Why It's Called That
Bicol Region: the day Mayon moved a town
Tradition says Bicol is named for a bending river. On 1 February 1814 Mayon buried Cagsawa; the town moved to Daraga, and in 1914 the Bicol Region made a pilgrimage to the ruins.
0:56 · Bicol Region · October 9, 2026
The story
They say Bicol is named for a river that bends. Biko means bent or crooked, for the winding Bicol River. The same tradition says its people called themselves Ibalon. Below Mayon stood the town of Cagsawa, with a stone church built soon after 1724.
On the first of February, 1814, Mayon erupted. Rocks, ash and mud almost buried the church. The town vanished beneath them. By the historical marker's count, about twelve hundred people died.
The same eruption destroyed half of the town we now call Legazpi. That July, Cagsawa's leaders met in Ligao and moved the town to Daraga. A hundred years later, people from across the Bicol Region walked to the ruins for a high Mass.
Bikolano ka? What does biko mean in your town's Bikol? Tell us in the comments.
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