San Miguel, Bulacan

Municipality of San Miguel Bayan ng San Miguel San Miguel de Mayumo
Municipality
San Miguel de Mayumo Arch
Seal
San Miguel Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 15°8′45″N 120°58′42″E / 15.14583°N 120.97833°E / 15.14583; 120.97833Coordinates: 15°8′45″N 120°58′42″E / 15.14583°N 120.97833°E / 15.14583; 120.97833
Country	Philippines
Region	Central Luzon (Region III)
Province	Bulacan
District	3rd District
Founded
de jure	1874
de facto	1763
Barangays	49
Government[1]
• Mayor	Roderick D.G. Tiongson
• Vice Mayor	Marivee Mendez-Coronel
Area[2]
• Total	231.40 km2 (89.34 sq mi)
Population (2010)[3]
• Total	142,854
• Density	620/km2 (1,600/sq mi)
• Poverty rate	12.6%
Time zone	PST (UTC+8)
ZIP code	3011
Dialing code	44
Income class	1st class
Electricity	Manila Electric Company
• Consumption	39.45 million kWh (2003)

San Miguel, Bulacan (Filipino: Bayan ng San Miguel; Kapampangan: Balen ning Mayumu) is a first class, urban municipality located in the third district of the province of Bulacan, Philippines.^[4] It was the 2nd largest municipality (area) in Bulacan. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 142,854 people.^[3]

History

San Miguel de Arkanghel Parish Church built during Spanish Regime

The municipality of San Miguel de Mayumo was established in 1763 with Carlos Agustin Maniquiz, Maria Juana Puno - wife of Carlos Agustin Maniquiz and Miguel Pineda as the first town mayor of San Miguel. Miguel Pineda was a native of Angat, Bulacan who decided to settle permanently in the barrio of San Bartolome (now named Barangay Tartaro). He found the place ideal for hunting and was later chosen as the leader of other settlers. He formed an alliance with Mariano Puno, the recognized leader of the adjacent prosperous village called Sto. Rosario (now named Barangay Mandile). The two leaders decided to form a town named Miguel De Mayumo after the name of Miguel Pineda and Mayumo, a Kapampangan word for sweets, for the goodwill and generosity of Mariano Puno. The town was supposed to be part of Pampanga. San Miguel’s culture drifted from Kapampangan influence. San Miguel used to be the biggest town in Bulacan but when San Ildefonso, Bulacan was proclaimed a town during the 1900s and during the Marcos Regime, he made Doña Remedios Trinidad a town (named after his wife's mother), San Miguel was right as the 2nd.

The Pact of Biak-Na-Bato

During the Philippine Revolution in 1897, newly appointed Governor-General Fernando Primo de Rivera decided to crush Emilio Aguinaldo and his troops in Cavite, but Aguinaldo fled to Batangas and joined forces with Gen. Miguel Malvar. The Spaniards continue their pursuit but the troops outwitted them by going to the province of Morong (now Rizal) and finally to Biak-na-Bato in San Miguel de Mayumo (San Miguel), Bulacan. Aguinaldo made the mountain caves into his headquarters.

On August 26, 2007, residents at the foot of the Biak-na-Bato mountains petitioned president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to declare the mountains protected areas to stop marble quarrying and mining there. Biak-na-Bato (21.17 km² in the villages of Kalawakan and Talbak in Doña Remedios Trinidad town and the villages of Biak-na-Bato and Sibul) was one of the camps of the revolutionary Katipunan forces in the 19th century, was declared a national park by Manuel L. Quezon on Nov. 16, 1937 through Proclamation No. 223.^[5]

Japanese occupation

Founded during World War II, Japanese Imperial ground troops entered and occupied the town municipality of San Miguel on 1942. Local Filipino troops of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and Philippine Constabulary units retreated into the nearby mountains to become the Bulakeño guerrilla resistance against the Japanese occupation forces until the province's liberation.

Geography

A road in San Miguel

The town of San Miguel is bounded by Nueva Ecija Province in the northernmost area, Pampanga Province in the west, the town is bounded by two provinces with land borders. The town of San Ildefonso, Bulacan lies next to San Miguel in the southernmost area, Doña Remedios Trinidad in the eastmost area which also borders San Rafael and Angat. San Miguel then was the biggest municipality in the province of Bulacan before some areas were taken and annexed to Doña Remedios Trinidad during the term of Ferdinand Marcos. The geographic nature of the town is diversified and multi-faceted, rich in nature's beauty like waterfall, rivers, caves, few mountains, hilly areas and springs. The mainland are plain agricultural lands, some part of which was substantially eroded due to commercialization and urbanization.

Climate

The prevailing climatic conditions in the municipality is categorized into two types: Wet season and dry season.

• Wet Season - (Rainy season or Monsoon season)
• Dry Season - (Summer season)

Religion

Roman Catholic is the predominant religion in this town with 89% of the population. The second is the Members Church of God International with 4%, Iglesia ni Cristo with 1%, Evangelicals With 4% and other religious groups with 2%.

Tourism

Sibul Springs

• Sibul Springs - The area is famous for the springs coming directly from the mountains, which attracted a lot of people including the past Philippine president like Manuel L. Quezon and famous artists during the pre-war and post-war era.
• Mount Manalmon
• Madlum Caves and River - The area is in barangay Madlum where Mount Manalmon, a hilly landscape, possess these novel landscapes of Madlum River (Manalmon River and Caves). The river is a snaky river with shallow clear water along the left side deepening to the right side. The rightmost portion has towering rock walls lining the riverside, past the walls are widening riverbanks with sandy shore. Another hilly elevation in the area is Mount Gola. Various caves with dark portals are within the area, namely Bayukbok Cave and Victoria Cave and numerous caves, some of which are inhibited by bats.
• Tilandong Falls
• Balaong River
• Mount Susong Dalaga (Maiden's Breast Mountain)
• Banal na Bundok (Holy Mountain)
• Biak-na-Bato - Biak-na-Bato is an historical spot rich in nostalgic echoes of heroic past. This landscape is a hilly cave fortress that looks like a big, spreading rock covered with cracks and splits inside and out, with some pieces sprawled out the vicinity and along the river. This historic spot, the Aguinaldo Cave, the main cave of a network of caves, used to be the headquarters of Emilio Aguinaldo and the First Philippine Republic Cabinet Officials and its arm. It actually has more than a hundred caves, many of which remain unexplored. Underneath the Aguinaldo Cave runs an underground natural spring with cool and refreshing water. Outside, the crystal clear river runs smoothly, blocked currently, and then by boulders scattered indiscriminately on the river. Along the riverbeds lie sections of cracks and openings of the giant rock, and one opening, called the “Cuarto Cuarto” or “room partitions” has plenty of stalactites as its “chandeliers” on the cave’s ceiling. This opening is one of the cave networks issuing from Aguinaldo's Cave. A further stroll following the riverbed uphill and downhill leads to the majestic “Bahay Paniki Cave” (House of Bats) whose ceiling is 50 meters high. A swarm of Paniki, (bats), regularly hovers on the ceiling of this awesome mouth which looks like the main crack of this hilly rock. Going farther on this trek along the riverbed, one will discover that this river is where several natural springs in the area congregate. Also, a large contributory is the spring water from the mountain systems of Sierra Madre Mountain Range - Sierra Madre Mountains of Luzon island. This natural spring serves the local communities around Biak-na-Bato, and partly, Metro Manila residents. This historical spot, Biak-na-Bato, was the headquarters of the first Philippine Republic. It was a cave fortress affording seclusion and protection. Up to the present time this historical spot continues to offer a hideaway haven amid cool natural springs and a thought-provoking labyrinth of cave networks.
• Biak-na-Bato National Park - The park is the area where Biak-na-Bato was used during Philippine Revolution. The meeting place and where one of the battles of the revolution took place, as well as the site where Biak-na-Bato Republic was established.
• San Miguel Leisure Farm Resort - A resort situated in barangay Biak-na-Bato.
• San Miguel de Mayumo Arc - An arch in the entrance of the town, a welcome arc.
• San Miguel Municipal Hall
• Don Felipe Buencamino Marker - A historical marker in honor of Felipe S. Buencamino Sr. who was a revolutionary leader.
• Clock Tower
• San Miguel de Arkanghel Church - (St. Michael the Archangel Parish Church) - The province of Bulacan is not only rich in history but it is one of the earliest, about 1572 to be Christianized. A testimony to this are various churches of colonial period in many cities and towns like San Miguel, Bulacan.
• Tecson House: The house of Simon Tecson - Simon Ocampo Tecson of Siege of Baler. It is the house where the ratification of the first Philippine Constitution took place, and signed with Emilio Aguinaldo, the revolutionary general who became the first Philippine president: Tecson House.
• Camp Tecson - A military camp in Sibul Spring, which has become the central garrison of military training of Philippine Armed Forces - 1st Scout Ranger Regiment. The land was donated by Pablo Tecson (1902-1906 governor of Bulacan province and a revolutionary hero.)

Ancestral Houses

This ancestral houses are build in Spanish era.

• 

  Doña Sisang [Narcisa Dona Sisang de Leon] residence

• 

  Manuel L. Lipana residence

• 

  De Leon Residence

• 

  Sevilla Residence

• 

  Santiago Residence

• 

  Villaseñor Residence

• 

  Viola Residence

• 

  Marcelo C. Lipana Residence

• 

  Santiago Residence

• 

  Siojo Residence

• 

  Santos Residence (demolished)

• 

  Villacorte residence

• 

  Pengson residence (demolished)

• 

  Dela Fuente residence (demolished)

• 

  Veneracion residence

Famous people from San Miguel

• Nicanor Abelardo† - Kundiman composer.
• Virgilio S. Almario - Artist, poet, critic, translator, editor, teacher, and cultural manager.
• Felipe S. Buencamino Sr.† - Former Secretary of Foreign Affairs and one of the founders of Iglesia Filipina Independiente.
• Alfredo Lim – Former Philippine Senator, former mayor of Manila and former Director of the National Bureau of Investigation.
• Pablo Tecson† – Former Governor General of Bulacan and later served as Insular Secretary of the Philippine Bureau of Agriculture.

Tecson House - The house where Emilio Aguinaldo slept before he departed to Pangasinan. The house of Simon Tecson

• Emiliano Tecson – Participated in the ratification of the first Philippine Constitution with Emilio Aguinaldo.
• Simon Tecson† – Filipino General who served as revolutionary Colonel of the 'Siege of Baler' - Siege of Baler and former mayor of San Miguel, Bulacan.
• Trinidad Tecson† – is one of the revolutionaries during Philippine Revolution who is famous for being the 'The Mother of Biak-na-Bato': Katipunan - Pact of Biak-na-Bato and 'The Mother of Philippine Red Cross' - Philippine Red Cross and 'Mother of Mercy'.
• Carlos A. Santos-Viola† – Filipino architect who is best known for designing and building churches for the Iglesia ni Cristo religious group.

Education

The town has numerous public schools offering elementary and high school education. Some of the elementary public schools are:

• San Miguel North Central School, in barangay Camias
• San Miguel South Central Elementary School,located in population center of the town

San Miguel Elementary School

Some of the public high schools are:

• San Miguel National High School, located in barangay San Juan
• John J. Russel Memorial High School, located at Sibul
• Vedasto Santiago High School, San Miguel High School Annex, located in barangay Salacot
• Partida High School, located at Partida
• Balaong National High School, located at Barangay Balaong

Some of the private schools offering elementary and pre-elementary education are:

• Children's Haven School of San Miguel Bulacan, located in barangay San Jose
• D. C. Nicolas School, located in barangay Tigpalas
• Park Ridge School of Montessori, located in barangay Camias
• Saint Paul University at San Miguel, located in barangay Salangan
• School of Mount St. Mary, located in barangay Sta. Rita (New)

Some of the tertiary schools are:

• Bulacan Polytechnic College (San Miguel Campus) in barangay Salacot
• Integrated College of Business and Technology at barangay Salangan San Miguel
• Saint Paul University at San Miguel, located in barangay Salangan

Government

Municipal government

• Municipal mayor: Roderick D.G. Tiongson
• Municipal vice mayor: Marivee Mendez-Coronel

List of former mayors

• Miguel Pineda - The first town mayor when the town was established, 1763
• Santi Sevilla - 1999 - 2001 (citation needed)
• Edmundo Jose "POP" Buencamino - 2001 - 2004 (term didn't finished due to a case in Sandiganbayan)

Barangays

San Miguel is administratively subdivided into 49 barangays.^[4] Of these, 11 are considered urban and the rest rural. The most populous barangay is Sibul and the least populous is Pacalag.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to San Miguel, Bulacan.

• Philippine Census Information

	San Isidro, Nueva Ecija	Gapan, Nueva Ecija
	Candaba, Pampanga		Doña Remedios Trinidad
		San Miguel
		San Ildefonso

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