One of the highly urbanized cities of the Philippines, Bacolod is located on the western shore of Negros Occidental in the Western Visayas Region. It is bounded on the north by the city of Talisay, on the east by Murcia town, on the south by Bago City, and on the west by Guimaras Strait. It has an area of 162.7 square kilometers and is politically subdivided into 61 barangays. The city is accessible by air via the newly-built Bacolod-Silay International Airport and can be reached in a 45-minutes flight from Manila. It is also accessible by sea through its own domestic seaport and by land through the RoRO service if its seaport.

The people of Bacolod are mostly Ilonggos. In terms of population, the city is the largest in Western Visayas and the 6th largest in the country outside the National Capital Region. The city celebrates the Masskara Festival, a Mardi-Gras style which is one of the most prestigious events in the south.

Bacolod City Hall

The economy of Bacolod is slowly moving away from the traditional trading of sugar and other agricultural products. The tourism industry is making headway in its contribution to the local economy. Lately, the city has attracted sizable investments in business process outsourcing. Bacolod, however, is lagging behind other cities in terms of industrialization. Except for a large sugar mill, the city does not have large or heavy industrial plant. There are only some small food processing plants and shops making furniture, clothing, and novelty items.

Being the largest urban center in Western Visayas, the city offers great investment opportunities. Business people can engage in the following enterprises:

• Mass housing projects
• medium-size commercial complexes
• hotels, resorts and amusement parks
• demonstration farms
• food establishments
• commercial poultry and hog raising
• production of dairy products
• food processing such as meat packing, curing, and canning
• fish canning and deboning
• consumer chemicals such as detergents and personal care products
• essential oil and fragrances
• furniture and fixture
• electronics and electrical appliances
• technology-related ventures like business process outsourcing, graphic design, and software development
• financial services

1. Cathedral of St. Sebastian
2. Diocesan Shrine of St. Thaddeus
3. Chapel of St. Claire
4. Casino Filipino
5. Provincial Capitol
6. City Plaza

St. Sebastian Cathedral of Bacolod City, Philippines

City hall photo credit to joe250.tumblr.com
Bacolod Cathedral Photo credit to fineartamerica.com

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