San Ildefonso, officially the Municipality of San Ildefonso () 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 115,713 people.

History

The early inhabitants called this town Bulak because of the abundant 'kapok' trees ('bulak' in vernacular) growing on the hill where the town is now. Bulak was then a barrio of San Rafael. There were only about 3,000 inhabitants. The early inhabitants were people from neighboring towns and provinces who preferred to settle in this place because of its good agricultural prospects. When the Spaniards came, the name Bulak was changed to Hacienda San Juan de Dios because 15,500 hectares of grazing and farming grounds were claimed by the friars. The people were told to pay tribute. Proceeds from the rentals were used to finance the operation of the San Juan de Dios Hospital in Manila. The Spanish friars, though antagonistic toward the Filipinos, admired the beauty of the natural scenery. They changed the name to Hacienda Buenavista (which means beautiful scenery in Spanish). As the population grew, a chapel was constructed under the parochial jurisdiction of San Rafael. In 1809, Father Juan dela Rosa was named the first Filipino priest of the town. He held the position until 1811. He was responsible for changing the name Bulak to San Ildefonso in honor of

Alfonso XII Alfonso XII (Alfonso Francisco de Asís Fernando Pío Juan María de la Concepción Gregorio Pelayo de Borbón y Borbón; 28 November 185725 November 1885), also known as ''El Pacificador'' (Spanish: the Peacemaker), was King of Spain from 29 D ...

, then the king of Spain, and San Ildefonso, its patron saint. By the time it was given this name, a tribunal was created finally making it a town in 1877. Between 1903 and 1906, San Ildefonso was merged with San Miguel due to its low income and inability to finance its expenditures in operating the local government. As years went by, more and more people were induced to live in the town. The growth of population promoted an increase of income. The town became capable of meeting its expenses, so it ceased being a barrio of San Miguel and became once again an independent town. During the

Japanese occupation of the Philippines The Japanese occupation of the Philippines (Filipino language, Filipino: ''Pananakop ng mga Hapones sa Pilipinas''; ) occurred between 1942 and 1945, when the Empire of Japan, Japanese Empire occupied the Commonwealth of the Philippines during Wo ...

in 1942, the mansion Bahay na Pula of the Ilusorio family was confiscated by the

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

and used as barracks and became a place where local so-called

comfort women Comfort women were women and girls forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces in occupied countries and territories before and during World War II. The term ''comfort women'' is a translation of the Japanese , a euphemism ...

were forced to work.

Geography

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 ...

, the municipality is the northernmost part of Manila's built-up area. San Ildefonso is from

Malolos Malolos , officially the City of Malolos (), is a component city and capital of the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 261,189 people. It is the capital city of the province of Bulacan as the ...

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 ...

Barangays

San Ildefonso is politically subdivided into 36

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 in the matrix below. Each barangay consists of 7

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 ...

. There are 6 urban and 30 rural barangays.

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of San Ildefonso, Bulacan, was 115,713 people, with a density of .

Economy

;Major industries: *Cement * Pyrotechnics * Feed mills * Food/food processing * Garments * Hat making * Wood crafts * High-yield crops * Marble/marble processing * Metalcraft ;Major products: * Bakeries and sweet preserves * Chicharon * Poultry and livestock * Rice * High value crops * Marbles * Vegetables * Fruits

Education

Public Schools

Elementary Education

The town has numerous public schools offering elementary and high school education. Some of the elementary public schools are: ;South District ;North District

Secondary Education

Some of the public high schools are:

Tertiary and College Education

Some of the tertiary schools are:

Private Schools

Some of the private schools offering education

Notable personalities

* Yuka Saso – 2021 U.S. Women's Open Golf Champion. Filipino Japanese amateur golfer. Two-time

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

gold medalist in individual and team events. * Cardozo Luna – politician; Undersecretary of Department National Defence. * Joyce Ching – Filipino-Chinese actress

Gallery

File:FvfSanIldefonsoHall7714_01.JPG, Municipal hall File:Sessionhalljf.JPG, Sangguniang Bayan Session Hall File:FvfSanIldefonso7695_09.JPG, San Ildefonso (MPS) - PNP Police Regional Office 1 File:FvfSanIldefonso7970_19.JPG, St. Ildephonsus of Toledo Church (Poblacion)

References

External links

* Philippine Standard Geographic Codebr>San Ildefonso municipal website2007 Philippine Census Information
{{Authority control Municipalities of Bulacan