Balagtas, Bulacan
Balagtas, officially the Municipality of Balagtas (Tagalog: Bayan ng Balagtas), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 73,929 people. [4]
Balagtas
Bigaa | |
|---|---|
| Municipality of Balagtas | |
 Municipal Hall of Balagtas | |
 Seal | |
 Map of Bulacan with Balagtas highlighted | |
OpenStreetMap 
| |
.svg.png.webp)  Balagtas Location within the Philippines | |
| Coordinates: 14°48′52″N 120°54′30″E | |
| Country |  Philippines |
| Region | Central Luzon (Region III) |
| Province | Bulacan |
| District | 2nd District |
| Founded | 1596 |
| Renamed | June 18, 1966 [1] |
| Named for | Francisco Balagtas |
| Barangays | 9 (see Barangays) |
| Government | |
| • Type | Sangguniang Bayan |
| • Mayor | Eladio E. Gonzales Jr. |
| • Vice Mayor | Ariel C. Valderama |
| • Representative | Gavini C. Pancho |
| • Electorate | 48,666 voters (2019) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 28.66 km2 (11.07 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 8.0 m (26.2 ft) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 73,929 |
| • Density | 2,600/km2 (6,700/sq mi) |
| • Households | 17,046 |
| Economy | |
| • Income class | 1st municipal income class |
| • Poverty incidence | 6.94% (2015)[5] |
| • Revenue |  PHP 249.17 million (2017) [6] |
| • Assets | PHP 511.92 million (2017) |
| • Expenditure | PHP 179.08 million (2017) |
| Utilties | |
| • Electricity | MERALCO |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (PST) |
| ZIP code | 3016 |
| PSGC | |
| IDD : area code | +63 (0)44 |
| Climate type | tropical monsoon climate |
| Native languages | Tagalog |
With the continuous expansion of Metro Manila, the municipality is now part of Manila's built up area which reaches San Ildefonso in its northernmost part. Balagtas is 30 kilometres (19 mi) from Manila and is 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from Malolos City.
Formerly known as Bigaa, it was renamed in honor of Filipino poet Francisco Balagtas. The MacArthur Highway bisects the municipality of Balagtas as this national road cuts northward to the Ilocos region. At the southern approach of the town from Manila is a concrete bridge that crosses the Balagtas River. The river, navigable by banca and motor boats, empties into Manila bay after snaking through the town of Bulacan to the West which provides Balagtas' townsfolk with fish, shrimp, and other fresh water food.
At the foot of the bridge, along the highway towards the North, is the town hall. In front of the town hall is a park where the monument of its hero, Francisco "Balagtas" Baltazar is located. The town hall is surrounded by Spanish colonial type houses. Two hundred meters from the municipal hall is the barrio of Panginay, the birthplace of Francisco Balagtas, for whom also "Balagtasan", a form of debate in versified Tagalog, was named. In 1946 the Historical Society of the Philippines placed a marker at the birthplace of Balagtas. In reverence to the hero's deeds, the official name of Bigaa was changed to Balagtas through the legislative act sponsored by then Congressman, Teodulo Natividad.
History
Originally known as Caruya/Caluya as per as the history records regarding the early years of the establishment of Bulacan Province, Caruya was one of the Encomiendas of the vast region La Pampanga falls under the Alcalde Mayor of Bulacan. Encomienda de Caruya was Encomienda of the King of Spain which appeared in Miguel de Loarca's Relacion delas Isla Filipinas in 1582 and the Report of Governor- General Luis Perez de Dasmariñas of June 21, 1591 document. The propagation of catholic instructions in Caruya initially belongs to Bulakan Convent and it was directly administered by Alcalde Mayor of Bulacan but it was transferred to Malolos Convent at uncertain date. Bigaa is one of the ancient towns of the Province together with Calumpit 1571 (became Town in 1575) Bulakan 1575 (became Town in 1578) Meycauayan 1578, Malolos 1571 (became Town in 1580) and Binto 1581 (a former visita of Malolos became Town renamed as Binto y Quingua 1602) later known as Plaridel. The Catalogo of 1591 indicates the existence of Guiguinto y Caruyan with 4,800 souls and it was administered by a religious from Bulacan Convent. In 1608 Historia dela Provincia Agustiana mentioned Caruyan as pueblo and convent. The Catalogo of 1612 says that Caruyan had 2 sacerdos, 800 Tributos, 2,400 Almas. (Historia de La Provincia Agustiana del Santisimo Nombre de Jesus de Filipinas Vol.1 of Isacio Rodriguez OSA)
On other data, the Center for Bulacan Studies in their "La Primera Provincia" published in 2010 p. 138 mentioned that Bigaa came from Malolos as its matrix with a date independency date of 1621. It could be assumed that Bigaa was later transferred to Malolos Convent in uncertain date but La Primera did not mention that Bigaa originally came from Bulakan town but instead in Malolos.
Long time before the construction of the church at Poblacion, the original location of the town center where the hermitage and the base of Spanish instruction in Bigaa was at Barrio Dalig where Sitio Caruyan was located.
It is very unclear when Caruya was formally organized into administrative town with its own Gobernadorcillo. It was renamed to Bigaa sometime in 1700s. Bigaa suggest a kind of plant which is Taro o Gabi.
During the Philippine revolution the "insurrectos" and the "Guardia civiles". Many people died, further decimating the town, which has suffered from a cholera epidemic and nearly wiped out the population 20 years before. When the Americans established civil government in 1903, Bigaa and Bocaue was integrated each other and in 1911, it was separated again and on the same year, the former Hacienda de Pandi, which included in the geographical jurisdiction of Town of Bigaa. In 1946, during the tenure of Bigaa Mayor Manuel Santos, Pandi was detached from Bigaa shortly after the Philippines gained political freedom from the United States and Pandi was established as a municipal entity by virtue of a legislative fiat.
Barangays
Balagtas is politically subdivided into 9 barangays, all classified as urban:
| PSGC | Barangay | Population | ±% p.a. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 [4] | 2010 [7] | |||||
| 031402002 | Borol 2nd | 9.8% | 7,243 | 7,801 | −1.40% | |
| 031402003 | Borol 1st | 13.8% | 10,190 | 10,179 | 0.02% | |
| 031402004 | Dalig | 2.6% | 1,949 | 1,832 | 1.19% | |
| 031402005 | Longos | 3.8% | 2,779 | 2,607 | 1.22% | |
| 031402007 | Panginay | 17.0% | 12,578 | 12,461 | 0.18% | |
| 031402008 | Pulong Gubat | 10.4% | 7,701 | 4,141 | 12.54% | |
| 031402009 | San Juan | 13.7% | 10,158 | 9,238 | 1.82% | |
| 031402010 | Santol | 22.1% | 16,346 | 12,465 | 5.30% | |
| 031402011 | Wawa (Poblacion) | 6.7% | 4,985 | 4,716 | 1.06% | |
| Total | 73,929 | 65,440 | 2.35% | |||
Climate
| Climate data for Balagtas, Bulacan | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 29 (84) |
30 (86) |
32 (90) |
34 (93) |
33 (91) |
31 (88) |
30 (86) |
29 (84) |
29 (84) |
30 (86) |
30 (86) |
29 (84) |
31 (87) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 20 (68) |
20 (68) |
21 (70) |
23 (73) |
24 (75) |
25 (77) |
24 (75) |
24 (75) |
24 (75) |
23 (73) |
22 (72) |
21 (70) |
23 (73) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 7 (0.3) |
7 (0.3) |
9 (0.4) |
21 (0.8) |
101 (4.0) |
152 (6.0) |
188 (7.4) |
170 (6.7) |
159 (6.3) |
115 (4.5) |
47 (1.9) |
29 (1.1) |
1,005 (39.7) |
| Average rainy days | 3.3 | 3.5 | 11.1 | 8.1 | 18.9 | 23.5 | 26.4 | 25.5 | 24.5 | 19.6 | 10.4 | 6.4 | 181.2 |
| Source: Meteoblue [8] | |||||||||||||
Demographics
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1903 | 8,000 | — |
| 1918 | 9,875 | +1.41% |
| 1939 | 12,037 | +0.95% |
| 1948 | 8,085 | −4.33% |
| 1960 | 10,280 | +2.02% |
| 1970 | 17,109 | +5.22% |
| 1975 | 21,422 | +4.61% |
| 1980 | 28,654 | +5.99% |
| 1990 | 42,658 | +4.06% |
| 1995 | 49,210 | +2.71% |
| 2000 | 56,945 | +3.18% |
| 2007 | 62,684 | +1.33% |
| 2010 | 65,440 | +1.58% |
| 2015 | 73,929 | +2.35% |
| Source: Philippine Statistics Authority [4] [7] [9][10] | ||
In the 2015 census, the population of Balagtas, Bulacan, was 73,929 people, [4] with a density of 2,600 inhabitants per square kilometre or 6,700 inhabitants per square mile.
Economy
- Major Industries
- Ceramics/Pottery
- Furniture
- Garments
- Gifts/Houseware/Decors
- Metalcraft
- Poultry
- Major Products
- Furniture/Agricultural Products
- Balot and Penoy Industry
- Recruitment Agency
- Fruit Dealership
- Tilapia
- Tricycle Parts
- Future Developments
- Construction of North Food Exchange (under construction)
- Opening of Balagtas Tollgate
- Construction of new Balagtas to Baliwag road connection
Government
Municipal Officials:
- Mayor: Eladio "Kap JR." Gonzales
- Vice Mayor: Alberto "Bobby" Carating Jr.
- Councilors:
- Mikee Jane "Monay" Payuran
- Analyn Jose
- Fernando K. Galvez
- Jay-Ar Aragon
- Andy De Guzman
- Dante Marcelo
- Jayrey Galvez
- Jepok Ventura
Schools
Tertiary:
- Daguro international university, (DIU) san juan, Balagtas
- College of St. Lawrence (formerly St.Lawrence Academy), Borol 1st, Balagtas
- Garden Angels Integrated School, Borol 1st, Balagtas
- STI College Balagtas, Campus, Borol 1st,Balagtas
- Colegio de Roma, San Juan, Balagtas
- Our Lady of Manaoag Montessori College, (OLMA) San Juan, Balagtas
- A-Z Country Day School
- Bulacan Merchant Marine Academy
Secondary:
- La Consolacion School, Longos, Balagtas
- Balagtas Agricultural School, Pulonggubat, Balagtas (main)
- Balagtas Agricultural School, Borol 1st, Balagtas (annex)
- Children's Mindware School, Borol 2nd, Balagtas
Elementary (Public):
- Balagtas Central School
- Francisco Balagtas Memorial School
- San Juan Elementary School
- Longos Elementary School
- Borol 1st Elementary School
- Borol 2nd Elementary School
- Sulok Elementary School
- Marciano C. Rivera Elementary School
- Santol Elementary School
- Dalig Elementary School
- Balagtas Heights Elementary School
- Northville VI Elementary School
Gallery
World War 2 USAFFE Veterans of Balagtas Marker at the Municipal Hall
Francisco Balagtas Monument at the Francisco Balagtas Memorial Elementary School
Francisco Balagtas Birthplace Marker
St. Lawrence Deacon & Martyr Parish Church
St. Peter the Apostle Parish Church
St. Joseph the Worker Parish Church
St. Joseph the Worker Parish Pastoral Center
Santo Niño Chapel
Old Bigaa Train Station
Constantino Bahay na Bato Ancestral House
College of Saint Lawrence
La Consolacion School
Balagtas Town Center
Fortune Wet and Dry Market and NewStar Mall
References
- https://www.thecorpusjuris.com/legislative/republic-acts/ra-no-4702.php
- Municipality of Balagtas | (DILG)
- "Province: Bulacan". PSGC Interactive. Quezon City, Philippines: Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
- Census of Population (2015). "Region III (Central Luzon)". Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. PSA. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
- "PSA releases the 2015 Municipal and City Level Poverty Estimates". Quezon City, Philippines. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
- ""Commission on Audit 2017 Report-Bulacan"". Quezon City, Philippines: Commission on Audit. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
- Census of Population and Housing (2010). "Region III (Central Luzon)". Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. NSO. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
- "Balagtas: Average Temperatures and Rainfall". Meteoblue. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- Censuses of Population (1903–2007). "Region III (Central Luzon)". Table 1. Population Enumerated in Various Censuses by Province/Highly Urbanized City: 1903 to 2007. NSO.
- "Province of Bulacan". Municipality Population Data. Local Water Utilities Administration Research Division. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
External links
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