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PROVINCIAL PROFILE OF PANGASINAN
FAST FACTS
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LOCATION
Pangasinan, on the western coast of Luzon, occupies the northern portion of the Island's central plains. It is bounded on the north by Lingayen Gulf, La Union, and Benguet, on the northeast by Nueva Viscaya, on the east and southeast by Nueva Ecija, on the south by Tarlac and Zambales, and on the west by the South China Sea.
THE LAND
The broad alluvial plain in the central part of the province extends into a peninsula in the west that juts into the South China Sea. The coast from the tip of this peninsula, Cape Bolinao, arcs eastward to La Union to form Lingayen Gulf. Off the gulf's western coast lie numerous islands including the cluster called the Hundred Islands. In the northeast, the plain rises into the foothills of the Cordillera Central Mountains.
The Agno River flows across the plain for 275 km to Lingayen Gulf. In the west is another hilly are where the Zambales Mountain Range ends. Pangasinan has two distinct seasons: it is dry from November to May and wet the rest of the year. It lies along a major fault that runs along Luzon's east coast from Dingalan Bay in Aurora Province to Lingayen Gulf. Typhoons move in occasionally from the South China Sea, while heavy rainfall can cause flooding.
A BRIEF HISTORY
The word Pangasina literally means the "the place where the salt is made." In early times, Lingayen Gulf was already an important trading center. Ilocanaos came here with their blankets, pots, and knives. The Zambals and Igorots came down from the mountains to batter gold for rice and livestock. Chinese and Japanese junks visited the area for native products in exchange for the luxury goods they brought. Commerce was thriving when the Spanish arrived in 1572. The Chinese pirate Limahong attempted to establish settlement on the shores of Lingayen in 1574 but was defeated by the forces of Juan de Salcedo after a four-month siege.
In 1580, Pangasinan was created into a province with territories to the present Zambales and parts of La Union and Tarlac. By the middle of the 19th century, the northern towns from Agoo to Bacnotan were separated from the province to form part of La Union.
In 1874, its territory was further reduced with the annexation of three of its southern towns to Tarlac. Lingayen was designated as the provincial capital. One of its sitios, Bacnotan, became a town in 1590 and a city renamed Dagupan in 1720. Binalatongan, the largest town, later became San Carlos City. After the outbreak of the Filipino-American War in 1899, the first Philippine Republic set up in Malolos, Bulacan transferred its seat to various provinces in Central Luzon and finally to Bayambang, Pangasinan. There, General Emilio Aguinaldo disbanded his army and organized guerrilla units to escape the pursuing American forces.
During the World War II, Japanese forces landed at Lingayen Gulf on December 21, 1941. The American Liberation Force landed on the same coastal stretch of Luzon on January 9, 1945, in the latter days of the was in the Pacific. Pangasinan is the home province of President Fidel V. Ramos.
THE PEOPLE
The province's inhabitants are mostly Pangasinenses or Ilocanos. Those in the western towns speak Pangasinense while the rest speak mainly Ilocano, with some Zambaleņo.
COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
The major industries are farming and fishing. The province accounted for more than half the Ilocos region's rice output in 1991. Other products are corn, tobacco, garlic, sugarcane, salt, and cassaca. Pangasinan also has substantial fish production. In 1991, it turned out three times as much as the next leading fish-producing province in the region, Ilocos Norte. Extensive fish ponds where bangus are raised are found near the coasts. Prawn and oyster farms also bound.
The province is also known for its bagoong, the popular fish or shrimp paste. Cottage industries include blanket-weaving, basketry, bamboocraft, furniture-making and shellcraft. The ox-drawn wagons bearing handicrafts of all sizes and shapes are from Pangasinan.
Information gathered from:
League of
Provinces
by:Roberto C. Arellano
This page last revised:January 20, 1999.
