Girish Mahajan (Editor)

Calumpit, Bulacan

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Country
  
Philippines

Encomienda
  
November 14, 1571

Civil Town
  
March 5, 1575

Local time
  
Tuesday 10:46 AM

District
  
1st District

Ecclesiastical Town
  
May 3, 1572

Area
  
56.25 km²

Province
  
Bulacan

Calumpit, Bulacan mediaphilstarcomimagesthephilippinestarnati

Region
  
Central Luzon (Region III)

Weather
  
31°C, Wind NE at 14 km/h, 47% Humidity

Neighborhoods
  
Meyto, Calizon, Gatbuca, Sergio Bayan, Iba Este

Landmarks in calumpit bulacan this sunday at 6pm on net25


Calumpit is a first class urban municipality in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 108,757 people.

Contents

Map of Calumpit, Bulacan, Philippines

Etymology

The name "Calumpit" comes from the tree "Kalumpít" (an indigenous hardwood species similar to apalit and narra, which grows abundantly in front of the St. John the Baptist Parish Church in the Población-Sucol area.

Pre Spanish era

Calumpit was already an established “barangay” under the leadership of Gat Maitim prior to Spanish Conquest of Luzon in started with the Fall of Kingdom of Tondo in June 1571.Other villages exist nearby are Gatbuka,Meyto,Meysulao,Pandukot.Malolos,Macabebe,Hagonoy,Apalit.When Calumpit was hispanized and established as a town with political and geographical entity,they chosen the village of Calumpit as the site of the church and the administrative center the mentioned villages was annexed to the new Town of Calumpit in 1572.

Spanish Conquest

Upon hearing that Kingdom of Tondo was conquered by Martin de Goiti and Juan Salcedo and Rakah Matanda was agreed to join with the Spaniards in May 1571, Bambalito formed a fleet consisting of two thousand natives mostly from Hagonoy and Macabebe. They sailed to Tondo on June 3, 1571 facing Goiti and Salcedo that led to the historic Battle of Bangkusay Channel. Bambalito and the natives were defeated and the conquerors made they way to pacify other villages along Manila bay north of Tondo. In September 1571 Martin de Goiti and Juan Salcedo together with other conquistadors reached Lubao and pacified the villages at the coast of Manila Bay, then in November 14, 1571 they reached Calumpit and Malolos and reported it to Adelantado Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, the first Spanish Governor General of the Philippine Islands constituting them as Encomienda de Calumpit and Encomienda de Malolos, respectively. Encomienda de Calumpit was entrusted to Sargento Juan Moron, one of the conquerors included in Legazpi Expedition. (Blair and Robertson, The Philippine Islands, volume 34, page 304-310, paragraph 3)

Christianization

No exact details when the Augustinians set their foot in Calumpit but according to the documents, Calumpit had its own parish on May 3, 1572 when Fray Martin de Rada were elected as the new Prior Provincial held at San Augustin Convent. The Augustinian dispatch some missionaries to the different settlements to spread the catholic faith. Calumpit were simultaneously established together with the conventos of Bay Laguna Tondo and Lubao Pampanga with Fray Martin de Rada as its Prior and Fray Diego Vivar as his vicar. Chronicles accounts told that the Augustinian missionaries planted a Wooden Cross along the bank of Meyto River as the tradition of baptising the land and they built a chapel made of nipa and bamboo.Later they moved Meysulao and built another visita, and then in Panducot, where they built another chapel under the advocacy of Our Lady of Visitacion as Fray Gaspar de San Agustin mentioned in his Conquistas delas Isla Philipinas (Libro Segundo Chaper 9) Subsequently, the missionary headquarters was moved again to much higher place were a very huge prominent tree called "Kalumpit" (sci.Terminalia microcarpa decne) stands as the original settlers named the place.Another notable characteristics of the village of Calumpit was bounded river which served as natural moat. Primarily, Meyto,Meysulao,Panducot and Calumpit was independent barangays under their own chiefs, it is same with Gatbuka,Bugyon and other old settlements. On April 5, 1572 Legaspi merges the villages of Meyto,Meysulao,Panducot,Calumpit,Candaba,Apalit,Malolos and these villages became ministerios and visitas and also these settlements where merge under single town named Calumpit, where Barangay Calumpit was the center. On December 28, 1575 Gov.General Francisco Sande ordered the inclusion of the villages of Agonoy (Hagonoy), Quinabalonan (now Santa Monica and San Jose Hagonoy), and some villages along Macabebe river,in the Town of Calumpit.

Alcaldia de Calumpit

On April 5, 1572 Encomienda of Calumpit and Malolos was unified under the share administration of their encomenderos Marcos de Herrera and Sargento Mayor Juan Moron and on the same year Calumpit was created as one of the center of Augustinian mission in Luzon contemporary with Lubao edtablished in May 3, 1572 upon the election of Fray Martin de Rada as the new Prior Provincial of the Augustinians replacing Fray Diego de Herrera whose dispatched again in Mexico. Alcaldia de Calumpit was established by the Superior Government in Manila and Marcos de Arce was appointed as the first Alcalde Mayor of Calumpit. The Augustinian officially founded the Town of Calumpit in 1572,with the villages of Hagonoy,Malolos,Candaba,Macabebe and Apalit as its villages and visita.The town of Calumpit was originally dedicated to San Nicolas de Tolentino but in December 1576 the Town was re-dedicated to the patronage of San Juan Bautista.

On December 28, 1575 Governor-General Francisco de Sande established Calumpit as an Alcaldia (Province) together with Calumpit (capital) and aggretates nearby settlements such as Malolos,Hagonoy,Macabebe,Candaba.Later in 1576 Macabebe transferred to the town of Lubao and Candaba separated as a full pledge town, then on June 11, 1580 Malolos gained its township. In 1581 Hagonoy had its own convent but still under the justice of Governor of Calumpit. And last in 1591 Apalit officially separated and established as an independent town and it was transferred in the reconfigured territory of Pampanga province. In Miguel de Loarca's document in 1581 called "Relacion delas Islas Filipinas" and the June 1591 document of Governor-General Luis Perez de Dasmarinas it is proven that Calumpit appears as an independent Alcaldia, independent of those of Bulacan and Lubao and Betis. It was therefore established as an Encomienda and Alcaldia separate to Province of Bulacan. Contrary to popular belief, Calumpit was the first Town founded in Bulacan.

Abolishing the Province of Calumpit

Alcaldia de Calumpit was eventually d and the towns of Calumpit and Hagonoy were ceded to the Province of Bulacan, while Apalit was ceded to Pampanga.

Philippine Revolution of 1896-1899

During the Philippine Revolution in 1896, the people of Calumpit participated in the battles launched by the Katipuneros against Spain, the town continues to battle against Spain and many notable Calumpitenos have their big role in helping and supporting the eetablishment of Republica Filipina in Malolos and Calumpit serves as defense line due to its proximity to the new born capital of the Republic. When Philippine–American War broke, Calumpit become the headquarters of General Antonio Luna in 1898. In the bloody encounters at barrio Bagbag on April 25, 1899, many people joined the army of General Luna.

The Civil government under the American rule was established in Calumpit in April 1901 with Juan Galang as the first elected American-era mayor of the town.

American era and World War II

Calumpit played an important role at the outbreak of the War in the Pacific theater. The bridge of Calumpit, on the way to Bataan was demolished by the Engineering Battalion of the U.S., impeding movement of the Japanese forces on their way to Bataan. In January 1942, the Japanese Government occupied Calumpit for three years. Many citizens of Calumpit died during the war.

In the middle of 1943, the first part of the USAFFE guerrilla was established under the leadership of Luis Macam, with most of the members from Calumpit.

In June 1944, the 4th Battalion of the Del Pilar Regiment was established under the leadership of Major Francisco del Rosario. They continued fighting until the returned of the USAFFE under the leadership of Gen. Douglas MacArthur.

In January 1945, the combined Filipino and American forces arrived in the town, liberating it from the Japanese forces.

Geography

Calumpit is 50 kilometres (31 mi) from Manila, lies the Municipality of Calumpit bounded on the north and west by Apalit and Macabebe, Pampanga, respectively; south-west, southeast and east by Hagonoy, Malolos, and Pulilan, Bulacan respectively.

Calumpit is sprawled over an area of 5,625 has. of flat terrain classified accordingly to use for agricultural (66.81%), residential (10.42%), industrial (2.48%), commercial, (0.89%) and other (1.05%) purposes. It occupies around 2.06% of the total land area of Bulacan. The municipality has 144.33 kilometers of concrete roads that easily link its 29 barangays.

Two distinct seasons characterize the town’s climate: rainy season which starts late May and ends around November; and dry season which begins November and lasts until April.

Calumpit has two (2) types of soil – the silt loam which is found in almost 90% of the entire municipality and the clay loam in the south east far end of the town. Both types are basically suited for agricultural purposes as per Department of Agriculture classifications.

Climate

The climate of Calumpit is similar to that of the rest of the other municipalities in the province of Bulacan. It is characterized by two (2) distinct seasons namely; the rainy and the dry. The rainy seasons starts from late May and ends around November, the dry season from December to April. The average annual rainfall is 255.3 millimetres (10.05 in) with the month of August having the highest month average rainfall, about 304 millimetres (12.0 in). The annual number of rainy days is 175 days.

Barangays

Calumpit is divided into 29 barangays.

Demographics

In the 2015 census, the population of Calumpit, Bulacan, was 108,757 people, with a density of 1,900 inhabitants per square kilometre or 4,900 inhabitants per square mile.

Calumpit's population was 101,068 in the National Statistics Office (NSO) 2010 census. Historically, its population grew at an average of 3.71% per annum.

The barangay with the largest population is Bgy. Iba Oeste with 10,610 people and the smallest is Bgy. Sucol with 1,410 people.

Calumpit has a relatively young population, with the age group 1–19 years old constituting 46.01% of the total population. The rest consists mainly of the working group between the ages of 20 to 59 years old accounting for about 47.96% and the elderly comprising 6.02%.

In terms of sex distribution, males exceeded the number of females very slightly with a count of 35,710 and 35,087, respectively.

Language

Calumpit is predominantly a Tagalog speaking town with about 96.3% of its people being fluent speakers. Others speak Kapampangan.

Religion

Having been the very first town in Bulacan province that being Christianized by the Spaniards in 1572, the majority of the people are of the Roman Catholic faith about 80% of the total population. After Philippine–American War in the 1902, Protestantism started gaining a foothold in the municipality. Significant minorities include contemporary sect such as Iglesia ni Cristo, Dating Daan, Iglesia Filipina Independiente and other non-catholic denominations are exist in the town.

Labour and Employment

As of 1995, Calumpit had a relatively big labor force of 24,095 persons or 66% of population consisting of people ages 20–59. Around 35% of these are accounted to possess varying degrees of skills and are employed in their respective occupations; 28% are housewives but nevertheless have found occasional employment as farmhands, vending farm-produced in the market and doing marginal odd jobs. Others are unclassified and consist mostly of students, out-of-school youth and the unemployed.

Total households income per year is P705M, annual average household income is P 66,600.00 and per capita income annually is P 12,198.00.

Literacy

The high literacy rate (98.5%) is maintained by its twenty four (24) elementary schools and six secondary or high schools. The Bulacan Manpower and Livelihood Training Center (BMLTC), based at the heart of the town, offers vocational courses and serves as the training ground for both unskilled and highly skilled workers. As a result, most Calumpiteños have acquired and maintained skills suited for employment especially in the agri-industrial field.

Economy

Major Industries: Industrial Estates, Paper, Garments, Ceramics/Pottery, Flowers/Ornamental Plants, Food/Food Processing, Gifts/Houseware/Decors

Major Products: Handicrafts, Pottery, Religious Articles

Industrial Estates: Bulacan Agro-Industrial Subdivision

Calumpit River

This river has for centuries shaped the lives of Bulakeños. The longest river system in Bulacan, Calumpit River traverses the towns of Calumpit, Pulilan and Plaridel on the east, Paombong and Hagonoy in the West and winds up through Apalit, Macabebe and Masantol, Pampanga. It was the major route for trade and commerce in this part of the Luzon making Calumpit an established barangay prior to the coming of Spanish conquistadors. The Pampanga and Quingua Rivers served as arteries through which goods coming in and going out of Calumpit passed. At present, the river is a valued resource as a rich fishing ground and providing farmers with irrigation.

Sta. Lucia Church

One of the oldest barangay in the town of Calumpit established in 1575, Sta. Lucia is very popular and famous because of its miraculous Patron Saint Sta. Lucia and its festival street decoration called banderitas. During the month of December, the whole street of the village is covered by banderitas, especially the front of the church. Many people from different places visit this barangay to witness the two-day celebration on December 12–13. Every year, starting December 4 up to the festival day December 13, the people of Sta, Lucia has an everyday Mass and Novena in honor of the Patron Saint and also they have a magnificent fireworks display during the opening and closing day.

Bagbag Bridge

Bagbag Bridge was the site of the longest battle between the Americans and Filipinos led by General Gregorio del Pilar which took place on April 25, 1899 for the defense of the Philippine forces. The bridge now serves as a reminder of the valor displayed by the Filipino who triumphed against the American forces.

Meyto Shrine

This is the cradle of Christianity in western Bulacan, where the Wooden cross and first Catholic Mass was held by the Augustinian friars in May 1572 when they set foot in Calumpit. When the Philippine Revolution came and right after the exodus of the Spanish friars,the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (a sect separated from Roman Catholicism) took over the Meyto chapel.

Libad Festival

A fluvial procession of well-decorated pagodas is held on the river every 23 June on the eve of the feast of St. John the Baptist. Townsfolk sing, dance and douse water to "baptize" passers-by, recalling the saint's characteristic act. But due to the construction of the Calumpit Bridge and its new design, the Libad Festival may not be able to pass through the traditional route again. Libad reenacts the old fluvial procession when Apalit and Hagonoy was under the auspices of the town of Calumpit.

San Juan Bautista Church

The St. John the Baptist Parish Church is one of the oldest churches in Bulacan. constructed under the supervision of Augustinian priests Martin de Rada and Diego Vivar,initially made of nipa and bamboo and gradually built into stone in 1700.The church has been a mute witness to the Filipinos' struggle against Spanish, American and Japanese rule. Inside the church is a tunnel that, as legend would have it, was used by priests during the Spanish regime to serve as way out and easy to escape from Chinese and Moro attacks. It is declared Diocesean Shrine of the Diocese of Malolos.

Education

Calumpit have plenty of primary and secondary schools, it has also some private colleges mostly the Colegio de Calumpit established in 1940. Calumpit doesn't have huge Universities and most their people go the nearby Malolos where the Bulacan State University and other universities located.

This is a partial list of secondary schools in Calumpit:

-Academia De Sto. Domingo of Calumpit Inc.

  • Calumpit Central School
  • Bio Kinetics Learning School
  • Pascual O. Cruz Memorial Elementary School (POCMES) at Sta. Lucia
  • Colegio de Calumpit, Inc. (formerly, Calumpit Institute)
  • Dampol2nd N H S Annex (Sta. Lucia)
  • Frances High School
  • Ecclesiastical Christian Institute
  • Frances Elementary School
  • Harvesters Mission Christian Academy
  • Meysulao Adv. Elem. Sch.for Meysulao S D A Multigrade Sch.
  • Petras Christian School
  • Calumpit National High School (formerly, San Marcos National High School)
  • Caniogan High School
  • Shalom Christian Academy of Bulacan
  • Shepherds Ways Academy of Bulacan
  • St. Anthony Academy of Bulacan
  • St. John the Baptist Catholic School (SJBCS) at Poblacion
  • Sta. Lucia High School
  • Meyto Elementary School
  • Montessori de Enriquez School, Inc.
  • Arsenio Santos Memorial Elementary School
  • Francisco Mendoza Memorial Elementary School
  • San Jose Elementary School
  • Rabbi Vinirosa Academy
  • Linagit Primary School
  • Prominent Calumpiteños

    Servants of God Dionisia de Santa María Mitas Talangpaz (1691–1732) and Cecilia Rosa de Jesús Talangpaz (1693–1731), founders of the Beaterio de San Sebastián, whose beatification process is now in progress are known for their exemplary lives of prayer, self-denial, service to the Church and apostolate that attracted young Filipinas.

    Kalumpiteño José Zabala-Santos was one of the most popular cartoonists in the Philippines during the 1950s for characters such Popoye, Sianong Sano, and Lukas Malakas.

    References

    Calumpit, Bulacan Wikipedia