San Fernando, officially the City of San Fernando ( pam, Lakanbalen ning Sampernandu; fil, Lungsod ng San Fernando), is a 1st class
component city
A city ( fil, lungsod/siyudad) is one of the units of local government in the Philippines. All Philippine cities are chartered cities ( fil, nakakartang lungsod), whose existence as corporate and administrative entities is governed by their own ...
and capital of 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 ...
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 ...
,
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 354,666 people.
It is the regional center of
Central Luzon
Central Luzon ( pam, (Reyun ning) Kalibudtarang Luzon, pag, (Rehiyon na) Pegley na Luzon, tgl, (Rehiyon ng) Gitnang Luzon, ilo, (Rehion/Deppaar ti) Tengnga ti Luzon), designated as Region III, is an administrative region in the Philippines, ...
and located north of
Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
, east of
Subic in Zambales, south of
Tarlac City
Tarlac City, officially the City of Tarlac ( pam, Lakanbalen ning Tarlac; pag, Siyudad na Tarlac; ilo, Siudad ti Tarlac; fil, Lungsod ng Tarlac ), is a 1st class component city and capital of the province of Tarlac, Philippines. According to ...
in Tarlac, and south of
Clark Air Base
Clark Air Base is a Philippine Air Force base on Luzon Island in the Philippines, located west of Angeles City, about northwest of Metro Manila. Clark Air Base was previously a United States military facility, operated by the U.S. Air Forc ...
in
Angeles City
, anthem = Himno ning Angeles (Angeles Hymn)
, subdivision_type3 = District
, subdivision_name3 =
, established_title = Settled
, established_date = 1796
, established_title1 = Chartere ...
.
The city is named after
King Ferdinand VI of Spain and placed under the
patronage
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...
of Saint
Ferdinand III of
Castile and León
Castile and León ( es, Castilla y León ; ast-leo, Castiella y Llión ; gl, Castela e León ) is an autonomous community in northwestern Spain.
It was created in 1983, eight years after the end of the Francoist regime, by the merging of the ...
, whose feast is celebrated every May 30. Popularly known as the "
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...
Capital of the Philippines", the city holds the annual
Giant Lantern Festival every December where large ''
parol
A parol (, , also written as paról or parul, from Spanish ''farol'', meaning ''lantern'') is a Filipino ornamental lantern displayed during the Christmas season. Parols are traditionally constructed using bamboo and Japanese paper, and are i ...
'' are displayed in competition.
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...
has hailed the city as 'Asia's Christmas capital.'
History
The town of San Fernando was founded in 1754 from the towns of
Bacolor
Bacolor, officially the Municipality of Bacolor ( pam, Balen ning Bakúlud; tgl, Bayan ng Bacolor), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 48,066 people.
Bacolor ...
and
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. The first church was built in 1755 with wooden walls and nipa roofing. The municipal tribunal was erected later in the year in front of the town plaza using durable materials and thatched nipa roofing. Don Vidal de Arrozal served as its first gobernadorcillo that year.
In 1796, after serving as gobernadorcillo the previous year, Don Ángel Pantaleon de Miranda retired to Barrio Saguin, from where he started setting up his hacienda in Barrio Culiat. The barrio was separated from San Fernando on the December 8, 1829 as the new town of
Angeles, with the Los Santos Ángeles Custodios as titular patrons.
An expediente requesting the transfer of the provincial capital 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 ...
to San Fernando was signed on the August 6, 1852. Real Cedula 745, approving the transfer of the provincial capital of Pampanga from Bacolor to San Fernando, was signed on September 11, 1881. This transfer did not, in the event, materialize.
In 1878, actions were made to create the town of Calulut. This new town would be composed of Calulut and the neighboring barrios of Bulaun, Malpitic, Sindalan, La Paz, Lara, Saguin, Telabastagan, Balete, Malinao, Pulung Bulu, Panipuan, Macabacle and the caserio of Pau in San Fernando, and Panipuan, Acle, Suclaban and the sitio of Gandus in Mexico. This plan did not materialize, owing to strong opposition from the parish priest of San Fernando.
Governor-General
Eulogio Despujol
Eulogio Despujol y Dusay (Catalan: ''Eulogi Despujol i Dusay''; 11 March 1834 – 18 October 1907) served as the Spanish Governor-General of the Philippines between 1891 and 1893.
Alfonso XII granted him the nobiliary title of Count of Caspe aft ...
and Manila Archbishop Bernardino Nozaleda inaugurated the San Fernando railroad station, together with the Bagbag-Mabalacat stretch of the Manila-Dagupan Railroad, on February 2, 1892. The station was second only to Manila in revenues that year, and was thus the most important provincial station of the Manila-Dagupan Railroad. On June 27 of the same year,
José P. Rizal made a stopover in the town as part of his mission to recruit members to the
La Liga Filipina
La Liga Filipina () was a secret organization. It was founded by José Rizal in the house of Doroteo Ongjunco at Ilaya Street, Tondo, Manila on July 3, 1892.
The organization derived from La Solidaridad and the Propaganda movement. The purpose ...
.
On September 1, 1896, the town was declared to be in a state of war despite its peaceful situation. Brigadier General Diego de los Rios arrived on December 2 to calm the revolution that started in Manila on August 30. General Ruiz Serralde took over Rios's post on June 26, 1897, to maintain the peace in San Fernando. The revolution was not yet at its height with occasional exchanges of fire in some places in Pampanga.
On June 26, 1898, representatives from all Pampanga towns, except
Macabebe
Macabebe, officially the Municipality of Macabebe ( pam, Balen ning Macabebe; tl, Bayan ng Macabebe), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 78,151 people.
Hi ...
, gathered in San Fernando to swear allegiance to Gen. Maximino Hizon, who was the provincial military governor and representative of the revolutionary president, Emilio Aguinaldo. On October 9, Aguinaldo and his cabinet visited the town, and were welcomed with so much applause and enthusiastic cheering from the public. He proceeded to the convento which was served as the military headquarters at that time.
On May 4, 1899, Philippine revolutionary troops led by General
Antonio Luna
Antonio Narciso Luna de San Pedro y Novicio Ancheta (; October 29, 1866 – June 5, 1899) was a Filipino army general who fought in the Philippine–American War before his assassination in 1899.
Regarded as one of the fiercest generals of his ...
burned the ''casa municipal'', the town church and several houses to render them useless to the approaching American forces. On June 16, due to the strategic location of the town, Aguinaldo himself led Filipino forces in the Battle for San Fernando. The plan to retake the town proved unsuccessful. Calulut fell to the Americans on August 9.
On August 15, 1904, the Pampanga provincial government was finally transferred to San Fernando from Bacolor, by virtue of Act No. 1204 signed on July 22, 1904. This was during the term of Governor Macario Arnedo and Municipal President Juan Sengson. The town of
Minalin
Minalin, officially the Municipality of Minalin ( pam, Balen ning Minalin; fil, Bayan ng Minalin), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 48,380 people.
Original ...
became part of San Fernando that same year. It would regain its political independence in 1909.
On January 2, 1905, the town of
Santo Tomas Santo Tomás is Spanish for Saint Thomas.
Santo Tomas may also refer to:
Places
Argentina
* Santo Tomás, Buenos Aires, Carlos Casares Partido, Buenos Aires Province
* Santo Tomás, Neuquén
Colombia
* Santo Tomás, Atlantico
Cuba
...
was consolidated with San Fernando by virtue of Act 1208.
On August 12, 1904, U.S. Secretary of War
William H. Taft
William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...
visited the town to get first-hand information and gather ideas for the governance of Pampanga. Owing to the short notice, a bamboo pavilion was hastily constructed for his visit, where he was welcomed with a banquet for 200 people. Taft would later be elected President of the United States.
In 1921, the
Pampanga Sugar Development Company
The Pampanga Sugar Development Company built the first Filipino-financed sugar central in Pampanga, Philippines. It was incorporated in April, 1918.
The Pasudeco Sugar Central was finished in March, 1921, to serve as a central purchasing and pro ...
(PASUDECO) sugar central began its operations. The company was formed in 1918 by large-scale planters such as José de León, Augusto Gonzales,
Francisco Tongio Liongson
Francisco Tongio Liongson Sr. (December 3, 1869 – February 20, 1919) was a Filipino doctor and politician. He belonged to a generation of Philippine colonial subjects who struggled to evolve a national identity for their homeland in the fringe ...
, Tomás Lazatin, Tomás Consunji, Francisco Hizon, José Henson, and Manuel Urquico in the San Fernando residence of Governor Honorio Ventura as part of a plan to construct a locally financed ''central''.
In 1932, the
Socialist Party of the Philippines
The Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas-1930 (PKP-1930), also known as the Philippine Communist Party, is a communist party in the Philippines that was established on November 7, 1930. It uses the aforementioned appellation in order to distinguish i ...
was founded by
Pedro Abad Santos
Pedro Abad Santos y Basco (, ; 31 January 1876 – 15 January 1945) was a Filipinos, Filipino Marxism, Marxist politician. He founded the Partido Sosyalista ng Pilipinas (PSP) or Philippine Socialist Party in 1929. He ran for several local elect ...
. Two years later, he created and headed the
Aguman ding Maldang Talapagobra (AMT). The Abad Santos compound in Barangay San Jose became the focal point of the peasant movement.
On February 14, 1939, Philippine president
Manuel L. Quezon
Manuel Luis Quezon y Molina, (; 19 August 1878 – 1 August 1944), also known by his initials MLQ, was a Filipino lawyer, statesman, soldier and politician who served as president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1935 until his dea ...
proclaimed his social justice program before a gathering of farmers in front of the Municipal Government building.
In 1941, forces of the
Imperial Japanese Army
The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...
occupied the town and placed the municipal government under its supervision. The following year, thousands of Filipino and American
prisoners of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold priso ...
walked from Bataan to the San Fernando Train Station in what will be known as the
Bataan Death March
The Bataan Death March (Filipino: ''Martsa ng Kamatayan sa Bataan''; Spanish: ''Marcha de la muerte de Bataán'' ; Kapampangan: ''Martsa ning Kematayan quing Bataan''; Japanese: バターン死の行進, Hepburn: ''Batān Shi no Kōshin'') was ...
.
In 1952, the town of
Santo Tomas Santo Tomás is Spanish for Saint Thomas.
Santo Tomas may also refer to:
Places
Argentina
* Santo Tomás, Buenos Aires, Carlos Casares Partido, Buenos Aires Province
* Santo Tomás, Neuquén
Colombia
* Santo Tomás, Atlantico
Cuba
...
was separated from San Fernando.
In 1986, Paterno Guevarra was sworn in as officer-in-charge of the town after the successful People Power Revolution that toppled the Marcos dictatorship that same year. He was later elected municipal mayor.
In 1990, Philippine president
Corazon Aquino
Maria Corazon "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; ; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipina politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992. She was the most prominent figure of the 1986 People P ...
inaugurated the Paskuhan Village, the first Christmas village in Asia and the third of its kind in the world. The following year,
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 ...
erupted after over 600 years of dormancy hurling a layer of ash and volcanic debris on the town.
On October 1, 1995,
Typhoon Sibyl (Mameng) struck the town. It unleashed floodwaters and mudflows from Mount Pinatubo into the town. The Barangays of Santo Nino, San Juan, San Pedro Cutud and Magliman were severely damaged by lahar. The citizens of San Fernando rallied to save the town by raising funds to build the St. Ferdinand People's Dike. The Pampanga Megadike was constructed the following year, thus preventing further damage to the town.
[Henares, Ivan Anthony S. "A Brief History of San Fernando, Pampanga 1754–2004"]
Cityhood
On January 6, 1997, Mayor
Rey Aquino
Jesus Reynaldo “Rey” Bondoc Aquino, M.D. (born October 31, 1954) is a Filipino politician who is the last municipal Mayor of San Fernando and its first Mayor when it became a city. He also served as Congressman for the 3rd district of Pampan ...
and Senator
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal Arroyo (, born April 5, 1947), often referred to by her initials GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician serving as one of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines, House Deputy Spe ...
launched the campaign for cityhood. On April 27 of that same year, Rep.
Oscar Rodriguez filed House Bill No. 9267 creating the City of San Fernando.
In 2000, House Speaker
Arnulfo Fuentebella and Senate President
Aquilino Pimentel Jr.
Aquilino Quilinging Pimentel Jr. (, December 11, 1933 – October 20, 2019), commonly known as Nene Pimentel, was a Filipino politician and human rights lawyer who was one of the leading political opposition leaders during the regime of Ferdinan ...
signed the approved city charter of San Fernando on December 4 and 13 respectively.
The town officially became a component city on February 4, 2001, following the ratification of Republic Act 8990 in a plebiscite from the previous day, making it the 99th city in the Philippines. Rey Aquino was the city's first mayor.
Geography
Barangays
The City of San Fernando is politically subdivided into 35 barangays.
Climate
Demographics
Religions
![JfPacienciaChapelPGubat1071Candabafvf 17](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/JfPacienciaChapelPGubat1071Candabafvf_17.JPG)
The
Roman Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
is the majority religion in the city; 80% of the population profess it. The city is under the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Fernando
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Fernando ( lat, Archidioecesis Sancti Ferdinandi; fil, Arkidiyosesis ng San Fernando; es, Arquidiócesis de San Fernando; Kapampangan: ''Arkidiosesis ning San Fernando'') is the archdiocese of the Latin Chur ...
headed by
Florentino Lavarias
Florentino Galang Lavarias is a Filipino bishop of the Catholic church. He is the fourth and current archbishop of San Fernando. He succeeded Paciano Aniceto as the Archbishop of San Fernando. He had previously served as the fourth Bishop of Ib ...
. Other religion includes Protestantism and Independent Christianity.
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
is also evident in the city. The seat of the Archdiocese of San Fernando is located in the city, the
Metropolitan Cathedral of San Fernando.
Economy
Being at the heart of the province, the city of San Fernando is home to 2 public markets, 39 banks, 48 lending institutions (investors), 38 pawnshops, 17 gasoline stations, 3 cinemas, 39 public and private schools, 7 hospitals, 13 dental offices, 9 hotels, 28 drug stores, 7 discos, 6 foreign exchange firms, 15 garment factories, 24 groceries, 7 supermarkets, 42 insurance companies, 16 security agencies and 70 restaurants. As the provincial capital of Pampanga, San Fernando also hosts regional offices of major Philippine government offices.
SM City Pampanga
SM City Pampanga is a shopping mall owned and operated by SM Prime Holdings. It is located along the Jose Abad Santos Avenue (formerly Olongapo-Gapan Road) in San Fernando and Mexico in the province of Pampanga. It has a land area of and a tota ...
, the first SM mall in Central Luzon, is a large shopping mall owned by SM Supermalls. SM also has two other malls: SM City San Fernando Downtown, along Consunji Street in the downtown; and SM City Telabastagan, along MacArthur Highway in barangay Telabastagan.
Robinsons Starmills Pampanga or Robinsons Starmills, is a shopping mall owned and operated by
Robinsons Malls
Robinsons Malls is one of the List of shopping malls in the Philippines, largest shopping malls and retail operators in the Philippines. It was incorporated on September 9, 1997, by entrepreneur John Gokongwei, John Gokongwei Jr. to develop, c ...
, the second-largest mall operator in the
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 ...
. This is the first Robinsons mall in Central
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 ...
and in
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 ...
, and it rivals SM City Pampanga. The mall is along
Jose Abad Santos Avenue
Jose Abad Santos Avenue (JASA), also known as the Olongapo–Gapan Road and the Gapan–San Fernando–Olongapo Road, is a two-to-thirteen-lane major highway spanning the provinces of Bataan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, and Zambales in Central Luzon, ...
, at the boundary of San Fernando with the municipality of
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, and has a total floor area of .
Industries
![Pasudeco1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Pasudeco1.jpg)
San Fernando serves as one of the agricultural processing centers of Central Luzon. It is a major rice-producing region and an important sugar-producing area. The Pampanga Sugar Development Company (PASUDECO) was once the largest private employer in Pampanga. It is a major sugar-processing plant in the region. Other manufacturing companies with offices in the city include
Universal Robina
Universal Robina Corporation (URC) is a Philippine company based in Quezon City, Philippines. It is one of the largest food and beverage companies in the Philippines.
History
The precursor to Universal Robina Corporation (URC) was founded on ...
, Zuellig Pharma,
Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. (; ; ) is a Switzerland, Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other me ...
Philippines, Petrophil, Mondragon Industries,
JBTEC Flavors and Blends Inc. Asia Brewery
Asia Brewery, Inc. is a Philippines-based diversified beverage company owned by LT Group, Inc. (), a publicly listed holding company of Lucio Tan.
History
Asia Brewery, Inc. was established by Lucio Tan on January 27, 1982, with the inaugurati ...
, and
Del Monte Corporation
Del Monte Foods, Inc (trading as Del Monte Foods) is an American Food industry, food production and Food distribution, distribution company headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, Walnut Creek, California. Del Monte Foods is one of the co ...
. Major food and beverage companies such as
San Miguel Corporation
San Miguel Corporation, abbreviated as SMC, is a Philippine Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila. The company is one of the largest and most diversified congl ...
, Coca-Cola, Pepsi Cola, and Pampanga's Best, have factories in the city.
Every year during Christmas season, the city becomes the center of production of hand-made ''
parol
A parol (, , also written as paról or parul, from Spanish ''farol'', meaning ''lantern'') is a Filipino ornamental lantern displayed during the Christmas season. Parols are traditionally constructed using bamboo and Japanese paper, and are i ...
s'', which is different from the usual ones for its intricate designs and the illusion of dancing lights, emphasizing the lanterns' vibrant colors. Also, every year around Christmas time is the Giant Parol Festival, where barangays of San Fernando come together for a friendly competition to see which lanterns are the best. The festival itself is held in the middle of December, and is originally held in the town of Bacolor until it was transferred to the city in August 1904, in an event called the ''Ligligan Parol'' in the
Kapampangan language
Kapampangan or Pampangan is an Austronesian language, and one of the eight major languages of the Philippines. It is the primary and predominant language of the entire province of Pampanga and southern Tarlac, on the southern part of Luzon's c ...
, which many believe to have never happened in that year. Following the formal transfer of the festival to the city in 1908, the Giant Parol Festival went on to be a tradition that has evolved with lanterns becoming larger and larger and the designs more intricate. Since then, it became a symbol of the city's unity and the resident's labor.
Tourism
Festivals and local events
Places of interest
;Monumento Fernandino: The monument tells the fourfold aspect of the Fernandino story: a) the penitent girl with lantern, b) the lady with torch, c) the lady making the offering and d) the boatman. The February 4, 2004 (dedicated by Mayor Rey B. Aquino) Monumento Fernandino is a sculptural masterpiece that pays tribute to the city's colorful history and cultural heritage. Its artistic composition when seen from a distance would seem like a sprouting plant amidst a barren landscape.
;WOW Philippines Hilaga: Formerly known as
Paskuhan Village
The Paskuhan Village, officially known as the Philippine Christmas Village also known as Hilaga, is a Christmas-themed park located in San Fernando, Pampanga, Philippines. It is operational all year-round and is under the management of the Tourism ...
, located near the San Fernando exit of
North Luzon Expressway
The North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), signed as E1 of the Philippine expressway network, partially as N160 of the Philippine highway network, and R-8 of the Metro Manila arterial road network, is a limited-access toll expressway that connects M ...
(NLEX), WOW Philippines Hilaga was transformed into a cultural, historical, tourism, trade, and entertainment village by former Secretary Richard J. Gordon in 2003. Its design and concept make it a virtual window to the cultural and historical heritage of the four regions of the North Philippines as well as a showcase for their indigenous products, and arts and crafts. The star-shaped pavilions at the center pays tribute to the skilled lantern makers of San Fernando, Pampanga which produces the biggest lanterns in the world. The complex features a 1,000-seat capacity air-conditioned pavilion for conventions and special events, an open-air amphitheater for outdoor activities, air-conditioned exhibit halls, trade booths, garden restos and a 60-seat capacity conference hall.
;Pampanga Eye: Located in Sky Ranch Pampanga beside
SM City Pampanga
SM City Pampanga is a shopping mall owned and operated by SM Prime Holdings. It is located along the Jose Abad Santos Avenue (formerly Olongapo-Gapan Road) in San Fernando and Mexico in the province of Pampanga. It has a land area of and a tota ...
, this Ferris wheel is the tallest in the country with a height of height and a diameter of .
![Brenjf](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Brenjf.JPG)
;
Bren Z. Guiao Sports Complex and Convention Center
The Bren Z. Guiao Sports Complex and Convention Center is a sports complex located in San Fernando, Pampanga, Philippines. It is one of the home venues of the Pampanga Giant Lanterns that plays in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League
The ...
: It is a multi-purpose complex with imposing venues for concerts, convention, basketball games, beauty pageants and other sport activities. The 3,000-seat, air-conditioned convention center inside the complex is one of Pampanga's pride.
;Archdiocesan Museum and Archives: It is housed at the
University of the Assumption
The University of the Assumption (U.A.) is a private archdiocesan Catholic university in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga, Philippines. The University of the Assumption is the first Catholic archdiocesan university in the Philippines and in ...
, and includes antiques and exquisite works of art depicting Pampanga's rich cultural heritage. It contains numerous ecclesiastical artifacts ranging from a huge churchbell to paintings; ivory and wooden statues of all shapes and sizes, vestments worn by priests during Mass and chalices, monstrances, reliquaries and ciboriums made of gold, silver and precious gems, some dating back to the 17th century.
;Everybody's Cafe: As the province of Pampanga is regarded as the "Culinary Capital of the Philippines", the capital city of San Fernando is home to one of the oldest restaurants in the province - Everybody's Cafe. Located along McArthur Highway in Barangay Del Pilar, this iconic restaurant was built in 1946 by the Jorolan Family and is famous for exotic Kapampangan dishes such as betute (stuffed frogs), kamaru (crickets) and Pindang Damulag (carabao meat). Everybody's Cafe has been featured in international TV shows such as Discovery Travel and Living's Bizarre Foods by Andrew Zimmern and Bobby Chin's World Cafe Asia.
San Fernando Heritage District
The San Fernando Heritage District covers the historic core of San Fernando, including barangay Santo Rosario and parts of barangays San Jose (Panlumacan), Santa Teresita (Baritan), Lourdes (Teopaco), Del Pilar, Santa Lucia and Santo Niño. These important sites are broken down under Heritage Houses, Historic Government Buildings, Schools, and Hospitals, and Historic Industrial Structures and Sites
Churches and other religious structures:
*
Metropolitan Cathedral of San Fernando (in barangay Santo Rosario)
*
Church of San Vicente Ferrer (in barangay Calulut) – heavily damaged by renovations
*Virgen de los Remedios Church (Barangay Baliti) – damaged by recent renovations
*Jeosay Shinhongkong Temple (Barangay San Jose)
Heritage houses:
*
Hizon-Singian House (A. Consunji Street, Barangay Santo Rosario)
*
Henson-Hizon House (V. Tiomico Street, Barangay Santo Rosario)
*
Lazatin House
The Lazatin House is one of the two heritage houses owned by the Lazatin family in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga province in the Philippines.
History
The house was built in 1925 by the couple Serafin Lazatin y Ocampo, president of the San F ...
(A. Consunji Street, Barangay Santo Rosario)
*
Dayrit-Cuyugan House (MacArthur Highway, Barangay Dolores)
*
Consunji House
The Consunji House is a heritage house in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga province in the Philippines.
History
The house was the residence of Antonio E. Consunji, the ''gobernadorcillo'' of San Fernando in 1892. He was removed from office b ...
(A. Consunji Street, Barangay Santo Rosario)
*
Tabacalera House The Tabacalera House is a heritage house in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga in the Philippines.
Built by Tabacalera-owned by Don Ramon Lopez. The first floor of the house served as the office of La Tabacalera, the Compañía General de Tabacos ...
(A. Consunji Street, Barangay Santo Rosario)
*
Hizon-Ocampo House (A. Consunji Street, Barangay Santo Rosario)
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Santos-Hizon House (A. Consunji Street, Barangay Santo Rosario)
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Pampanga Hotel
The Pampanga Hotel is a heritage house in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga
San Fernando, officially the City of San Fernando ( pam, Lakanbalen ning Sampernandu; fil, Lungsod ng San Fernando), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal ...
(A. Consunji Street, Barangay Santo Rosario)
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Archdiocesan Chancery (A. Consunji Street, Barangay San Jose)
Historic government buildings, schools, and hospitals:
*
City Hall of San Fernando (A. Consunji Street, Barangay Santo Rosario)
*
Pampanga Provincial Capitol
The Pampanga Capitol is the seat of government of the province of Pampanga in the Philippines. The original building was constructed shortly after the provincial capital of Pampanga was transferred from Bacolor to San Fernando in 1904. Annexe ...
(Capitol Boulevard, Barangay Santo Niño)
*
Presidio
A presidio ( en, jail, fortification) was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire around between 16th century, 16th and 18th century, 18th centuries in areas in condition of their control or influence. The presidios of Captaincy Genera ...
(Artemio Macalino Street, Barangay Santo Niño)
*
Provincial High School Building (Capitol Boulevard, Barangay Santo Niño)
*
Pampanga High School
Pampanga National High School (also known as Pampanga High School, or PHS) is a high school in San Fernando, Pampanga, Philippines.
It was formerly known as Jose Abad Santos High School. The current main building was completed in 1935, follows S ...
Building (High School Boulevard, Barangay Lourdes)
*San Fernando Elementary School (B. Mendoza Street, Barangay Santo Rosario)
*Old St. Scholastica's Academy (Pedro Abad Santos Road, Barangay Santa Teresita)
*
Jose B. Lingad Memorial Regional Hospital
The Jose B. Lingad Memorial General Hospital is located in San Fernando, Pampanga, Philippines. It is a Level III tertiary, training and teaching hospital with 250 authorized beds as mandated by Republic Act (R.A.) 6780 enacted in 1990. The hos ...
(formerly Pampanga Provincial Hospital) (Barangay Dolores)
*Virgen de los Remedios Hospital (A. Consunji Street, Barangay San Jose)
Industrial heritage:
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San Fernando Train Station (Barangay Santo Niño)
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PASUDECO Sugar Central (Capitol Boulevard, Barangay Santo Niño)
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PASUDECO Staff Houses and Commissary (Capitol Boulevard, Barangay Santo Niño)
*San Fernando Water Reservoir (Barangay Lourdes)
*The Sugar Pugons (Greenville Subdivision and Barangay Quebiawan)
*Calulut Train Station (Barangay Calulut) – heavily damaged by informal settlers
*Baluyut Bridge (Gen. Hizon Avenue, Barangay Santo Rosario)
*The Arcaded Shop Buildings of Consunji Street - 1950s (Barangay Santo Rosario)
*Lantern Factories - Several lantern factories can be visited in Unisite Subdivision, Barangay Del Pilar, as well as in Barangays Santa Lucia, San Jose and Dolores.
Government
List of local chief executives
This is the list of the mayors of City of San Fernando.
Education
Colleges and universities
Vocational / Technical Schools
*TESDA PEO Training Center
*La Plata Science and Technology, Inc.
*Lorraine Computer & Technical School
*NorthPoint Academy for Culinary Arts - premiere culinary school in Pampanga
*Emmanual John Institute Of Science and Technology
*Gateways Institute of Science and Technology
Secondary schools
Media
The City of San Fernando has four TV stations - UBC Channel 12, Infomax Channel 44, Central Luzon Television Channel 36 (
CLTV36) and
ABS-CBN
ABS-CBN (an initialism of its two predecessors' names, Alto Broadcasting System and Chronicle Broadcasting Network) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast broadcast network, network tha ...
TV-46 Pampanga. There are three radio stations, the 5 Kilowatt
RW 95.1 FM of the
RadioWorld Broadcasting Corporation of the Philippines,
91.9 Bright FM, owned and Operated by
Archdiocese of San Fernando
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Fernando ( lat, Archidioecesis Sancti Ferdinandi; fil, Arkidiyosesis ng San Fernando; es, Arquidiócesis de San Fernando; Kapampangan: ''Arkidiosesis ning San Fernando'') is the archdiocese of the Latin Chu ...
and the 2.5 kilowatt
92.7 Brigada News FM Central Luzon of the
Brigada Mass Media Corporation
Brigada Mass Media Corporation (BMMC) is a newspaper company and media network in the Philippines. It is the first-ever local Tri-media organization to have emerged from the Soccsksargen area as a national network with its array of Brigada Ne ...
.
Several local newspapers are published in the city which includes SunStar Pampanga, The Probe, Coffee Punch, Pampanga Times and the Observer.
Notable personalities
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José Abad Santos
José Abad Santos y Basco (, ; February 19, 1886 – May 1, 1942) was the fifth chief justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. He briefly served as the acting president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines and acting commander-in-chie ...
, a former Chief Justice (featured in PHP1000 bill)
*
Nicolasa Dayrit, a revolutionary hero
*
Pedro Abad Santos
Pedro Abad Santos y Basco (, ; 31 January 1876 – 15 January 1945) was a Filipinos, Filipino Marxism, Marxist politician. He founded the Partido Sosyalista ng Pilipinas (PSP) or Philippine Socialist Party in 1929. He ran for several local elect ...
, a former assemblyman and founder of the
Aguman ding Talapagobra ning Pilipinas
*
Amando G. Dayrit, a renowned pre-war newspaper columnist
*
Vivencio Cuyugan, first Socialist mayor in the Philippines
*Conrado Dayrit, a cardiologist, virgin coconut oil proponent and President of the National Academy of Science and Technology (1992–1999)
*
Fernando H. Ocampo, a founder of the UST College of Architecture and Fine Arts
*
Zoilo Hilario, poet, playwright, lawmaker and linguist.
*
Vicente Abad Santos
Vicente Abad Santos (: 12 July 1916 – 30 December 1993) was a Filipino who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines.
Profile
Abad Santos was born in San Fernando, Pampanga, a city in Central Luzon to a single mot ...
, 39th
Secretary of the Department of Justice, 96th
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines
An associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines ( fil, Kasangguning Mahistrado ng Kataas-taasang Hukuman ng Pilipinas) is one of fifteen members of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, the highest court in the Philippines. The C ...
*
Sotero Baluyut
Sotero Julao Baluyut (born Sotero Baluyut y Julao; January 3, 1889 – January 6, 1975), also known as Sotero Baluyot, was a Filipino politician and engineer.
Biography
Sotero Julao Baluyut was born on January 3, 1889, in San Fernando, Pampan ...
,
a former senator and cabinet secretary
*
Honesto Ongtioco
Honesto Flores Ongtioco (born 17 October 1948) is a Filipino bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the first and only Bishop of Cubao, and also served as Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Malolos from May 12, 2018 to August 21, 2 ...
, first Bishop of the Diocese of Cubao, Quezon City and formerly the second Bishop of the Diocese of Balanga, Bataan.
*
Ruben Enaje
Ruben Enaje is a Filipino carpenter, sign painter, and former construction worker. He is noted for being crucified 33 times as of 2019.
He has been crucified every year from 1986 through 2019 on Good Friday; the COVID-19 pandemic required that h ...
, notable Filipino man made famous from crucifying himself in the name of God every year since 1985
*
Oscar Albayalde
Oscar David Albayalde (; born November 8, 1963) is a retired Filipino police officer who served as the Chief of the Philippine National Police from April 2018 until his optional retirement in October 2019.
Early life and education
Albayalde w ...
, Police officer who serves as the 22nd chief of the Philippine National Police.
*
Brillante Mendoza
Brillante "Dante" Mendoza (born 30 July 1960) is a Filipino independent filmmaker. Mendoza is known one of the key members associated with the Filipino New Wave.
Career
He was born and raised in San Fernando, Pampanga. He took advertising ...
, award-winning film director
Sister cities
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Angeles City
, anthem = Himno ning Angeles (Angeles Hymn)
, subdivision_type3 = District
, subdivision_name3 =
, established_title = Settled
, established_date = 1796
, established_title1 = Chartere ...
*
Mabalacat
Mabalacat, officially the City of Mabalacat ( pam, Lakanbalen ning Mabalacat; fil, Lungsod ng Mabalacat), is a 3rd class component city in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 293,244 people ...
References
External links
*
City of San Fernando, Pampanga Facebook Community Page*
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 ...
br>
Philippine Census InformationLocal Governance Performance Management System
{{Authority control
1754 establishments in the Philippines
Cities in Pampanga
Populated places established in 1754
Provincial capitals of the Philippines
Component cities in the Philippines