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Mabalacat, Pampanga
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mabalacat is a 1st class municipality in the northern part of the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 171,045 people in 35,134 households.
The town's name is derived from the ancient "balacat" trees which were found abundantly in the area.
The mayor is Marino "Boking" Morales for the fifth term and the vice-mayor is returning Mr. Prospero Lagman after serving as board member of Mabalacat for three years.
The municipality was recently proposed to be a component city. If the plans are to go through, Mabalacat will join Angeles City and San Fernando City as the province's third city.[1]
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Mabalacat became a town in 1712. It was named after the balacat tree (Zizyphus Zonulata Balaco), a fourth class timber. Then, a settlement of a negrito tribe, the area was a virtual forest of balacat trees. "Ma-balacat" in the native kapampangan dialect means "full of balacats."
The town has a land area of 165.8 square kilometres - more than double that of Angeles City’s. Roughly three-fifths of the land area of Clark Air Base belong to Mabalacat (the rest to Angeles City, where Clark's main gate is located) whose boundary extend up to the Zambales Ranges. The soil is charcoal black and shiny, a sign of fertility, and is suitable for growing rice, sugarcane and other rootcrops. Before 1712 Mabalacat was a barrio (barangay) of Bambang, now Bamban, Tarlac. Like Porac, Santa Rita, Magalang, and Angeles City, this town never gets inundated by floods from heavy rain because it is situated on an elevated plain known as the "Upper Pampanga".
In 1853 Mabalacat had a population of 2,611 and four barangays, namely, Babangdapu, Duquit, Malabni, and Paglimbunan. In 1903 its population increased to 7,049 and already had 19 barangays. These were Bical, Bundagul, Dapdap, Dau, Dolores, Iba, Mabiga, Mamatitang, Mangalit, Matas, Mawaque, Paralayunan, Poblacion, Quitangil, San Joaquin, Santa Ines, Santa Maria, Sapang Balen, and Sapang Biabas. In 1948 its barangays increased to 20 with the addition of Fort Stotsenburg. Barangay Quitangil was renamed San Francisco.
Today, a first class municipality, Mabalacat has a population of 129,990, based on the 1995 census, with 25,545 households. It has an annual growth rate of 1.3 per year and a population density of 780 people/km². It now has a total of 27 barangays as follows:
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The largest barangay is Dau, which became a barrio in 1936 by virtue of Presidential Proclamation Number 1. Dau, now with a population of 46,696 and a business nerve-center whose commercial input and output run parallel to that of downtown's, is categorized by the National Census and Statistics Office as a rural area while San Francisco, the second largest barangay, along with San Joaquin, Santa Ines, Poblacion, Calumpang and other barangays are categorized as urban in view of their proximity to the town proper. Sapang Balen, with a population of 203 persons, is the smallest barangay.
Mabalacat has an average annual income of PhP 56,698,280.87 derived mostly from municipal license fees, land tax, Internal Revenue allotment, roads and bridges fund. In 1997, there were 2,447 business establishments registered in the Municipality of Mabalacat, consisting of 79 manufacturers mostly involved in sash factory, iron works, ceramics, bakery and 1,806 trading companies. The financial needs are served by eleven banks, mostly concentrated in Dau. Public utilities include the Mabalacat Water System, Pampanga Electric Corporation II (PELCO II), three telephone companies namely, Datelcom Corporation (DATELCOM), Smart Communications (SMART) and Digital Telecommunications Philippines, Incorporated (DIGITEL) and one cable television network (PRO-SAT) which runs solely for Mabalacat.
There are thirty educational institutions in Mabalacat composed of one private College, two Secondary public, two private High Schools and twenty five public Elementary schools divided into two districts, Mabalacat North and Mabalacat South.
The people of Mabalacat are peace-loving and God-fearing as well as hardworking and industrious. They speak the Kapampangan dialect which is very rich in vocabulary and culture.
There is no official record on the foundation of Mabalacat, but according to folk tales that were passed through generations, the first settlers were purely negritos (also known as aetas or balugas). A baluga chieftain named Caragan led his tribe in the rich balacat forests and settled themselves within its plentiful resources. Caragan was later married to Laureana Tolentino, from whom he adopted his family name. Laureana became the first Cabeza De Barangay of Mabalacat, a title now equivalent to Barangay Captain.
Attracted by the fertile soil and the abundance of wild animals and fowls, lowlanders however, have driven back the negritos to the nearby mountains and hills and claimed the land for themselves. During the Spanish era, the town's vast agricultural lands were owned by a few families such as the Tiglaos, Dizons, Guecos, Ramoses, Dominguezes and the Castros.
Our Lady Of Divine Grace Parish Church
Legend tells us that when the early settlers were clearing the forests, Cabezang Laureana’s workers found, hidden among the bushes, a statue of the Niño Jesus (some say it's the image of the Blessed Virgin).
On February 2, the statue was presented by Caragan as a gift to Padre Maximo Manuguid, the priest of the early Mabalacat Church made of sawali and cogon grass. From then on, the town fiesta was observed on the second of February.
In 1860 a military command was established by the Spanish authorities due to lawlessness and depredations perpetrated by the negritos (also known as balugas or aetas). The Pampanga towns of Bamban, Capas, Concepcion, Victoria, Tarlac, Mabalacat, Magalang, Porac, and Floridablanca were created into what was called a "Commandancia Militar". However, in 1873 the Military Command returned Mabalacat together with the towns of Magalang, Floridablanca, and Porac to the mother province, Pampanga.
The pastorella (Misa de Pastores in honor of the shepherds at the birth of Jesus Christ - a set of Latin hymns of the 9-day Christmas Masses), ceased in Pampanga towns for 40 years after Vatican II. In Mabalacat, however, at Our Lady of Divine Grace Parish, pastorella lived on: in the 4:30 a.m. mass on Monday, the pastorella repertoire included the Kyrie (Lord, Have Mercy), Gloria (Glory to God in the Highest), Credo (Apostle's Creed), Sanctus (Holy) and Agnus Dei (Lamb of God). The hymns were in Latin, except for Kyrie, which was in Greek."[2]
- ^ Isip, Rendy. "Lawmaker proposes Mabalacat cityhood", Manila Standard Today, 2007-09-07. Retrieved on 2007-11-17.
- ^ Inquirer.net, Latin hymns sung in masses in Pampanga
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| Municipalities: Apalit • Arayat • Bacolor • Candaba • Floridablanca • Guagua • Lubao • Mabalacat • Macabebe • Magalang • Masantol • Mexico • Minalin • Porac • San Luis • San Simon • Santa Ana • Santa Rita • Santo Tomas • Sasmuan |
| Component City: City of San Fernando |
| Highly-urbanized city: Angeles City |