Pangasinan is a province of Ilocos Region, Philippines.
Profile of Pangasinan (Geography)
Location –> Ilocos Region in Northwestern Luzon, Philippines (See map below)
Neighboring Provinces –> La Union, Benguet, Nueva Vizcaya, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, and Zambales
Capital –> Lingayen
Area –> 5,451.01 km2 (2,104.65 sq mi)
Population –> 2,956,726 (2015 Census) – 6th largest in the country
Terrain –> Lowland in the center of the province, high mountains in the northeast and rolling hills in the west
Industries –> Agriculture, Cement Manufacturing, Food processing
Major Products –> Rice, corn, vegetables, livestock, fish, watermelon, salt, cement and electricity
People/Language –> Pangasinense, Ilocano, Igorot, Tagalog
Cities –> (4) Alaminos, Dagupan, San Carlos, and Urdaneta
Municipalities (Towns) –> (44) Agno, Aguilar, Alcala, Anda, Asingan, Balungao, Bani, Basista, Bautista, Bayambang, Binalonan, Binmaley, Bolinao, Bugallon, Burgos, Calasiao, Dasol, Infanta, Labrador, Laoac, Lingayen, Mabini, Malasiqui, Manaoag, Mangaldan, Mangatarem, Mapandan, Natividad, Pozorrubio, Rosales, San Fabian, San Jacinto, San Manuel, San Nicolas, San Quintin, Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, Santo Tomas, Sison, Sual, Tayug, Umingan, Urbiztondo, and Villasis
Government Officials
Go here to see the elected provincial officials of Pangasinan.
See latest news update in Pangasinan here
Pangasinan Province History
Before the coming of the Spaniards, Pangasinan was already settled by people of Austronesian origin. They lived along the banks of the Agno River and had trade relations with other nations in Southeast Asia and China.
In the later part of the 16th century, Spanish conquistadors established their foothold in Pangasinan. On April 5, 1580, they organized administrative and judicial government but it was only in 1611 that the territory was delineated which included the northern parts of now Zambales and Tarlac as well as the western part of Nueva Ecija and the southern part of La Union. On November 3, 1762, Juan de la Cruz Palaris led a rebellion and proclaimed the independence of the province from Spanish rule but it was short-lived because Palaris was captured more than two years later on January 16, 1765.
Pangasinan became fully independent of Spanish rule after the fierce Battle of Dagupan which lasted from July 18 to July 23, 1898. During the Philippine–American War, General Antonio Luna, with the help of Lieutenant Col. Jose Torres Bugallon made a gallant defense of Pangasinan against the intruding American forces who were pursuing President Emilio Aguinaldo as the later was fleeing to the mountains of Northern Luzon. The defense collapsed and Pangasinan, like the rest of the Philippines came under American rule.
The province was represented in the First Philippine Legislature (1907-1909) by the following:
Nicanor Padilla (Independista) – First District
Deogracias Reyes (Nacionalista) – 2nd
Juan Alvear (Nacionalista) – 3rd
Lorenzo Fenoy (Nacionalista) – 4th
Matias Gonzales (independista) – 5th
During World War II, Pangasinan was one of the first landing areas of the Japanese forces. After three years of Japanese occupation, the province was liberated and reconstruction began. Historically, the province was part of Central Luzon but President Ferdinand Marcos made it part of the Ilocos Region. Go here to see famous people from Pangasinan.
Go here to all the candidates of Pangasinan for the 2019 election and its results.
Read the history of Pangasinan in Tagalog here.
Economy of Pangasinan
Pangasinan is primarily an agricultural province with rice, corn, livestock and fish as its major products. Dagupan City has been dubbed the Bangus Capital of the Philippines due to its position as the primary source of milk fish. In addition, the province produces large quantities of pumpkins and watermelon. Urdaneta City has become a major trading center of livestock and other agricultural products.
The province is home to a large cement factory affiliated with San Miguel Group. In the town of Sual, a large coal-fired power plant was built in the 1990’s. Moreover, the largest dam in the Philippines, San Roque Dam, is located in San Manuel town.
Traditionally, Pangasinan has been a supplier of salt with the town of Dasol as a salt-making center. Other food items manufactured in the province are processed fish and meat, bukayo (sweetened coconut) and noodles.
Tourism is slowly becoming a major source of income especially in the city of Alaminos, the home of the famous hundred islands. With the opening of Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX), the economy of Pangasinan is seen to take-off in the coming years.
RELATED: Batanes Province
See also: Other Provinces of the Philippines
Map of Pangasinan