-The term "Bikol" could have been derived from "biko", the name of a river which drains into San Miguel Bay. Possible origins also include the Bikul or bikal bamboo tree which line rivulets, and the ancient native word biko meaning "twisted" or "bent". The region, administratively known as Region V, is located on the southeastern end of Luzon; it is surrounded by the Visayan Sea in the south, the Pacific ocean in the eat, Lamon Bay in the north and Sibuyan Sea and Quezon province in the west.
[...] The Bikol region was known as Ibalon, variously interpreted to derive from ibalio, "to bring to the other side"; ibalong, "people from the other side" or "people who are hospitable ad give visitors gifts to bring home"; or as a corruption of Gibal-ong, a sitio of Magallanes, Sorsogon where the Spaniards first landed in 1567. The Bikol River was first mentioned in Spanish documents in 1572. The region was called "Los Camarines" after the huts found by the Spaniards in Camalig, Albay.