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

Bulacan Bulacan, officially the Province of Bulacan (; ; ; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Regions of the Philippines, region. Its capital is the city of Malolos. Bulacan was established on ...

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 254,453 people. Marilao is derived from the Tagalog word "marilaw", which translates to yellowish, with its root word "rilaw" is linked to "dilaw," the Tagalog term for yellow. This is in reference to a yellow plant that grew abundantly in the area.

History

Long before the establishment as an independent town, Marilao traces its origin to a ''barrio'' of its neighboring town

Meycauayan Meycauayan , officially the City of Meycauayan (), is a 1st class component city in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 225,673 people. The place got its name from the Tagalog words ''m ...

. Franciscan missionaries from Meycauayan built a ''visita'' (chapel) dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel therein. Marilao, just like Pangil, a town in Laguna, Philippines, was under the stewardship of the Franciscan order. On April 21, 1796, the Barrio of Marilao was established as a ''pueblo'' as approved by the Alcalde Mayor of

and the Franciscan friars of Meycauayan, with the approval of

Archbishop of Manila The Archdiocese of Manila (; ; ) is the archdiocese of the Latin Church, Latin Rite of the Catholic Church in the Philippines, Catholic Church in Metro Manila, Catholic Church in the Philippines, Philippines, encompassing the cities of Manila, ...

, the ''visita'' of San Miguel Arcangel became a town church where Padre Vicente de Talavera served as its parish priest. Between 1901 and 1903, it was consolidated with

. In 1913, Marilao completely became an independent town.

Geography

Marilao is 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 ...

and from the provincial capital

Malolos City Malolos , officially the City of Malolos (), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population ...

. With the continuous expansion of

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila ( ), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; ), is the capital region and largest List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located ...

, Marilao is part of Manila's built-up area which reaches

San Ildefonso San Ildefonso (), La Granja (), or La Granja de San Ildefonso, is a town and municipality in the Province of Segovia, in the Castile and León autonomous region of central Spain. It is located in the foothills of the Sierra de Guadarrama moun ...

on its northernmost part.

Climate

Barangays

Marilao is politically subdivided into 16 barangays - as shown in the matrix below - all classified as urban. 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 ...

Most populous

Barangay Loma de Gato is now holds the most populous

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

both in the province of Bulacan and in Central Luzon region upon the division of barangay Muzon in the neighboring city of

San Jose del Monte San Jose del Monte, officially the City of San Jose del Monte (abbreviated as SJDM or CSJDM); ; ; ; ; ), is a component city in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 651,813 people, maki ...

after the successful plebiscite approving the proposal in March 2023.

Pollution and flooding

In 2007, Marilao, along with neighboring Meycauayan, share a slot in the list of the world's 30 most polluted places in the developing world drawn up by a private New York-based institute. In its report, “The World’s Worst Polluted Places” for 2007, the Blacksmith Institute said: “Industrial waste is haphazardly dumped into the Meycauayan, Marilao and Obando River system, a source of drinking and agricultural water supplies for the 250,000 people living in and around” the Meycauayan-Marilao area. Marilao is also notorious for frequent flooding during the monsoon season. A section of MacArthur Highway near SM City Marilao is in particular, prone to floods.

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Marilao, Bulacan, was 254,453 people, with a density of .

Economy

Government

Elected officials

List of local chief executives

Education

The Pambayang Dalubhasaan ng Marilao ''Municipal College of Marilao'' is a public college in Marilao. The public primary and secondary schools in Marilao are governed by the

Department of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

-Provincial Schools Division of Bulacan. Several private schools in Marilao also provide education services. ;Public High Schools * Assemblywoman Felicita G. Bernardino Memorial Trade School (AFGBMTS) * Prenza National High School (PNHS) * Marilao Central Integrated School (MCIS (JHS founded in 2022) formerly Marilao Central School founded in 1920)

Religion

Roman Catholicism

National Shrine of the Divine Mercy

It was elevated to the status of National Shrine by Archbishop Orlando Quevedo of the

Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (abbreviated as CBCP) is the permanent organizational assembly of the Catholic bishops of the Philippines exercising together certain pastoral offices for the Christian faithful of their terr ...

. The first mass was held at the site on February 2, 1992, the

Feast of the Presentation Candlemas, also known as the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus Christ, the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or the Feast of the Holy Encounter, is a Christian feast day commemorating the presentation of Jesus at the Temp ...

. Located in Barangay Santa Rosa I. On the occasion of the World Apostolic Congress on Mercy in 2017, a 38-meter Statue of Merciful Jesus was built here.

San Miguel Arcangel Parish Church

The Parish celebrates its patronal feasts on May 8 and September 29. Its 28th Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Alberto D.J. Santiago succeeded Fr. Avelino G. Santos. Under Parochial Vicar, Fr. Francis Protacio S. Cortez III, OSA. It is hundred years old spiritual edifice in Poblacion I considered as “place marker” and serve as “point of orientation” to the local residents and visitors. Located in Barangay Poblacion I.

Our Lady of Fatima Parish Church

Located in Barangay Loma de Gato.

Our Lady of Mercy Quasi-parish Church

Located in Barangay Loma de Gato.

Other religions

There are also a presence of other religions in Marilao such as 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 ...

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co-fou ...

Evangelical Christians Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of the Christian g ...

Members Church of God International The Members Church of God International (), abbreviated as MCGI, is an international Christian religious organization with headquarters in the Philippines. It is popularly known in the Philippines as ''Ang Dating Daan'' (; abbreviated as AD ...

, etc.

Gallery

File:8114jfMarilao Bulacan Welcome archfvf 05.JPG, Marilao Welcome Arch along McArthur Highway File:Marilaojf1297 06.JPG, Old Marilao Municipal Hall, now Municipal Hall of Justice File:Marilaojf1297 01.JPG, Marilao Wet and Dry Public Market File:JfBulacan9897ChapelMarilaoLiasfvf 06.JPG, Lias Barangay Hall of File:JfMarilaoBarangaysChapel0001Bulacanfvf 11.JPG, Loma de Gato Barangay Hall File:JfMarilao9741BulacanBarangaysfvf 06.JPG, Patubig Barangay Hall File:Tabing-ilog, Marilao, Bulacan 23.jpg, Tabing Ilog Barangay Hall

References

External links

Bulacan Official Website - MarilaoMarilao BulacanNew Website of Marilao
*

Philippine Standard Geographic Code The Philippine Standard Geographic Code (PSGC) is a systematic classification and coding for geographic areas in the Philippines. It classifies areas based on the country's four levels of administrative divisions: regions, provinces, municipalities ...

br>Philippine Census InformationThe Blacksmith Institute - World's Worst Polluted Places''Iglesia,'' "Ang Bayan ng Dios" - Multiply Website
{{Authority control Municipalities of Bulacan