Porac, officially the Municipality of Porac ( pam, Balen ning Porac; fil, Bayan ng Porac), is a 1st 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 ...

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 ...

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 140,751 people. The

Subic–Clark–Tarlac Expressway The Subic–Clark–Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), signed as E1 and E4 of the Philippine expressway network and R-8 of the Metro Manila arterial road network, is controlled-access toll expressway in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. From ...

(SCTEx) traverses this town, the exit of which is located in Barangay Manuali. With an area of , Porac is the largest town in Pampanga. It was once among the largest municipalities in the archipelago before it was divided into separate municipalities.

History

Porac was founded on October 31, 1594, upon acceptance by Fray Mateo Peralta in the Friar's Intermediate Chapter (recorded by Fray Gaspar de San Agustin, by saying Porac has its First Minister and Friar, Fray Mateo de Mendoza. The General Headquarters and Military Camp Base of the

Philippine Commonwealth Army The Philippine Army was established on December 21, 1935, as the Army of the Philippines, with a general headquarters in Manila, and units and formations based throughout the provinces of the Philippines. The Philippine Army was initially org ...

and

Philippine Constabulary The Philippine Constabulary (PC; tl, Hukbóng Pamayapà ng Pilipinas, ''HPP''; es, Policía de Filipinas, ''PF'') was a gendarmerie-type police force of the Philippines from 1901 to 1991, and the predecessor to the Philippine National Po ...

was stationed in Porac from 1942 to 1946 and the local military operates against the Imperial Japanese military and local collaborators from 1942 to 1945. The

Mexican Expeditionary Air Force The Mexican Expeditionary Air Force ( es, Fuerza Aérea Expedicionaria Mexicana, FAEM) was a military aviation unit which represented Mexico on the Allied side during World War II. It is notable as the only Mexican military unit ever to fight outsi ...

were given a base around Porac to help liberate the country from the

Japanese Empire The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent forma ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. (Marker: October 31, 2008, 412th Anniversary of Porac).

Geography

Porac is west from the provincial capital

San Fernando San Fernando may refer to: People *Ferdinand III of Castile (c. 1200–1252), called ''San Fernando'' (Spanish) or ''Saint Ferdinand'', King of Castile, León, and Galicia Places Argentina *San Fernando de la Buena Vista, city of Greater Buenos ...

, south of

Angeles City , anthem = Himno ning Angeles (Angeles Hymn) , subdivision_type3 = District , subdivision_name3 = , established_title = Settled , established_date = 1796 , established_title1 = Chartere ...

and north of Floridablanca. A portion of

Mount Pinatubo Mount Pinatubo is an active stratovolcano in the Zambales Mountains, located on the tripoint boundary of the Philippine provinces of Zambales, Tarlac and Pampanga, all in Central Luzon on the northern island of Luzon. Its eruptive history w ...

is in the municipality. Porac has a hilly to mountainous terrain in the majority of its plains. Most rivers, if not all, are heavily silted by mudflow due to the eruption of Mount Pinatubo and succeeding lahar flows. Tourist spots include Darabulbul Falls (nicknamed Dara Falls) in Jalung, Miyamit Falls in Sapang Uwak, and the hot springs of Sitio Puning, accessed through Sapang Bato in Angeles. Babo Pangulo offers a view of Porac and Mount Negron.

Barangays

Porac is politically subdivided into 29

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 ...

Climate

The town of Porac has two distinct climates, rainy and dry. The rainy or wet season normally begins in May and runs through October, while the rest of the year is the dry season. The warmest period of the year occurs between March and April, while the coolest period is from December through February.

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Porac, Pampanga, was 140,751 people, with a density of .

Economy

Porac is an important source of granite and a tamping ground of minerals. Porac is home to the Mekeni Food Corporation, an "AAA" Meat Processing Plant accredited with the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS). Being classified under the "AAA" category, it is qualified to market its products, not just in the local, but in the international market as well. This means that it is compliant to all government regulatory requirements to assure food quality and safety in its operations (Sun Star, 2006). In 2014,

Ayala Land Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI) is a real estate firm based in the Philippines. It is a subsidiary of Ayala Corporation. It began as a division of Ayala Corporation until it was spun off and incorporated in 1988. It became publicly listed in the Phi ...

and Leonio Land embarked on developing a mixed-used estate in Porac known as Alviera. The development project combines business, residential, recreational, leisure, and institutional. The local government dubbed Alviera as the regional growth center of Central Luzo

Now, it is a premiere tourist destination in the north, and the Philippines' hub for karting with the presence of the Pampanga International Circuit.

Government

The municipal government is divided into three branches: executive, legislative and judiciary. The judicial branch is administered solely by the

Supreme Court of the Philippines The Supreme Court ( fil, Kataas-taasang Hukuman; colloquially referred to as the ''Korte Suprema'' lso used in formal writing is the highest court in the Philippines. The Supreme Court was established by the Second Philippine Commission on Ju ...

. The executive branch is composed of the mayor and the barangay captains for the barangays. The legislative branch is composed of 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 ...

(town assembly), Sangguniang Barangay (barangay council), and the

Sangguniang Kabataan Sangguniang Kabataan (abbreviated as SK; ) is a council meant to represent the youth in each barangay in the Philippines. It was put "on hold", but not quite abolished, prior to the 2013 barangay elections. In January 2016, the Sangguniang ...

for the youth sector.

Spanish-era Roman Catholic churches

Since the founding of the town of Porac in 1867, various Roman Catholic structures have been built in the area to aid in the religious practices of the devout Kapampangans. As of writing, three notable Spanish-era religious structures are extant within the municipality. The largest of the three, the Santa Catalina de Alejandria Church is located at Barangay Poblacion and still functions as one of Porac's main parochial structures. The other two are currently utilized as barangay chapels.

Santa Catalina de Alejandria Church

The Santa Catalina de Alejandria parish church is under the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Fernando. Its original structure, built in 1872, is largely intact but slight revisions have been made to the inside. It underwent restoration in the 1980s. The church is long, wide and high. In the earthquake of 2019, the church belfry has been destroyed a day after Easter Sunday. Rebuilding operations are planned with call for donations to restore the church bell tower.

Pio Chapel

The 1861 Pio Chapel is a circular chapel built by Don Felino Gil, founder of the Escuela de Artes y Oficios (now the Don Honorio Ventura Technical State University).

Hacienda Dolores Chapel

Another vintage chapel is located at Barangay Dolores, north of the Porac town proper. The Our Lady of Sorrows Chapel was said to be built by the Dolores family within the old Hacienda Dolores in 1856. The chapel, like the Pio chapel, is currently utilized as a community chapel. The chapel boasts of a slender octagonal belfry and Doric columns adorning the two-level façade. Notable features of the chapel are finials found on both levels of the façade.

Archaeology

The area in and around Babo Balukbuk in Porac has strong indications of human habitation, according to investigations published on 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 ...

Archaeological Studies Program website. Later test excavations confirmed this conclusion through the presence of materials dated around 12th century to 17th century C.E.>

Notable personalities

Lito Lapid Manuel "Lito" Mercado Lapid (; born October 25, 1955) is a Filipino actor and politician serving as a Senator since 2019, and previously from 2004 to 2016. He started his political career in Pampanga, serving as vice governor from 1992 to 1995 ...

– Actor and Politician (Senator, 2019–present, 2004 – 2016 and Governor, 1995 – 2004)

Gallery

File:Porac78jf.JPG, Jose Songco Lapid Sports and Civic Center Gymnasium File:Porac679jf.JPG, Rio Grande de Pampanga File:Porac567jf.JPG, Public Market File:Porac345jf.JPG, Porac Elementary School

References

External links

Porac Profile at PhilAtlas.com
* Philippine Standard Geographic Codebr>Philippine Census InformationLocal Governance Performance Management System
* {{Authority control Municipalities of Pampanga Spa towns in the Philippines