Pampanga

Related Topics:
Pampanga :: Pampangan

For the river see Ilog Sa Pampanga.

Pampanga is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is The City of San Fernando. 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. Pampanga also lies on the northern shore of Manila Bay. The name "Pampanga" was given by the Spaniards who found the early natives living near the river banks. The word "Pangpang" means river. Its creation in 1571 makes it the oldest among the seven provinces of Central Luzon. The Province of Pampanga enjoys the distinction of being known as the Culinary Center of the Philippines.

Pampanga is served by the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport, which is located in Clark Field some 16 kilometers south of the provincial capital.

People and culture

See Pampangos.

Economy

Farming and fishing are the two main industries of the province. Major products include rice, corn, sugar cane, and tilapia. In addition to farming and fishing, the province also supports a thriving cottage industries that specializes in wood carving, furniture-making, guitars, and handicrafts. Every year during the Christmas season, the province of Pampanga becomes the center of a thriving industry centered on handcrafted lighted lanterns called “parols” that displays a kaleidoscope of light and color. Other industries include its indigenous casket industry and the manufacturing of all Purpose Vehicles present in the Municipality of Sto. Tomas.

The province is famous for its culinary industry. Kapampangans are well known for their culinary expertise. Well known food products range from the ordinary to the exotic. 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 (Philippines-style sausages and cured meats.) Specialty foods such as the murcon (ground meat stuffed in fish), embutido (ground pork roll), kare-kare (pork or beef cooked in peanut butter), sisig baboy (a spicy pork dish best served with beer), 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 ala 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 casoy, buro, are the most sought after by Filipinos including a growing number of tourists who enjoy authentic Kapampangan cuisine.

Tourism is a growing industry in the province of Pampanga. Clark Field, in Angeles City, is home to Diosdado Macapagal International Airport, Luzon's second International Airport and designated as the Philippines future premier gateway site. Within the Clark Special Economic Zone are well established hotels and resorts. Popular tourist destinations in the province include: St. Peter Shrine in Apalit, Mt. Arayat National Park in San Juan Bano, Arayat, the Paskuhan Village in the City of San Fernando, and the Casino Pilipino in Angeles City. Well known annual events include the Giant Lantern Festival in December, the annual hot air balloon festival in Clarkfield during the month of February, and the San Pedro Cutud Lenten Rites celebrated two days before Easter.

Other developing economies include a semiconductor industry involved in the manufacturing of electronics and computers mostly located within the Clark Special Economic Zone.

Geography

Political

Pampanga is subdivided into 20 municipalities and 2 cities.

Cities

Municipalities

Physical

=Terrain

= The province has a total land mass of 2,180.68 square kilometers. Its terrain is relatively flat with one distinct mountain, Mt. Arayat and the notable Pampanga river. Among its municipalities, Porac has the largest land mass with 343.12 square kilometers; Candaba comes in second with 208.7 square kilometers; followed by Lubao with 155.77 square kilometers.

=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.

Infrastructure

=Telecommunication

= Telephone services in the Province are provided by the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), Digitel, Datelcom, the Evangelista Telephone Company, and the Pampanga Telecom Company. The province has 24 public telegraph offices distributed among its towns while the facilities of PT&T and RCPI were set up to serve the business centers in Angeles City, San Fernando, and Guagua.^*

Several Internet Service Providers and available in the province. These include the Angeles Computer Network Specialist, Information Resources Network System, Inc., Mosaic communications Inc., Net Asia Angeles City and Phil World On Line.

United Parcel Services (UPS) and Federal Express (FedEx) provide international courier services for the province and the rest of the country. Their hubs are located within the Clark Special Economic Zone. These international courier are complemented by four local couriers operating as the communication and baggage of the province. There are 3 postal district offices and 35 post office stations distributed in the 20 municipalities and 2 cities of the province. ^*

=Media

= Twelve local newspapers are published in Pampanga. They include:

The Angeles Observer of Sto. Rodario, Angeles City, which comes out weekly with a circulation of 1,000 copies;
The Voice of Balibago, Angeles City, weekly circulation, 2,000 copies;
Sun Star Clark of Dau, Mabalacat, published daily circulation 2,000 copies;
Sun Star Mabuhay, of Dau, Mabalacat, weekly with 1,000 copies;
The Pampanga Times of San Fernando, weekly circulation, 1,000 copies;
The Philippine Recorder of San Fernando, weekly circulation, 2,000 copies;
Pampanga, Bataan, Zambales Profile of Angeles City, weekly circulation, 1,000 copies;
Coffee Punch News of Sto. Rosatio, San Fernando, weekly circulation, 3,000 copies;
Central Luzon Times of Angeles City, weekly with 1,000 copies;
Central Luzon Advocate, also of Angeles City, weekly circulation, 1,000 copies;
The Probe of San Fernando, weekly with 1,000 circulation, copies; and
The Luzon Preacher of Angeles City, weekly circulation with 1,000 copies.

Pampanga has four radio stations:

The 5K DWRW-FM of the Radio World Broadcasting Corporation of the Philippines in San Fernando;
The 5K DWGV-FM, of the GV Broadcasting System in Angeles City;
5K DWGV-AM, also of the GV Broadcasting System in Angeles City; and
the 2.5K DWCI-FM, of the Love Radio Network in San Fernando.

There is only one television station in Pampanga, K-TV 12 of the Love Radio Network in Sindalan, San Fernando.^*

=Water & Power

= Potable water supply in the province reaches the populace through three levels namely: Level I (point source system), Level II (communal faucet system), and Level III (individual connections). A well or spring is the pinpointed water source in areas where houses are few as the system is only designed to serve 15 to 25 households. As of 1997, there were 128,571 Level I water system users in the province. The communal faucet system (Level II) serves the rural areas while the Level III system is managed by the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA). The system provides individual house connections to all second and first class private subdivisions.

Electric power is distributed to majority of the towns through the distribution centers of the Pampanga Electric Cooperative (PELCO) which include PELCO I, II, III. Small parts of Candaba and Macabebe are also supplied by Manila Electric Company (MERALCO).^*

=Transportation

The Pampanga is strategically located at the crossroads of central Luzon and is highly accessible by both air and land. The province is home to two airstrips: Basa Air Base in Floridablanca, which is utilized by the military, and the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Angeles City. Pampanga also has five existing municipal ports which function as fish landing centers. These are situated in the municipalities of Guagua, Macabebe, Masantol, Minalin, and Sasmuan.^*

Land travel to the province is made easy by numerous buses that travel the routes of Manila-Pampanga-Bataan, Manila-Pampanga-Zambales, Manila-Pampanga-Tarla, Manila-Pampanga-Nueva Ecija, and Manila-Bulacan-Pampanga. These buses are serviced by: Philippine Rabbit, Genesis Transport, Philippine Rapid, Panther, Saulog Transit, Victory Liner, Dagupan Bus Lines, San Trans, Fariñas, Dominion, Maria de Leon, Viron, five Star, Arayat Express, Sierra Madre Lines, and the Baliuag Transit.^*

The 83.7 - km North Luzon Expressway (NLE) extends from Balintawak in Metro Manila to Sta. Ines in Pampanga. It passes through the large cities of San Fernando and Angeles in Pampanga through Sta. Ines, which is located near the former U.S. Air Force Base at Clark Field.^*

=Education

The province is home to 33 colleges/universities. They include:

The University of the Assumption, City of San Fernando
AMA Computer College- City of San Fernando and Angeles City
AMA Computer Learning Center- City of San Fernando and Angeles City
Mother of Good Counsel Seminary, City of San Fernando
East Central Colleges, City of San Fernando
Central Luzon College of Technology- City of San Fernando
Development for Advanced Technology Achievement (DATA) College, City of San Fernando
Union Christian College, City of San Fernando
San Lorenzo Ruiz Center of Studies and School, Dolores, City of San Fernando
Harvadian Colleges, City of San Fernando
Angeles University Foundation, Angeles City
Holy Angel University, Angeles City
Republic Central Colleges, Angeles City
Jocson College, Balibago, Angeles City
Mega Computer College, Angeles City
Systems Plus Computer College Foundation, Inc., Balibago, Angeles City
Mother of Perpetual Help Institute School of Midwifery and Nursing Aide, Angeles City
Integrated Computer School Foundation, Sto. Rosario, Angeles City
Computer System Specialist, Inc. Angeles City
STI College, Angeles City and City of San Fernando
Jose C. Feliciano College, Inc., Dau, Mabalacat
Saint Michael's College, Guagua
Guagua National College, Guagua
Dau College, Mabalacat
Saint Anthony College of Technology, Mabalacat
Padova Polytechnic College, Dau, Mabalacat
Megabyte College of Science and Technology, Floridablanca and Guagua
Holy Cross College Pampanga, Sta. Lucia, Sta. Ana
Pampanga Agricultural College, Magalang
Pampanga Colleges, Macabebe, Pampanga
Philippine State College of Aeronautics- Pampanga Extension, Basa Air Base, Floridablanca
Somascan Fathers Seminary, Lubao, Pampanga
Don Honorio Ventura College of Arts and Trades, Poblacion, Bacolor

Tourist attractions

=Festivals

January 1 — Aguman Sanduk, Minalin
February — The Hot-Air Balloon Festival, Clark Field
March/April (Good Friday) — San Pedro Cutud Lenten Rites (Mal a Aldo), San Pedro
May — Sabat/Santacruzan
June 28 — Apung Iru Fluvial Parade, Apalit
September 24 — Tugak Festival (Frog Festival), City of San Fernando
October — Fiestang Kuliat, Angeles City
Last Friday of October — Apo Fiesta, Angeles City
October — La Naval Fiesta, Angeles City
November (Last week of November) — Duman Festival, Sta. Rita
December 1-7 — Sinukwan Festival, City of San Fernando
December 11 — Aldo Ning Kapampangan (Pampanga Day)
December 23 — Parul Festival (Giant Lantern Festival), City of San Fernando

=Historic churches and shrines

St. Peter Shrine, Apalit
Shrine of Our Lord of the Holy Sepulchre (Apung Mamacalulu), Angeles City
Metropolitan Cathedral (Cathedral of San Fernando), City of San Fernando
Ivory Image of St. Peter, Apalit
Parochial Church of Apalit, Apalit
Betis Catholic Church, Guagua
San Agustin Church, Lubao
San Guilllermo Parish Church, Bacolor
Sta. Catalina Catholic Church, Arayat
Holy Rosary Parish Church, Angeles City
San Bartolome Church, Magalang
St. Nicholas of Tolentino Parish Church, Macabebe
Church of Lubao, Lubao, Pampanga

=Recreational facilities and leisure parks

Paskuhan Village "Hilaga" (City of San Fernando)
Bren Z. Guiao Sports Complex (City of San Fernando
Benigno Aquino Hall (City of San Fernando)
Lakeshore (Mexico)
Plaza Imelda (Guagua) - known as the Luneta Park of Guagua.
Federosa Island Resort (Sto. Tomas) - is a man-made island with swimming pools and a modern cockpit.
Sito Palakol Resort (Florida Blanca, Pampanga)
Casino Pilipino (Balibago, Angeles City)
Expo Pilipino (Clark Special Economic Zone)
Mimosa Leisure Estate (Clark Special Economic Zone)
Clearwater (Clark Special Economic Zone)
Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (Clark Special Economic Zone)

=Historical landmarks

Death March Marker (City of San Fernando)
Provincial Capitol (City of San Fernando)
Kamikaze Shrine (Mabalacat)
Salakot Arch (Angeles City)

=Museums and historical monuments

The Archdiocesian Museum and Archives, City of San Fernando
Juan D. Nepomuceno Center for Kapampangan Studies, Angeles City
Museo ning Angeles (Museum of Angeles), Angeles City
Old Pamintuan Residence, Angeles City
Founder’s House, Angeles City
Bale Herencia, Angeles City
Nepomuceno Ancestral House, Angeles City

=Natural parks

Mt. Arayat National Park (Arayat)
Scenic Candaba Swamps and Wild Duck Sanctuary(Candaba)
Mt. Pinatubo Crater
Dara Falls (Porac) - Pampanga’s version of the Pagsanjan Falls of Laguna.

History

Pampanga was founded by the Spanish conquistador, Martín de Goiti in 1571. The name derived from the native Kapampangan words "pangpang ilog" meaning "riverside" where the early Malayan settlements were concentrated along the Rio Grande de la Pampanga. Kapampangan men are known for their gallantry and leadership while Kapampangan women are famous for their beauty and skill in culinary arts.

Pampanga, one of the richest provinces in the Philippines, was re-organized as a province by the Spaniards on December 11, 1571. For governmental control and taxation purposes, the Spanish authorities subdivided Pampanga into towns (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 grantees of private estates, the King of Spain prohibited in 1574 the awarding of private estates (encomiendas). However, the royal decree was not fully enforced until the year 1620. In a report of Philippine encomiendas on June 20, 1591, Spanish Governor Gomez Perez Dasmarinas reported to the King of Spain that La Pampanga's encomiendas were Batan, Bitis y Lubao, Macabebe, Candava, Apali, Calompit, Malolos, Binto, Guiguinto, Caluya, Bulacan and Mecabayan. The encomiendas of La Pampanga at that time had eighteen thousand six hundred and eighty whole tributes.

Ancient Pampanga's territorial area used to include portions of the provinces of Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, Tarlac and Zambales in the big Island of Luzon of the Philippine Archipelago.

Pampanga which is about 850 square miles in area and presently 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.

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 towns became municipalities of the newly created Province of Tarlac.

A large number of people have been displaced and whole towns and villages have been submerged in lahar in the aftermath of the Mount Pinatubo erruptions.

Notable Kapampangans

Jose Abad Santos - was the 5th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. He was killed by Japanese forces during the occupation of the Philippines in World War II.

Diosdado Pangan Macapagal - ninth president of the Philippines.

Armando Biliwang - elected as a municipal councilor and later became municipal mayor of San Fernando. He is well known for his fearless stand against communism during his term as municipal councilor and mayor.

Don Zoilo Hilario - famous Kapampangan writer and poet who dedicated his life to the propagation of Kapampangan literature and culture.

External links

Provinces of the Philippines

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