Pili, Camarines Sur

There are two dialects of the Bikolano language which is used all over the municipality. The Naga variant of Central Bikolano on the northern part, and Riŋkonāda or Rinconada Bikol on the south. However, the Naga variant of Central Bikolano is the lingua franca which is used all throughout for communication. Tagalog and English language are also widely understood.

St. Raphael the Archangel Parish of Pili

Our Lady of Remedies Parish Church in Barangay Curry

Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion in the municipality, where the town is under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Caceres in Naga City. Known churches in the town includes St. Raphael the Archangel Parish in Poblacion district and Our Lady of Remedies Parish Church in the uptown Barangay Curry. It is followed by Born-Again Christian denominations, Iglesia ni Cristo, Jehovah's Witnesses, etc.

Aside from the feast of every barangay and sitios, there are two major festivals being celebrated in the town. The municipal government hosts the religious-based town fiesta in the Centro district, while the provincial government has its own festival for its foundation.

The Pili Town Fiesta is for the celebration of the feast of St. Raphael the Archangel, the patron saint of Pili. It is celebrated annually every October 23–24 since the foundation of the parish in 1819. The Cimarrones Festival is an annual cultural festival held on the whole month of October in Pili. It is celebrated by the six (6) barangays of the Pili Centro District. The festival has three (3) popular major events in the capital town: Street Dancing Competition, Musical Night, and Miss Capital Town. Former name of the town fiesta includes Pinili Festival.

The Provincial Government of Camarines Sur celebrates the Kaogma Festival for the foundation of the province of Camarines Sur. It is held annually every last week of the month of May at the Camarines Sur Provincial Capitol Complex in Cadlan and Camarines Sur Freedom Sports Complex in San Jose.[12] But in the year 2019, Governor Miguel Luis "Migz" Reyes Villafuerte decided to have the festival held in Iriga City. It was dubbed as the "world's hottest festival."

The town of Pili has a “plain and elevated” geography, thus is very ideal for agriculture. Majority of the farmlands are in the area between the Uptown and Downtown Area. Rice, sugarcanes, and corn are the primary products.

Aside from being Bicolandia's Agro-Industrial Center, Pili is also the regional center of agricultural administration in the Bicol Region. At the barangay of San Agustin, the Department of Agriculture - Regional Office, the Central Bicol Experiment Station, and the Agricultural Training Institute are located.

• Old agro-industrial zone

The old agro-industrial zone of the town is concentrated at the southwest portion of the town, and stretches along the Pili Diversion Road and south of the poblacion district (New San Roque, Anayan, etc.).

The Co Say and Company Inc. was the pioneer in the agro-industrial development of the town. It has an Oil Milling Plant which produces crude coconut oil at La Purisima near the Pili Diversion Road, and its former Rice Milling Plant at Tagbong. Now, the area also hosts the Partido Rice Mill, Bicol Biomass Energy Corporation (the first rice husk-fired power plant in Southern Luzon), B-Meg Plant - Southern Luzon Feedmill Inc. (SLFI), Penafrancia Sugar Mill (Pensumil), and giant warehouses of WL Foods Corporation, etc.

• Santa Rita Industrial Park

The Santa Rita Industrial Park, developed by the Santa Rita Ecozone Corporation, is located in Barangay San Jose and Sagurong. It has a land area of 219 hectares.[15] Notable landmarks in the economic zone includes the Bicol JL Agri Corporation and the Pili Water District.

• Isarog Heights Special Economic Zone

It is a planned new economic zone in the town. It will be developed by the Manubay Agro-Industrial and Development Corporation with an estimated project cost of 799.26 million pesos.[16] It has a land area of 124.3 hectares in the barangay of Cadlan, which has preferred industries in food processing and manufacturing.

Pili is now known for its giant warehouses and sale stores for cars and home furniture stretching along the Maharlika Highway in the barangay of San Jose, Cadlan, and Palestina. The developments are rapidly increasing since 2013.

San Jose houses the imposing car sales and service centers of Honda and Nissan, both conceded to be among the biggest in South Luzon. Foton, a China-based automaker, also open their own service center with Subaru Motors which is a near high-end car manufacturer. Home furniture sellers include the Uratex Foam, Union Galvasteel – Bicol Roll Forming Plant, FC Tile Center, and My Home Depot. The area also hosts NXTGEN McDonald's and “Kakanon Bicol”, which is a restaurant for Bicol regions’ local delicacies. The barangay of Cadlan hosts the Toyota Camarines Sur, while Palestina hosts Mitsubishi and Isuzu.

Just a neighboring town of Naga City, it is now the host of many housing developments ranging from middle to high class ones. Barangay Palestina is ideal for housing developments because it is the nearest barangay to the city. The advantage of Pili from the other neighboring towns of Naga City is its infrastructure developments like the Naga Airport and top tourist destinations like the Camarines Sur Watersports Complex. Housing developments in Palestina includes the Amaia Scapes, Lumina Homes, St. Paul Subdivision, Pamon Village, etc. In the barangay of Cadlan, there is the Camella Homes Pili.

The Mt. Isarog National Park is known for its rich biodiversity (Photo taken at Sitio Boncao, Curry)

At the foot of the mountain, the highland area of Mt. Isarog includes the barangays of Tinangis, Curry, and Santo Nino. Landmarks in this area includes the Filipino-Japanese Friendship Monument[17][18] declared as a National Historical Landmark in Sitio Boncao, Barangay Curry, White Cross at the entrance of Tinangis, and the Jose Velarde Race Track (Curry).

Balang (Shower) Falls

The Mt. Isarog National Park is not only known for its biodiversity and beauty; it is also famous for its clean and cold flowing water. The natural falls in Pili includes Tinagrawan Falls at Tinangis and the “Eight Waterfalls in One River of Sitio Boncao, Curry” which includes the Slide Falls and the Balang (Shower) Falls.

One natural waterfall which is visible from the downtown especially during rainy weather is the Maati Falls. It came from the Bicol word "ati" or "loses a certain amount for a fluid", because the falls was perceived to vanish during a sunny weather and appear again during a rainy weather. However, it was believed that reaching the Maati Falls is very difficult.

Also, multiple resorts in the area includes the Bongga Resort (Curry) and the Rokbee Resort (Tinangis). Mt. Isarog now serves as the source of drinking water throughout the town of Pili via the Pili Water District.

Naga Airport

Pili is the site of Naga Airport. It serves the City of Naga and the rest of Metro Naga (which includes the capital town of Pili, Camarines Sur). It is located inside the main campus of Central Bicol State University of Agriculture at the barangay of San Jose.

The town is not coastal and thus depends mainly on land transportation. Major local transportation are either jeepneys or buses. Some barangays use motorcycles (habal-habal). The Philippine National Railways have a night train service from Manila called Mayon Limited. It arrives at Pili railway station at 5:58/5:59 am local time.

Water supplied by the established water system under the Pili Water District (PIWAD), which has a water source from Mt. Isarog. Power and electricity is supplied by the Camarines Sur Electric Cooperative II (CASURECO II).