Dumanon Tayo Apo: San Juan

By Jaymee B. Quindara
Our province of La Union is slowly gaining popularity local and international
tourists and when you ask most tourists that visit our province one place they
can never fail to mention is the humble town of San Juan. San Juan gained
popularity with its rich culture, different products, scenic places, and the
peoples genuine hospitality.
San Juan is a second class municipality with a land area of 5,186 hectares.
San Juan has 41 barangays. And according to the latest census it has a
population of 38, 292 people in 5, 950 households.
San Juan is located in the west of the province of La Union. It is located along
the Manila North Road. San Juan is bounded on the north by the municipality
of Bacnotan and on the east by the municipalities of San Gabriel and Bangulin.
On the south, it is bounded by the City of San Fernando and on the west by
the South China Sea

By way of the Manila North Road, San Juan is some 8 kilometres north of San
Fernando City. It is about 277 kilometres north of Manila which can be
travelled by road in about 5 hours or 7 hours at most. If you are coming from
the City of San Fernando it is just a 15 minute drive before you reach the town
proper and about 2 hours and 30 minutes if you will come from Baguio City.
However the streets of San Fernando is always busy with lots of commuters,
tricycles and buses so just be ready with the heavy traffic.

Like the rest of the towns and municipalities in our province the climate in San
Juan is generally "dry" from November to April and generally "wet" from May to
October. The southwest monsoon brings abundant rainfall during the wet
season,

whereas

the

northeast

monsoon

passing

over

the

Cordillera

Mountains to the east brings the drier conditions. The average annual
temperature is 27.2C.

The exact date when the town of San Juan was founded is not yet determined
since according to Dr. Adriel Obar Meimban in his book la Union, The Making
of a Province three friars, namely Julian Martin, Salvadr Font and Elviro Perez
differ in opinion on the dates of San Juans foundation. Martin claimed San
Juan was founded in 1806, Font recorded 1803 while Perez claimed it was
established in 1585.
Whichever is the exact date of its founding, it is a fact that San Juan was
already a town when La Union was created as a province in 1850 and one of
the 12 original municipalities that comprised it.
The town of San Juan is formerly called Baratao some sources call it Baltao. It
was formally accepted as a Ministerio de Baratao and was composed of a
federation of settlements of towns, namely the settlements of Bauang,
Mapatnag, Allangigan and Dayawan; the settlements of San Miguel de
Bacnotan, San Juan Bautista de Baltao, San Guillermo de Dalangdang, San
Vicente de Balanac and the settlement named Bona or Boa. The center of the
Ministerio was at San Juan Bautista de Baltao, now San Juan.
In 1587, Baratao became the center of an encomienda that belonged to Captain
Bernardo Sandi. At that time, Father Agustin Nio arrived and transferred the
Ministerio to Bauang. The transfer of the Ministerio from San Juan Bautista
de Baratao to Bauang made San Juan an alternative visita (a settlement
without a parish priest) of Bauang and Bacnotan. It was only in 1807 that a
permanent parish priest was assigned to San Juan.
During the revolution of 1896, the whole town was razed to the ground. After
the Spanish-American War, Filipino priest took over the spiritual needs of the
parish. Reverend Mariano Gaerlan, a native of San Juan, was the first Filipino
priest to be assigned in this town. He supervised the reconstruction of the
church that was burned during the revolution. His successor Reverend
Eustaquio Ocampo continued the construction of the church until it was
finished. At that time San Juan ceased to be a parish. The parish priest
assigned in San Fernando took over the spiritual needs of the people. Later in
1918, San Juan became a parish again.
Jose delos Angeles was the first Captain Municipal of San Juan in 1782.
During the Second World War, the entire town of San Juan was devastated.
The economy of the town was disrupted. After the War, however, San Juan
underwent rehabilitation.

Today, San Juan with a total area of 5,186 hectares is the most sought after
municipality in the province for a residential area due to its proximity to San
Fernando city. It is also home to world class resorts and hotels along the four
kilometer shoreline facing the China Sea. The beaches along Urbiztondo are
also ideal for surfing and have been favorite venues for international and local
surfing competitions.
Barangay Taboc is also famous for its pottery making industry where clay
products ranging from home and garden decorations where the indigenous
dalikan (clay hearth) are produced.
Agriculture remains to be the main source of livelihood of the people of San
Juan. With an area of 4,968 hectares, 1,765 hectares are planted with rice,
722 hectares with tobacco and corn and the rest are planted with vegetables
and root crops. The rest of the total land area is timberland and pastureland.
A 30-hectare land, called Hill 118, in Barangay Urbiztondo, San Juan is also
the site of the proposed relocation of the Philippines Air force from the Wallace
Air Station.
So much with the towns history, lets talk about San Juan and what makes it
famous.
When we talk of San Juan we cannot talk about surfing. Of course one of the
main attraction in San Juan is its strong and magnificent waves that attract
surfers not only from nearby towns or provinces but all over the country, in
addition the waves of San Juan are slowly gaining popularity to the
international scene thats why along the beach, youll see some foreign surfers
and as well as foreign tourists who just wants. Even local celebrities visits San
Juan as well as politicians and one of them is our Former President now
Pampanga Congresswoman Gloria M. Arroyo.
The town of San Juan is a haven as the town claims, for local and foreign
surfers. I find this true; there are a lot of tourists there swimming, surfing, and
skimboarding. I also see some who are playing Frisbee and beach volleyball.
Some just lay their mats on the sand and enjoying the view of the cerulean see.
And it was not yet summer time when I visit mind you!
Expert surfers are not the only one who enjoys the waves of San Juan but also
those who are beginners since some resorts offer surfing lessons to tourists
who want to experience riding the waves of San Juan. One of the famous Surf

Schools in San Juan is The Billabong Surf School which was established in
2003 by Filipino-Australian surfer Luke Landrigan. It enjoys its reputation as
the #1 surf school in the Philippines. It is located within La
Unions famous San Juan Surf Resort also known to all as the Surf Camp.
With the increasing popularity of the great waves of San Juan, a lot of resorts
sprouted like mushroom near the seas shore that offers a superb quality of
service to their costumer at reasonable prices. Some resorts in San Juan offer
package deals to tourists. Planning to stay for a night or two in San Juan? No
need to worry, resorts near the sea shore offers tourists with good amenities
where they can stay. However during peak seasons hotel rooms and lodge
houses are full packed but worry not, there are several hotels that are located
in the City of San Fernando.
Besides surfing and swimming, there are also several activities you can do.
Some resorts also offer kayak boats to visitors, body boards, skim boards, jet
skis, banana boat and pedal boats that for sure youll find exciting to do, too.
If you are looking a place to dine the resorts near the beach offers sumptuous
dishes at affordable prices. But if you really like to feel the real beach vibe then
why not go for ihaw-ihaw foods? The town market is just a few drive from the
beach and everyday freshly caught fishes and freshly butchered meat are sold
in the market. There are also a lot of food stalls/ canteen around serving Fresh
seafood and traditional Ilocos dishes.
On the other hand, San Juan is also known for its pottery industry, which is
notable with its huge earthen pots along the national highway and in barangay
roads. If one travels up north, they (he/she) would right away be captivated by the

magnificent pots displayed along the narrow borders of San Juan, La Union,
particularly in Barangay Taboc. And this has already served like a mark for me
that I am entering San Juan. Earthen wares like the famous dalikan or the
traditional cooking stove, bricks, jars, fountains, lamps of variety of sizes contour
and designs, all of excellent quality, are sold at reasonable prices. And
according to the potters in San Juan, even people from as far as Manila buy
their paso since it is of high standard and cheap.
Pottery has been a livelihood of many potters in San Juan and according to
some potters that I have interviewed, they have inherited the business from

their fathers and grandfathers and the skill as they say runs in the family
since most of their children knows how to create a piece of art a single lump of
clay. They are also proud that through pottery, they are able to send their
children to school.
Making pots is not easy, since it has a precise process to be followed to make a
high quality pot.

At the town center are to be found San Juans Municipal Hall, town plaza and
St. John the Baptist Church, all designed with a charming and nostalgic touch
of a bygone Spanish era. Nearby on the seaside is the municipalitys historic
Baluarte (watchtower ruins) and farther inland is the untouched Candaroma
Hidden Spring.