Apalit
| Apalit | ||
|---|---|---|
| Municipality | ||
|
Town hall | ||
| ||
|
Motto: Pampanga's Gateway to Manila The Blacksmith Capital of Pampanga | ||
 Map of Pampanga showing the location of Apalit | ||
.svg.png)  Apalit Location within the Philippines | ||
| Coordinates: 14°57′N 120°46′E / 14.950°N 120.767°ECoordinates: 14°57′N 120°46′E / 14.950°N 120.767°E | ||
| Country | Philippines | |
| Region | Central Luzon (Region III) | |
| Province | Pampanga | |
| District | 4th District | |
| Barangays | 12 | |
| Government[1] | ||
| • Mayor | Oscar D. Tetangco Jr. | |
| Area[2] | ||
| • Total | 61.47 km2 (23.73 sq mi) | |
| Population (2010)[3] | ||
| • Total | 101,537 | |
| • Density | 1,700/km2 (4,300/sq mi) | |
| Time zone | PST (UTC+8) | |
| ZIP code | 2016 | |
| Dialing code | 45 | |
| Income class | 1st class | |
Apalit is a first class municipality in the province of Pampanga, on Luzon Island in the Philippines. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 101,537 inhabitants.[3]
Apalit is surrounded by Macabebe, Masantol, Minalin and San Simon in Pampanga, and Calumpit, Bulacan.
Barangays
Apalit is politically subdivided into 12 barangays:[2]
- Balucuc
- Calantipe
- Cansinala
- Capalangan
- Colgante
- Paligui
- Sampaloc
- San Juan (Poblacion)
- San Vicente (Business District)
- Sucad
- Sulipan
- Tabuyuc (Santo Rosario)
Demographics
| Population census of Apalit | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
| 1990 | 62,373 | — |
| 1995 | 65,720 | +0.98% |
| 2000 | 78,295 | +3.82% |
| 2007 | 97,296 | +3.04% |
| 2010 | 101,537 | +1.56% |
| Source: National Statistics Office[3][4] | ||
Local government
Like other towns in the Philippines, Apalit is governed by a mayor and vice mayor who are elected to three-year terms. The mayor is the executive head and leads the town's departments in executing the ordinances and improving public services. The vice mayor heads a legislative council (Sangguniang Bayan) consisting of councilors from the Barangays of Barrios.
Municipal officials
Elected officials 2013–2016:
- Mayor: Oscar Tetangco, Jr.[5]
- Vice Mayor: Peter C. Nucom
- Councilors:
- Augusto D. Manlapaz
- Doc. J Torres
- Doc. Elias L. Mendoza Jr.
- Jed Dalusong
- An Macalino
- Sanny D. Mendoza
- Atoy Castro
- Zaldy C. Guanzon
- Elmer T. Yumul
List of former Town Executives/Mayors
|
|
|
Education
For elementary and high school education, Apalit has numerous schools.
Private Schools
- Apalit Christian Ecumenical School/ACES (formerly Ecumenical Kiddie Lane/EKL)
- St. Peter Institute (formerly St. Peter College)
- Saint Vincent's Academy of Apalit (formerly St. Vincent Child Study Center)
- Holy Child Academy
- Blueridge School of Apalit
- The Dominican School of Apalit
- Gonzales Memorial College (formerly Gonzales Memorial Academy)
- St. James School
- La Verdad Christian School
- Escuela De Nehemiah (formerly Faith and Wisdom School)
Public schools
- San Vicente Central School
- Sampaga Elementary School
- Jose Escaler Memorial School
- Sucad Elementary School
- Sucad High School
- Cansinala Elementary School
- Cansinala National High School
- Sampaga High School
- Colgante Elementary School
- Sampaloc Elementary School
- Paligui Elementary School
- Balucuc Elementary School
- Balucuc High School
- Balucuc High School (Annex)
- Galang Elementary Memorial School
- Banag Elementary School
- Macario Arnedo Elementary School
- Tabuyuc Elementary School
- Apalit National High School
- Br. Andrew Gonzalez Technical High School (formerly Apalit Technical Vocational High School)
- Fausto Sioco Memorial School
Colleges
- Asian Caregiving and Technology Education Centers (ACTEC)
- AMA Computer Learning Center College
- Eastwoods International Institute of Science and Technology
- La Verdad Christian College
- Asian College of Science and Technology
Religion
Most inhabitants of Apalit are Christian, with a majority professing Catholicism.
Catholicism
Parish church
Apalit was first established as one of the visitas (mission chapel) under the administration of Convento de Calumpit. In 1597, the Augustinian chapter accepted Apalit as House of Order under the advocacy of San Pedro Apostol where Fray Pedro de Vergara OSA as its first parish priest In conjunction with the annual town fiesta, the Libad was established by the Capitan del Pueblo, Don Pedro Armayan-Espíritu y Macam, on June 28, 1844.Libad fluvial procession also reaching Calumpit even today to signify the old relationship of Apalit to its mother town Calumpit where San Juan Bautista is the patron of the Town.[6]
The first church and convento was constructed under the tenure of Fray Juan Cabello as parish priest from 1641 to 1645. Fray Simón de Alarcia built another church made of concrete and tile in 1854-1860, but it was destroyed by a strong earthquake in 1863. The present neo-classical church was built under Fray Antonio Redondo, who was assigned to Apalit from 1873 to 1886.
Father Gallende wrote in La Iglesia de Apalit:
"Father Antonio Redondo, parish priest of Apalit from 1873 to 1886 laid the foundations of a new one in January 1876, following the plans of Don Ramón Hermosa, assistant officer to the minister of public works. The foreman was a certain Mariano Santos, a native of Guagua. After seven years of work, the church was finally completed in 1883. It was "the pride of Pampanga, an indelible tribute to Fr. Redondo and the people of Apalit.'"
It was officially inaugurated with solemn ceremonies held successively during the town fiesta from 28 to 30 June of the same year. The chronicler remarks that when there was no more sand or bricks, Fr. Redondo would ask the fiscal (sacristan) to go around town pealing the bells. Preceded by the town bands, he would lead the way towards the riverside with an azafate (a basket or hamper) on his head. Unquestioning, the whole town would follow him, and in less than two hours, the masons would have enough sand for two months. "The whole town of Apalit helped either with monetary donations, personal service, or with their good wishes." The church measures 59 meters long and 14 meters wide. The painting was done by a native of Apalit, an industrious pupil of Alberoni. The church possesses the qualities of good construction: "solidity, capacity, light and artistic beauty."
The towers were completed under the guidance of Rev Toríbio Fanjul in 1896. In 1989, a major church renovation was initiated by Monsignor Rústico G. Cuevas.[7]
Feast of Saint Peter
The Libad, a fluvial procession in honour of the town's patron saint Peter the Apostle (known locally Apung Iru), is annually from 28 to 30 June. The event, where a centuries-old ivory image of the apostle is paraded along the Pampanga River, is one of the more famous religious processions in Pampanga.
History of the image
The life-sized, seated image of "Apung Iru" is an heirloom of the Armayan-Espíritu y Macam clan of Sitio Alauli, San Vicente, Apalit. The image, with its ivory face and hands, dates from the last quarter of the 1700s. Family tradition has it that Don Pedro Armayan-Espíritu y Macam (d. 1904)–or his parents Don Calixto Armayan-Espíritu and Doña María Macam, acquired the image from an aunt, Doña Máxima Santos–in exchange for a considerable parcel of agricultural land in Apalit. During the Spanish colonial era, Spanish friars shrewdly assigned the ownership of the town's patron saint to wealthy families, so that the former could be spared the expenses of its upkeep and annual fiesta. The first Libad was held in 1844.
Custody of the image of Apung Iru has passed to the direct descendants of Don Pedro Armayan-Espíritu y Macam, who married three times: first to Doña Dorotea Arnedo; then Máxima Santa Rita; and finally Ysabel Dungo y Nocom. Don Pedro originally bequeathed the image to his favourite, his youngest daughter Doña Ysidora "Orang" Espíritu y Dungo (later Mrs Jesús Justo González), but she did not want the responsibility of being the image's camarera (custodian). She passed it on to her elder, spinster sister Doña Aurea "Ondeng" Espíritu y Dungo. After Doña Aurea's early death, Don Pedro's eldest daughter Doña María "Maruja" Espíritu y Dungo (later Mrs Macario Arnedo) became the image's camarera. In 1928, Doña María translated the image of Apung Iru from the Armayan-Espíritu ancestral home in Sitio Alauli in Barangay San Vicente to her house in Barrio Capalangan, where it has remained since.
Doña María died in 1934, and her second daughter Doña Ysabel "Tabing" Arnedo y Espíritu (later Mrs Fernando Dueñas Reyes) became the image's "camarera" until her own death in 1970. Doña María's third daughter, Doña Rosario Lucia "Charing" Arnedo y Espíritu (later Mrs Augusto Diosdado Sioco González ) became camarera until her death in May 1977. The youngest daughter, Doña Elisa Juana "Ising" Arnedo y Espíritu (later Mrs Fortunato Kabiling Sazon) became the next camarera until her death in May 1987. Doña Elisa's eldest daughter, Dr. Erlinda Crispina "Linda" Arnedo Sazon (later Mrs Enrique Espíritu Badenhop) succeeded her mother as camarera from until her own death in February 2008. Augusto Marcelino "Toto" Reyes González III, Doña Rosario's grandson from her eldest son, Augusto Beda, is the current camarero of Apung Iru, following a stipulation that Doña Rosario and Doña Ysidora made to the family in 1970.
In 1975, Doña Ysidora, Doña Rosario, and the latter's son Brother Andrew Benjamin González, F.S.C., established Saint Peter's Mission, Inc. with the stipulation that Apung Iru and his feast be maintained by the generations to come.
Members Church of God International
In the province of Pampanga located the main headquarters of the Members Church of God International (also known as Ang Dating Daan) headed by Eliseo Soriano. The compound itself is more than 50 hectares, and contains the ADD Convention Center, which seats some 100,000 people, the central administration office, and tertiary institution La Verdad Christian College. Non-profit facilities like the hospital, transient homes, dormitory, orphanage are also inside the compound.
It hosts major church events like the weekly Pasalamat ("thanksgiving") and the quarterly Pasalamat ng Katawan ("thanksgiving of the body"), Mass Baptisms, Bible Expositions, concerts, and Music Festivals.
Transportation
Major roads and bridges
- MacArthur Highway - or the National Highway. The major road going to Apalit.
- Apalit-Macabebe-Masantol Road - going to the towns of Macabebe and Masantol
- Dr. Joaquin Gonzalez Avenue -going to municipal hall, barangay sucad, and St. Peter's Parish
- Sulipan-Capalangan-Tabuyuc-Cansinala Road
- Tabuyuc-Balucuc Farm to Market Road
- Arnedo Dike Road
- Sampaloc Road
- Paligui Road
Public transportation
Public transportation within the municipality, like in most of the urban areas in the Philippines, is facilitated mostly using inexpensive Tricycles, jeepneys,and buses. Motored boats (or Bancas) are used to transport goods and bring people to the lowest land in case of flood in other barangays,
Tricycles are used for short distance travel.
Various jeepney routes also ply the roads between Apalit and neighboring towns in Pampanga(municipalities of Macabebe, Masantol, San Simon, Minalin and City of San Fernando), in Bulacan (Calumpit, Malolos City and Balagtas).
While the "FX" and "L300" van taxis, from their terminals, and Provincial Buses ( Victory Liner and First North Luzon Transit), which passes through the MacArthur Highway, takes passengers to key places in Bulacan (Calumpit, Malolos City to Guiguinto Tabang Toll Plaza) the "Metro" (Monumento in Caloocan City; Cubao in Quezon City; Divisoria in Manila; and Pasay City) and to northern provinces (Lubao, Floridablanca, Guagua, City of San Fernando in Pampanga; and as far as Olongapo City in Zambales).
Subdivisions/Villages
- Perpetual Heights Subdivision - Paligui
- Villa Angelina Subdivision - Boundary of Paligui and Sampaloc
- Highview Hills Subdivision - Sampaloc
- Larlin Village- Sampaloc
- Villena Subdivision - San Vicente
- Bagong Pag-Asa Subdivision - San Vicente
- St. Peter Subdivision - San Vicente
- St. Dominic Village - San Vicente
- St. Peter Village - San Vicente
- Sn. Vicente Subdivision - San Vicente
- Royal Family Homes - Sulipan
- Vincent Ville Subdivision - San Vicente
- Camella Fiorenza - Paligui
- Frontier Vill - San Vicente ( formerly old shell compound )
Hospitals
- Apalit Doctors Hospital
- ASCCOM-DLSUMC Friendship Hospital
- E.D. Lim Maternity and General Hospital
- ADD Infirmary
Memorial Parks and Cemeteries
- Apalit Public Cemetery
- Balucuc Public Cemetery
- Blue Madonna Memorial Garden
- San Pedro Memorial Park
- Monte Pizzaro Memorial Park (Under Construction)
Telecommunications and Communications
Landline telephone systems are being provided by the Digitel, Datelcom and PLDT.
Mobile telephony services are provided by Smart Communications, Globe Telecom & Sun Cellular from Digitel.
Internet services are provided through DSL and Cable broadband coverage is provided by PLDT, Digitel and Globe Broadband; and Wireless broadband is provided by (Smart Bro) Smart Communications.
Cable Television are provided by DATELSAT.
Notable residents
- Bishop Federico O. Escaler, S.J. - served as Bishop Ordinary of Prelature of Kidapawan.
- Gene Gonzalez (Eugenio Ramon Reyes Gonzalez) - restaurateur, book author in culinary arts, entrepreneur, and owner of upscale restaurants in Metro Manila, an educator, and a Southeast Asian Games champion in Fencing.
References
- ↑ "Municipalities". Quezon City, Philippines: Department of the Interior and Local Government. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Province: Pampanga". PSGC Interactive. Makati City, Philippines: National Statistical Coordination Board. Retrieved 17 September 2013.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay: as of May 1, 2010" (PDF). 2010 Census of Population and Housing. National Statistics Office. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
- ↑ "Province of Pampanga". Municipality Population Data. LWUA Research Division. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
- ↑ http://www.sunstar.com.ph/pampanga/local-news/2013/09/18/pml-stays-united-under-tetangco-s-leadership-303981
- ↑ http://www.andropampanga.com/history_apalit.htm
- ↑ http://www-bcf.usc.edu/~camiling/churches/apalit.htm
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Apalit, Pampanga. |
- Philippine Standard Geographic Code
- Philippine Census Information
- Local Governance Performance Management System
 |
San Simon | | ||
| Minalin |  |
Baliuag, Bulacan | ||
| ||||
 | ||||
| Macabebe | Calumpit, Bulacan / Pulilan, Bulacan |
| ||||||||||||||||||
