San Miguel, officially the Municipality of San Miguel ( tgl, Bayan ng San Miguel), is a 1st class
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...
in the
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...
of
Bulacan
Bulacan, officially the Province of Bulacan ( tl, Lalawigan ng Bulacan), is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the city of Malolos. Bulacan was established on August 15, 1578, and part of the Me ...
,
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 172,073 people.
It is the third largest municipality by area in the province after
Doña Remedios Trinidad and
Norzagaray
Norzagaray, officially the Municipality of Norzagaray ( tgl, Bayan ng Norzagaray), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 136,064 people.
It is the location of ...
.
Etymology
There are two accounts on the origin of the town's name:
* According to the 1953 journal ''History of Bulacan'', the town was originally named ''Mayumo'' from the Kapampangan term for "sweets". The name San Miguel was added by the Augustinian missionaries who selected
Michael the Archangel
Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...
as the patron saint of the town.
* An account tells that the two leaders decided to form a town named Miguel De Mayumo after the name of Miguel Pineda and ''Mayumo'', from the Kapampangan term and for the goodwill and generosity of Mariano Puno.
History
The municipality of San Miguel de Mayumo was established in 1763 by Carlos Agustin Maniquiz, Maria Juana Puno - wife of Carlos Agustin Maniquiz and Miguel Pineda, with Pineda as the first town mayor of San Miguel. Miguel Pineda was a native of
Angat, Bulacan
Angat, officially the Municipality of Angat ( tgl, Bayan ng Angat), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 65,617 people.
Etymology
The Town of Angat got its n ...
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 Santo Rosario (now named Barangay Mandile).
The town was previously part of Pampanga, hence San Miguel's culture having
Kapampangan influence. In 1848, the town and the neighbouring barrios, which were then part of Pampanga, were added to the territory of the Province of Bulacan.
The Pact of Biak-Na-Bato
During the
Philippine Revolution in 1897, newly appointed Governor-General
Fernando Primo de Rivera
Fernando Primo de Rivera y Sobremonte, 1st Marquess of Estella (24 July 1831 – 23 May 1921) was a Spanish politician and soldier.
Fernando Primo de Rivera was the son of Antonio Hermenegildo Primo de Rivera y Sobremonte and his wife Ana Ma ...
decided to crush
Emilio Aguinaldo
Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy (: March 22, 1869February 6, 1964) was a Filipino revolutionary, statesman, and military leader who is the youngest president of the Philippines (1899–1901) and is recognized as the first president of the Philippine ...
and his troops in
Cavite
Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite ( tl, Lalawigan ng Kabite; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Located on the southern shores of Manila Bay and southw ...
, but Aguinaldo fled to
Batangas
Batangas, officially the Province of Batangas ( tl, Lalawigan ng Batangas ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region on Luzon. Its capital is the city of Batangas, and is bordered by the provinces of Cavite and L ...
and joined forces with Gen.
Miguel Malvar
Miguel Malvar y Carpio (September 27, 1865 – October 13, 1911) was a Filipino general who served during the Philippine Revolution and, subsequently, during the Philippine–American War. He assumed command of the Philippine revolutionary for ...
. 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, Bulacan. Aguinaldo made the mountain caves into his headquarters.
Biak-na-Bato (21.17 km
2 in the villages of Kalawakan and Talbak in
Doña Remedios Trinidad town and the villages of Biak-na-Bato and Sibul) served as one of the camps of the revolutionary
Katipunan forces during the
Philippine Revolution. It was declared a
national park
A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...
by
Manuel L. Quezon on November 16, 1937, through Proclamation No. 223.
Japanese occupation
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, Japanese Imperial ground troops entered and occupied the town municipality of San Miguel on 1942. Local Filipino troops of the
Philippine Commonwealth Army
The Philippine Army was established on December 21, 1935, as the Army of the Philippines, with a general headquarters in Manila, and units and formations based throughout the provinces of the Philippines.
The Philippine Army was initially o ...
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.
Recent History
San Miguel was the largest town in Bulacan until September 13, 1977, when
Doña Remedios Trinidad, the current largest municipality of Bulacan, was established under ''Presidential Decree No. 1196'' during the term of President
Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...
.
On August 26, 2007, residents at the foot of the Biak-na-Bato mountains petitioned president
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal Arroyo (, born April 5, 1947), often referred to by her initials GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician serving as one of the House Deputy Speakers since 2022, and previously from 2016 to 2017. She previously ...
to declare the mountains protected areas to stop
marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...
quarrying and
mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the econom ...
there.
Inquirer.net, Bulaceños want Biak-na-Bato declared a protected area
/ref>
Geography
The town of San Miguel is bounded by Nueva Ecija
Nueva Ecija, officially the Province of Nueva Ecija ( tgl, Lalawigan ng Nueva Ecija , also ; ilo, Probinsia ti Nueva Ecija; pag, Luyag/Probinsia na Nueva Ecija; Kapampangan: ''Lalawigan/Probinsia ning Nueva Ecija''), is a landlocked province ...
Province in the northernmost area, Pampanga
Pampanga, officially the Province of Pampanga ( pam, Lalawigan ning Pampanga; tl, Lalawigan ng Pampanga ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Lying on the northern shore of Manila Bay, Pampanga is bordered by Tarlac ...
Province in the west, the town is bounded by two provinces with land borders. The town of San Ildefonso, Bulacan
San Ildefonso, officially the Municipality of San Ildefonso ( tgl, Bayan ng San Ildefonso) is a 1st class municipality in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 115,713 people.
With the continuo ...
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
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...
. 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.
San Miguel is from Malolos
Malolos, officially the City of Malolos ( fil, Lungsod ng Malolos), is a 1st class component city and capital of the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 261,189 people.
It is the capital city ...
and from Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populated ...
.
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)
Barangays
San Miguel is administratively subdivided into 49 barangay
A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolita ...
s.[Philippine Standard Geographic Code listing for San Miguel](_blank)
- National Statistical Coordination Board Of these, 11 are considered urban and the rest rural.
Demographics
In the 2020 census, the population of San Miguel, Bulacan, was 172,073 people, with a density of .
Languages
The municipality, along with two other municipalities (Remedios Trinidad and Norzagaray) and one city (San Jose del Monte), is the homeland of the ''Alta Kabulowan'', the first inhabitants of Bulacan whose language is also called Alta Kabulowan. Their language is currently endangered due to an influx of Tagalog speakers.
Economy
Government
Elected officials
* Municipal Mayor: Roderick D. Tiongson ( NUP)
* Municipal Vice Mayor: John "Bong" A. Alvarez ( NUP)
*Sangguniang Bayan Members:
# Gerome "Jhong" D. Reyes ( NUP)
# Romeo C. Dizon (Reform PH-People's Party)
# Mary Joy Ann S. Chico (Reform PH-People's Party)
# Emmanuel "Emil" D. Magtalas ( NUP)
# Anika Corinne "Nika" D. Santiago-Tan ( NUP)
# Joseph Noel P. de Guzman (Reform PH-People's Party)
# Mark David "Bong" C. Maon ( NUP)
# Jayvee C. Lacsina ( NUP)
*ABC President: Crisanto DG. Tiongson
*Sangguniang Kabataan President: Pol David R. Buencamino
List of Gobernadorcillo
List of chief executives
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
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 R. Santiago High School, located in barangay Salacot
* Partida High School, located at Partida
* Balaong National High School located at Barangay Balaong
* Maligaya High School, annex of Vedasto R. Santiago High School, located at Barangay Maligaya
Some of the private schools offering elementary and pre-elementary education are:
* 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 Santa Rita (New)
* Waminal Achievers Academy, Incorporated, located in population center of the town
* God's Love Children's Advancement Center, location in Santa Rita (Old)
Some of the tertiary schools are:
* Bulacan Polytechnic College (San Miguel Campus) in barangay Salacot
* Integrated College of Business and Technology at barangay Salangan
* Saint Paul University at San Miguel, located in barangay Salangan
* Microlink Institute of Science and Technology (San Miguel Campus) in barangay Camias
Notable people
* Nicanor Abelardo - Kundiman composer.
* Virgilio S. Almario
Virgilio Senadrin Almario (born March 9, 1944), better known by his pen name Rio Alma, is a Filipino visual artist, author, poet, critic, translator, editor, teacher, and cultural manager. He is a National Artist of the Philippines. He formerly s ...
- National Artist for Literature. Poet, critic, translator, editor, teacher, cultural manager, and the founder of Adarna House.
* Felipe Buencamino
Felipe Siojo Buencamino Sr. (August 23, 1848 – February 6, 1929) was an infamous turncoat, Filipino lawyer, and politician. He fought alongside the Spaniards in the Philippine Revolution but later switched sides and joined Emilio Aguinaldo's r ...
- Former Secretary of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...
and one of the founders of Iglesia Filipina Independiente. One of the authors of the Malolos Constitution
* Alfredo Lim
Alfredo "Fred" Siojo Lim Jr.. (; December 21, 1929 – August 8, 2020) was a Filipino politician and police officer who served as a Senator of the Philippines from 2004 to 2007. He also served as the Mayor of Manila twice: first from 1992 to ...
– Former Philippine Senator
The Senate of the Philippines ( Filipino: ''Senado ng Pilipinas'', also ''Mataas na Kapulungan ng Pilipinas'' or "upper chamber") is the upper house of Congress of the bicameral legislature of the Philippines with the House of Representativ ...
, then Mayor of Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populated ...
and former Director of the National Bureau of Investigation.
* Pablo Tecson – Former Governor General
Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy ...
of Bulacan
Bulacan, officially the Province of Bulacan ( tl, Lalawigan ng Bulacan), is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the city of Malolos. Bulacan was established on August 15, 1578, and part of the Me ...
and later served as Insular Secretary of the Philippine Bureau of Agriculture.
* Emiliano Tecson – Participated in the ratification of the first Philippine Constitution with Emilio Aguinaldo
Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy (: March 22, 1869February 6, 1964) was a Filipino revolutionary, statesman, and military leader who is the youngest president of the Philippines (1899–1901) and is recognized as the first president of the Philippine ...
.
* Simon Tecson – Filipino General who served as revolutionary Colonel of the Siege of Baler. Former mayor of San Miguel, Bulacan.
* Trinidad Tecson
Trinidad Perez Tecson (born November 18, 1848 – January 28, 1928), known as the "Mother of Biak-na-Bato" and "Mother of Mercy", fought to gain Philippines independence.
She was given the title "Mother of Biak-na-Bato" by Gen. Emilio Aguinal ...
– One of the renowned female revolutionaries of the Philippine Revolution. Known as the ''Mother of Biak-na-Bato''. Also known as 'The Mother of Philippine Red Cross
The Philippine Red Cross (PRC; fil, Krus na Pula ng Pilipinas) is a non-profit humanitarian organization and a member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
The PRC was established in 1947, with roots in the Philippine Re ...
' and 'Mother of Mercy'.
* Maximo Viola - Doctor, revolutionary, and initial financier of the publication of Jose Rizal's novel '' Noli me tangere (novel)''
* Carlos A. Santos-Viola – Filipino architect. Best known for designing and building churches for the Iglesia ni Cristo religious group.
* Pablo Payawal - Congressman, House of Representative, 2nd District of Bulacan. (1934-1935)
* Narcisa Buencamino-de Leon - One of the founders of LVN Pictures, one of the biggest film studios in the history of Philippine Cinema
The Cinema of the Philippines ( Filipino: ''Pelikulang Pilipino'' or ''Sine Pilipino'') began with the introduction of the first moving pictures to the country on August 31, 1897, at the ''Salón de Pertierra'' in Manila. The following year, local ...
* Von Lazaro - New York-based Laundromat Personnel
* Magtanggol C. Gunigundo - chairman, Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) from 1992 to 1998; and Constitutional Convention Delegate representing the 2nd District of Bulacan, 1971 Constitutional Convention
References
External links
* Philippine Standard Geographic Code
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
Philippine Census Information
{{Authority control
Municipalities of Bulacan
Populated places established in 1763
1763 establishments in the Philippines
Spa towns in the Philippines