Булакан провинциясы: Филиппиннің орталық Лусон аймағындағы тарихы мен географиясы

Province in Central Luzon, Philippines
the province

Bulacan, officially the Province of Bulacan ,(Kapampangan: Lalawigan ning Bulacan), is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the city of Malolos. Bulacan was established on August 15, 1578, and part of the Metro Luzon Urban Beltway Super Region. It has 569 barangays in 20 municipalities and four component cities (Baliwag, Malolos the provincial capital, Meycauayan, and San Jose del Monte). Bulacan is located immediately north of Metro Manila. Bordering Bulacan are the provinces of Pampanga to the west, Nueva Ecija to the north, Aurora and Quezon to the east, and Metro Manila and Rizal to the south. Bulacan also lies on the north eastern shore of Manila Bay. In the 2020 census, Bulacan had a population of 3,708,890 people, the most populous in Central Luzon and the third most populous in the Philippines, after Cebu and Cavite. Bulacan's most populated city is San Jose del Monte, the most populated municipality is Santa Maria while the least populated is Doña Remedios Trinidad. In 1899, the historic Barasoain Church in Malolos was the birthplace of the first constitutional democracy in Asia. On November 7, 2018, the Provincial Government of Bulacan bagged its fourth Seal of Good Local Governance award. The SGLG award is a progressive assessment system that gives distinction to remarkable governance performance. This province is a part of the Greater Manila Area.

The name Bulacan was named after the town Bulakan which is derived from the Tagalog word bulak, which means cotton in the English language. It is due to the abundance of cotton plant growing in the region.

The First Constitutional Democracy in Asia was proclaimed in 1899 at the Barasoain Church in Malolos City, the capital of Bulacan. Bulacan is also the birthplace of the famous men and women of the country, like Marcelo H. del Pilar, known as "The Great Propagandist", and General Gregorio del Pilar who is famed as "The Tirad Pass Hero". The poet Francisco Balagtas, the singer Nicanor Abelardo, and the sculptor Guillermo Tolentino are some notable artists from Bulacan.

The conquest of the area comprising present day Bulacan traces to the first years of the Spanish in the Philippines. Upon the defeat of the Macabebe and Hagonoy forces led by Bambalito in the Battle of Bangkusay on June 3, 1571, Martín de Goiti to proceeded north, first to Lubao in September 1571. Two months later, on November 14, 1571, Goiti reached Malolos and Calumpit, respectively, and it was reported to Adelantado Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, the first Governor General of the Philippines. Adelantado established Calumpit and Malolos as an encomienda entrusted to Sargento Juan Moron (Morones in other documents) and Don Marcos de Herrera. These two conquistadores were one of the first group of conquerors accompanied by Legaspi who have arrived in the Islands in 1565. On April 5, 1572, the encomiendas of Calumpit and Malolos were unified and co administered by Moron and Herrera. Also in that year, Alcaldia de Calumpit was formed in which the areas of Macabebe, Candaba, Apalit in Pampanga, and the settlements of Meyto, Panducot, Meysulao, and Malolos. On December 28, 1575, Governor General Francisco Sande ordered to include Hagonoy in Calumpit. In 1575, Bulakan was established as a visita of Tondo, and it is not part of Calumpit as the boundary between Tondo and Calumpit was marked in Mambog River and placed the statue of Our Lady of Visitacion (patroness of Calumpit) was erected. It was gone and recreated in 1997 upon the re establishment of the Roman Catholic Parish of Our Lady of Presentacion in Malolos. On April 30, 1578, the town of Bulakan was officially established by the Augustinians, with Fray Diego Vivar as its first prior, and the convent was dedicated to San Agustin; when this was changed to Our Lady of Assumption is uncertain. It was reported that the western part of present day Bulacan was to be very well populated and rich. There is no documentation of the exact year and date when the Alcaldia de Calumpit was dissolved nor of the exact foundation year of the province of Bulacan. It has only been documented that Malolos (then part of Calumpit in 1572) was first to appear as part of Alcaldia de Bulacan in 1582. It may be assumed that the reorganization of encomiendas occurred between 1580 and 1582 at the time of Governor General Gonzalo Ronquillo de Peñalosa. The same document, also from the 1582 Relacion de las Islas Filipinas by Miguel de Loarca, reports that Alcaldia de Calumpit had jurisdiction in the areas of Calumpit (the capital), Capalangan, Cabangbangan and Hagonoy, which made up the Alcaldia's villages. Then Loarca mentioned that Alcaldia de Bulacan had Bulakan (its capital), Malolos, Caluya, Guguinto, Binto and Catanghalan (instead of Meycauayan) as its encomiendas, which formerly had one alcalde (mayor), though Loarca wrote that Alcaldia de Bulacan was formed in 1580 at the time of Peñalosa. Accrding to the document of Governor General Luis Pérez Dasmariñas in the Account of the Encomiendas for the King of Spain furnished on June 21, 1591, the Alcaldia of Bulacan was part of La Pampanga with the Encomiendas subject to it such as the Encomiendas of Malolos (3,600 persons), Binto (2,000 persons), Guiguinto (2,000 persons), Caluya (2,800 persons), Mecabayan (2,800 persons) and Bulacan identified as " capital" and residence of "alcalde mayor" with 4,800 persons. In the same 1591 document, it was mentioned that "Calumpit y Hagonoy" belonged to Juan Moron with 12,800 persons, 2 Augustinian Convents, and 1 Alcalde Mayor of its own. However, the establishment and development of the southern part of present day Bulacan were not simultaneous and identified with the West. In 1578, the Order of Friars Minor, headed by Juan de Plasencia and Diego Oropesa, arrived in the area called Toril (now part of Meycauayan) and their headquarters. Also in 1578, Plasencia established the Town of Meycauayan. Its pueblos were first only settlements of the Old Meycauayan, founded by Franciscan

The province of Bulacan is on the island of Luzon and is one of the most important Alcadias de Termino. Civilly and politically it corresponds to the Audiencia y capitanía general de Filipinas and spiritually belongs to the Archbishop of Manila. Franciscan friars Juan Plasencia and Fray Diego de Oropesa founded Meycauayan in 1578, and for a time it was the capital of the province of Meycauayan (which differs from Western Bulacan, administered by Augustinian Order since 1572). The Meycauayan people were able to flourish and became so rich that their sons were six of the best in the then Province of Meycauayan. These were the towns of Bocaue, Polo, San Jose del Monte, Santa Maria de Pandi, Obando and Marilao). During the General Visitation of October 5, 1762, by Don Simón de Anda y Salazar, the province was headed by Capitan Don Jose Pasarin, alcalde mayor of the province. 1795–96, Don Manuel Piñon was the alcalde mayor. By the end of the 1700s, Bulacan had 16,586 native families and 2,007 Spanish Filipino families. In the same year, British occupation of Manila happened, and many Tagalog refugees from Manila & north areas of Cavite escaped to Bulacan and to neighboring Nueva Ecija, where the original Kapampangan settlers welcomed them. Bulacan, along with Nueva Ecija, was natively Kapampangan when Spaniards arrived. Majority of Kapampangans sold their lands to the newly arrived Tagalog settlers and others intermarried with and assimilated to the Tagalog, which made Bulacan dominantly Tagalog. According to the "Guia de 1839", Bulacan province on the island of Luzon, Philippines, was governed by a mayor and consisted of 19 pueblos, 36,394 tributes and 181,970 souls. D. Felipe Gobantes, Alcalde of the province of Bulacan erected a stone column in the plaza of Bulacan in Memory of Fr. Manuel Blanco O. S. A. who died on April 1, 1845. In 1848, when the boundaries of Pampanga were changed, the region, which includes the important town of San Miguel de Mayumo and neighboring places that were formerly part of Pampanga, was adjudicated to Bulacan.

In an earlier period during 1890, Malolos was a hot spot of Liberal Ilustrados, notably the "20 Women of Malolos", who exerted pressure for education under Filipino professors. However, the first phase of the revolution ceased in 1897 with the signing of the Pact of Biak na Bato in San Miguel. Under its terms, the leaders of the revolution were to go to Hong Kong and reside there. Under the illusory peace created by the pact, the end of 1897 saw greater determination on the part of the Filipinos to carry on the revolutionary struggle. In early 1898, the provinces of Zambales, Ilocos, Pampanga, Bulacan, Laguna, Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, and Camarines rose again. In Central Luzon, a revolutionary government was organized under General Francisco Macabulos, a Kapampangan revolutionary leader of La Paz, Tarlac. Pandi was, in 1896 97, with the "Kakarong Republic", the early epicenter of revolutionary fevor. Despite its defeat in the Battle of Kakarong de Sili, the memory of the Kakarong defenders still remain as part of the history and heritage of Bulacan as the first organized revolutionary government established in the era of the Revolution.

The Americans established a local Philippine government in the Philippines when they held the first municipal election in the country in Baliwag on May 6, 1899. At the beginning of the American rule, 1899–1900, Malolos became the headquarters of the Military Governor of the Philippines at Casa Real. On February 27, 1901, the Philippine Commission officially transferred the seat of government to Malolos, and the Casa Real de Malolos was the seat of the Provincial Governor from 1900 to 1930 until the completion of the capitol building at Guinhawa, Malolos.

In 1942, at the height of World War II, the Japanese Imperial Army occupied Bulacan and made Casa Real de Malolos its headquarters. In 1945, combined Filipino and American forces and local guerrillas attacked the Japanese Imperial Forces and liberated Bulacan. After the war, Bulacan was embroiled in the rebellion of Hukbalahap Guerrillas. In February 1945, Huk Squadron 77 composed of 109 veteran guerillas was surrounded, shot, and buried in a mass grave in Malolos, Bulacan.

Agrarian unrest in the province continued well after the Huk Rebellion. On June 21, 1982, a group of young activists opposing the Marcos dictatorship tried to help farmers form a local chapter of Alyansa ng Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luzon (AMLG). They were arrested by armed soldiers from the 175th Philippine Constabulary Company and were found dead the following day in San Rafael, Bulacan. The name of the so called Bulacan Martyrs was added to the Bantayog ng mga Bayani's 'Wall of Remembrance' in 2012.

Bulacan covers a total area of occupying the southeastern section of the Central Luzon region. The province is bounded by Nueva Ecija (San Isidro Gapan, General Tinio) on the north, Aurora (Dingalan) on the northeast, Quezon (General Nakar) on the east, Rizal (Rodriguez) on the southeast, Metro Manila (Valenzuela City, Malabon, Navotas, Caloocan and Quezon City) on the south, Manila Bay on the southwest, and Pampanga (Candaba, San Luis, Apalit, Macabebe, Masantol) on the west. Several rivers irrigate the province of Bulacan; the largest one is that of Angat. Angat River passes through the towns of Norzagaray, Angat, Bustos, San Rafael, Baliwag, Plaridel, Pulilan, and Calumpit. It flows thence into the Pampanga River, goes out again, washes Hagonoy, and loses itself in the mangroves. The banks of these rivers are very fertile and are covered with trees.

Bulacan lies in the southern portion of the fertile plains of Central Luzon. The area is drained by the Angat and Pampanga rivers. The Sierra Madre mountain range forms the highlands of Bulacan in the east and is a protected area known as the Angat Watershed Forest Reserve. Angat Lake, which was formed by the Angat Dam is located in that area. The highest point in the province at is Mount Oriod, part of the Sierra Madre. On January 19, 2008, an dump site, a new landfill that would also be a tourist attraction opened in Norzagaray. Ramon Angelo Jr., president Waste Custodian Management Corp. stated: "I want them to see our system in our place which should not be abhorred because we are using the new state of the art technology."

November to April is generally dry while wet for the rest of the year. The northeast monsoon (amihan) prevails from October to January bringing in moderated and light rains. From February to April, the east trade winds predominate but the Sierra Madre (Philippines) mountain range to the east disrupts the winds resulting to a dry period. From May to September, the southwest monsoon (habagat). The hottest month is May with an average temperature of while the coldest is February with an average temperature of .

Bulacan is subdivided into 20 municipalities and 4 cities. As the population is concentrated in the southern half of the province, so are the legislative districts. City municipality District Population Area Density Barangay (Total number of barangays) Coordinates km2 sq mi /km2 /sq mi Angat 6th 59,237 16 Balagtas 5th 73,929 9 Baliuag ∗ 2nd 149,954 27 Bocaue 5th 119,675 19 Bulakan 1st 76,565 14 Bustos 2nd 67,039 14 Calumpit 1st 108,757 29 Doña Remedios Trinidad 3rd 22,663 8 Guiguinto 5th 99,730 14 Hagonoy 1st 129,807 26 Malolos † Lone 252,074 51 Marilao 4th 221,965 16 Meycauayan ∗ 4th 209,083 26 Norzagaray 6th 111,348 13 Obando 4th 59,197 11 Pandi 5th 89,075 22 Paombong 1st 53,294 14 Plaridel 2nd 107,805 19 Pulilan 1st 97,323 19 San Ildefonso 3rd 104,471 36 San Jose del Monte ∗ SJDM 2 LD 574,089 59 San Miguel 3rd 153,882 49 San Rafael 3rd 94,655 34 Santa Maria 6th 256,454 24 Total 3,708,890 3,292,071 2,783.69 569

The population of Bulacan in the 2020 census was 3,708,890 people, making it the second most populous province in the country, only behind from Cavite, which is also located in Luzon. It had a density of , the country's 4th highest for a province. On May 1, 2010, the province had 2,924,433 inhabitants with an annual population growth rate of 2.73 from the year 2000 to 2010, There were 588,693 households in the province with an average size of 4.8 persons. Bulacan had a median age of 23 years in 2007.

As it is part of the Tagalog cultural sphere (Katagalugan), Tagalog is the predominant language of Bulacan. The Tagalog dialect spoken in Bulacan resembles a poetic form of speech. Some inhabitants also speak Kapampangan, especially in areas close to the border of Pampanga. Bulacan Tagalog itself contains many loanwords of Kapampangan origin. Like mentioned aboved, Bulacan was natively Kapampangan when Spaniards arrived, but when British invaded Manila, the province became dominantly Tagalog after many Tagalog refugees from Manila and northern areas of Cavite escaped to Bulacan, where the original Kapampangan settlers welcomed them and assimilated to them. Three municipalities (San Miguel, Doña Remedios Trinidad, and Norzagaray) and one city (San Jose del Monte) are the homelands of the Alta Kabulowan (also known as Dumagat people), the first inhabitants of Bulacan, whose language is also called Alta Kabulowan. Their language is currently endangered due to a present influx of Tagalog speakers. Being bordered by Metro Manila from its south, people from farther provinces settled in Bulacan, resulting in minor but significant usage of non native languages in the province such as Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Waray, Maranao, Maguindanaon, Tausug, Ilocano, Pangasinan and Bicolano. San Jose del Monte, Santa Maria, Malolos, Marilao, San Miguel and Norzagaray bear the highest numbers of English speakers in the province.

Roman Catholic (89.44%) is the predominant religion in the province. Malolos City is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Malolos, with its mother church, the Minor Basilica and Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. On March 21, 2021, Sta. Maria Church was also granted the status of Minor Basilica by Pope Francis. It became Bulacan's second Minor Basilica and the 18th in the Philippines.

Other Christian groups include the Members Church of God International (MCG)), Iglesia ni Cristo (3.29%), Evangelicals (1.53%), Jehovah's Witnesses (0.37%), Bible Baptist Church (0.30%), Muslims (0.21%), Seventh day Adventists (0.21%), and Aglipayans (0.17%), and other small numbers of Christians and non Christian groups are also present.

The province of Bulacan is steadily becoming industrialized due to its proximity to Metro Manila. Many corporations put up industrial plants and site in Bulacan. Some of the businesses and industries include agribusiness; aquaculture; banking; business process outsourcing; cement bag making; ceramics; construction; courier; electronics; education; food/food processing; furniture; garments; gifts, houseware & decors; home appliance assembly; hospitals; hotels, resorts and restaurants; information and communications technology; insurance; jewelry; leather and leather tanning; manpower; marble; pharmaceutical manufacturing; printing press; pyrotechnics and fireworks manufacturing; realty/real property development; school & office supply manufacturing; shoe manufacturing; textile; trade; transport services; travel and tours.

The rural areas still mostly depend on agriculture and aquaculture as a source of income. Some of the major crops are rice, maize, vegetables, and fruits such as mangoes. An orchid farm is operating at Golden Bloom Orchids at Barangay Maguinao in San Rafael, Bulacan. The fisheries of Bulacan, aside from fishponds and rivers, include Bustos Dam and waterlogged areas. Major species cultured include bangus, tilapia, prawn, and catfish. This made Bulacan a leading province in bangus production based on reports of the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS).

Bulacan is served by all major banks with more than 200 banks doing business in the province. The entrepreneurial culture is supported by the strong cooperative movement with total assets of over .

"Tatak Bulakenyo Program" was launched in 2004, conceptualized to stimulate economic activity in the province and sustain the anti poverty thrust of the government through the promotion of entrepreneurship. The program's beneficiaries are potential micro, small and medium sized enterprises in the province. Tatak Bulakenyo Products comprises sabutan bags, buntal hats, beverages, and even jams such as tomato jam.

Bulacan is dubbed as "The Gateway to the Northern Philippines". The province is linked with Metro Manila primarily through the North Luzon Expressway and Manila North Road (better known as the MacArthur Highway) which crosses the province into Pampanga and western part of Northern Luzon (western Central Luzon, Ilocos and Cordillera Administrative Region). While taking the Cagayan Valley Road in Guiguinto, the road leads to Nueva Ecija and to the eastern part of Northern Luzon (eastern Central Luzon and Cagayan Valley Region). Bulacan will be accessed by the future C 6 Road connecting the provinces of Rizal and Cavite and the cities of Taguig, Parañaque and Muntinlupa in Metro Manila. The proposed North Luzon East Expressway (NLEE) is the future expressway link between Metro Manila and the provinces of Bulacan and Nueva Ecija. It will also serve as a new alternate route of motorists coming from Manila going to Aurora and Cagayan Valley region. The MacArthur Highway traverses the province from north to south. Most major towns can be reached through the North Luzon Expressway. A good number of motor vehicles owned largely by private individuals provide mobility to Bulacan's populace. Aside from five main highways that traverse the province, all roads are widely dispersed throughout Bulacan. Bus terminals of Baliwag Transit Inc., Golden Bee Transport and Logistics Corp., California Bus Line, Sampaguita Liner, and Royal Eagle are in Baliwag, Balagtas and Hagonoy. The main bus lines of Philippine Rabbit, Victory Liner, Aladdin Transit that originates from their main terminals in Manila, Pasay and Quezon City and travels northward to cities and towns in Pampanga, Tarlac, and Zambales, pass through Bulacan via the Tabang exit. Other bus companies that travel to Bulacan include ES Transport Corp. (Earth Star Transportation), Baliwag Transit, First North Luzon, Five Star, Agila Bus Transport, Sta Monica Transport Corp TSC, NSDC Buenasher Lines (Del Carmen), Shannen And Pauline Bus Co., Phil. Corinthian, Marsan, Mayamy, RJ Express. Bulacan is the home of its pride, one of the biggest bus lines in Luzon, the Baliwag Transit Inc. which headquarters in Baliwag, Bulacan hence it's named. Public transportation within the province, like in most of the urban areas in the Philippines, is facilitated mostly using inexpensive jeepneys and buses. Tricycles are used for short distances. A construction of Philippine National Railways (PNR) North South Commuter Railway (NSCR) system is on track, and officials say the remnants of old PNR stations built in Bulacan province in 1892 will be preserved. The ruins of the station in Guiguinto town, Bulacan province, will be among the structures that will be preserved. The structures in the city and in the towns of Balagtas, Guiguinto, Malolos, and Calumpit would also be renovated to complement the design of the new railway stations. Junn Magno, PNR general manager, said 10 structures left standing from the old stations would be restored to give a glimpse of the PNR's history. The San Miguel Corporation's proposed Bulacan Airport, dubbed as New Manila International Airport, involves the construction of a brand new international airport and is being positioned as an alternative to the congested NAIA in Manila. It has also been seen that the four million tourists that visit the country yearly will be tripled once the airport project proposal pushes through.

The province is home to several nationally recognized public and private educational institutions such as Baliuag University (First school granted full autonomy in Region 3), the Bulacan State University (Main & Satellite Campuses), the Bulacan Polytechnic College (Malolos, Bocaue, Pandi, Angat, San Miguel, San Rafael, Obando & City of San Jose del Monte Campus), Bulacan Agricultural State College (San Ildefonso & DRT Campus), Polytechnic University of the Philippines (Santa Maria Extension Campus and Pulilan Campus), La Consolacion University Philippines and Centro Escolar University (Malolos Campus). On the other hand, National University, a non sectarian Manila based university, has established its first campus outside Metro Manila in the city of Baliwag, and Baliuag Polytechnic College, a public non sectarian institution in the city of Baliwag.

Bulacan has 68 public high schools, national and provincial: 43 under the Department of Education (DepEd) Schools Division of Bulacan, 18 under the Division of City Schools of San Jose del Monte, 3 under the Division of City Schools of Malolos, and 4 under the Division of City Schools of Meycauayan.

There are numerous privately owned (by individual or group) and church operated schools located in the province. The Immaculate Conception School for Boys and the Immaculate Conception School of Malolos are both under the Diocese of Malolos, with the incumbent Bishop of Malolos as president. Also under the Diocese is the Immaculate Conception Seminary. Others are under the direction of religious orders and congregations such as the La Consolacion University Philippines (Augustinian Sisters of Our Lady of Consolation), the St. Martin de Porres Catholic School (Dominican Sisters), St. Paul College of Bocaue and St. Paul University at San Miguel (Congregation of the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres) and the Holy Spirit Academy of Malolos (Sister Servants of the Holy Spirit). The Immaculate Heart of Mary School was established in 1992 with student enrollment less than 200 (as of 2016–17). There are also schools under other denominations such as the Bulacan Ecumenical School and Bulacan Ecumenical Kindergarten (United Methodist Church). Private schools in the province are members of the Bulacan Private Schools Association (BULPRISA) While in the City of San Jose del Monte private schools are organized by City of San Jose del Monte Private Schools Association (CSanPRISA). In Malolos, private schools are organized as Malolos City Private Schools Association (MACIPRISA). In Meycauayan, private schools are organized as Meycauayan City Private Schools Association (MEYCIPRISA). In Marilao, private schools are organized as Association of Private Schools in Marilao (APRISM).

On April 15, 2024, Daniel Fernando, Chairman of Bulacan University and Collegiate Athletic Association (BUCAA) with Alex Castro led the opening ceremony of the Basketball tournament, with 32 competing teams and the Cheerdance competition at the Baliwag Star Arena. Joko Diaz with Mark Herras and Gab Lagman played basketball as All star goodwill tour visitors in the exhibition game.