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 (2009) 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 (now Calabanga) or San Gabriel (now a barangay of Pamplona). 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.

| date = 29 October 2017

Barangays

Canaman is politically subdivided into 24 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

  • Baras (Poblacion)
  • Del Rosario
  • Dinaga (Poblacion)
  • Fundado
  • Haring
  • Iquin
  • Linaga
  • Mangayawan
  • Palo
  • Pangpang (Poblacion)
  • Poro
  • San Agustin
  • San Francisco
  • San Jose East
  • San Jose West
  • San Juan
  • San Nicolas
  • San Roque
  • San Vicente
  • Santa Cruz (Poblacion)
  • Santa Teresita
  • Sua
  • Talidtid
  • Tibgao (Poblacion)

Demographics

In the 2024 census, the population of Canaman was 35,766 people, with a density of .

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

{|class=wikitable

|+ Canaman municipal officials (2022–2025)

|-

!Name !!colspan=2|Party

|-

! colspan=3| Mayor

|-

| Nelson Medrano Legaspi

|

|-

! colspan=3| Vice Mayor

|-

| Venancio Barrosa Regulado

|

|-

! colspan=3| Councilors

|-

| Joel Joseph Bombais Abante

|

|-

| Larry Nico Madlangbayan Basmayor

|

|-

| Myrna Frondozo Cantillo

|

|-

| Leonardo Alio Morallos

|

|-

| Dionisio Genovana Corporal

|

|-

| Joselita Letada Ocampo

|

|-

| Ruel Bermal Espiritu

|

|-

| Alexsis Duran Capsa

|

|-

! colspan=4| Ex Officio Municipal Council Members

|-

| ABC President

| colspan=3| Danilo D. Ochoa

<!-- | -->

|-

| SK President

| colspan=3| Brian M. San Joaquin

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|}

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&nbsp;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 (made of anahaw), ragiwdiw and nipa shingles are conducted in this town.

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.

Primary and elementary schools

  • Calambog Elementary School
  • Canaman Central School
  • Fundado Elementary School
  • Haring Elementary School (Main)
  • Haring San Agustin Elementary School (Annex)
  • Hansel & Gretel Foundation
  • Iquin Elementary School
  • Kurtland Grade School
  • Lighthouse Baptist Education Center
  • Linaga Elem School
  • Mangayawan Elementary School
  • Poro Elementary School
  • San Francisco Elementary School
  • San Jose West Primary School
  • San Juan Elementary School
  • San Nicolas Elementary School
  • Sua Elementary School
  • Tacolod Elementary School (Main)
  • Tacolod Elementary School (Annex)
  • Talidtid Elementary School

Secondary schools

  • Kurtland Grade School
  • Lighthouse Baptist Education Center
  • Mangayawan National High School
  • Northern Canaman High School
  • Palo Integrated School
  • Ryden International Technological Institute
  • Sta. Cruz National High School

Notable personalities

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  • Juan Q. Miranda, politician
  • Rez Cortez, assistant director, actor
  • Rachel Peters, pageant titlist who represented the Philippines at Miss Universe 2017

References

  • LGU-Canaman
  • [ Philippine Standard Geographic Code]
  • Philippine Census Information