Pilar, officially the Municipality of Pilar ( tl, Bayan ng Pilar), is a 3rd class

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

Bataan Bataan (), officially the Province of Bataan ( fil, Lalawigan ng Bataan ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga while Mariveles is the largest town in the province. Occupying the entir ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 46,239 people. The Bataan Government Center and the historic

Mount Samat National Shrine Mount Samat National Shrine () or ''Dambana ng Kagitingan'' (Shrine of Valor) is a historical shrine located near the summit of Mount Samat in the Municipalities of the Philippines, town of Pilar, Bataan, Pilar, Provinces of the Philippines, Prov ...

(''Dambana ng Kagitingan'') are both situated within the municipality in Barangays Diwa and Ala-uli, respectively.

Etymology

The town was named in the honor of the image of the

Our Lady of the Pillar Our Lady of the Pillar ( es, Nuestra Señora del Pilar) is the name given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in the context of the traditional belief that Mary, while living in Jerusalem, supernaturally appeared to the Apostle James the Greater in AD 4 ...

, hence the town was called "Pilar".

History

One of the oldest towns of Bataan, Pilar was previously part of

Pampanga Pampanga, officially the Province of Pampanga ( pam, Lalawigan ning Pampanga; tl, Lalawigan ng Pampanga ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Lying on the northern shore of Manila Bay, Pampanga is bordered by Tarlac ...

. Spaniards in the galleon landed in a ''sitio'' of Balanga and were greeted by the natives.

Geography

Pilar is located in eastern part of

Bataan Peninsula Bataan (), officially the Province of Bataan ( fil, Lalawigan ng Bataan ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga while Mariveles is the largest town in the province. Occupying the entir ...

, bordering Balanga (the provincial capital) to the north, Orion to the south,

Bagac Bagac, officially the Municipality of Bagac ( tl, Bayan ng Bagac), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Bataan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 31,365 people. With an area of , Bagac is the largest mun ...

to the west, and

Manila Bay Manila Bay ( fil, Look ng Maynila) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between the Phili ...

to the east. According to the

Philippine Statistics Authority The Philippine Statistics Authority (Filipino: ''Pangasiwaan ng Estadistika ng Pilipinas''), abbreviated as PSA, is the central statistical authority of the Philippine government that ''collects, compiles, analyzes and publishes statistical inf ...

, the municipality has a land area of constituting of the total area of Bataan.

Climate

Barangays

Pilar is politically subdivided into 19

barangay A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolitan ...

Demographics

In the 2020 census, Pilar had a population of 46,239. The population density was .

Economy

Government

Pursuant to the

Local Government Code of the Philippines Codification (law), Codification of laws is a common practice in the Philippines. Many general areas of substantive law, such as criminal law, Civil law (common law), civil law and labor law are governed by legal codes. Tradition of codificatio ...

", the political seat of the municipal government is located at the Municipal Hall. In the Spanish period, the ''Gobernadorcillo'' was the Chief Executive who held office in the ''Presidencia''. During the American rule (1898–1946), the elected Mayor and local officials, including the appointed ones held office at the Municipal Hall. The legislative and executive departments perform their functions in the

Sangguniang Bayan The Sangguniang Bayan () is the local legislative branch of the municipal governments in the Philippines. It is responsible for passing ordinances and resolutions for the administration of a municipality. Its powers are defined by the Local Gov ...

(Session Hall) and Municipal Trial Court, respectively, and are located in the Town Hall.

Elected officials

Pilar, Bataan's elected officials are Mayor Alice D. Pizarro (

National Unity Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...

) and Vice Mayor Marino Caguimbal (

). The eight Sangguniang Bayan Members led by the Vice Mayor hold office at the Pilar Sangguniang Bayan Session Hall.

Tourism

Landmarks and festivals of Pilar include: * Mount Samat Zipline — longest zipline in

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

* Veterans Park — located in Poblacion, Piazza Della Virgen del Pilar *

— War Memorial Cross some above sea level. * The Flaming Sword — located at Panilao, is a landmark depicting a hand holding a flaming sword up in the air, which symbolized the Filipino patriots' courage and gallantry as they face the adversary and threats to their democracy and freedom. The ''ESPADA'' was inaugurated on April 8, 1967. * Dunsulan Falls * ''

Araw ng Kagitingan The Day of Valor, officially known as , is a national observance in the Philippines which commemorates the fall of Bataan to Japanese troops during World War II. It falls every April 9, although in 2009, its celebration was moved to April 6 to ...

'' — celebrated every April 9

Our Lady of the Pillar Parish Church

The 1801 Our Lady of the Pillar Parish Church (Nuestra Señora del Pilar Parish Church, belongs to the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Balanga The Diocese of Balanga is one of the 72 dioceses of the Catholic Church in the Philippines. It was established on March 17, 1975, by Pope Paul VI. The diocese comprises the whole civil province of Bataan, with 37 parishes, one minor basilica, ch ...

(''Dioecesis Balangensis'') Suffragan of the Archdiocese of San Fernando, Pampanga.

Notable personalities

Mel Tiangco Mel, Mels or MEL may refer to: Biology * Mouse erythroleukemia cell line (MEL) * National Herbarium of Victoria, a herbarium with the Index Herbariorum code MEL People * Mel (given name), the abbreviated version of several given names (including ...

— Barangay Santa Rosa - news Anchor of GMA7 *

Manuel C. Herrera Hon. Manuel Cruz Herrera (c. 1924–1998) was a lawyer, an instructor in the University of the Philippines and Manuel Luis Quezon University, and a deputy ''tanod bayan'' ( Ombudsman at present) during the Marcos regime and later, head of the p ...

— lawyer, an instructor in the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 200 ...

Gallery

File:Pilar,Bataanjf3772_06.JPG, Health center File:01195jfBurgos Hall Center Offices Shrine Pilar Bataanfvf 03.JPG, The Flaming Sword Shrine File:Pilar,Bataanjf3783_10.JPG, Port and bancas File:0945jfAlauli Poblacion Rizal Park Pillar Church Pilar Bataanfvf 03.JPG, Our Lady of the Pillar Parish Church File:PilarBataanjf3804_01.JPG, Light house

References

External links

Philippine Standard Geographic Code The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

{{Authority control Municipalities of Bataan Populated places on Manila Bay