Balungao, officially the Municipality of Balungao (; ; ), 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 30,004 people.

History

Early settlers

The town of Balungao was first inhabited by nomadic people who found their way to the area from the Ilocos region through

San Fabian, Pangasinan San Fabian, officially the Municipality of San Fabian (; ; ; ), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Pangasinan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 87,428 peo ...

. They were farmers looking a place in which to settle and engage in agriculture to survive. Its origin is evident in the fact that Balungao is one of the Ilocano-speaking towns in the province where the primary language is Pangasinense. Some Tagalogs from Bulacan & Nueva Ecija also migrated into the town after some time.

Foundation

Balungao was originally called ''Panaclaban'' and was a part of

Cuyapo Cuyapo , officially the Municipality of Cuyapo (; ), is a municipality in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 68,066 people. Cuyapo is from Cabanatuan, from Palayan, and from Manil ...

town in the adjacent province of

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 ...

until the latter part of 18th century. It was annexed to the town of

Rosales, Pangasinan Rosales (), officially the Municipality of Rosales (; ; ), is a municipality in the province of Pangasinan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 66,711 people. It is sometimes called Carmen, based on its prominent ...

(then a town of Nueva Ecija) in the early part of 19th century because of its geographic location. It officially became an independent municipality in 1815, and, along with Rosales, was transferred to Pangasinan. On April 25, 1993, Balungao Mayor Jose C. Peralta was assassinated while he was attending Mass with his family at the local church.

Geography

The Municipality of Balungao is located in the south-eastern part of the province bordering the province of

to the south. It is partially urban community with an area of . Balungao is situated from the provincial capital

Lingayen Lingayen, officially the Municipality of Lingayen (; ; ; ), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality and capital of the Philippine Province, province of Pangasinan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 10 ...

, 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

Balungao is politically subdivided into 20

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

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 ...

. *Angayan Norte *Angayan Sur *Capulaan *Esmeralda *Kita-kita *Mabini *Mauban *Poblacion *Pugaro *Rajal *San Andres *San Aurelio 1st *San Aurelio 2nd *San Aurelio 3rd *San Joaquin *San Julian *San Leon *San Marcelino *San Miguel *San Raymundo

Climate

Demographics

Economy

Government

Local government

Balungao, belonging to the sixth congressional district of the province of

, 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

Tourism

Mount Balungao

Mount Balungao () is an

extinct volcano A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the Crust (geology), crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and volcanic gas, gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth ...

ASL American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States and most of Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that is expressed by employ ...

located in the municipality of Balungao. Its volcanic past is manifested by its physical profile and the presence of hot and cold springs. The

Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS, ; ) is a Philippine national institution dedicated to provide information on the activities of volcanoes, earthquakes, and tsunamis, as well as other specialized information and ...

(PHIVOLCS) lists Mount Balungao as an inactive volcano.

Balungao Hilltop Adventure

Balungao opened its doors to

adventure travel Adventure travel is a type of tourism, involving exploration or travel with a certain degree of risk (real or perceived), and which may require special skills and physical exertion. In the United States, adventure tourism has seen growth in l ...

tourism with the opening of ''Balungao Hilltop Adventure'' () on September 8, 2011. Located at the foot of Mount Balungao, the resort was constructed by the municipal government of Balungao and boasts the 2nd longest

Zip-line A zip-line, zip line, zip-wire, flying fox, or death slide''Who Really Benefits from Tourism'', Publ. Equations, Karnataka, India, 2010. Working Papers Series. "Canopy Tourism"page 37/ref>Jacques Marais, Lisa De Speville, ''Adventure Racing'', ...

in the Philippines (2011) at long. The Balungao Hilltop Adventure also offers

ATV ATV may refer to: Broadcasting * Amateur television *Analog television Television broadcaster * Andorra Televisió * Anguilla Television * Ayna TV, Afghanistan * ATV (Armenia) * ATV (Aruba), NBC affiliate * ATV (Australian TV station), Melbourn ...

quad bike An all-terrain vehicle (ATV), also known as a light utility vehicle (LUV), a quad bike or quad (if it has four wheels), as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), is a vehicle that travels on low-pressure tires, has a seat ...

adventure,

bungee trampoline A trampoline is a device consisting of a piece of taut, strong fabric stretched between a steel frame often using many coiled spring (device), springs. People bounce on trampolines for recreational and competitive purposes. The fabric that use ...

biking Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

mountain climbing Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become mounta ...

, and the refurbished hot and cold spring swimming pools. It originally started as the ''Mt. Balungao Hot and Cold Springs Resort'' under the administration of then Mayor Jose G. Peralta Jr. It was not until 2011, under the administration of the Mayor Philipp G. Peralta, that it was repackaged for adventure travelers.

Longest zipline in Pangasinan

''Balungao Hilltop Adventure'' offers a Zip Line with a length which could last from 15 seconds to a minute depending on your weight and your position when you are suspended at the Zip Line. It begins from a Hill, overlooking the valley passing through another hill down to the Balungao Hot and Cold Spring Resort. It is considered as the longest Zip line in Pangasinan

Education

The Balungao Schools District Office governs all educational institutions within the municipality. It oversees the management and operations of all private and public elementary and high schools.

Primary and elementary schools

* Balungao Central School * Capulaan Elementary School * Don Francisco D. Toliao Elementary School * Esmeralda Elementary School * Irenio L. Guieb Sr. Elementary School * Kita-Kita Elementary School * Mabini Elementary School * Mauban Elementary School * Pugaro Elementary School * Rajal-Angayan Elementary School * San Andres Elementary School * San Aurelio Elementary School * San Aurelio 3rd Elementary School * San Joaquin Elementary School * San Julian Elementary School * San Leon Elementary School * San Marcelino Elementary School * San Raymundo Elementary School * UCCP N-K and Grade School

Secondary schools

*Balungao Central High School *Balungao National High School *Rajal-Angayan National High School *Remnant International School * San Aurelio National High School *San Leon National High School

References

External links

Balungao Profile at PhilAtlas.comMunicipal Profile at the National Competitiveness Council of the PhilippinesBalungao Pangasinan Official WebsiteBalungao at the Pangasinan Government WebsiteLocal Governance Performance Management System
*

Philippine Standard Geographic Code The Philippine Standard Geographic Code (PSGC) is a systematic classification and coding for geographic areas in the Philippines. It classifies areas based on the country's four levels of administrative divisions: regions, provinces, municipalities ...

br>Philippine Census Information
{{Authority control Municipalities of Pangasinan