Floridablanca, Pampanga

Floridablanca, officially the Municipality of Floridablanca ( pam, Balen ning Floridablanca; fil, Bayan ng Floridablanca) is a 1st class municipality in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 135,542 people. Floridablanca is a part of the province of the Pampanga located in Central Luzon lying north of Dinalupihan, Bataan and south-southwest of San Fernando, Pampanga.

History

Floridablanca was founded in 1823 at the site of a monastery. In the 1920s, the Pampanga Sugar Mill was built at Del Carmen in the 1920s. The area was the site of military bases of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and the Philippine Constabulary from 1942 to 1946. The Philippine Air Force established Basa Air Base at a former American military airfield in 1947.

Geography

Floridablanca is located on the western part of Pampanga along the Zambales mountain ranges and is bounded by the municipalities of Porac on the north, Lubao on the south, Guagua on the east, and Dinalupihan, Bataan on the west. It is from the city of San Fernando and from Manila. The town is at an elevation of above sea level. Floridablanca is north of Dinalupihan, Bataan via Dinalupihan-Floridablanca Access Road at the Bataan-Pampanga boundary line.

With an area of , it is the third largest municipality in the province, after Porac and Candaba.

Barangays

Floridablanca is politically subdivided into 33 barangays:

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Floridablanca, Pampanga, was 135,542 people, with a density of .

Economy

Floridablanca is the second largest producer of rice in the province. It produces more than enough rice to meet its needs resulting in a surplus. In 1999, only 37.76% of its produce was used for its own rice requirement resulting in a surplus of 65.24% equivalent to 17,553 metric tons.

Government

Like other towns in the Philippines, Floridablanca is governed by a mayor and vice mayor who are elected to three-year terms. The mayor is the executive head and leads the town's departments in executing the ordinances and improving public services. The vice mayor heads a legislative council (Sangguniang Bayan) consisting of councilors from the Barangays of Barrios.

List of municipal leaders

Capitan Municipal
* 1897 – Don Gerónimo Romero Dinio
* 1898 – Don Cecilio Alvendia
* 1899 – Don Alejandro Ramos

Municipal Presidents
* 1900–1902 – Don Gerónimo Romero Dinio
* 1903–1905 – Don Alejandro Ramos
* 1906–1908 – Don Gregorio Panlaqui
* 1909–1911 – Don León Gutiérrez
* 1911 – Don Arcadio Ramírez
* 1912–1917 – Don Martin Sundiam
* 1918–1922 – Don José O. Dinio
* 1923–1925 – Don Isidoro Alvendia
* 1926–1931 – Don Roberto Nuguid
* 1932–1937 – Don Camilo Ocampo

Municipal Mayors
* 1938–1940 – Geronimo Dinio Coronel
* 1941 – Benigno Layug
* 1942–1943 – Francisco Vargas
* 1943–1944 – Fidel Pekson
* 1944 – Leandro Garcia
* 1945 – Benigno Layug
* 1945 – Dr. Vicente Chincuanco
* 1945–1946 – Mariano Macabulos
* 1946–1947 – Arsenio T. Isip
* 1948–1951 – Mariano Macabulos
* 1951–1955 – Dominador Diyco Songco
* 1956–1959 – Atty. Marcelo Dungca Mendiola
* 1960–1967 – Dominador Diyco Songco
* 1968–1971 – Jose Dungca Mendiola
* 1972–1986 – Pedro Manuel Capulong
* 1986–1992 – Tito Morales Mendiola
* 1992–2001 – Pedro Manuel Capulong
* 2001–2004 – Joerey Montemayor
* 2004–2007 – Darwin Manalansan
* 2007–2016 – Eduardo Guerrero
* 2016–present – Darwin Manalansan

Tourism

Aside from Basa Air Base, the town has cultural treasures and interesting points.
* 1887 San Jose Obrero Parish Church: the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Fernando exercises jurisdiction over the Heritage Church.
* Bahay na Puti (Alvendia House): the Justice Carmelino Alvendia, Sr. ancestral mansion is owned, preserved and maintained by his family.

Notable personalities

* Leandro Coronel, news reporter/columnist and book author
* Dante Rivero, movie actor
* Jillian Ward, actress
* Jessica Rose McEwen, model and beauty queen
* Justice Carmelino Alvendia, Sr.
* Reynaldo Vitug Reyes, a native of Maligaya, Floridablanca a Major General of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) and known as the first Floridablancan Air Force General
*Rhea Santos, newsreader from GMA and OMNI

Gallery

File:Dbasaairbasejf.JPG, Basa Air Base Main Gate
File:Floridablancapampangajfhh.JPG, Façade of the Saint Joseph the Worker Parish Church
File:Floridablancapampangajfa.JPG, The heritage house of the town
File:Floridablancapampangajfg.JPG, Public market

References

External links

Floridablanca Profile at PhilAtlas.comOfficial site
* Philippine Standard Geographic Codebr>Philippine Census InformationLocal Governance Performance Management System

{{Authority control

Municipalities of Pampanga
Populated places established in 1867
1967 establishments in the Philippines