Bauan, officially the Municipality of Bauan (), 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 ...

Batangas Batangas, officially the Province of Batangas ( ), is a first class province of the Philippines located in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Calabarzon region. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 2,908,494 people, making ...

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 90,819 people.

Etymology

Bauan derived its name from the following Tagalog words: * ''bauang'' that means "a close or concealed and rugged mountains;" or * ''bawang'' that translates to

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plants in the genus '' Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chives, Welsh onion, and Chinese onion. Garlic is native to central and south Asia, str ...

that farmers were planting near

Taal Lake Taal Lake (, ), formerly known as Bombón Lake, is a fresh water Volcanic crater lake, caldera lake in the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Batangas, on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. The lake fills Taal Volcano, a large volc ...

when they were asked by a Spanish official about the name of the place, not what they were planting as they thought to be Since then, the place's name was registered as Bauang, which was later renamed to Bauan.

History

Bauan is formerly a barrio part of Taal. The Augustinian church of Bauan was founded as a ''visita'' (small chapel without a resident priest) in 1590 on the slopes of Mount Macolod, along

's southern shore. The resident priest of Taal, Father Diego de Avila would visit periodically and attend to the spiritual needs of the settlement. Six years after the establishment of the ecclesiastical mission of Bauan, a giant cross made of anubing was found in a Diñgin (a place of worship) near the town of Alitagtag. In 1790, Castro y Amoedo found a Tagalog document in the Bauan Cathedral Archives, signed by ''25 Indio elders'', stating the cross was made around 1595, as protection from ghosts surrounding the Tolo fountain. Subsequent miracles were associated with this cross. On May 3, the tall cross was brought to the Chapel of Alitagtag. A golden sun, with a human face, and radiating rays was added, while the devout would cut away pieces of the cross to make

talisman A talisman is any object ascribed with religious or magical powers intended to protect, heal, or harm individuals for whom they are made. Talismans are often portable objects carried on someone in a variety of ways, but can also be installed perm ...

replicas. The elders also thought the cross protected the town from pestilence, locusts, drought, volcanic eruptions, and Moro pirates. Today, the traditional folk dance of Bauan, subli, is a religious homage to the Cross of Alitagtag. The dance is performed at a ''sambahan'' (place of worship), two of which are natural

grotto A grotto or grot is a natural or artificial cave or covered recess. Naturally occurring grottoes are often small caves near water that are usually flooded or often flooded at high tide. Sometimes, artificial grottoes are used as garden fea ...

s along the shore of Taal Lake, and one of which is called Diñgin. Bauan became an independent parish on May 12, 1596, but was re-annexed to Taal, its ''matriz'' (mother town), because of too few ''tributos'' (taxpayers). Due to

Taal Volcano Taal Volcano (; ) is a large caldera filled by Taal Lake in the Philippines. Located in the province of Batangas about south of Manila, the volcano is the second most List of active volcanoes in the Philippines, active volcano in the country ...

eruptions, the town moved to Durungao (lookout point), led by Father Jose Rodriguez, in 1662. The town moved again in 1671 to Loual, along Taal's ''Seno de Bauan''. An earthquake struck the town in 1677. In 1689, Father Nicolas de Rivera helped the town build its third church. In 1690, Father Rivera, with the help of the Taal parish priest Father Simon Martinez, moved the town to the seaside, its present location. However, a typhoon destroyed the church in 1692. A fourth stone church was built from 1695 to 1710. The current church was built in 1762 by Father Jose Victoria and Don Juan Bandino. A fort was built in 1775 to protect the town from Moro raids. Fr. Jose Vitoria introduced the cultivation of indigo in Bauan while building the present church. This was continued until 1856 during the administrations of Fr. Jose Trevino and Fr. Hipolito Huerta. It was completed under the supervision of Fr. Felipe Bravo in 1881. From there until 1894, final decorations were supervised by Fr. Moises Santos and Fr. Felipe Garcia. The church is said to be the most artistically built in the province of

during that time. Father Bravo was also an imminent botanist who put up a museum of natural history and collected rare books that were lost when the church was razed by fire during the

Philippine revolution The Philippine Revolution ( or ; or ) was a war of independence waged by the revolutionary organization Katipunan against the Spanish Empire from 1896 to 1898. It was the culmination of the 333-year History of the Philippines (1565–1898), ...

against Spain in 1898. The church was probably rebuilt and again destroyed by fire in 1938. It has been restored since then. The town of Bauan used to encompass a much more extensive area. However, throughout history, chunks of Bauan have been converted into municipalities; San Jose in 1765, Alitagtag in 1910, Mabini in 1918, Tingloy in 1955, and San Pascual in 1969. In March 2019, the Black Nazarene visited the church to help funds for rebuilding after the church was damaged in the 2017 Batangas earthquakes.

Geography

Bauan is one of the lowland towns of central Batangas that hosts some mountains and hills, with the tallest; Mount Durungao. It also has beach resorts with Sampaguita Beach in barangay Sampaguita in the western part of the town considered one of the more notable ones. The town is bounded by the municipality of San Luis to the north, the municipality of San Pascual to the east, and the municipality of Mabini to the south/southwest. It is also bordered by Balayan Bay to the west and Batangas Bay to the southeast. Vehicles can access the municipality coming from those towns by way of large thoroughfares such as the Palico-Balayan-Batangas Road, the Bauan-Mabini Road and Makalintal Avenue. Bauan is from Batangas City 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 ...

. According to the

Philippine Statistics Authority The Philippine Statistics Authority (; PSA) is the central statistical authority of the Philippine government that collects, compiles, analyzes, and publishes statistical information on economic, social, demographic, political affairs, and gene ...

, the municipality has a land area of constituting of the total area of Batangas.

Barangays

Bauan is politically subdivided into 40

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 indicated in the matrix 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 ...

. Barangay San Teodoro was created in 1953 from the ''

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 popu ...

'' of Pook ng Buhangin from Barrio Ilat and the sitio of Cupang from Barrio Gelerang Kawayan. In 1954, the sitio of Jipit in the barrio of San Antonio was converted into the barrio of Santo Niño, while the sitio of Pook ni Banal in the Barrio of Malaking Pook was converted into the barrio of Pook ni Banal. The next year, sitio Pinagcurusan in barrio Maricaban and sitio Pinagcurusan in barrio Tingloy were constituted into barrio San Jose, while sitio Pirasan in barrio Payapa was constituted into the barrio of San Juan. In 1956 portions of San Andres and Bolo were separated to form the barrio of San Miguel. The next year, sitio Buhangin of Barrio Magalanggalang was converted into barrio Orense.

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, Bauan had a population of 90,819. The population density was .

Economy

Bauan is one of three political entities included in Metro Batangas, and as such has contributed to its continuous growth in businesses and population. It is also home to a handful of tourist destinations and points of interest. Restaurants found in the national capital region Metro Manila have their branches in the town. There are also some shopping centers and malls. Fresh fruits, vegetables, meat, and fish are sold there. Household items such as brooms, appliances, sewing supplies can also be found in the town's market.The town is home to the famous Londres, a soft bread coated in sugar, and Pianono, a rolled bread with cream inside. While Bauan is known as "the Gateway to Mabini," an adjacent town known for its beaches, Bauan has Sampaguita beach. It is a long, white-sand beach that is relatively underdeveloped but fairly accessible. and is already being flocked by tourists. There is also a river in Bauan called the Abaksa River that can be found in between Inicbulan and Balayong. It is a fairly shallow river with cool waters and is also relatively underdeveloped.

Infrastructure

Bauan International Port

The ICTSI's wholly owned subsidiary, Bauan International Ports, Inc. is developing the $800 million Luzon International Container Terminal (LICT). The country's second-largest container facility which will start its operations in 2028. The largest private marine terminal is a 20-hectare multi-purpose, multi-user terminal along Batangas Bay in Bauan. It has a two million twenty-foot equivalent units capacity, with 900 meters of quay and eight ship-to-shore gantry cranes, handling ro-ro, project and containerized cargo.

Notable personalities

* Raneo Abu, ex-politician * Joshua Garcia, an actor and endorser * Hermilando Mandanas, incumbent governor of Batangas * Cecilia Muñoz-Palma, a former associate justice * Webster Gamier, a

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, and the first

Metrology Metrology is the scientific study of measurement. It establishes a common understanding of Unit of measurement, units, crucial in linking human activities. Modern metrology has its roots in the French Revolution's political motivation to stan ...

Engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

in the Philippines * Rommel Sandoval, a hero of Marawi siege * Dennis Datu,

ABS-CBN News ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs, known on-air as ABS-CBN News (formerly known as ''ABS-CBN News and Public Affairs''), is the news and current affairs division of the Philippine media conglomerate ABS-CBN Corporation. The division is the coun ...

Reporter * Chen Zenhric Dimayuga, a former child actor * Voltaire Ylagan Rosales, Executive Judge of Batangas Regional Trial Court

Gallery

File:Bauan town center - J.P. Rizal Street (Bauan, Batangas)(2018-07-30).jpg, J.P. Rizal St. looking towards north File:Bauan Municipal Hall side view (F. Mangobos, Bauan, Batangas; 11-02-2024).jpg, Municipal Hall of Bauan File:Immaculate Concepcion Parish Church (K. Ponso, Bauan, Batangas)(2018-07-30).jpg, Immaculada Concepcion Parish Church File:Bauan Plaza Hotel (J.P. Rizal, Bauan, Batangas)(2018-07-30).jpg, Bauan Plaza Hotel File:Bauan,Batangasjf9499 01.JPG, Plaza Orense Monument File:124Bauan, Batangas landmarks 01.jpg, Bauan Market

References

External links

*
Bauan Official Website
* Philippine Standard Geographic Code {{DEFAULTSORT:Bauan, Batangas Municipalities of Batangas 1590 establishments in the Spanish Empire Populated places established in 1590