Angat, officially the Municipality of Angat ( tgl, Bayan ng Angat), 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 ...

in the

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

of Bulacan,

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 65,617 people.

Etymology

The Town of Angat got its name after the

Tagalog Tagalog may refer to: Language * Tagalog language, a language spoken in the Philippines ** Old Tagalog, an archaic form of the language ** Batangas Tagalog, a dialect of the language * Tagalog script, the writing system historically used for Taga ...

word ''Angat'' (A-ngat), meaning 'elevated' or 'a high piece of land'.

History

Angat was originally a part of the Old Pueblo de Quingua, now Municipality of Plaridel. This fact was due most probably to the situation of the Rio de Quingua Angat River, which directly connects the town of Quingua, a community then located in the center of vast lands, covering plains and mountains alike. Augustinian missionaries built a small ''visita'' (chapel) under the Parochial ministry of Paroquia de Santiago Matamoro de Quingua. In 1683 the ''visita'' of Angat made a Town Church and the whole Angat where established as a new Pueblo. Today, still stands and legible, is the inscription at the façade of her church with a Roman Numeral "MDCCXII" translated to "1727" a year indicating the date of the erection the Angat Church's present building.

Geography

The towns of San Rafael, Bulacan and Bustos, Bulacan bound the town of Angat on the North. On the East by the vast ''Sierra Madre Mountain Ranges'' -

Sierra Madre (Philippines) The Sierra Madre is the longest mountain range in the Philippines. Spanning over , it runs from the province of Cagayan down to the province of Quezon, forming a north–south direction on the eastern portion of Luzon, the largest island of th ...

, to its South by the towns of Norzagaray, Bulacan and Santa Maria, Bulacan. The municipality of Angat has hilly and mountainous landscape that nestles Angat River - (Bulacan River) which snakes around eleven provinces in the

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, ...

Region. Angat River's main basin of water resource is from ''Sierra Madre Mountain Range'' (the longest mountain range in the Philippines) 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 ...

island. During increment climate condition like continuous rainy days for days the water inundates to different river tributaries in its adjoining municipalities, as well as provinces through different rivers. To the southeast are 2 rivers: ''Santa Maria River'' of Santa Maria, Bulacan. ''Bunsuran River'' of

Pandi, Bulacan Pandi, officially the Municipality of Pandi ( tgl, Bayan ng Pandi), is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 155,115 people. The municipality of Pandi lies north ...

. ''Balagtas River'' of

Balagtas, Bulacan Balagtas, officially the Municipality of Balagtas ( tgl, Bayan ng Balagtas), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 77,018 people. With the continuous expansi ...

, and ''Bocaue River'' of Bocaue, Bulacan. Angat's mountainous and hilly area has abundance of trees that are source of timber and wood materials, and unfortunately become an area of

illegal logging Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission, or from a ...

. The mountainous areas, and lands close to the river shore, some of which are privately owned is rich in mineral deposit of

silica Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , most commonly found in nature as quartz and in various living organisms. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is ...

. The vast area around Angat River is very high source of rocks and pebbles used for construction and garden landscaping. Most areas have a very relaxing atmosphere of greenery seen in mountain heights and river shore lines where some fresh water fishes also multiplies. Angat was once part of the 3rd district along with Norzagaray from 1987 to 2022 when it was moved to 6th district along with Santa Maria and Norzagaray.

Climate

The prevailing climatic conditions in the municipality is categorized into two (2) types: Wet season (Rainy Season or Monsoon Season) and

Dry Season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The ...

(Summer Season).

Barangays

Angat is subdivided into 16

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 metropolita ...

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Angat, Bulacan, was 65,617 people, with a density of .

Religion

The people of Angat are mostly devout Catholics. Their patron saint is Saint Monica. It displays baroque architecture, with its interior replicating the Sistine Chapel, recently remodeled but preserving its old architecture. In 1983, the Parish of the town celebrated its Tricentennial Foundation. Today, Angat has already Three Catholic Parishes within the town — the Saint Paul the Apostle Parish in Barangay Niugan, the Santa Rita de Cascia Parish in Barangay Binagbag, and the Santa Monica Parish in Poblacion. Other religious groups include the Members Church of God International popularly known as Ang Dating Daan, Iglesia ni Cristo, and Jehovah's Witness,

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

Aglipayan , native_name_lang = fil , icon = Logo of the Philippine Independent Church (Aglipayan Church).svg , icon_width = 80px , icon_alt = Coat of arms of the Philippine Independent Church , image ...

Adventist Adventism is a branch of Protestant Christianity that believes in the imminent Second Coming (or the "Second Advent") of Jesus Christ. It originated in the 1830s in the United States during the Second Great Awakening when Baptist preacher W ...

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul c ...

s, Mormons. There also some

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestantism, Protestant Charismatic Christianity, Charismatic Christian movementCharismatic churches, ministries, fellowships and religious groups.

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

(

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

s) could also be found.

Economy

Government

Elected officials

List of former mayors

Education

Colegio de Sta Monica de Angat

The Angateños consider education as very important. It was the dream of many that there would be a Catholic school in Angat. This dream was realized in 1983 through the initiative and leadership of the founding members of the first Board of Trustees of Santa Monica Catholic School, Inc.: Bishop Cirilio R. Almario, Jr., Rev. Fr. Macario R. Manahan, Councilor Manuel C. De Guzman, Mrs. Angelita A. Cruz, Mr. Francisco C. Robles. Through a memorandum of agreement between the Ministry of Social Services and Development and the Parents' Committee, the Day Care Center became Santa Monica Catholic Learning Center. In 1985, the school was renamed Santa Monica Catholic School and given the permit to open and conduct Grade VI. The first batch of Grade VI graduates received their diplomas in March 1986. On March 27, 1987, the high school department was formally opened. A year later, the school's name was changed to Colegio de Santa Monica de Angat to reflect the town's Hispanic heritage. In the same year, the St. Joseph Building was inaugurated. The first batch graduated in March 1990. Today, the school's population and physical structure continues to grow.

Other school

Culture and Tourism

Town festivities and events

As a predominantly Roman Catholic Christian community, every barangay has their own unique way of celebrating fiestas in honor of their respective patron saint. In the town proper where the old beautiful church of Angat is located, the locals celebrate their fiesta every 4 May in honor of its patron St. Monica, mother of St. Augustine.

Tourist attractions

* Angat River * Heritage Houses * Santa Monica Church ( Santa Monica de Angat Church) *

Gawad Kalinga Gawad Kalinga (GK) ("to give care" in Tagalog) is a Philippine poverty alleviation and nation-building movement known officially as the Gawad Kalinga Community Development Foundation. Its mission is to end poverty for 5 million families by 2024. ...

(Enchanted Farm) * Fr. Blanco Museum (collection of flora de filipina)

Gallery

File:JfStaCruz711AngatPoblacionNorzagarayfvf.JPG, Angat Welcome Arch File:Angat Municipal Hall, Angat, Bulacan 2022.jpg, Angat Municipal Hall File:JfAngat0013Bulacanfvf 11.JPG, Santa Lucia Bridge (crossing the Angat River from the Municipality of Angat to the Municipality of Doña Remedios Trinidad) File:Angat Public Market in Bulacan.jpg, Angat Wet and Dry Public Market File:FvfMarungkoAngat0046 11.JPG, Villarama Park at Dr. Antonio C. Villarama Memorial School File:FvfNiuganChurchBul9281 13.JPG, San Pablo Apostol Parish Church File:FvfBinagbagAngatB0336 11.JPG, Santa Rita de Cascia Quasi-Parish Church File:FvfBulacanlandmarks0170 09.JPG, St. Joseph Sub-Parish Church File:FvfAngatBulacan5980 12.JPG, Veterans Federation of the Philippines marker for the World War II Veterans - Angat Chapter File:Angatover3jf.JPG, Overlooking view of Angat quarry and

File:Angatover77jf.JPG, Angat River from overlooking view

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 ...

Philippine Census Information

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