San Francisco, officially the Municipality of San Francisco (Tagalog: Bayan ng San Francisco), is a municipality in the province of Quezon, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 62,097 people.[3]
San Francisco is formerly called Bondo from its establishment as a town in 1938 to 1940 and Aurora from 1940 to 1967.[5][6]
Etymology
San Francisco is derived from Spanish for Saint Francis of Assisi. It is formerly known as Bondo (from the Tagalog word bundok, meaning "mountain") and later Aurora (after First Lady Aurora Quezon).[7]
History
The origins of the municipality of San Francisco, formerly known as Barrio Bondo, are unclear prior to the arrival of the Spaniards in 1521. It was a forested, mountainous area with early Chinese influences, evidenced by artifacts from the Ming and Sung dynasties found along its shores. In 1784, Barrio Bondo was established under leaders Juan de Torres, Manuel Cuyo, and Gregorio Palacio. Frequent Moro pirate raids forced villagers to relocate to higher ground at Sitio Kampana for protection.
In 1898, Barrio Bondo briefly became the independent municipality of San Emilio, but financial constraints led it to revert back to being part of Mulanay by 1904.
Establishment as a municipality
Old San Francisco Municipal Hall
In 1936, a group of eight men, led by Andres Castillejo, formed the Dakilang Mithi Association with the goal of separating Bondo from Mulanay to become an independent municipality. After the 1937 elections, Bondo natives gained control of the Mulanay Municipal Council and passed a resolution supporting Bondo's independence.
On April 16, 1938, Don Venancio Queblar, along with councilor Jose Allarey and Dakilang Mithi secretary Miguel Gutierez, invited President Manuel L. Quezon to visit barrio Bondo. Quezon accepted the invitation and, on April 27, 1938, declared Bondo an independent municipality on April 30, 1938, through Executive Order No. 152. The establishment took effect on July 1, 1938, with Queblar appointed as the first mayor.[8] The town originally consisted of barrios Bondo, Cawayan, Inabuan, Ilayang Tayuman, Ibabang Tayuman, Kasay, Mañongon, Pagsangahan, and Silongin, with Bondo as the seat of municipal government.[9]
Renaming
By virtue of the first municipal resolution, Bondo was to be renamed to Aurora, in honor of First Lady Aurora Quezon, the wife of President Quezon. On May 11, 1940, the town was renamed to Aurora by virtue of Commonwealth Act No. 527.[5]
Later, the Aurora Municipal Council sponsored Resolution No. 2, series of 1962, seeking to the change of name to San Francisco, in honor of the patron saint Francis of Assisi. The resolution was eventually sponsored by Quezon 2nd district Representative Eladio Caliwara,[7] and on June 17, 1967, Republic Act No. 4977 was enacted to finally rename Aurora to San Francisco. The renaming finally distinguished it from Maria Aurora, a municipality in Quezon established in 1949, before the creation of Aurora province, where Maria Aurora is now located.[6]
Geography
Located at the southernmost part of the Bondoc Peninsula and of the province, it is 185 kilometers (115 mi) from Lucena and 315 kilometers (196 mi) from Manila.
Barangays
San Francisco is politically subdivided into 16 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.
Lucena (Administratively independent from the province but grouped under Quezon by the Philippine Statistics Authority. However, qualified voters of this city are still allowed to participate in the election of provincial officials as part of Quezon’s 2nd Sangguniang Panlalawigan district.)
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