Villasis, officially the Municipality of Villasis (; ; ), 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 ...

Pangasinan Pangasinan, officially the Province of Pangasinan (, ; ; ), is a coastal Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region of Luzon. Its capital is Lingayen, Pangasinan, Lingayen while San Carlos, Pangasi ...

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 65,047 people.

Geography

The Municipality of Villasis is a farming town situated along the Agno River. On its borders are the towns of Malasiqui (to the west), Urdaneta City (to the north), Asingan (to the east), and

Rosales Rosales (, ) are an order of flowering plants. Peter F. Stevens (2001 onwards). "Rosales". At: Trees At: Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. At: Missouri Botanical Garden Website. (see ''External links'' below) Well-known members of Rosales include: ...

and Santo Tomas (to the south). Hemmed between two bustling areas, Urdaneta City and Rosales, Villasis is one of the fastest developing towns in the province. It also thrives on its rice, corn, and tobacco plantations. Its hilly barangays situated along the Malasiqui boundary is an ideal place for resort developers and agri-businessmen. Villasis is situated from the provincial capital Lingayen, and from the country's capital city of

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

Villasis is politically subdivided into 21

barangay The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...

s. Each barangay consists of puroks 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 ...

. * Amamperez * Bacag * Barangobong * Barraca * Capulaan * Caramutan * La Paz * Labit * Lipay * Lomboy * Piaz (Plaza) * Zone V (

Poblacion ''Poblacion'' (from Spanish '' población'', meaning "population"), sometimes abbreviated as Pob., is a term used in the Philippines to refer to the administrative center, downtown, old town, or commercial area of a city or municipality. It ...

) * Zone I (

) * Zone II (

) * Zone III (

) * Zone IV (

) * Puelay * San Blas * San Nicolas * Tombod * Unzad

Climate

Demographics

Religion

Saint Anthony the Abbot Parish Church

The heritage Saint Anthony the Abbot Parish Church, built in 1763, is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Urdaneta (from the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan). Feast Day: January 17; Parish Priest: Father Arturo F. Aquino & Parochial Vicar: Father Dionisio B. Luzano.

Evangelical Churches and other Denominations

There are also other religious denominations in the municipality such as Iglesia Filipina Independiente, United Methodist Church, Iglesia ni Cristo, Jesus is Lord Church, Assembly of God, and other evangelical churches. A Muslim group also holds their worship. Interestingly, the town of Villasis celebrates their yearly fiesta with Thanksgiving Night at the beginning of their week-long celebration to mark their gratefulness to God. The said Thanksgiving Night is conducted in coordination with Christian Churches Organization in Villasis (CCOV).

Economy

The town's accessibility to all kinds of land transportation has made Villasis a bustling center of trade and commerce. It is intersected by the Manila North Road from north to south, allowing all major bus lines plying the Manila-Region I CAR route to pass through the town 24-hours a day. The main agricultural crops of the town are rice, corn, cassava, and varieties of vegetables and fruits. Raising livestock is another livelihood of the townspeople who raise poultry, swine, goat and cattle. There are 56 registered small to medium-sized industries in Villasis. These include rice mills, metalcraft industries, cement production, poultry raising and piggeries and an ice-plant.

Government

Local government

Villasis is part of the fifth congressional district of the province of

. It is governed by a mayor designated, as its local chief executive, and by a municipal council as its legislative body in accordance with the Local Government Code. The mayor, vice mayor, and the councilors are elected directly by the people through an election which is being held every three years.

Elected officials

Culture

The town holds an annual fiesta in honor of its patron saint, San Antonio de Abad (Saint Anthony the Abbot).

Talong festival

On January 18, 2008, Mayor Nonato Abrenica announced that hundreds of balikbayans joined the annual fiesta celebration, highlighted by the Talong Festival / fastest talong eater contest (boiled skin removed

eggplant Eggplant (American English, US, Canadian English, CA, Australian English, AU, Philippine English, PH), aubergine (British English, UK, Hiberno English, IE, New Zealand English, NZ), brinjal (Indian English, IN, Singapore English, SG, Malays ...

, long-purple casino type), in Villasis,

. 12 of 21

villages A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban village ...

/ barangays are engaged in eggplant production with total of 3.35 km² planted by 600 residents. It is usually celebrated during the second week of January.

Education

There are two schools district offices which govern all educational institutions within the municipality. They oversee the management and operations of all private and public, from primary to secondary schools. These are Villasis I Schools District Office, and Villasis II Schools District Office.

Primary and elementary schools

* Amamperez Elementary School * Bacag Central School * Bacag East Elementary School * Bacag West Elementary School * Barraca Community School * Barangobong Elementary School * Capulaan Elementary School * Caramutan Elementary School * Cleverkids School * Feliz Academy * La Paz Elementary School * Labit Elementary School * Lepanto Elementary School * Lipay Elementary School * Lomboy Elementary School * Maburac Elementary School * Piaz Elementary School * Puelay Elementary School * San Blas Elementary School * San Nicolas Elementary School * Stars Educational Center * St. Anthony Abbot Academy * Unzad Elementary School * Villasis I Central School SPED Center * West Poblacion Elementary School

Secondary schools

* Amamperez Agro-Industrial High School * Barangobong National High School * Capulaan National High School * Don Ramon E. Costales Memorial National High School * Piaz National High School * Tombod Integrated School * Unzad National High School

Gallery

File:Landing Fields - Philippines - Luzon Island - NARA - 68161226.jpg, Aerial view of Villasis, circa 1930s File:VillasisPangasinanjfv.JPG, Saint Anthony the Abbot Parish Church File:VillasisPangasinanjf.JPG, Public Auditorium File:VillasisPangasinanjfa.JPG, Rizal Park File:VillasisPangasinanjf907.JPG, Villasis Public Market and Bagsakan Center File:VillasisPangasinanjfx.JPG, Bagsakan stores File:VillasisPangasinanjf786.JPG, The vegetable and fruit stores

References

External links

Villasis Profile at PhilAtlas.com

Municipal Profile at the National Competitiveness Council of the Philippines

Villasis at the Pangasinan Government Website

Local Governance Performance Management System
* Philippine Standard Geographic Code
Philippine Census Information
{{Authority control Municipalities of Pangasinan Populated places on the Agno River