Anao, officially the Municipality of Anao (; ; ; ), is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the

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

Tarlac Tarlac, officially the Province of Tarlac (; ; ; ; ), is a landlocked Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Regions of the Philippines, region. It had a population of 1,503,456 people according to ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 12,208 people, making it the least populated municipality in the province. Formerly a part of Pangasinan province, Anao was founded and organized into a municipality on March 16, 1870. Every year on March 16, the foundation of the town is celebrated along with the Ylang-Ylang Festival.

History

The area where Anao is located was inhabited before 1800 by people from the

Ilocos Region The Ilocos Region (; ; ), designated as Region I, is an Region of the Philippines, administrative region of the Philippines. Located in the northwestern section of Luzon, it is bordered by the Cordillera Administrative Region to the east, the Ca ...

. In 1835, a group of immigrants from

Paoay, Ilocos Norte Paoay, officially the Municipality of Paoay (; ), is a municipality in the province of Ilocos Norte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 25,001 people. History In 1701, Paoay was established as a municipality by vi ...

reached the region and first settled near a creek on the bank where there were balete trees. These immigrants called their settlement Balete. The immigrants found the region where they settled to have many agricultural prospects and this attracted more immigrants who came from the north, especially from the town of Paoay. The settlement expanded and later changed its name to "''Barrio Anao''" (deriving authentically from the Ilocano word ''danao'' which means ''creek'' and due to the anahao leaf that grows in various area they derive the name Anao). By that time, balete trees were extinguished and the

barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city delimited by functional (e.g. residential, comm ...

was adjacent in all directions by creeks. Paniqui had a road extended towards the east to Anao. Paniqui claimed Anao as its barrio and the people of the barrio accepted the claim. Years went by and Anao expanded. In 1870, a petition was made and approved that Anao be made a municipality.

Geography

The smallest town in terms of land area in the whole of Tarlac, Anao covers a total land area of . Anao is from

Tarlac City Tarlac City, officially the City of Tarlac (; ; ; ), is a component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Tarlac, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 385,398 people, making it the most p ...

and from

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

. Located in the north-eastern part of Tarlac, it is bound on the north by San Manuel, on the east by Nampicuan, on the south by Ramos, on the west by Paniqui, and Moncada.

Barangays

Anao is politically subdivided into 18

barangay The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...

s, as shown below. Each barangay consists of

purok A ''purok'' () is an informal division within a barangay in the Philippines. While not officially considered a local government unit (LGU), a ''purok'' often serves as a unit for delivering services and administration within a barangay. ''Pur ...

s and some have

sitios A ''sitio'' (Spanish language, 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 bar ...

. * Baguindoc (Baguinloc) * Bantog * Campos * Carmen * Casili * Don Ramon * Hernando *

Poblacion ''Poblacion'' (from Spanish '' población'', meaning "population"), sometimes abbreviated as Pob., is a term used in the Philippines to refer to the administrative center, downtown, old town, or commercial area of a city or municipality. It ...

* Rizal * San Francisco East * San Francisco West * San Jose North * San Jose South * San Juan * San Roque * Santo Domingo * Sinense * Suaverdez

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Anao, Tarlac, was 12,208 people, with a density of .

Languages

Anao is predominantly an Ilocano-speaking town although most are fluent in Tagalog. Other languages like

Kapampangan Kapampangan, Capampañgan or Pampangan may refer to: *Kapampangan people, of the Philippines *Kapampangan language Kapampangan, Capampáñgan, or Pampangan, is an Austronesian language, and one of the eight major languages of the Philippines. ...

and

Pangasinan Pangasinan, officially the Province of Pangasinan (, ; ; ), is a coastal Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region of Luzon. Its capital is Lingayen, Pangasinan, Lingayen while San Carlos, Pangasi ...

are also spoken by most of the population.

Religion

Aglipayan and

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 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

are two of the predominant religions in the municipality. Other groups having a large number of members in the municipality are

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

Iglesia ni Cristo The (INC; ; ) is an independent Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, church founded in 1913 and registered by Felix Manalo, Félix Manalo in 1914 as a corporation sole, sole religious corporation ...

, and

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

Economy

Government

Past mayors

Tourism

The Saint John Nepomucene Parish Church of Anao can be found on the center of the town near the municipal hall. It belongs to the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Tarlac The Roman Catholic Diocese of Tarlac () is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church comprising the whole civil province of Tarlac (except Camp Servillano Aquino in San Miguel, Tarlac City, which belongs to the Military Ordinariate) in the Philippin ...

. The Ylang Ylang Festival is celebrated by the municipality every 16 March to take pride of their main local products, which are perfumes and essentials oils made from the

ylang-ylang ''Cananga odorata'', known as ylang-ylang ( ) or cananga tree, is a tropical tree that is native to the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Queensland, Australia. It is also native to parts of Thailand and Vie ...

flower. The town has over 10,000 ylang-ylang trees, many of them lined on the local main road, which are harvested and highly valued for its perfume.

Gallery

File:AnaoChurchjf5298 05.JPG, Saint John Nepomucene Parish Church of Anao File:Anao,Tarlacjf5341 07.JPG,

Ylang-ylang ''Cananga odorata'', known as ylang-ylang ( ) or cananga tree, is a tropical tree that is native to the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Queensland, Australia. It is also native to parts of Thailand and Vie ...

trees line all the streets File:Anao,Tarlacjf5273 01.JPG, Multi Purpose Covered Court File:Anao,Tarlacjf5226 08.JPG, Iglesia Filipina Independiente Church File:Anao,Tarlacjf5253 10.JPG, Anao Municipal Building File:Anao,Tarlacjf5207 07.JPG, Municipal Open Field File:Anao,Tarlacjf5216 09.JPG, Municipal Auditorium File:Welcome to bantog2.jpg, Barangay Bantog ARC File:05839jfOld Anao Tarlac Roads Highways Nampicuan Nueva Ecijafvf 31.JPG, Anao, Welcome ARC at Barangay San Francisco West

References

External links

Anao Municipal Government Website

Anao town
* Philippine Standard Geographic Code
Philippine Census Information

Local Governance Performance Management System
{{Authority control Municipalities of Tarlac