| Bolinao | |||
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| — Municipality — | |||
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| Motto: Babali Ko, Kawananen Ko. | |||
| Map of Pangasinan showing the location of Bolinao. | |||
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Bolinao
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| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Philippines | ||
| Region | Ilocos Region (Region I) | ||
| Province | Pangasinan | ||
| District | 1st District, Pangasinan | ||
| Founded | 1575 | ||
| Barangays | 30 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Alfonso F. Celeste (Lakas Kampi CMD) | ||
| • Vice Mayor | Elias C. Quisay, Jr. Lakas Kampi CMD | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 197.22 km2 (76.1 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2007) | |||
| • Total | 69,568 | ||
| • Density | 352.7/km2 (913.6/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | PST (UTC+8) | ||
| ZIP code | 2406 | ||
| Income class | 3rd class | ||
| Population Census of Bolinao | |||
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| Census | Pop. | Rate | |
| 1995 | 53,127 |
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| 2000 | 61,068 | 3.03% | |
| 2007 | 69,568 | 1.81% | |
Bolinao is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Pangasinan, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 69,568 people in 12,182 households.
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Folk etymology attributes the name "Bolinao" or this remote fishing enclave from the fish piece "monamon" but commonly called "Bolinao" by the Tagalogs, Bicolanos and the Visayans. A theory also points out that once upon a time "pamulinawen" trees grew luxuriantly along its shores, thus, the Ilocano migrants who crossed the Lingayen Gulf named it phonetically similar to the name of the tree. Nowadays, however, such tree does not exist anymore.
Legend also relates that during the first days of the Spanish era, a lovely lass nicknamed "Anao" lived at the present site of the town proper. She used to bathe leisurely for hours under the Boli-Bolinao tree where a chieftain's son who lived across the channel first saw her and then wooed. An early marriage ensued but with the condition, among others, that the seat of the chieftain's government be moved to the place where Anao lived. There they were to stay rulers, hence the name of Bolinao, Boli-Bolinao and Anao.
On November 18, 2007, Bolinao challenged the historical fact that the first Mass was held on March 31, 1521, Easter Sunday, at Limasawa in Southern Leyte. Memorial markers (donated by Italian priest Luigi Malamocco, 62, from Odorico’s hometown of Friuli, Italy) were set in the town’s church and on Santiago Island, claiming that in 1324, Franciscan missionaries led by an Italian priest named Odorico celebrated a thanksgiving Mass thereat and also baptized natives.[1]
Bolinao Mayor Alfonso Celeste said the local government will file damage suit against Indonesian owners of the barge APOL 3003. The University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute (UPMSI) stated that the environmental damage was P 54.9 million ($1 =- P 40). The barge towed by a tug boat from Indonesia to the power plant in Sual, Pangasinan on November 27 when Typhoon “Mina” winds destroyed its anchor and rope, then hurled to Ilog Malino reef, spilling 95% of its coal cargo. The hard coal spill spread to 330,000 square metres of coral and sea grass areas.[2]
The people generally speak tagalog, ilocano and their own unique native language called Bolinao. The Bolinao language is closely related to Sambalic. Bolinao was part of the province of Zambales from mid-18th and was turned over to Pangasinan in 1903. Most people generally understand and speak English.
Sea urchins or “uni", (among the most expensive dishes in Japanese restaurants) are regularly harvested in Isla Silaki, Bolinao, Pangasinan. A sack costs only P 80 ($ 1 = P 40).[3]
The Cape Bolinao Lighthouse at Patar rises majestically 351 feet above sea level atop Punta Piedra Point, a towering hill of solid rock which is the sharp point of Cape Bolinao itself.It was built by the Americans in 1903 on a 351 feet (107 m) high promontory at the western part of Cape Bolinao, the lighthouse still sends signals to vessels passing by the area.
The lighthouse provides a panoramic view of a portion of the 1,269 hectare Cape Bolinao Dendro Thermal Ipil-Ipil Plantation on a land area where archaeological excavations have revealed relics from the 14th to the 15th centuries. Filipino, British and American engineers constructed the lighthouse in 1905.
According to the Bureau of Geodetic Surveys, the land elevation is 250 feet. Visibility is 20 miles at midsea towards the lighthouse in Poro Point. The winding stairway has 6 platforms with 20 steps or rungs for a total of 120 steps plus 14 more to the illumination room, or an over-all total of 134 steps.
Bolinao is politically subdivided into 30 barangays.
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| South China Sea | Lingayen Gulf | |||
| South China Sea | Anda | |||
| Bolinao | ||||
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