Masantol, officially the Municipality of Masantol ( pam, Balen ning Masantol; tgl, Bayan ng Masantol), is a 2nd 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 state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

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 57,990 people.

Etymology

The municipality is named after the santol trees that used to grow abundantly in the area. The reason is either because there was a proliferation of santol trees in the area, or because the town was where santol fruits were heavily bartered (Kapampangans being fond of 'sinigang' dish). A legend of how the town got its name goes like this: 'A Spanish missionary came to the town for the first time. Upon reaching a roadside corner store, he parked his horse-driven vehicle and inquired from the store keeper the name of the place. A middle-aged woman vendor, believing that the Spanish priest was asking for the name of the fruits she was selling, readily responded in broken Spanish language, ''Padre, todos dulce Masantol.'' The priest took from his pocket a pencil and a small diary and wrote down the word ''mas santol,'' referring to the name of the place he has visited. At the time, the locality abounded with santol trees, and santol fruits were in season when the priest visited the place.

History

San Miguel de Masantol May 1, 1878

Originally named San Miguel de Masantol and a part of the town of

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 ...

, three of the town's leading patriarchs - Manuel Fajardo, Gregorio Bautista, and Juan Lacap - filed a motion on June 26, 1877, to separate the barrios of Bebe, Bulacus, Caingin and Nigui from Macabebe thereby creating a new Spanish

pueblo In the Southwestern United States, Pueblo (capitalized) refers to the Native tribes of Puebloans having fixed-location communities with permanent buildings which also are called pueblos (lowercased). The Spanish explorers of northern New Spain ...

called San Miguel. This new pueblo was approved by Spanish Governor General Domingo Moriones y Murillo and was inaugurated on May 1, 1878. On November 30, 1893, the Catholic Parish of San Miguel was formally acknowledged through a Royal Decree. For a while it came to be known San Miguel Masantol, until popular usage reverted it to the original name.

Balen ning Masantol 1907

On July 26, 1904, Masantol once more became part of Macabebe. However, in 1907, Masantol was again reinstated as a separate independent municipality and this lasted up to the present.

The Battle of Bangkusay Channel The Ruler of Macabebe

Tarik Sulayman Tarik Sulayman, also spelled Tarik Soliman (from Arabic طارق سليمان ''Tāriq Sulaiman''), is the most popular of several names attributed by Kapampangan historians to the individual that led the forces of Macabebe against the Spanish fo ...

Bambalino / Bankau or for some Historians the Unnamed ruler of Macabebe was the indigenous leader of Macabebe from the "Masantol area", who refused to ally with the Spaniards and therefore mounted an attack against the Spanish forces of Miguel López de Legazpi during the Battle of Bangkusay Channel on June 3, 1571. The Joint Force of Macabebe, Calumpit, Hagonoy and Maynila "Old Rajahnate of Maynila under Rajah Sulayman III / Rajah Mura/Muda of Manila" were defeated, by the Joint Force of Spanish Armada and Tagalog mercenaries and Tarik Sulayman himself was killed in the Battle, and Consequently, this victory enabled the Spaniards to establish themselves throughout the city "Territory of Kingdom of Tondo" and its neighboring Kingdoms and towns.

Tragedy

On January 7, 2008, one person drowned, another missing and 40 others were injured due to electric shocks, when a live cable hit the floating

pagoda A pagoda is an Asian tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist but sometimes Taoist, ...

boat in the fluvial festival of Virgen La Purisima Concepcion at Barangay Alauli.chinapost.com.tw, ''One drowns, 40 injured in Philippine boat mishap''
/ref>

Geography

Masantol is almost surrounded by the municipality of

(For it was once a former part of the town). It is known to be the southernmost town in the province of Pampanga. It is bounded to the north by the municipality of Macabebe; to the east by the municipalities of

Calumpit Calumpit, officially the Municipality of Calumpit ( tgl, Bayan ng Calumpit), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 118,471 people. Etymology The name "''Calu ...

and Hagonoy in

Bulacan Bulacan, officially the Province of Bulacan ( tl, Lalawigan ng Bulacan), is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the city of Malolos. Bulacan was established on August 15, 1578, and part of the Me ...

; to the west by Macabebe; and to the south by some parts of Macabebe 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 Phi ...

Climate

Barangays

Masantol is politically subdivided into 26

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 ...

s and 2 independent/dependent

sitio A ''sitio'' (Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own barangay if its popul ...

s. Sitios: * Bebe Arabia * Sagrada 2 (sagrada dos)

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Masantol, Pampanga, was 57,990 people, with a density of .

Religion

The majority of the population are members of the Catholic church and each village or barangay has its own fiesta. The main

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

parish church of the town is the San Miguel Parish Church in Barangay San Nicolas, established in the late 20th century. * 80% One Holy Apostolic Catholic Church (Christian) (Roman rite) * 19% Evangelical, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Jesus Is Lord Church, Protestant etc. (Christian Denomination) * 0.07% Iglesia Ni Cristo * 0.20% Islam (Sunni, Shia) * 0.10% others/non-believers/atheist

Economy

Festivals

* Batalla San Miguel Arkangel (Apung Igue) - May 8, All Masantolenos * Battalla Santo Niño - every last Sunday of January. - Barangay Santo Nino * Batalla Santa Monica - May 4. - Barangay Santa Monica Caingin * Batalla San Roque de Montpelier (Apung Duque) - August 15,16,17 Sittio Bebe Arabia, Barangay Bebe Anac * Batalla San Roque (Apung Duque) - 3rd or 4th Sunday of April - Sittio Bebe Arabia, Barangay Bebe Anac, Barangay Bebe Matua * Batalla San Roque de Montpelier (Apung Duque) - August 15,16,17 Barangay Bebe Matua * Fiesta de San Nicolas (Apung Culas) - May 12 and September 10 - Barangay San Nicolas * Feast of The HOLY ROSARY - every 2nd Saturday of October in BULACUS MASANTOL * Batalla de Santa Lucia (Apung Lucia) - December 13 of the year. - Barangay Santa Lucia Wakas, Matua, Anac * Batalla de San Agustin (Apung Gustin)- August 28 Barangay San Agustin Caingin * Limbun at Libad or Labas Larawan (Celebration of the Saints) in each barrio/barangay celebrating their patron saint for ones a week in January.

Education

Masantol is home to several primary, secondary, Vocational and Collage School among them are: * Pampanga institute (Collage) * TESDA Vocational Training Center (Under the Municipality support) * San Miguel Academy Semi-Catholic School (Christian School) (Junior/Siñor High School) * Holy Child of Mary Academy Semi-Catholic School (Christian School) (Junior/Siñor High School) * Pampanga Institute (Junior/Siñor High School) 1st high school institution in town of Masantol * Masantol Central High School (Siñor High) * Masantol National High School (Junior High) (fmr. Santa Lucia High School) * Masantol High School Annex (Junior High) (Tarik Suliman High School) * Masantol High School Annex (Junior High) (Malauli High School) * St. Michael The Archangel Archdiocesan Parochial School Exclusive Catholic School (Masantol Parochial School) * Masantol Elementary School (Masantol Central Elementary School) * Bagang Elem. School * Caingin Elem. School * Palimpe Elem. School * Bebe Anac Elem. School * Bebe Matua Elem School * Puti Elem. School * Sagrada Elem. School * Sua Elem. School * San Isidro Elem. School * Balibago Elem. School * SantaLucia elem school * Alauli Elem School * San Pedro Elem School * Santa Cruz Main Elem School * Santa Cruz (Annex) Elem School * San Nicolas Elem School * Bagang Elem School * Balibago Elem School * Nigui Elem School

Gallery

File:Masantol33jfg.JPG, Town hall File:MasantolPampangajfvvMasantolPampangajf.JPG, Covered court and 1878 Masantol Monument File:Churchmasantoljf.JPG, St. Michael the Archangel Parish Church File:Masantoljf7.JPG, Public Market File:MasantolPampangajfgg.JPG, Holy Child of Mary College

References

External links

Masantol Profile at PhilAtlas.com
* Philippine Standard Geographic Codebr>Philippine Census InformationLocal Governance Performance Management System
{{Authority control Municipalities of Pampanga Populated places on the Pampanga River