Magalang, officially the Municipality of Magalang (; ), is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Pampanga Pampanga, officially the Province of Pampanga (; ; ), is a province in Central Luzon in the Philippines. Lying on the northern shore of Manila Bay, Pampanga is bordered by Tarlac to the north, Nueva Ecija to the northeast, Bulacan to the east, ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 124,188 people.

History

Magalang was mentioned as a ''visita'' of the nearby town of Arayat on December 29, 1598. On April 30, 1605, it was separated by the

Augustinians Augustinians are members of several religious orders that follow the Rule of Saint Augustine, written about 400 A.D. by Augustine of Hippo. There are two distinct types of Augustinians in Catholic religious orders dating back to the 12th–13 ...

from Arayat and attained township status due to the ''bajo de la campana'' system. The Augustinians appointed Fr. Gonzalo de Salazar, OSA as the first pastor. Magalang was initially called ''Magalo'', derived from the Kapampangan word "Galo", which means wavy and moving, describing the dangerous flow of the Parua River. Magalang was where Juan Severino Mallari, the first recorded Filipino serial killer who killed at least 57 people, served as the town's parish priest from 1816 to 1826 and committed his murders. The town proper was located in Macapsa, but due to the natural calamities and revolts led by Andres Malong and his subordinate Melchor de Vera against the Spanish in 1660, it was nearly abandoned. It was moved to San Bartolome in 1734 until it was swept by the flood due to the overflow of the Parua River in 1863. It was transferred to the present site in barrio San Pedro Talimunduc on December 13, 1863, led by the parish priest, Fr. Ignacio Manzanares, OSA and some of the members of ''principalia'' including Pablo M. Luciano, ''gobernadorcillo'' of Magalang at that time. In 1885, the agricultural experiment station ''La Granja Modelo de Luzon'' was transferred from San Isidro,

Nueva Ecija Nueva Ecija, officially the Province of Nueva Ecija ( ; ; ; ), is a landlocked province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the city of Palayan, while Cabanatuan, its former capital, is the largest Local gove ...

to the foothills of

Mount Arayat Mount Arayat is an isolated, potentially active stratovolcano in the Central Luzon plains. Located within the vast agricultural lands of Pampanga, it rises to a height of above sea level. Its southern half lies within the municipality of A ...

, which became the present Pampanga State Agricultural University. The revolutionary government took over the local government on June 12, 1898, led by General Francisco Macabulos and Colonel Lorenzo D. Camaya. During that time, Magalang was one of the revolutionary centers in Pampanga due to its proximity to Camansi, a revolutionary headquarters located in Mount Arayat. The forces of Major General Servillano Aquino defended Magalang against the Americans until it was successfully captured on November 5, 1899, led by Major General Arthur MacArthur and Colonel Jacob H. Smith. During the Second World War, Japanese forces defeated the Filipino-American forces composed of

Igorot The indigenous peoples of the Cordillera in northern Luzon, Philippines, often referred to by the exonym Igorot people, or more recently, as the Cordilleran peoples, are an ethnic group composed of nine main ethnolinguistic groups whose domains ...

troops led by Major Helmert Duisterhof and Capt. Russell W. Volckmann, paving the way for the capture of Magalang on January 1, 1942. It was liberated by the 148th Infantry of 37th Division, US Army with the help of

Hukbalahap The Hukbong Bayan Laban sa Hapon (), better known by the acronym Hukbalahap, was a Filipino communist guerrilla movement formed by the farmers of Central Luzon. They were originally formed to fight the Japanese, but extended their fight int ...

on January 25, 1945. It was one of the hotbeds of the

insurgency until the rebellion was crushed in 1954. On December 28, 1963, Mayor Benedicto T. Dayrit was assassinated by the alleged men of Commander Sumulong during a night ball in the town plaza. In 1968, Mayor Daniel T. Lacson was sworn in as mayor of Magalang until his term ended in 1986. In December 1993, Mayor Daniel Lacson Jr. was briefly replaced by his political rival Elpidio Lakandula when the latter was declared the victor in the 1992 election by the

Angeles City Angeles (), officially the City of Angeles (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 462,928 people. A ...

Regional Trial Court on December 28, which was immediately met with protests by Lacson and his followers. During the tenure of Mayor Pastor Z. Guiao, Magalang was named one of the cleanest municipalities in the Philippines. Mayor Maria Lourdes P. Lacson was sworn in on June 30, 2016, as the first woman mayor of Magalang. The

National Museum of the Philippines The National Museum of the Philippines () is an umbrella government organization that oversees a number of national museums in the Philippines, including Ethnography, ethnographic, Anthropology, anthropological, Archaeology, archaeological, an ...

declared on December 23, 2015, the "Magalang Municipal Hall" as an Important Cultural Property (Philippines).

Heliograph Towers

On August 21, 2017, the “

Heliograph A heliograph () is a solar telegraph system that signals by flashes of sunlight (generally using Morse code from the 1840s) reflected by a mirror. The flashes are produced by momentarily pivoting the mirror, or by interrupting the beam with a s ...

Towers” inside the premises of Cariyana Monastery in Barangays San Isidro and Santa Cruz were declared as Important Cultural Property (Philippines) of the

per Resolution 14-2016. They were officially turned over by the National Museum of the Philippines to the local government unit on May 27, 2021. The "Torre" was called "imburnal", “bornal” or “batiawan” as smoke outlets for “cabiawan” or trapiche of early carabao-driven sugar mills. These solar-sun telegraphs are made of fine laryu (red

brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...

s) and huge cut stones of pumiceous rocks and volcanic tuff. They were used as “sun writers” (mirrored communications devices for sending messages in

Morse code Morse code is a telecommunications method which Character encoding, encodes Written language, text characters as standardized sequences of two different signal durations, called ''dots'' and ''dashes'', or ''dits'' and ''dahs''. Morse code i ...

by flashing the reflected sun's rays to a distant station). The 1896 description states: “An instrument called the heliograph, or sun telegraph, constructed with small mirrors made to turn upon both a horizontal and vertical axis, mounted upon a tripod, so arranged as to make the flashes appear and disappear in rapid succession, is to a limited extent in use in the army; and by it, messages may be transmitted much faster than with flags or torches, and it can be used at longer ranges. It is manipulated by a key similar to the electric telegraph instrument. Mirror signaling was first used by the North American Indians.” Erected by General Don Ricardo Monet y Carretero, a Commandant of War in 1863, the twers were used by the Spanish army as stations of communication for faster transmission of messages and signals and to destroy the revolutionary forces in Camansi in Mount Arayat led by General Francisco Macabulos. In a letter dated May 8, 1898, Monet informed the Comandancia General del Centro de Luzon of the destruction of activities of the detachment of Camansi located at

, transforming it into a blok-haus constructed at Magalang with some torre heliografico located in the 10 towns of Magalang and

Concepcion, Tarlac Concepcion, officially the Municipality of Concepcion (; ), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Tarlac, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 169,953 people. H ...

with a height of 20 meters and made under the charge of the Engineering Corps. Originally, three "batiauan" or

watchtower A watchtower or guardtower (also spelt watch tower, guard tower) is a type of military/paramilitary or policiary tower used for guarding an area. Sometimes fortified, and armed with heavy weaponry, especially historically, the structures are ...

s were built but only two existed (Santa Cruz and San Isidro) and were also used to watch the coming of the enemies. Later the towers once produced

muscovado Muscovado is a type of partially refined to unrefined sugar with a strong molasses content and flavour, and dark brown in colour. It is technically considered either a non-centrifugal cane sugar or a centrifuged, partially refined sugar accord ...

sugar and panotsa.

Geography

Magalang is from San Fernando and from

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

Barangays

Magalang is politically subdivided into 27

barangays The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the precolonial polities of the same name, modern barangays are political subdivisio ...

, as shown below. Each barangay consists of

purok A ''purok'' () is an informal division within a barangay in the Philippines. While not officially considered a local government unit (LGU), a ''purok'' often serves as a unit for delivering services and administration within a barangay. ''Pur ...

s and some have

sitios A ''sitio'' (Spanish language, Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own bar ...

. *Ayala *Bucanan *Camias *Dolores *Escaler *La Paz *Navaling *San Agustin *San Antonio *San Francisco *San Ildefonso *San Isidro *San Jose *San Miguel *San Nicolas I *San Nicolas II (Concepcion) *San Pablo *San Pedro I *San Pedro II *San Roque *San Vicente *Santa Cruz *Santa Lucia *Santa Maria *Santo Nino *Santo Rosario *Turu

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Magalang, Pampanga, was 124,188 people, with a density of .

Religion

Roman Catholics account for 85% of the population; Magalang also hosts churches of

Members Church of God International The Members Church of God International (), abbreviated as MCGI, is an international Christian religious organization with headquarters in the Philippines. It is popularly known in the Philippines as ''Ang Dating Daan'' (; abbreviated as AD ...

Ang Dating Daan (English language, English: The Old Path, Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''O Caminho Antigo'', Spanish language, Spanish: ''El Camino Antiguo'') is a Religious broadcasting, religious Radio program, radio and television program produced by ...

. Other major religious groups are

Iglesia ni Cristo The (INC; ; ) is an independent Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, church founded in 1913 and registered by Felix Manalo, Félix Manalo in 1914 as a corporation sole, sole religious corporation ...

which has the adherence of 3% of the population,

Evangelical Christians Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of the Christian g ...

and others. Aside from Catholic churches, the town has a United Methodist Church. In 1908, Protestantism was introduced and Vicente Naguit was the first convert.

San Bartolome Parish Church

St. Bartholomew Parish Church ( Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Fernando, Vicariate of St. John the Beloved) was established by the Augustinians on April 30, 1605. The present edifice was constructed in 1866 by Fr. Ramon Sarrionandia, OSA. The 3-aisle church is made of stone and wood. It is 55m. long, 21m. wide and 7m. high. Interplay of arches, as seen on the main entrance, doors and niches, pediments and fenestrations, including those of the belltowers and adjacent convent suggest a touch of baroque.

San Agustin Chapel

This chapel located in Dapa, San Agustin, Magalang; where the miraculous image of San Agustin is enshrined. During Spanish period, the image was believed to be carved out by a bandit nearby Mt. Arayat. The small image of San Agustin was brought to Dapa, and there, the small image gradually become larger and miraculous. The image itself cured many diseases and granting child, for those couples who are childless. The chapel is open during Fridays and Holy Week.

San Padre Pio Pietrelcina Chapel

This chapel is located in sitio Mabato-Bato in San Francisco, Magalang. A first class relic composed of hair particles of St. Padre Pio Pietrelcina was enshrined in this chapel last 2017. Devotees of Padre Pio came to this chapel to paid visit, seek his intercession to their different personal intentions. The chapel is open during Thursdays, 8:00am to 7:00pm. A holy mass is to be offer during third Thursday of the month; and the veneration of the relic is followed after the mass.

Lord's Epiphany Parish

This parish church located in Angeles-Magalang Road, San Francisco, Magalang was established in 1996. A first class relic of St. Francis of Assisi composed of a piece of bone and his staff, was enshrined in the church last 2016. The veneration of the relic is open during Tuesdays. A holy mass is to be offer in that same day in 6:00pm. After the holy mass, the veneration of the relic and anointing of St. Francis' oil is held after the mass.

Sta Clara de Assisi Chapel

This chapel is located in sitio Tambacan in San Francisco, Magalang. The chapel, where the second class relic of Saint Claire of Assisi is enshrined. The relic is composed of small piece of veil used by the saint. The chapel is open during Thursdays.

Banal a Bunduk, Dalan ning Krus

This iconic site was born due to the efforts of Soroptimist International of Magalang. The site is located in sitio Orchard, barrio Ayala, Magalang; in the rolling foothills of Mt. Arayat. This site is composed of life sized images of 14 stations of the cross of Christ. It is favorite destination of pilgrims and devotees during Holy Week.

Economy

Fishpond owners in Pampanga source their fingerlings (tilapia) from producers in this town, it's well known for its confectionaries (sweets) particularly the incomparable pastilla de leche, a popular item for gift-giving and a table dessert on fiestas and social gatherings. Magalang sweets are distinct in their unique taste because of the quality of the milk from water buffalo (carabao) that feed on green grass growing on the fresh well-irrigated pastureland of the agricultural section of the town. And large amount of land is Corn or Rice Grain.

Government

Magalang is part of the 1st Congressional District of Pampanga.

Local government

Like other towns in the Philippines, Magalang 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

Sangguniang Bayan The Sangguniang Bayan () is the local legislative branch of the municipal governments in the Philippines. It is responsible for passing ordinances and resolutions for the administration of a municipality. Its powers are defined by the Local Go ...

's ordinances and improving public services. The vice mayor heads a legislative council consisting of councilors, as members.

List of local chief executives

;Gobernardorcillos ;Capitan Municipales (Regimen Maura) *Manuel C. Gueco (1893-1895) *Teopisto S. Ganzon (1895-1896) *Paulino C. Gueco (1896-1898) ;Revolucion *Buenaventura C. Paras (1898) *Ladislao C. Dayrit (1898-1899) ;American Regime (Alcalde) *Daniel O. Lacson (1899-1901) ;Municipal Presidents ;Alcalde (Commonwealth Period) *Dr. Servillano D. Ayuyao (1934-1937) *Jose M. Navarro (1937-1940) ;Alcalde (Japanese Government) *Jose M. Navarro (1940-1943) *Atty. Isidoro D. Ayuyao (1943-1945) ;Alcalde (Liberation) *Antonio P. Tiglao (1945-1947) ;Mayors (Republic of the Philippines)

Infrastructure

Roads

During the visit of the governor in the remote barangay of Turu in Magalang, she announced the concrete pavement of the one kilometer farm to market road in the said village amounting to P6-million. *Magalang – Angeles Road – connecting between

to Magalang *Magalang - Mabalacat Road. – connecting between Magalang to

Mabalacat Mabalacat, officially Mabalacat City (; ), is a component city in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 293,244 people. Mabalacat is in the urban core of Metro Clark, also known as Metro ...

*Magalang – Arayat – Santa Ana Road – connecting between Magalang to Santa Ana, bypassing Arayat *Magalang – Concepcion Provincial Road (Ninoy Aquino Highway) – provincial road from Magalang, Pampanga to Concepcion,

Tarlac Tarlac, officially the Province of Tarlac (; ; ; ; ), is a landlocked Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Regions of the Philippines, region. It had a population of 1,503,456 people according to ...

*Don Luis Dizon Drive (also known As PAC Rd.) –connecting Magalang Poblacion - AMLHS and Pampanga State Agricultural University (PAC)

Health care

On January 10, 2012, Governor Lilia Pineda led the inauguration of the P35-million Andres Luciano District Hospital (ALDH) in Barangay San Pablo.

Education

Colleges and universities

* Pampanga State Agricultural University (PSAU), San Agustin *Far East College of Information and Technology, San Francisco

Secondary schools

*Andres M. Luciano High School (formerly Magalang National High School and Balitucan High School Annex), San Pablo New Classrooms in Andres M

*Dolores National High School, Dolores *Ayala High School, Ayala *Balitucan National High School, Balitucan, San Ildefonso *Rodolfo V. Feliciano Memorial High School, San Pedro 2 *Tinajero National High School - Annex, Sta. Lucia

Elementary schools

*Magalang Elementary School (Magalang Central School), San Nicolas 1 *Bucanan Elementary School, Bucanan *San Agustin Elementary School, San Agustin *San Miguel Elementary School, San Miguel *San Francisco Elementary School, San Francisco *San Pedro 2 Elementary School, San Pedro 2 *San Pablo Elementary, San Pablo *Navaling Elementary School, Navaling *Santa Cruz Elementary School, Santa Cruz *Santa Maria Elementary School, Santa Maria *San Vicente Elementary School, San Vicente *Turu Elementary School, Turu *Balitucan Elementary School, San Ildefonso *Escaler Elementary School, Escaler *Santo Nino Elementary School, Santo Nino *Santo Rosario Elementary School, SantoRosario, Magalang, Pampanga *Cabalantian Elementary School, Santa Lucia *San Roque Elementary School (SRES) - San Roque (Paligi)

Private schools

*Christian Vision Academy Foundation (Pampanga), Inc., Sta Lucia *Christian Vision Academy San Isidro Annex, San Isidro * Hillcrest Heights Institute, San Francisco *Magalang Christian Ecumenical School, Santa Cruz *St. Nathanael Academy, San Nicolas 1 *Magalang Institute, San Nicolas 2 *AYZ Little Saint's School, San Pedro 2 *St. Bernice School, Sta Cruz *Golden Vine Center for Childcare and Development, San Nicolas 1 *True Light Foundation School, San Pablo *Brighter Years Child Development Center Inc., Santa Cruz *Magalang Christian Ecumenical School, Inc. *Great Shepherd School of Magalang, Inc.

Festivals and Events

Notable personalities

* Liza Lorena, actress *

Tonton Gutierrez Eduardo Antonio "Tonton" Winsett Gutierrez, Jr. (born March 20, 1968) is a Filipino film and television actor best known for his role as Governor Eduardo Buenavista in the original hit teleserye '' Pangako Sa 'Yo'', it was topbilled by Krist ...

, actor *

Mariel Rodriguez Maria Erlinda Lucille Sazon Termulo-Padilla (born August 10, 1984), professionally known as Mariel Rodriguez (), is a Filipino-born American actress, television host, model, and video jockey. Early life Mariel Rodriguez was born Maria Erlind ...

, actor *

Yeng Guiao Joseller "Yeng" Medina Guiao (born March 19, 1959) is a Filipino professional basketball head coach, politician, commentator and sports commissioner. He is currently the head coach of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters of the Philippine Basketba ...

, athlete and politician * Vivencio Cuyugan, co-founder of the

Ed Ocampo Edgardo Luciano Ocampo (October 5, 1938 – July 29, 1992) was a Filipino basketball player and coach. Early life and education Ocampo was born in Pampanga, Philippines, on October 5 1938. He was one of four children of architects Fernand ...

, athlete * Oscar V. Cruz, Roman Catholic prelate * Norman Gonzales, athlete

Images

File:Magalangjf.JPG, Town hall File:Magalangmarketjf.JPG, Public market File:FMagalangjf.JPG, Plaza of Rizal File:Magalang23jf.JPG, The covered court File:AMagalangjf.JPG, View of

from Magalang, Pampanga highway File:8460Magalang_Heliograph_towers_landmarks_14.jpg, The

Tower

References

External links

Magalang Profile at PhilAtlas.commagalang-heritage.weebly.comMagalang Online
* Philippine Standard Geographic Codebr>Philippine Census InformationLocal Governance Performance Management System
{{Authority control Municipalities of Pampanga