Region will eventually get its own international airport that promises to spur and accelerate the region’s economic development. Despite its vast natural resources including mineral deposits, geothermal power and tourism potentials, Bicol has remained among the poorest regions of the country today. The new Bicol International Airport will be developed on a 140-hectare prime land straddling areas of Daraga and Camalig towns.

Legazpi City (10 July) — Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) has raised today Mayon Volcano’s alert status from Level 1 (low level unrest) to Level 2 (moderate unrest) after it manifested increasing volcanic quakes, swelling of its edifice and intense crater glow. Phivolcs said parameters monitored since last month indicated an increase in the current activity of the volcano, manifesting low frequency volcanic earthquakes rising to a higher level signifying possible movement of magma beneath the volcano edifice at shallow depth.

Albay Gov. Joey Salceda has unveiled a road map for his province centering on an economic strategy that mobilizes its massive potential for green energy, eco-cultural tourism, modern transport system, productive agriculture, responsive tertiary education and a state of the art medical system.

The province of Albay has appropriated the second highest budgetary allocation to the education sector, next to its health program. This year, Albay’s budget for its education program is P58 million, which it has properly divided among different projects.

The Legazpi City Disaster Coordinating Council (CDCC) here has qualified among the top three nominees for the 2009 Gawad Kalasag Best CDCC category, sponsored by the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC). Mayor Noel Rosal said that he was informed last June 15 through a letter by Office of the Civil Defense Regional Director Bernardo R. Alejandro on the inclusion of Legazpi City to the top three CDCCs vying for the Gawad Kalasag awards program.

A group of young entrepreneurs from Bicol is modernizing Legazpi’s antiquated bus terminal by transforming it into an integrated transport-lifestyle complex with comforts and leisure facilities for commuters. The LKY Group is scheduled to open early next month The Metro, Legazpi City’s state-of-the-art transport terminal. Built on a 3.9-hectare land, the P150-million project is expected to be a showcase of what terminals of the future should be.

The city of Legazpi has recovered from the devastating effects of Typhoon Reming (Durian) in November 2006, according to Mayor Noel E. Rosal in an announcement on the eve of the 50th Charter Anniversary of the City on June 12, 2009. Legazpi’s recovery was realized through help of the private sector, the national government and foreign agencies which poured in some P 5-Billion in economic and infra investments in this prime Bicol city.

On June 12, 2009, the City of Legazpi will celebrate it’s 50th anniversary as a chartered city coinciding with the 111th Philippine Independence Day. The joint celebration will be held, with the theme “Kagitingan, Kagalingan at Kasipagan Tungo sa Tunay na Kalayaan”. Legazpi holds a unique distinction of being proclaimed a city three times in its history.