[Pampanga
Pampanga
Province
Flag of Pampanga
Flag Official seal of Pampanga
Seal
Nickname(s): Culinary Capital of the Philippines
Motto: "Mekeni Malaus Ka Pampanga"
Location in the Philippines
Coordinates: 15°04′N 120°40′E
Country Philippines
Region Central Luzon (Region III)
Founded December 11, 1571
Capital San Fernando
Government
• Type Province of the Philippines
• Governor Lilia G. Pineda (NUP/KAMBILAN)
• Vice Governor Dennis "Delta" G. Pineda (NPC/KAMBILAN)
Area[1]
• Total 2,062.47 km2 (796.32 sq mi)
Area rank 59th out of 80
Population (2010)[2]
• Total 2,014,019
• Rank 9th out of 80
• Density 980/km2 (2,500/sq mi)
• Density rank 5th out of 80
excluding Angeles City
Divisions
• Independent cities 1
• Component cities 2
• Municipalities 19
• Barangays 505
including independent cities: 538
• Districts 4
Demographics
• Ethnic groups Kapampangan (71%), Tagalog (10%), Ilocano (8%), Others (1%), Bicolano (0.4%)
• Languages Kapampangan, Tagalog, English
Time zone PHT (UTC+8)
ZIP code 2000 to 2024
Dialing code 45
Website pampanga.gov.ph
Pampanga or Pampaŋga (PSGC: 035400000; ISO: PH-PAM; ) is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Lying on the northern shore of Manila Bay, Pampanga is bordered by the provinces of Bataan and Zambales to the west, Tarlac and Nueva Ecija to the north, and Bulacan to the southeast. Its capital is the City of San Fernando; Angeles City, while geographically within Pampanga, is classified as a first-class, highly urbanized city and is governed independently of the province.
The name La Pampanga was given by the Spaniards, who encountered natives living along the banks (pampáng) of the Pampanga River. Its creation in 1571 makes it the first Spanish province on Luzon Island (Cebu is older as it was founded by the Spaniards in 1565). The town of Bacolor in the province briefly served as the Spanish colonial capital when Great Britain invaded Manila as part of the Seven Years' War. At the eve of the Philippine Revolution of 1896, Pampanga was one of eight provinces placed under martial law for rebellion against the Spanish Empire; it is thus represented on the Philippine national flag as one of the eight rays of the sun.
Pampanga is served by Clark International Airport, which is in Clark Freeport Zone, some 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) north of the provincial capital. The province is home to two Philippine Air Force air bases, Basa Air Base in Floridabalanca, and the former United States Clark Air Base in Angeles City.
History
Ancient Pampanga's territorial area included portions of the modern provinces of Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, Tarlac and Zambales. Pampanga was re-organized as a province by the Spaniards on December 11, 1571. For better administration and taxation purposes, the Spanish authorities subdivided Pampanga into pueblos, which were further subdivided into districts (barrios) and in some cases into royal and private estates (encomiendas).
Due to excessive abuses committed by some encomenderos, King Philip II of Spain in 1574 prohibited the further awarding of private estates, but this decree was not fully enforced until 1620. In a report of Philippine encomiendas on June 20, 1591, Governor-General Gómez Pérez Dasmariñas reported to the Crown that La Pampanga's encomiendas were Bataan, Betis y Lubao, Macabebe, Candaba, Apalit, Calumpit, Malolos, Binto, Guiguinto, Caluya, Bulacan and Mecabayan. The encomiendas of La Pampanga at that time had eighteen thousand six hundred and eighty whole tributes.
Pampanga, which is about 850 square miles (2,200 km2) in area and inhabited by more than 1.5 million people, had its present borders drawn in 1873. During the Spanish regime it was one of the richest Philippine provinces. Manila and its surrounding region were then primarily dependent on Pampangan agricultural, fishery, and forestry products as well as on the supply of skilled workers. As other Luzon provinces were created due to increases in population, some well-established Pampanga towns were lost to new emerging provinces in Central Luzon.
During the 17th century, The Dutch recruited men from Pampanga as mercenaries who served the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army, known as Papangers[3] part of the larger Mardijkers community. Their legacy can be found in North Jakarta,[4] however, there are few traces of their descendants, except for a small community in Kampung Tugu.
Pampanga, 1899
The historic province of Bataan which was founded in 1754 under the administration of Spanish Governor-General Pedro Manuel Arandia, absorbed from the province of Pampanga the municipalities of Abucay, Balanga, Dinalupihan, Llana Hermosa, Orani, Orion, Pilar, and Samal.
The old Pampanga towns of Aliaga, Cabiao, Gapan, San Antonio and San Isidro were ceded to the province of Nueva Ecija in 1848 during the term of Spanish Governor-General Narciso Claveria y Zaldua. The municipality of San Miguel de Mayumo of Pampanga was yielded to the province of Bulacan in the same provincial boundary configuration in 1848.
In 1860, the northern towns of Bamban, Capas, Concepcion, Victoria, Tarlac, Mabalacat, Magalang, Porac and Floridablanca were separated from Pampanga and were placed under the jurisdiction of a military command called Comandancia Militar de Tarlac. However, in 1873, the four latter towns were returned to Pampanga and the other five became municipalities of the newly created Province of Tarlac.
On December 8, 1941, Japanese planes bombed Clark Air Base marking the beginning of the invasion of Pampanga. Between 1941 and 1942, occupying Japanese forces began entering Pampanga.
During the counter-insurgencies under the Japanese occupation from 1942 to 1944, Kapampangan guerrilla fighters and the Hukbalahap Communist guerrillas fought side by side in the province of Pampanga, attacking and retreating the Japanese Imperial forces for over three years of fighting and invasion.
The establishment of the military general headquarters and military camp bases of the Philippine Commonwealth Army was active from 1935 to 1946. The Philippine Constabulary was active from 1935 to 1942 and 1944 to 1946 in the province of Pampanga. During the military engagements of the anti-Japanese Imperial military operations in central Luzon from 1942 to 1945 in the province of Bataan, Bulacan, Northern Tayabas (now Aurora), Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, and Zambales, the local guerrilla resistance fighters and Hukbalahap Communist guerrillas, helped the U.S. military forces fight the Imperial Japanese armed forces.
In the 1945 liberation of Pampanga, Kapampangan guerrilla fighters and the Hukbalahap Communist guerrillas supported combat forces from Filipino and American ground troops in attacking Japanese Imperial forces during the Battle of Pampanga until the end of the Second World War. Local military operations soldiers and officers of the Philippine Commonwealth Army 2nd, 21st, 26th, 3rd, 31st, 32nd, 33rd, 35th, 36th and 37th Infantry Division and the Philippine Constabulary 3rd Infantry Regiment recaptured and liberated the province of Pampanga and fought against the Japanese Imperial forces during the Battle of Pampanga.
After the Second World War, operations in the main province of Pampanga was downfall insurgencies and conflicts between the Philippine Government forces and the Hukbalahap Communist rebels on 1946 to 1954 during the Hukbalahap Rebellion.
The 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo displaced a large number of people with the submersion of whole towns and villages by lahar.
Geography
Physical
The province has a total land mass of 206,247 hectares (509,650 acres).[1] Its terrain is relatively flat with one distinct mountain, Mount Arayat and the notable Pampanga River. Among its municipalities, Porac has the largest land mass with 314 square kilometres (121 sq mi); Candaba comes in second with 176 square kilometres (68 sq mi); followed by Floridablanca with 175 square kilometres (68 sq mi). Santo Tomas, with an area of 21 square kilometres (8.1 sq mi), is the smallest.[5]
Climate
The province of Pampanga has two distinct climates, rainy and dry. The rainy or wet season normally begins in May and runs through October, while the rest of the year is the dry season. The warmest period of the year occurs between March and April, while the coolest period is from December through February.
Administrative divisions
Pampanga comprises 19 municipalities and three cities (one highly urbanized and two component).
† Provincial capital and component city
Component city
Municipality
Highly urbanized city (geographically within but independent from the province)
City or
municipality District[5] Area[5] Population
(2010)[5][6] Density No. of
barangays Coordinates
km2 mi2 /km2 /mi2
Angeles 1st 60.27 23.27 326,336 5,400 14,000 33 15°08′24″N 120°35′16″E
Apalit 4th 61.47 23.73 101,537 1,700 4,400 12 14°57′01″N 120°45′36″E
Arayat 3rd 134.48 51.92 121,348 900 2,300 30 15°09′00″N 120°46′03″E
Bacolor 3rd 71.7 27.7 31,508 440 1,100 21 14°59′47″N 120°39′05″E
Candaba 4th 176.4 68.1 102,399 580 1,500 33 15°05′33″N 120°49′39″E
Floridablanca 2nd 175.48 67.75 110,846 630 1,600 33 14°58′33″N 120°31′43″E
Guagua 2nd 48.67 18.79 111,199 2,300 6,000 31 14°57′55″N 120°38′01″E
Lubao 2nd 155.77 60.14 150,843 970 2,500 44 14°56′16″N 120°36′01″E
Mabalacat 1st 83.18 32.12 215,610 2,600 6,700 27 15°13′22″N 120°34′24″E
Macabebe 4th 105.16 40.60 70,777 670 1,700 25 14°54′30″N 120°42′53″E
Magalang 1st 97.32 37.58 103,597 1,100 2,800 27 15°12′53″N 120°39′42″E
Masantol 4th 48.25 18.63 52,407 1,100 2,800 26 14°53′04″N 120°42′35″E
Mexico 3rd 117.41 45.33 146,851 1,300 3,400 43 15°03′53″N 120°43′12″E
Minalin 4th 48.27 18.64 44,001 910 2,400 15 14°58′04″N 120°41′09″E
Porac 2nd 314 121 111,441 350 910 29 15°04′20″N 120°32′28″E
San Fernando † 3rd 67.74 26.15 285,912 4,200 11,000 35 15°01′45″N 120°41′34″E
San Luis 4th 56.83 21.94 49,311 870 2,300 17 15°02′21″N 120°47′27″E
San Simon 4th 57.37 22.15 48,353 840 2,200 14 14°59′42″N 120°46′45″E
Santa Ana 3rd 39.84 15.38 52,001 1,300 3,400 14 15°05′41″N 120°45′57″E
Santa Rita 2nd 29.76 11.49 38,762 1,300 3,400 10 14°59′56″N 120°37′05″E
Santo Tomas 4th 21.3 8.2 38,062 1,800 4,700 7 14°59′38″N 120°42′16″E
Sasmuan 2nd 91.8 35.4 27,254 300 780 12 14°56′10″N 120°37′21″E
Coordinates mark the city/town center, and are sortable by latitude.
Italicized names are former names.
Demographics
Population census of Pampanga
Year Pop. ±% p.a.
1990 1,295,929 —
1995 1,401,756 +1.48%
2000 1,618,759 +3.13%
2007 1,911,951 +2.32%
2010 2,014,019 +1.91%
Excluding Angeles City
Source: National Statistics Office[2]
Population census of Pampanga
Year Pop. ±% p.a.
2000 1,882,730 —
2007 2,226,444 +2.34%
2010 2,340,355 +1.83%
including Angeles City
Based on the 2010 census, the population of the province excluding the independent Angeles City is 2,014,019 or 2,340,355 including Angeles City.[2]
The inhabitants of Pampanga are generally referred to as Kapampangans (alternatively spelled Capampañgan), Pampangos, or Pampangueños.
Kapampangan is one of the eight provinces in the country to have revolted against Spain. The population has produced two presidents, three chief justices, a senate president, the first Filipino cardinal and many outstanding personalities in public service, education, diplomacy, journalism, the arts and sciences, entertainment and business.
Religions
Our Lady of Grace Parish in Mabalacat City, Pampanga
The province of Pampanga is composed of many religious groups, but it is predominantly Roman Catholic, followed by the Members Church of God International, colloquially called Ang Dating Daan headed by Eliseo Soriano, with its headquarters in Apalit, Pampanga.
Other prominent religious groups include Aglipayan Church, Iglesia ni Cristo, United Methodist, Church of the Nazarene, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Jehovah's Witnesses, Pentecostal Missionary Church of Christ (4th Watch), Most Holy Church of God in Christ Jesus, Jesus is Lord Church, Seventh-day Adventist Church, Evangelicals, Islam, Aglipayan, Jesus Miracle Crusade and many others.
Economy
Farming and fishing are the two main industries. Major products include rice, corn, sugar cane, and tilapia. In addition to farming and fishing, the province supports thriving cottage industries that specialize in wood carving, furniture-making, guitars, and handicrafts. Every Christmas season, the province of Pampanga becomes the center of a thriving industry centered on handcrafted lighted lanterns called parols that display a kaleidoscope of light and color. Other industries include its casket industry and the manufacturing of all-purpose vehicles in the Municipality of Sto. Tomas.
The province is famous for its sophisticated culinary work. Kapampangans are well known for their culinary creations. Famous food products range from the ordinary to the exotic. Roel's Meat Products, Pampanga's Best, and Mekeni Food are among the better known meat brands of the country producing Kapampangan favorites such as pork and chicken tocinos, beef tapa, hot dogs, and longanizas (Philippine-style sausages and cured meats).
Specialty foods such as the siopao, pandesal, tutong, lechon (roasted pig) and its sarsa (sauce) are popular specialty foods in the region. The more exotic betute tugak (stuffed frog), kamaru (mole crickets) cooked adobo, bulanglang (pork cooked in guava juice), lechon kawali, and bringhe (a green sticky rice dish like paella) are a mainstay in Kapampangan feasts.
Native sweets and delicacies like pastillas, turonnes de casuy, buro, are the most sought after by Filipinos including a growing number of tourists who enjoy authentic Kapampangan cuisine. The famous cookie in Mexico, Pampanga, Panecillos de San Nicolas, which is known as the mother of all Philippine cookies, is made here, famously made by Lillian Borromeo.[7]
Tourism is a growing industry in the province of Pampanga. Clark Freeport is home to Clark International Airport, designated as the Philippines' future premier gateway.[citation needed] Other developing industries include semiconductor manufacturing for electronics and computers mostly located within the freeport.
Within the Clark Special Economic Zone are well-established hotels and resorts. Popular tourist destinations include St. Peter Shrine in Apalit, Mt. Arayat National Park in San Juan Bano, Arayat, the Paskuhan Village in the City of San Fernando, the Casino Filipino in Angeles City and, for nature and wildlife, "Paradise Ranch and Zoocobia Fun Zoo" in Clark. Well-known annual events include the Giant Lantern Festival in December, the hot air balloon festival in Clarkfield in February, the San Pedro Cutud Lenten Rites celebrated two days before Easter, and the Aguman Sanduk in Minalin celebrated on the afternoon of New Year's Day.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pampanga
