Mayantoc, Tarlac

Barangays

Mayantoc is administratively divided into 24 barangays:

History

The first settlers of Mayantoc before the coming of Christian migrants were the negritos of the Abiling tribe. As they arrived in great numbers, so the natives were soon forced to move deeper into the forest areas of the Zambales mountain range.

The Christian settlers, mostly came from the Ilocos region, notably the towns of Cabugao, Tagudin, Sarrat, Paoay, Sinait and Bacarra settled in villages in the southern portion of the thriving town of Camiling, acknowledged as the mother town of Mayantoc. These villages later formed the barangay of Mayantoc under the township of Camiling. The place was still a forested area where rattan was abundant, a palm known by visitor traders as “Yantoc”, so that in time the barangay became known as Na Maraming Yantoc – the place of yantoc – later just Ma-Yantoc. As the barangay progressed and grew in the size and population, its inhabitants retained "Mayantoc" as its official name.

In an effort to convert the barangay of Mayantoc into a town, a petition signed by the inhabitants was sent to the proper authorities on 23 December 1916, with title deeds of several parcels of lands attached for the proposed school, market, plaza and town hall sites.

There were many others who helped in the birth of the new town, including Governor Gardner and Representative Luis Morales. Don Sergio Osmena, the speaker of House of Representative also helped in the granting of the people's petition. Then the American Governor General Francisco Burton Harrison promulgated Executive Order No. 96 declaring Mayantoc a separate town from Camiling and the new town was inaugurated in 17 January 1917. Don Manuel de Leon, then Governor of Tarlac province appointed Castillan Antonio Sanz, as the town first Municipal President. However Sanz was autocratic in Spanish customs and was in office for only six months, before a petition seeking his ousting, signed by several municipal councillors.

When the provincial board of Tarlac received the petition, Antonio Sanz was unseated, to be succeeded by the Vice President, Don Francisco Pascual Santos. That same year, an election was held in which Don Francisco P. Santos became the first elected Municipal President of Mayantoc.

The question of leadership having been popularly decided, the townspeople then took up the task of building the physical facilities of the community. The problem of a presentable Presidencia came up. But the municipal government was very poor. Bridges and roads were urgently needed. Canals along the roads of the town, especially around the plaza, needed digging. There were plenty of problems but few resources. The principal resource was the people themselves, imbued with pioneering spirit, cooperative and loyal to the leadership. The people donated whatever material they could afford, and freely gave their time and labor on the different projects of the new town.

Demographics

In the 2015 census, the population of Mayantoc, Tarlac, was 32,232 people, with a density of 100 inhabitants per square kilometre or 260 inhabitants per square mile.

Points of interest

The forested area of Mayantoc includes:

The municipality also features the Hidden Paradise in Barangay Pedro Quines.