Anda, officially the Municipality of Anda (

Bolinao Bolinao, officially the Municipality of Bolinao ( Bolinao: ''Babali nin Bolinao;'' ; ; ), is a municipality in the province of Pangasinan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 83,979 people. Sea urchins are regula ...

: Babali nin Anda; ; ; ), 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

. Once a part of the municipality of

, the town consists of a group of islands on the northwest portion of the Lingayen Gulf. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 41,548 people.

History

Before the middle of the nineteenth century, the islands that compose the municipality were uninhabited. Only occasionally did seafarers and fishermen use the coast as safe havens. Andres de la Cruz Cacho, fondly called in Bolinao as Andales Kulayo, discovered a vast tract of land suitable for grazing and fertile lowlands, and an abundant spring for agriculture. It was he who brought families from the town of Bolinao aboard a big boat and dispersed them on the island of Cabarruyan in 1842. The settlers rapidly spread across the island. On May 10, 1842, the pioneers landed on what is now the barrio of Dolaoan, put up a settlement, and chose San Miguel Arcangel as their patron saint. On May 25, 1842, they established Carot and Cabungan, with Santa Lucia as the common patroness of the two settlements. Later, on June 01, 1842, Tondol was founded. Sablig and Macaleeng were settled later that month. No family was willing to stay in Toritori at the time and so the place was bypassed. The settlers proceeded to Awile and Aruab (now Roxas) and by early July, they have established settlements in the area. By August, Mal-Ong, Awag, Santa Rita, and San Nicolas were established. Within a period of only four months - from May to August 1842 - the whole island of Cabarruyan was populated. A steady stream of settlers followed the first pioneers and soon within a few years, the population was large enough to form a municipality. In January 1849, a conference of leaders was called by Don Pablo Cacho Valerio through his son Don Domingo with the end in view to establish a new town. The leaders drafted a petition for the creation of a new town and sent copies to Don Jose Sanchez y Guerrero, the then Alcalde at Iba, Zambales and to the Archbishop of Manila on March 15, 1849. On May 26, 1849, the Alcalde brought the reply granting the petition. Accompanied by the Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Juan Migrano, Capitan Felipe Cacho Valerio, and other municipal officials of Bolinao, the Alcalde came to Cabarruyan to choose a suitable location for the town site. They agreed on Segat in the center of the island which is now known as Namagbagan. The site for the plaza, church, town hall, convent, cemetery, and streets were laid out on January 20, 1850, by order of the Alcalde.

Geography

The Municipality of Anda consists primarily of Cabarruyan Island (also known as Anda Island), as well as minor surrounding islets. Because of Anda's proximity near the Hundred Islands, a popular tourist destination for its caves and beaches, it is the so-called "Mother of the Hundred Islands." Anda is situated from the provincial capital

Lingayen Lingayen, officially the Municipality of Lingayen (; ; ; ), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality and capital of the Philippine Province, province of Pangasinan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 10 ...

, and from the country's capital city of

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 ...

Barangays

Anda 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. 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 ...

. * Awile * Awag * Batiarao * Cabungan * Carot * Dolaoan * Imbo * Macaleeng * Macando-candong * Mal-ong * Namagbagan * Poblacion * Roxas * Sablig * San Jose * Siapar * Tondol * Tori-tori

Climate

Demographics

Language

The people of Anda generally speak

, and Ilocano. Unique in this part of the province, the Sambalic language of Bolinao or Binubolinao is primarily spoken in the municipality and the adjacent town of Bolinao.

Economy

The town thrives on

farming Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and deep-sea

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

. In the past, progress in the town was sluggish due to its dependence to a landing barge to cross the Catubig Channel separating Anda to mainland Bolinao. In 1996, trade has increased due to a bridge connecting the municipality to the mainland. This bridge, known as Anda Bridge, was sponsored and inaugurated by then President

Fidel V. Ramos Fidel Valdez Ramos (; March 18, 1928 – July 31, 2022), popularly known as FVR, was a Filipino general and politician who served as the 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He was the only career military officer to reached ...

, who hails from Pangasinan. Main roads have been concreted for faster access to the barangays, especially tourism related places.

Government

Local government

Anda, belonging to the first congressional district of the province of

, is governed by a mayor designated as its local chief executive and by a municipal council as its legislative body in accordance with the Local Government Code. The mayor, vice mayor, and the councilors are elected directly by the people through an election which is being held every three years.

Elected officials

Transportation

The town is accessible through land transportation. Two main bus companies serve commuters to and from Anda to Manila or neighboring towns and cities. These are Dagupan Bus Co., Inc.and Pangasinan Five Star Bus Co. Mini buses and jeepneys are also available for commuters going to neighboring towns and cities, like Alaminos and Dagupan.

Fossil Finds

In the year 2000, fossils were found in barangay San Jose and barangay Awile. Fossils in barangay Awile were found only a few centimeters from the surface due to extensive erosion in the area. In San Jose, the fossils were discovered 3 meters from the ground surface. Most of the fossils were found in clay layer with limestone rubbles. Among the faunal fossils discovered were from Stegodon sp., Elephas sp (large)., Elephas beyeri Von Koenigsvald (dwarf), Rhinoceros philippinensis, Cerpis sp. and Bovid sp.

Education

The Anda Schools District Office governs all educational institutions within the municipality. It oversees the management and operations of all private and public elementary and high schools.

Primary and elementary schools

* Anda Central UMC Kiddie Learning Center * Aruab Elementary School * Awile Elementary School * Batiarao Elementary School * Cabungan Elementary School * Caniogan Elementary School * Carot Elementary School * Dolaoan Elementary School * Imbo Elementary School * Macaleeng Elementary School * Macandocandong Elementary School * Mal-Ong Elementary School * Marempey Elementary School * Namagbagan Elementary School * Sablig Elementary School * San Jose Elementary School * San Nicolas Elementary School * Seaside Bible Baptist Learning Center of Anda * Siapar Integrated * St. Nicholas Catholic School of Anda * Tondol Elementary School * Toritori Elementary School

Secondary schools

* Anda Integrated School * Anda National High School * Awag Integrated School * Cabungan National High School * Carot National High School * Macaleeng National High School * San Jose National High School (Anda) * Tondol National High School

Higher educational institution

* Asbury College