Baliuag
| Baliuag | ||
|---|---|---|
| Municipality | ||
View of the Clock Tower from Glorietta Plaza
|
||
|
||
| Nickname(s): Buntal Hat Capital of the Philippines | ||
 Map of Bulacan showing the location of Baliuag |
||
.svg)
 Baliuag
|
||
| Coordinates: 14°57′N 120°54′E / 14.95°N 120.9°ECoordinates: 14°57′N 120°54′E / 14.95°N 120.9°E | ||
| Country | Philippines | |
| Region | Central Luzon (Region III) | |
| Province | Bulacan | |
| District | 2nd District | |
| Founded | May 15, 1734 | |
| Barangays | 27 | |
| Government | ||
| • Mayor-elect | Ferdie V. Estrella (NPC) | |
| • Vice Mayor | Cristopher F. Clemente (LP) | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 45.05 km2 (17.39 sq mi) | |
| Elevation | 23 m (75 ft) | |
| Population (2015 census) | ||
| • Total | 149,954 | |
| • Rank | 19 out of 1,489 Municipalities | |
| • Density | 3,300/km2 (8,600/sq mi) | |
| • Poverty rate |
 5.4% |
|
| Demonym(s) | Baliuageño/ña | |
| Time zone | PST (UTC+8) | |
| ZIP code | 3006 | |
| IDD : area code | +63 (0)44 | |
| Income class | 1st class urban | |
| Electricity | Manila Electric Company | |
| • Consumption | 66.12 million kWh (2003) | |
Baliuag, is a first class urban municipality in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 149,954 people.
Baliuag was founded on 1732 by Augustinian friars and was incorporated by the Spanish Governor-General on 1733. The town was a part of Quingwa (now Plaridel) before.
Through the years of Spanish domination, Baliuag was predominantly agricultural. People had to depend on rice farming for main source of livelihood. Orchards and tumanas yielded fruits and vegetables, which were sold in the public market. Commerce and industry also played important contributions to the economy of the people. Buntal hat weaving in Baliuag together with silk weaving popularly known in the world as Thai silk; the manufacturer of cigar cases, pina fibers, petates (mats) and Sillas de Bejucos (cane chairs) all of fine quality became known in many parts of the world. The local market also grew. During the early part of the 19th century Baliuag was already considered one of the most progressive and richest town of Bulacan. The growth of the public market has significantly changed the mode of economy of the town.
Baliuag is the major commerce, transportation, entertainment and educational center of Northern Bulacan. With the continuous expansion of Metro Manila, the municipality is now part of Manila's built up area which reaches San Ildefonso in its northernmost part.
Five days before May 6, 1899, Henry Ware Lawton's troops marched to Baliuag, after the fateful and bloody encounter at the "Sabang, Baliuag Battle". Baliuag was the first Municipio ever created during the American regime in the Philippines, on May 6, 1899, five days before the fateful "Sabang Battle".
Augustinian friar, Fr. Joaquín Martínez de Zúñiga, OSA, in his "1803 Historia de las Islas Filipinas" wrote that the Convent or Parochial house of San Agustin, in Baliuag, is the best in the whole Archipelago and that no edifice in Manila can be compared to it in symmetry and beauty amid its towering belfry, having been a viewing point of the town's panorama. The frayle further stated that the Convent was a repository of priceless parish records which dated to the founding of Baliuag as a "pueblo" or "parrochia" by the OSA or Augustinians in 1733. But it the first convent was erected at Barangay Sta. Barbara, Baliuag before the Parokya was formally established at the now Plaza Naning, Poblacion.
...
Wikipedia