About Zamboanga City
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23 July 2010
Zamboanga City is located at the southernmost tip of the Zamboanga Peninsula on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. It is one of the oldest cities in the country. It has a rich and colorful history as early as the 13th and 14th centuries, when it was the center of barter trade among the Chinese-Malays and local natives. The Spaniards made their presence felt in 1593 and the cornerstone of what is now known as Fort Pilar was laid down on June 23, 1635. The Americans occupied Zamboanga in 1898. On October 12, 1936, Zamboanga became a chartered city under Commonwealth Act no. 39. On November 22, 1983, it was declared a Highly Urbanized City (HUC).
Asia's Latin City
The City re-branded its name from "City of Flowers" to "Asia's Latin City" to support its vision of becoming a globally competitive city. Among the factors considered in the city’s branding was the preservation of the City’s history and global positioning—being the only city in the entire Philippines and entire Asia where majority of its populace speak Chavacano (a Spanish Creole).
Economic Activities
The City's key economic activities are manufacturing, service establishment, trading, exports, and agri-fishery. The City is most known for as (i) the only city in the entire country and entire Asia where majority of its populace speak Chavacano—a Spanish Creole; (ii) the sardines capital of the Philippines; and (iii) the commercial, industrial, banking, education, convention, sports, medical, tourism, and growth center of the region.
City Vision
The City's vision is to be "A unique premier city of Southeast Asia, endowed with rich history, culture, and natural resources. An international gateway and economic hub that is globally competitive with a balanced and sustainable development, and sound governance empowered by capable, united, peace-loving, and God-fearing citizenry."
City Mission
The City's mission is to (i) improve the quality of life of its citizenry through sound local governance that delivers efficient and effective basic services and provides the necessary infrastructure; (ii) preserve and celebrate its rich history and cultural heritage, protect and develop its natural resources; and (iii) establish itself as a global player in the transshipment of goods and services in the BIMP-EAGA and the international gateway of the region
The City's major strategies in pursuit of its vision are (i) preservation of history, culture, and protection/development of natural resources; (ii) improvement of the City's financial capability for further development of the City's infrastructure and delivery of basic services; (iii) promotion of conducive and friendly investment climate for the generation of more business activities, employment and livelihood, and strategically position Zamboanga City as an international gateway and a major transshipment point in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines-East Asia Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA); (iv) development of human resources for global competitiveness; (v) development of new growth areas and business districts; (vi) production of agricultural raw materials for further food processing; (vii) build upon the City's barter trade tradition and establish Zamboanga City as national and international shopping center; (viii) strengthen a cultural consensus among ethnic-cultural communities; and (ix) manage population growth rate.
Demography
Zamboanga City is the sixth-largest city in the country in terms of population. The City's population as of 2000 Census is 601,794 (urban population is 345,532 or 57.42%, while rural population is 256,244 or 42.58%). In the 2007 Census, total population reached 774,407 and is projected to be 801,821 and 830,206 in 2008 and 2009 respectively. The city population growth rate is 3.56% (2.3% natural increase and 1.26% net migration increase) for the 2000 Census and 3.54% for the 2007 Census. The latest population distribution data is as of Census 2000 and shows the population age distribution to be as follows: (i) 0-14 years is 37.2%; (ii) 15-64 years is 59.9%; and (iii) 65 years and over is 2.9%. The ratio of dependents vs. economically productive population is 67:1.
Land Area
Zamboanga City is the third-largest city in the country in terms of land area. Its total land area is 1,483.3849 square kilometers (78.10 sq.km. urban area and 1,405.2849 sq.km rural area). The breakdown of the total land area is: 45.9% agriculture, 32.24% forestland, 9.43% protected area, 6.51% residential, 0.15% commercial, 0.12% industrial, and 5.65% others.
The City has 37,630.067 hectares of available land for development: (i) 5,224.25 hectares for residential use; (ii) 5,598.407 hectares for commercial/industrial use; (iii) 26,714.42 hectares for agricultural use; and (iv) 92.99 hectares for institutional use.
The City's watershed (12,107 hectares of old growth forest) is one of the three remaining intact watersheds in the country.
Physical Characteristics
The City's physical characteristics have the following advantages: (i) it has an even distribution of rainfall; (ii) it has no liquefaction prone area; (iii) it is outside the typhoon belt; and (iv) it is outside of major fault lines/no active volcano.
Geographical Advantages
Zamboanga City is the gateway to BIMP-EAGA, it has the only alternate international airport and international seaport in the region. It is the only city with an Economic Zone (Ecozone) and Free Port in the Visayas and Mindanao. The City is accessible by air and sea from the key centers of Manila, Cebu, and Davao. It is the transshipment point for domestically and internationally traded products. There are vessels plying Zamboanga-Sandakan, Malaysia route.
Key Economic Activities
The City's key economic activities are manufacturing, service establishment, trading, exports, and agri-fishery. The City is most known for as the sardines capital of the Philippines; and the commercial, industrial, banking, education, convention, sports, medical, tourism and growth center of the region.