Mangaldan, officially the Municipality of Mangaldan (Pangasinan: Baley na Mangaldan; Ilocano: Ili ti Mangaldan; Tagalog: Bayan ng Mangaldan), is a municipality in the province of Pangasinan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 113,185 people.[3]
Etymology
There are four conflicting origins of the name Mangaldan:[5]
The first theory suggests that a Spanish missionary asked locals for the name of the settlement. A local, misinterpreting the request as a query for water, responded with “manga-alay-adan,” which translates to “Adan is fetching.”
The second theory implies that Mangaldan got its name from its first native chief Babaldan.
The third theory posits that the town's name originated from the term “man-nga-ngal-ngalan,” which means “quarrel” in the local dialect. This name emerged from a custom where townspeople were free to gather mangoes from a large tree in the town center, leading to disputes as the fruit became scarce.
According to Fr. Raymundo Suarez, OP, in his manuscript Apuntes Curiosos de Pangasinan, Mangaldan is derived from "alar" or "alad", meaning bamboo fence, which existed in the place. Either term is combined with "mang" and "an," and the penultimate "A" is dropped, resulting in "Mangaldan."
History
Mangaldan owns the distinction as the third town in Pangasinan to be founded by the Dominican missionaries. As early as 1591, Mangaldan already existed as a Spanish encomienda. Its foundation as a town is attributed to Juan Martinez de Santo Domingo, a former missionary of Pangasinan who died in Japan on March 19, 1618.
Mangaldan started as a "visita" of Calasiao and it remained as such until the Dominicans created it as an independent vicariate under the patronage of Saint Thomas Aquinas on June 2, 1600.
It is said that of all the people of Pangasinan, the Mangaldanians were the most difficult to convert. The greatest enemy of the missionaries in the town was a certain man named Casipit who tried to force them out of the town and even attempted to kill some of them. Yet, when he was converted by the first apostle, Fr. Pedro Soto, he became the principal propagator of the Faith. He contributed a great sum of money for the construction of the first church.
In the second half of the 19th century, Mangaldan was the richest town in the province. This was due to the famous irrigation system which the missionaries built within the confines of the town[6] causing its fertile fields to yield bountiful harvest of palay. Most outstanding in this gigantic task was Fr. Jose Torres who gave his life to bring it to completion in 1892.
The third church to be built in Mangaldan was completed in 1812 by Fr. Lorenzo Martin. It collapsed during the great earthquake of 16 March 1892, together with the big chapel in the cemetery. The construction of the convent dates back in 1747. The construction of the sixth and present church of Mangaldan was begun in 1942 by Fr. Juan Sison, and was completed 20 years later by Fr. Leon Bitanga.
Mangaldan is 219 kilometers (136 mi) from the national capital Manila, 23 kilometers (14 mi) from the provincial capital Lingayen, and 9 kilometers (5.6 mi)} from Dagupan.
Barangays
Mangaldan is politically subdivided into 30 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.
Mangaldan celebrates its annual Pindang Festival, along with its town fiesta, during the first week of March. The popular carabeef tapa (Filipino-style dried meat), locally known as Pindang is the One Town One Product (OTOP) of this municipality.[20] The municipality is also the home of the original makers of the famous delicacy – the Romana Peanut Brittle.
The town bagged the grand slam award when its inland body of water, the Angalacan River, was adjudged as the cleanest river in the entire province for the third time which was awarded in 2012.[21]
One of the major sources of revenues here are the thriving market place and the laboratories of renowned pharmaceutical companies that buttressed the coffer of this town.[22] The municipal government operates its slaughterhouse with a rated "double A" by the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) that guarantees the butchered meat as safe and clean.
In 2015, the annual budget of Mangaldan involved a total appropriation of ₱208,527,497.39, which was the biggest for a first-class municipality in Pangasinan.[23]
Mangaldan, belonging to the fourth congressional district of the province of Pangasinan, is governed by a mayor designated as its local chief executive and by a municipal council as its legislative body in accordance with the Local Government Code. The mayor, vice mayor, and the councilors are elected directly by the people through an election which is being held every three years.
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