Balagtas, Bulacan

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Balagtas
Municipality

Municipal Hall of Balagtas

Seal

Map of Bulacan showing the location of Balagtas

Balagtas
Location within the Philippines

Coordinates:

144852N 1205430ECoordinates:
144852N 1205430E

Country

Philippines

Region

Central Luzon (Region III)

Province

Bulacan

District

2nd District

Founded

1596

Barangays

Government[1]
Mayor

Romeo M. Castro

Vice Mayor

Emmanuel T. Galvez

Area[2]
Total

28.66 km2 (11.07 sq mi)

Population (2015 census)[3]

Total

73,929

Density

2,600/km2 (6,700/sq mi)

Poverty rate

4.2%

Time zone

PST (UTC+8)

ZIP code

3016

IDD:area code

+63(0)44

Income class

1st

Electricity

Manila Electric Company

Consumption

49.61 million kWh (2003)

Balagtas is a first class urban municipality in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the
2015 census, it has a population of 73,929 people.[3]
With the continuous expansion of Metro Manila, the municipality is now part of Manila's built up area
which reaches San Ildefonso in its northernmost part.
Formerly known as Bigaa, it was renamed in honor of Filipino poet Francisco Balagtas.
The MacArthur Highway bisects the municipality of Balagtas as this national road cuts northward to
the Ilocos region. At the southern approach of the town from Manila is a modern, first class concrete
bridge that crosses the Balagtas River. The river, navigable by banca and motor boats, empties into
Manila bay after snaking through the town of Bulacan to the West which provides Balagtas'
townsfolk with fish, shrimp, and other fresh water food.
At the foot of the bridge, along the highway towards the North, is the town hall. In front of the town
hall is spacious park where the monument of it hero, Francisco Balagtas is located. The town hall is
surrounded by Spanish colonial type houses. Two hundred meters from the municipal hall is the
barrio of Panginay, the birthplace of Francisco "Balagtas" Baltazar, for whom also "Balagtasan", a
form of debate in versified Tagalog, was named. In reverence to the hero's deeds, the official name
of Bigaa was changed to Balagtas through the legislative act sponsored by the late Congressman,
Teodulo Natividad.
In 1946 the Historical Society of the Philippines placed a marker at the birthplace of Balagtas, which
reads: "Here in Barrio Panginay, Bigaa, Bulacan, Francisco Baltazar (Balagtas) was born on April 2,
1788. Son of Juan Baltazar and Juana de la Cruz, he is the father of Tagalog language and the
author of the deathless "Florante at Laura." He died in Udyong, Bataan on February 20, 1862."
Contents
[hide]

1History
2Barangays
3Demographics
4List of Cultural Properties in Balagtas, Bulacan
5Economy
6Government
7Schools
8References
9External links
10See also

History[edit]

American infantry firing at Filipino insurgents at Balagtas, 1899.

Originally known as Caruya/Caluya as per as the history records regarding the early years of the
establishment of Bulacan Province, Caruya was one of the Encomiendas of the vast region La
Pampanga falls under the Alcalde Mayor of Bulacan. Encomienda de Caruya was Encomienda of
the King of Spain which appeared in Miguel de Loarca's Relacion delas Isla Filipinas in 1582 and the
Report of Governor- General Luis Perez de Dasmarias of June 21, 1591 document. The
propagation of catholic instructions in Caruya initially belongs to Bulakan Convent and it was directly
administered by Alcalde Mayor of Bulacan but it was transferred to Malolos Convent at uncertain
date. Bigaa is one of the ancient towns of the Province together with Calumpit 1571 (became Town
in 1575) Bulakan 1575 (became Town in 1578) Meycauayan 1578, Malolos 1571 (became Town in
1580) and Binto 1581 (a former visita of Malolos became Town renamed as Binto y Quingua 1602)
later known as Plaridel. The Catalogo of 1591 indicates the existence of Guiguinto y Caruyan with
4,800 souls and it was administered by a religious from Bulacan Convent. In 1608 Historia dela
Provincia Agustiana mentioned Caruyan as pueblo and convent. The Catalogo of 1612 says that
Caruyan had 2 sacerdos, 800 Tributos, 2,400 Almas. (Historia de La Provincia Agustiana del
Santisimo Nombre de Jesus de Filipinas Vol.1 of Isacio Rodriguez OSA)
On other data, the Center for Bulacan Studies in their "La Primera Provincia" published in 2010
p. 138 mentioned that Bigaa came from Malolos as its matrix with a date independency date of
1621. It could be assumed that Bigaa was later transferred to Malolos Convent in uncertain date but
La Primera did not mention that Bigaa originally came from Bulakan town but instead in Malolos.
Long time before the construction of the church at Poblacion,the original location of the town center
where the hermitage and the base of Spanish instruction in Bigaa was at Barrio Dalig where Sitio
Caruyan was located.
It is very unclear when Caruya was formally organized into administrative town with its own
Gobernadorcillo. It was renamed to Bigaa sometime in 1700s. Nigaa suggest a kind of plant which is
Taro o Gabi.
During the Philippine revolution the "insurrectos" and the "Guardia civiles". Many people died, further
decimating the town, which has suffered from a cholera epidemic and nearly wiped out the
population 20 years before. When the Americans established civil government in 1903, Bigaa and
Bocaue was integrated each other and in 1911 it was separated again.and on the same year,1911
the former Hacienda de Pandi, which included in the geographical jurisdiction of Town of Bigaa. In
1946, during the tenure of Bigaa Mayor Manuel Santos, Pandi was detached from Bigaa shortly after
the Philippines gained political freedom from the United States and Pandi was established as a
Municipal entity by virtue of a legislative fiat.

Barangays[edit]
Balagtas is politically subdivided into 9 barangays, all of which are urban:[2]

Borol 1st

Borol 2nd
Dalig
Longos
Panginay
Pulong Gubat
San Juan
Santol
Wawa

Demographics[edit]
Population census of Balagtas
Year

Pop.

% p.a.

1990

42,658

1995

49,210

+2.71%

2000

56,945

+3.18%

2007

62,684

+1.33%

2010

65,440

+1.58%

2015

73,929

+2.35%

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[3][4]

In the 2015 census, the population of Balagtas, Bulacan, was 73,929 people,[3] with a density of
2,600 inhabitants per square kilometre or 6,700 inhabitants per square mile.

List of Cultural Properties in Balagtas, Bulacan[edit]

Cultural
Property
wmph
identifier

Site name

Constantino House

Description

Province

City/Municipality

Address/Location

Ancestral
House

Bulacan

Balagtas

MacArthur Highway

144

Cultural
Property
wmph
identifier

Site name

Description

Province

City/Municipality

Bigaa Railway Station

Train station

Bulacan

Balagtas

Saint Lawrence, Deacon and

Martyr Parish Church

Stone church

Bulacan

Balagtas

War memorial at the Municipal Hall

Address/Location

144

MacArthur Higway

144
Deacon

St. Lawrence Deacon & Martyr Parish Church (Barangay Longos)

Downtown, busy commercial center

PNP Station

Economy[edit]
Major Industries

Ceramics/Pottery
Furniture
Garments
Gifts/Houseware/Decors
Metalcraft
Major Products

Furniture/Agricultural Products
Balot and Penoy Industry
Recruitment Agency
Fruit Dealership
Tilapia
Tricycle Parts
Future Developments

Construction of North Food Exchange (under construction)

Opening of Balagtas Tollgate
Construction of new Balagtas to Baliwag road connection

Government[edit]
Municipal Officials:

Mayor: Eladio "Kap JR." Gonzales

Vice Mayor: Alberto "Bobby" Carating Jr.
Councilors:
Mikee Jane Payuran
Analyn Jose
Fernando K. Galvez
Jay-R Aragon
Andy De Guzman
Dante Marcelo
Jayree Galvez
Jepok Ventura

Schools[edit]
Tertiary:

College of St. Lawrence (formerly St.Lawrence Academy), Borol Ist, Balagtas

Garden Angels Integrated School, Borol Ist, Balagtas
STI College Balagtas, Campus, Borol Ist,Balagtas
Colegio de Roma, San Juan, Balagtas
Our Lady of Manaoag Montessori College, (OLMA) San Juan, Balagtas
A-Z Country Day School
Bulacan Merchant Marine Academy

Secondary:

La Consolacion School, Longos, Balagtas

Balagtas Agricultural School, Pulonggubat, Balagtas (main)
Balagtas Agricultural School, Borol Ist, Balagtas (annex)
Children's Mindware School, Borol 2nd, Balagtas