Municipality of Agdangan Bayan ng Agdangan El Pueblo de Agdangan |
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— Municipality — | |
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• Mayor | Hon. Roque Aguilar |
The Municipality of Agdangan (Filipino: Bayan ng Agdangan) or in (Spanish/Chavacano: El Pueblo de Agdangan) is a 5th class municipality in the province of Quezon, Philippines. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 11,164.[1].
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In the early 19th Century Spanish Colonial era, the Municipality of Atimonan, Tayabas (now Quezon Province) had been suffering from frequent attacks by Pirates and outlaws. A man from this place named Mariano Aguilar thought of moving to a safer place to live and dwell with his family. He asked a good friend and distant relative, Juan Salvador to help him find a nearby peaceful place to settle for good. Along with their immediate families, they walked through the forest southwest bound until they found a clean river. While traversing the riverside, they found a scenic body of water which was best described as ladder-like as the waters run over ladder-like steps. They initially named the place Hagdan-hagdan (ladder-like structure). As they moved further west, they found a huge plane where they later established the town proper. In this land, they built houses for their families and divided the land area between their family members, relatives and friends. The population in this newly discovered area had increased dramatically and before the end of the 19th century, this area was officially called Agdangan (from the word Hagdan-hagdan), a barrio of the nearby town Unisan, Tayabas.
As time went by, the two families realized that there was a pressing need to build a church, school building, marketplace, the government building and other facilities basic to the community. The Salvador family donated the site for the school buildings and the public cemetery while Aguilar family donated the lots for the Roman Catholic Church, the marketplace and the municipal building. The population had increased further as a result of influx of people from nearby municipalities and provinces adjacent to Tayabas. The Philippine National Railways established a permanent train station which also contributed to the migration of people to this place. The Aguilar and Salvador families, along with a local civic organization led by Mr. Pedro Olase, again took proactive efforts to gain independence from Unisan. Their actions led to the foundation of the municipality of Agdangan, Province of Tayabas. The culmination of this endeavor happened on April 1, 1939 when President Manuel Quezon signed into a Law the creation of the Municipality of Agdangan, Tayabas. As of today, April 1 has been commemorated in honor of the town's foundation day and is commonly known as Agdangan Day.
President Quezon appointed Roque Aguilar as Mayor until the first election was held. The following year, Catalino Aguilar and Crispin Salvador were elected as Mayor and Vice Mayor respectively.
List of Municipal Mayors
Hon. Roque Aguilar
Hon. Catalino Zatarain Aguilar
Hon. Crispin Salvador
Hon. Pedro Francia
Hon. Gregorio Valle
Hon. Norberto Monterey
Hon. Jose I. Lim
Hon. Carmelito C. Legaspi
Hon. Augusto Pobeda
Hon. Rhadam P. Aguilar
Agdangan is politically subdivided into 12 barangays.
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