San Miguel, officially the Municipality of San Miguel (, Kapampangan: Balen ning San Miguel), is a municipality in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the , it has a population of people.
Etymology
There are two accounts on the origin of the town's name: According to the 1953 journal History of Bulacan, the town was originally named Mayumo from the Kapampangan term for "sweets". The Spanish name San Miguel was added by the Augustinian missionaries who selected Michael the Archangel as the patron saint of the town. An account tells that the two leaders decided to form a town named Miguel De Mayumo after the name of Miguel Pineda (the town's first gobernadorcillo) and Mayumo, from the Kapampangan term and for the goodwill and generosity of Mariano Puno.
History
Spanish colonial era
The municipality of San Miguel de Mayumo was established in 1763 by Carlos Agustin Maniquiz, his wife Maria Juana Puno, and Miguel Pineda, with Pineda as the first town mayor of San Miguel. Miguel Pineda was a native of Angat, Bulacan who decided to settle permanently in the barrio of San Bartolome (now named Barangay Tartaro). He found the place ideal for hunting and was later chosen as the leader of other settlers. He formed an alliance with Mariano Puno, the recognized leader of the adjacent prosperous village called Santo Rosario (now named Barangay Mandile).
The town was previously part of Pampanga, hence San Miguel's culture having Kapampangan influence; it was separated from Candaba. In 1848, the town and the neighboring barrios, which were then part of Pampanga, were added to the territory of the Province of Bulacan.
The Pact of Biak-Na-Bato
During the Philippine Revolution in 1897, newly appointed Governor-General Fernando Primo de Rivera decided to crush Emilio Aguinaldo and his troops in Cavite, but Aguinaldo fled to Batangas and joined forces with Gen. Miguel Malvar. The Spaniards continue their pursuit but the troops outwitted them by going to the district of Morong (now Rizal) and finally to Biak-na-Bato in San Miguel, Bulacan. Aguinaldo made the mountain caves into his headquarters.
Biak-na-Bato ( in the villages of Kalawakan and Talbak in Doña Remedios Trinidad town and the villages of Biak-na-Bato and Sibul) served as one of the camps of the revolutionary Katipunan forces during the Philippine Revolution. It was declared a national park by Manuel L. Quezon on November 16, 1937, through Proclamation No. 223.
American occupation Between 1903 and 1906, the adjacent town of San Ildefonso was consolidated with San Miguel due to the former's low income and inability to finance its expenditures in operating the local government. It was later separated from the town to become an independent town of its own when it became capable of meeting its expenses.
Japanese occupation During World War II, Japanese Imperial ground troops entered and occupied the town municipality of San Miguel on 1942. Soldiers of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and Philippine Constabulary units retreated into the nearby mountains to become the Bulakeño guerrilla resistance against the Japanese occupation forces until the province's liberation.
Philippine independence San Miguel was the largest town in the province of Bulacan until September 13, 1977, when Doña Remedios Trinidad, currently the largest municipality of Bulacan, was established under Presidential Decree No. 1196 during the term of President Ferdinand Marcos. Barangays Camachin, Kalawakan, and Talbac were ceded to the new municipality.
Contemporary On August 26, 2007, residents at the foot of the Biak-na-Bato mountains petitioned president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to declare the mountains protected areas to stop marble quarrying and mining in the area.Inquirer.net, Bulaceños want Biak-na-Bato declared a protected area
In August 2014 during a field trip to the Madlum Cave, seven students of Bulacan State University died after they were swept away following heavy rains which triggered a flash flood while crossing the Madlum river.
Geography The town of San Miguel is bounded by Nueva Ecija Province to the north and Pampanga Province to the west. The town of San Ildefonso, Bulacan lies next to San Miguel to the south; and, Doña Remedios Trinidad, San Rafael, and Angat to the east.
San Miguel then was the biggest municipality in the province of Bulacan before some areas were taken and annexed to Doña Remedios Trinidad during the term of Ferdinand Marcos. The geographic nature of the town is diversified and multi-faceted, rich in nature's beauty like waterfall, rivers, caves, few mountains, hilly areas and springs. The mainland are plain agricultural lands, some part of which was substantially eroded due to commercialization and urbanization.
San Miguel is the third largest municipality by area in the province after Doña Remedios Trinidad and Norzagaray. It is from Malolos and from Manila.
Climate
The prevailing climatic conditions in the municipality is categorized into two types: Wet season and dry season. Wet Season - (Rainy season or Monsoon season) Dry Season - (Summer season)
Barangays
San Miguel is politically subdivided into 49 barangays, as shown in the matrix below.Philippine Standard Geographic Code listing for San Miguel - National Statistical Coordination Board Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios
There are 11 urban and the rest rural barangays in the town.
Demographics
In the 2020 census, the population of San Miguel, Bulacan, was 172,073 people, with a density of .
Languages The municipality, along with two other municipalities (Remedios Trinidad and Norzagaray) and one city (San Jose del Monte) of Bulacan, is the homeland of the Alta Kabulowan, the first inhabitants of Bulacan, whose language is also called Alta Kabulowan. Their language is currently endangered and is in dire need of local government intervention. The majority of residents in the town are native speakers of the Tagalog language. Due to its proximity with Pampanga towns and it was part of Pampanga, some residents also speak the Kapampangan language.
Religion and Traditions Currently, San Miguel is divided into four parishes and a large number of visitas, all of which are under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Malolos. These are Diocesan Shrine and Parish of San Miguel Arcangel located in Brgy. Poblacion; San Jose Esposo de Maria Parish located in Brgy. San Jose; Nuestra Señora delos Remedios Parish located in Brgy. Sibul Springs; and Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish located in Brgy. Salacot.
The traditions are well-preserved in San Miguel, as shown by the Holy Week processions in the mother church, which include about 60 carrozas. Numerous images of our Lord, the Blessed Mother, and saints, visited this church, such as the Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno of Quiapo and La Purisima Concepcion de Santa Maria. Every May 8, San Miguel holds its town fiesta, and every September 29, it celebrates its Pistang Patron celebration.
The tradition of Los Desposorios or the Betrothal of Mary and Joseph continues at San Jose Esposo de Maria Parish in Brgy. San Jose. The said parish celebrates its fiesta every 26 November, the traditional date which the Augustinians celebrates the feast of the Betrothal. It starts with the Procesion de los Desposorios, after which the antique image of Saint Joseph and Our Lady meet at the patio of the parish and the rite of the Renewal of Vows is conducted.
Economy
Local Government
+ 2025-2028 San Miguel, Bulacan OfficialsPosition Name Party Mayor John "Bong" A. Alvarez Vice Mayor Gerome D. Reyes Councilors Christopher T. Beltran Pol David R. Buencamino Sarah Jane D. Gatchalian Joseph Noel P. De Guzman Mary Joy Ann S. Chico Emmanuel D. Magtalas Romeo C. Magat Wilfredo D. Dela Cruz Ex Officio Municipal Council Members ABC President TBD SK Federation President TBD
List of Gobernadorcillo
+NameTermNameTermNameTermNameTermMiguel Pineda1763Ignacio Sandulan1796Agapito Santa Ana1827Victor Buencamino1858Jose Malapandan1764Agustin Payawal1797Carlos Morales1828Norberto Maniquis1859Miguel Ligon17651766Santiago Maniquis1798Jacinto Ligon1829Eugenio Dantis1860Miguel Tecson1767Marcos Bondoc1799Mariano Tecson1830Pedro Santiago1861Miguel Bantog1768Nicolas Bacaui1800Augustin Santiago1831Mariano Macapagal1862Miguel Ligon1769Eusebio Santiago1801Isidro Gonzales1832Jose Santiago18631864Esteban Bantog1770Francisco Bernabe1802Eustaquio Ligon1833Bonifacio Pengson18651866Miguel Ligon1771Calixto Yambot1803Vicente Ventura1834Tomas Tecson18671868Esteban Sayson1772Jose Tuazon1804Apolonio Fernando1835Antonio David18691870Eulogio Payawal1773Baltazar Pangilinan1805Severino Payawal1836Pelagio de Leon18711872Dionisio Maniquiz1774Jose Payawal1806Andres de la Cruz1837Marcelo Velayo Bernardo18731874Antonio Bacual1775Francisco Libunao1807Vicente Felix1838Flaviano Esguerra18751876Miguel Ligon17761777Vicente Sayson1808Eusebio Dantis1839Juan Buencamino18771878Dionisio Maniquis1778Augustin Maniquis1809Atanacio Libunao1840Calixto Limpingco1879Andres Bondoc1779Lorenzo Ligon1810Pedro Ligon1841Juan de Guzman1880Pablo Bondoc1780Baltazar Pangilinan1811Domingo Pangilinan1842Francisco Villarica18811882Alejandro Dantis1781Canuto Dantis1812Nicolas Libunao1843Potenciano Buencamino18831885Juan Fernando1782Lorenzo Yambot1813Tomas Tecson1844Valentin Viola1886Alejandro Maniquis1783Clemente Ligon1814Juan Siojo1845Jose Santiago1887Miguel Ventura1784Vicente Tecson1815Felipe Gonzales1846Evaristo Siojo1888Andres Patiag1785Pablo Ventura1816Mariano P. Joson1847Bartolome Viola1889Miguel Maniquis1786Pantaleon Ligon1817Victor Buencamino1848Simon Tecson1890Domingo Libunao1787Vicente Dasig1818Fulgencio Santiago1849Simon Santiago1891Domingo Santa MAria1788Blas Maniquis1819Vicente Felix1850Jose de Leon1892Francisco Tecson1789Dionisio Fernando1820Rufino San Gabriel1851Bartolome Viola1893Marcos Zapala1790Jacinto Santiago1821Eugenio Dantis1852Lucio Maniquis1894Miguel Quiambao1791Manuel Bantog1822Tranquilino Gabriel1853Ciriaco Libunao1895Andres Bantog1792Narciso Macapagal1823Victor Buencamino1854Simon T. Libunao1896Teodoro Tuazon1793Mariano delos Santos1824Catalino Ligon1855Gregorio Marquez1897Miguel Morales1794Lorenzo Tecson1825Juan Siojo1856Simon Tecson18981899Tibursio Sayson1795Lorenzo Ligon1826Tibursio Tecson1857Jose Buencamino1900Teodoro Lim
List of chief executives +NameTermNotesMunicipal PresidentMeliton Carlos19011903Damaso Sempio19031905Mariano Tecson19061908Miguel Siojo19081912Serafin Tecson19121916Catalino Sevilla19161919Juan Buencamino Sr.19191922Jose Ligon19221925Eugenio Tecson19251928Regino Sevilla19281931Moises V. Ligon19311934Municipal MayorFlorentino C. Viola19341938Regino Sevilla19381940Eugenio Tecson19411944Rafael Roura Luis Santa Maria
Eugenio Tecson
Manuel V. Fernando1945Appointed as Alcalde during Philippine LiberationEugenio Tecson19451951Remained in position after World War IIConrado S. Pascual19521955Felipe V. Buencamino19561963Benjamin S. Payawal19631967Felix M. Tayag19641967Marcelo Aure19681979Appointed as Municipal Mayor during Martial Law (Bagong Lipunan) era from 1976 - 1979Juan F. Dela Cruz19791986Municipal Mayor during Martial Law (Bagong Lipunan) eraManuel Lipana19861987Transitional Municipal Government during 1987 ReferendumFernando B. Mendez Sr.19881995Santiago C. Sevilla19952004Edmundo Jose "Pop" T. Buencamino20042006Term not finished; suspended due to his case in Sandiganbayan.Roderick DG. Tiongson20062016Vice Mayor during "Pop" Buencamino's term; sworn into office as Acting Mayor from 2006 - 2007 Marivee Mendez - Coronel20162019First Female Mayor of San Miguel, BulacanRoderick DG. Tiongson20192025Roderick Tiongson's 2nd Run as Municipal Mayor
Education
San Miguel is served by an extensive network of educational institutions at the elementary, secondary, and tertiary levels. The municipality is home to numerous public and private schools, along with institutions for technical and higher education.