Анао, Тарлак провинциясының тарихы мен мәдениеті

Municipality in Tarlac, Philippines

Anao, officially the Municipality of Anao (; ; ), is a 5th class municipality in the province of Tarlac, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 12,208 people, making it the least populated municipality in the province. The smallest town in terms of land area in the whole of Tarlac, Anao covers a total land area of
Formerly a part of Pangasinan province, Anao was founded and organized into a municipality on March 16, 1870. Every year on the March 16, the foundation of the town is celebrated along with the Ylang Ylang Festival.

The area where Anao is located was inhabited before 1800 by people from the Ilocos Region. In 1835, a group of immigrants from Paoay, Ilocos Norte 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 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.

Anao is east of the provincial capitol and nestling on the Tarlac Nueva Ecija border. Located in the north eastern part of Tarlac, it is bound on the north by San Manuel, in the east by Nampicuan, on the south by Ramos and on the west by Paniqui and Moncada.

In the 2020 census, the population of Anao, Tarlac, was 12,208 people, with a density of
Anao is predominantly an Ilocano speaking town although most are fluent in Tagalog. Other languages like Kapampangan and Pangasinan are spoken by about 10% of the population. Aglipayan and Roman Catholicism 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, Iglesia ni Cristo, and Protestantism.

NameTerm BeganTerm EndedRamon Evangelista 1938 1946Arcadio Evangelista 1946 1947Silvestre Sabado 1948 1951Arcadio Evangelista 1952 1955Dionisio Dumlao 1960 1963Catalino O. Cruz 1964 1979Andres Dela Cruz 1979 1986Clemente T. Apuan 1988 1998Rodolfo F. Guerrero 1998 2007Edgardo S. Felipe 2007 2016Betty B. Lacbayan 2016 2019Rafael M. Naral 2019 2022Gian Pierre O. De Dios 2022 Incumbent

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 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 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.