| Santo Tomas | |||
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| — Municipality — | |||
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| Map of Pampanga showing the location of Santo Tomas. | |||
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Santo Tomas
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| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Philippines | ||
| Region | Central Luzon (Region III) | ||
| Province | Pampanga | ||
| District | 4th District | ||
| Founded | |||
| Barangays | 7 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Joselito F. Naguit | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 21.30 km2 (8.2 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2007) | |||
| • Total | 37,866 | ||
| • Density | 1,777.7/km2 (4,604.3/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | PST (UTC+8) | ||
| ZIP code | 2020 | ||
| Income class | 4th class | ||
| Population Census of Santo Tomas | |||
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| Census | Pop. | Rate | |
| 1995 | 29,628 |
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| 2000 | 32,695 | 2.14% | |
| 2007 | 37,866 | 2.05% | |
Santo Tomas is a 4th class municipality in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 37,866 people in 6,375 households.
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Baliwag was the traditional name of Sto. Tomas. It was christened after Sto. Tomas Apostol, whose festivity was solemnized on the 21st day of December 1792 and every year thereafter. The town was named Baliwag (Baliwag means tardy in Spanish) because the townspeople were always late in attending mass.
On September 15, 1792, Sto. Tomas as a new town was detached from its Matrix Minalin. The separation was historically verified. But on the 19th Day of December 1792, negotiation was carried out by the townspeople towards the political segregation of Sto. Tomas from its Matrix Minalin.
From the parish files on baptism, marriage and death, from January 1, 1830 to 1854, the town was written as Sto. Tomas de Baliwag and from 1855 to 1926, it was written Pueblo de Sto. Tomas.
On May 4, 1899, the town was captured by the U.S. Force. On January 2, 1905 and contrary to all expectations, the political reigns of Sto. Tomas were ceded to San Fernando and until 1905 both Sto. Tomas and Minalin were still under the political jurisdiction of San Fernando. Minalin, however, became emancipated at a later date but not Sto. Tomas.
On October 12, 1951, a month before the elections through Executive Order No. 476 issued by the late President Quirino. The five barrios of Sto. Tomas, namely, San Matias, San Vicente, San Bartolome, Sto. Rosario and Poblacion were segregated from San Fernando and organized into an independent municipality henceforth to be called Sto. Tomas with the seat of government at barrio San Vicente.
Despite two other setback negotiation for independence made by the people of Sto. Tomas in 1919 and 1949 not until January 11, 1952, was the Municipality of Sto. Tomas and re-inaugurated at last wit the first municipal hall temporarily located at the house of late Mayor Patricio Gomez who was the first Municipal Mayor of the town appointed by the late President Quirino. Due to political reasons, in 1955 RA 1250[1] was enacted by Congress transferring the seat of government from San Matias to Poblacion. However, believing that the said set of government is ironically and paradoxically located in and out of town Poblacion, Presidential Decree No. 1441 was issued by President Ferdinand E. Marcos on June 11, 1978 permanently transferring the seat of Municipal government from Poblacion to Barangay San Vicente which ideally and strategically located in an effort of effecting meaningful change and accelerating progress and development in the town as also desired by Barangay and municipal officials.
Sto. Tomas is the youngest if not smallest town in the entire province of Pampanga. It has a total land area of around 1,467 hectares, wherein 350. 60 hectares is crop area and 344.5 hectares is Fishpond area with 97 farmers and 55 fish farmers respectively, with only seven (7) barangays, it has a total population of 21,382 in 1975, 26,504 in 1980 and 37,866 in August 2007. Previously, there were only five barangays. But due to political expediency, Barangay Sapa. Sto. Nino Moras dela Paz were segregated from mother Barangay San Matias in 1970. The chief industries of the town are ceramics, carpentry, trading and agriculture. It is 31⁄2 kilometers from Provincial Capitol.
The municipality of Santo Tomas, the smallest and youngest town in Pampanga, is strategically located at the heart of the province. The capital city of San Fernando bounds it on the northwest the municipality of San Simon on the north-east, the municipality of minalin on the south-east and Bacolor on the west.
Santo Tomas is politically subdivided into 7 barangays.
In the records of Department of Trade and Industry (Philippines), Santo Tomas, the town holds the title “casket capital of Central Luzon.” The home to 300 family-owned casket businesses that each produce about 80 caskets monthly or a total production of 24,000 a month, it is still short of caskets for its 33,267 population, according to its incumbent Mayor Lito Naguit and industry leaders.[2][3]
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