Bacolor

Municipality in Pampanga, Philippines

Not to be confused with Bacolod or Bacoor.

Municipality in Central Luzon, Philippines

Bacolor

Municipality

Municipality of Bacolor

San Guillermo Parish Church

Bacolor Municipal Hall

Jose Abad Santos Avenue in Bacolor

Flag

Seal

Etymology: Level ground
Nickname:

Athens of Pampanga

Motto:

"Non Plus Ultra" (English: "No Further Beyond")

Map of Pampanga with Bacolor highlighted

OpenStreetMap

Bacolor

Location within the Philippines

Coordinates: 14°59′54″N 120°39′10″E﻿ / ﻿14.998428°N 120.65265°E﻿ / 14.998428; 120.65265
Country| Philippines
Region| Central Luzon
Province| Pampanga
District|  3rd district
Founded| October 8, 1762[1]
Barangays| 21 (see Barangays)
Government

[2]

• Type| Sangguniang Bayan
• Mayor| Eduardo "Diman" G. Datu
• Vice Mayor| Ron Earvin E. Dungca
• Representative| Alyssa Michaela M. Gonzales
• Councilors|

Members

* Angelina C. Angeles
* Jude Edward P. Datu
* Jo Derek P. Hizon
* Efren S. Blanco
* Carlito T. Laxa
* Renz Louie M. Canlas
* Aiza Mae K. Cunanan
* Emily M. Batac-Valerio

• Electorate| 49,890 voters (2025)
Area

[3]

• Total

| 71.70 km2 (27.68 sq mi)
Elevation

| 11 m (36 ft)
Highest elevation

| 53 m (174 ft)
Lowest elevation

| −3 m (−10 ft)
Population

(2024 census)[4]

• Total

| 59,361
• Density| 830/km2 (2,100/sq mi)
• Households

| 11,679
Economy

• Income class| 3rd municipal income class
• Poverty incidence|

6.48

% (2021)[5]
• Revenue| ₱ 356.7 million (2022)
• Assets| ₱ 825.2 million (2022)
• Expenditure| ₱ 235.2 million (2022)
• Liabilities| ₱ 322.4 million (2022)
Service provider

• Electricity| Pampanga 2 Electric Cooperative (PELCO 2)
Time zone| UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code|

2001

PSGC|

0305404000

IDD : area code | +63 (0)45
Native languages| Kapampangan
Tagalog
Website| www.bacolorpampanga.gov.ph

Bacolor, officially the Municipality of Bacolor (Kapampangan: Balen ning Bakúlud; Tagalog: Bayan ng Bacolor), is a municipality in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 48,066 people.[6]

Bacolor is the birthplace of Father Anselmo Jorge de Fajardo, considered the "Father of Kapampangan literature"[7] for writing the 1831 Kapampangan "kumidya" Don Gonzalo de Cordova.

## History

[edit]

### Spanish Colonial Era

[edit]

Historical records show that Bacolor has been in existence as a proposed settlement as early as 1571, the same year Manila was founded by the Spanish. The original name of the settlement was Bakúlud, which became Hispanicized as "Bacolor" (cf. Bacolod and Bacoor). The original name is Kapampangan for "high level rocky place" or "plateau."[8]

Bacolor officially became the capital of Pampanga in 1755. According to Spanish chronicler Fray Gaspar de San Agustin, before 1755, Mexico town “es la corte de Pampanga,” while Bacolor “es la capital” and Guagua “es igualmente.” Historian Dr. Luciano Santiago theorizes that before Bacolor was formally recognized as provincial capital, it was already informally functioning as capital, although other provincial administrative offices were elsewhere in Mexico and Guagua.[9]

Monument to Simón de Anda y Salazar in Bacolor

During the British occupation of Manila, when Manila fell to the British, it became capital of the exiled government of Governor General Simón de Anda y Salazar from October 6, 1762, to May 30, 1764. The provincial offices were temporarily moved to Factoría (now San Isidro, Nueva Ecija). Through a decree of the King of Spain on November 9, 1765, Bacolor became Villa de Bacólor, one of the only three villas in the Philippines and was granted a special coat of arms. Simón de Anda organized an army of natives for the defense of Bacolor and with the aim of recapturing Manila.[10]

### American invasion era

[edit]

Bacolor remained the capital of Pampanga until the provincial seat of government was transferred to neighboring San Fernando in 1904. Moves to transfer the provincial capital to San Fernando actually began as early as 1852 with an expediente from the alcalde mayor. The King of Spain granted the request in a real cedula dated September 11, 1881.[11] Despite royal approval, the transfer was not executed until August 15, 1904, by virtue of Act No. 1204.[12]

The coming of the American colonizers broke up the military form of government and instead political and economic reforms were introduced. A civil form of government was organized and was inaugurated on February 13, 1901, by Com. William H. Taft which took place in the old Escuela de Artes y Oficios de Bacólor, later known as the Pampanga School of Arts and Trade and now the Don Honorio Ventura State University, the first state university in Pampanga.

The first provincial Civil Governor was Don Ceferino Joven and the first Municipal President of Bacolor was Don Estanislao Santos. Pampanga was acknowledged as the first province to have organized civil government in the Philippines by General Grant, the then President of the United States of America.

### Japanese occupation era

[edit]

When the Second World War broke out, Japanese fighter and bomber planes invaded the municipal town in Bacolor in December 1941 until the town was occupied by the Imperial Japanese forces in 1942. Pampangan guerrillas and Hukbalahap Communist groups joined in an insurgency centered around the municipality of Bacolor, supported by local soldiers and military officers of the Philippine Commonwealth Army. Their attacks against the Japanese occupation continued until 1945, when Filipino and American forces liberated the municipality of Bacolor. [further explanation needed]

### Philippine independence

[edit]

In 1956, the sitio of Mesalipit was converted into a barrio.[13]

Due to the eruption of Mount Pinatubo on June 15, 1991, the municipality was hit by lahar flows from 1991 to 1995 which buried the town by 20 feet (6.1 m), killing hundreds of people and destroying livelihood. 18 out of the 21 barangays of Bacolor were buried. The lahar from Mount Pinatubo raised the town to its current level of an approximate 37 meters above sea level. Subsidence caused the constant reclaiming of parts of Pampanga by the sea.

## Geography

[edit]

Bacolor is 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) from San Fernando, 26 kilometres (16 mi) from Angeles, and 75 kilometres (47 mi) from Manila.

### Barangays

[edit]

Bacolor is politically subdivided into 21 barangays, as shown below. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

* Balas
* Cabalantian
* Cabambangan (Poblacion)
* Cabetican
* Calibutbut
* Concepcion
* Dolores
* Duat
* Macabacle
* Magliman
* Maliwalu
* Mesalipit
* Parulog
* Potrero
* San Antonio
* San Isidro
* San Vicente
* Santa Barbara
* Santa Ines
* Talba
* Tinajero

### Climate

[edit]

Climate data for Bacolor, Pampanga

Month  | Jan  | Feb  | Mar  | Apr  | May  | Jun  | Jul  | Aug  | Sep  | Oct  | Nov  | Dec  | Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)  | 30
(86)  | 31
(88)  | 33
(91)  | 34
(93)  | 33
(91)  | 31
(88)  | 29
(84)  | 29
(84)  | 29
(84)  | 30
(86)  | 31
(88)  | 30
(86)  | 31
(87)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)  | 19
(66)  | 20
(68)  | 21
(70)  | 23
(73)  | 25
(77)  | 25
(77)  | 25
(77)  | 25
(77)  | 24
(75)  | 23
(73)  | 22
(72)  | 20
(68)  | 23
(73)
Average precipitation mm (inches)  | 8
(0.3)  | 9
(0.4)  | 15
(0.6)  | 34
(1.3)  | 138
(5.4)  | 203
(8.0)  | 242
(9.5)  | 233
(9.2)  | 201
(7.9)  | 126
(5.0)  | 50
(2.0)  | 21
(0.8)  | 1,280
(50.4)
Average rainy days  | 3.7  | 4.1  | 6.5  | 11.2  | 21.2  | 24.9  | 27.7  | 26.5  | 25.5  | 21.8  | 12.6  | 5.6  | 191.3
Source: Meteoblue[14]

## Demographics

[edit]

Population census of Bacolor| Year| Pop.| ±% p.a.

|
|

1903 | 13,493| —
1918 | 15,302| +0.84%
1939 | 19,129| +1.07%
1948 | 22,920| +2.03%
1960 | 29,634| +2.16%
1970 | 40,212| +3.10%
1975 | 46,044| +2.75%
1980 | 50,942| +2.04%
| Year| Pop.| ±% p.a.

|
|

1990 | 67,259| +2.82%
1995 | 13,097| −26.40%
2000 | 16,147| +4.59%
2007 | 25,238| +6.35%
2010 | 31,508| +8.41%
2015 | 39,460| +4.38%
2020 | 48,066| +4.24%
2024 | 59,361| +5.20%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[15][16][17][18][19]

In the 2020 census, the population of Bacolor, Pampanga, was 48,066 people,[20] with a density of 670 inhabitants per square kilometre or 1,700 inhabitants per square mile.

## Economy

[edit]

Poverty incidence of Bacolor

2000
16.36

2003
15.23

2006
5.50

2009
6.23

2012
4.36

2015
9.39

2018
3.63

2021
6.48

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28]

## Government

[edit]

### Local government

[edit]

Main article: Sangguniang Bayan

Façade of the town hall

Like other towns in the Philippines, Bacolor is governed by a mayor and vice mayor who are elected to three-year terms. The mayor is the executive head and leads the town's departments in executing the ordinances and improving public services. The vice mayor heads a legislative council (Sangguniang Bayan) consisting of councilors from the barangays or barrios.

### Town hall

[edit]

The municipal building is the former site of the Venturas house, one of Bacolor's most prominent families. On July 8, 1953, the new town hall was completed during the tenure of Mayor Manuel de Jesus. Its construction was a project of Senator Pablo Ángeles y David, a native of Bacolor.[29]

## Tourism

[edit]

Welcome arch

The main landmark of the town is the San Guillermo Parish Church known as the 'sunken church', one of the structures that was half-buried by the lava flow from the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991. The church has since been renovated and is currently operational and may be accessed through what were once the second floor windows, now converted into doorways. The sunken church and town of Bacolor served as the main production location of the 2009–2010 ABS-CBN and 2013 Jeepney TV religious-oriented television series May Bukas Pa from January 15, 2009 to February 5, 2010 (with the show's uncut airing version where a deleted scene of the finale episode was aired from March 11 to December 5, 2013). The municipality also made an appearance in various films such as the 1996 movie Istokwa, 2006 movie Summer Heat and 2008 movie Jay, and in the music video of the song Promise Me by J Brothers. The Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in Cabetican is also famous for its annual pilgrimage and barrio fiestas.

Other notable landmarks in Bacolor include Memorial Kilometer Posts of the Bataan Death March along the Old National Road, the oldest trade school in Far East, the Don Honorio Ventura Technological State University; the Simón de Anda y Salazar monument at the town hall; monument to the Kapampangan writer and revolutionary leader Juan Crisostomo Soto (1867–1918); and Monument to Felix Galura Y Napao.[30]

Bacolor's festivals are the Feast of San Guillermo and Nuestra Senora del Santissimo Rosario (La Naval) which are celebrated every 10th day of February and 3rd Sunday of November, respectively.

### The Sunken Shrine

[edit]

Original Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes (the Sunken Shrine is to the right, not in photo).

Buried by the devastating lahar flows of Mount Pinatubo eruption in June 1991, the Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes of Cabetican (abbreviated as "Maluca"), now more popularly known as the Sunken Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes of Cabetican, remains at the center of the Marian Concordia Pilgrimages and Healing in Pampanga. Originally built as an annex to the older, smaller shrine, it is under the care of Fr. Ronnie Cao, Healing Priest and Rector of the Archdiocesan Shrine.

## Notable personalities

[edit]

* Mamerto Natividad, Filipino military leader
* Pablo Ángeles y David, was a Filipino magistrate and statesman. During his career, he became a judge, a member of the Philippine House of Representatives, Governor of Pampanga and a member of the Senate of the Philippines.
* Francisco Tongio Liongson, former Senator of the Philippines
* Francisco Alonso Liongson, the son of Francisco Tongio Liongson
* Pedro Tongio Liongson, Filipino lawyer and member of the Malolos Congress
* Práxedes Fajardo, Filipina revolutionary
* Jayson Castro, is a Filipino professional basketball player currently playing in the Philippine Basketball Association.
* Zoilo Galang, Filipino writer from Pampanga
* Jordan Clarkson, Filipino-American professional basketball player

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Baluyut, Joelyn G. (October 10, 2012). "Bacolor celebrates 250th anniversary with unveiling of statue of Spanish official". PIA Gitnang Luzon. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
2. ^ Municipality of Bacolor |  (DILG)
3. ^ "2015 Census of Population, Report No. 3 – Population, Land Area, and Population Density" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. Quezon City, Philippines. August 2016. ISSN 0117-1453. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 25, 2021. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
4. ^ "2024 Census of Population (POPCEN) Population Counts Declared Official by the President". Philippine Statistics Authority. July 17, 2025. Retrieved July 18, 2025.
5. ^ "PSA Releases the 2021 City and Municipal Level Poverty Estimates". Philippine Statistics Authority. April 2, 2024. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
6. ^ "2024 Census of Population (POPCEN) Population Counts Declared Official by the President". Philippine Statistics Authority. July 17, 2025. Retrieved July 18, 2025.
7. ^ Santiago, Luciano (2002). Laying the Foundations: Kapampangan Pioneers in the Philippine Church, 1592-2001. Angeles City: The Juan D. Nepomuceno Center for Kapampangan Studies. ISBN 971-92417-1-3. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
8. ^ Forman, Michael Lawrence (2019). Kapampangan Dictionary. University of Hawaii Press. p. 20\. ISBN 9780824881122.
9. ^ "Tantingco, Robby P. The Moveable Capital of Pampanga. Singsing, Vol. 4 No. 1" (PDF). Center for Kapampangan Studies. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 12, 2021. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
10. ^ Orejas, Tonette (November 18, 2016). "Pampanga town that survived Mt. Pinatubo reclaims Spanish name and seal". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
11. ^ "Henares, Ivan Anthony. 1881-1904: How San Fernando Became Capital of Pampanga. Singsing, Vol. 4 No. 1" (PDF). Center for Kapampangan Studies.[permanent dead link]
12. ^ "Henares, Ivan Anthony. Timeline of San Fernando History. Singsing, Vol. 4 No. 1" (PDF). Center for Kapampangan Studies. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 12, 2021. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
13. ^ "An Act Creating the Barrio of Mesalipit in the Municipality of Bacolor, Province of Pampanga". LawPH.com. Archived from the original on July 19, 2012. Retrieved April 12, 2011.
14. ^ "Bacolor: Average Temperatures and Rainfall". Meteoblue. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
15. ^ "2024 Census of Population (POPCEN) Population Counts Declared Official by the President". Philippine Statistics Authority. July 17, 2025. Retrieved July 18, 2025.
16. ^ Census of Population (2015). "Region III (Central Luzon)". Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
17. ^ Census of Population and Housing (2010). "Region III (Central Luzon)" (PDF). Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. National Statistics Office. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
18. ^ Censuses of Population (1903–2007). "Region III (Central Luzon)". Table 1. Population Enumerated in Various Censuses by Province/Highly Urbanized City: 1903 to 2007. National Statistics Office.
19. ^ "Province of". Municipality Population Data. Local Water Utilities Administration Research Division. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
20. ^ "2024 Census of Population (POPCEN) Population Counts Declared Official by the President". Philippine Statistics Authority. July 17, 2025. Retrieved July 18, 2025.
21. ^ "Poverty incidence (PI):". Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
22. ^ "Estimation of Local Poverty in the Philippines" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. November 29, 2005.
23. ^ "2003 City and Municipal Level Poverty Estimates" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. March 23, 2009.
24. ^ "City and Municipal Level Poverty Estimates; 2006 and 2009" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. August 3, 2012.
25. ^ "2012 Municipal and City Level Poverty Estimates" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. May 31, 2016.
26. ^ "Municipal and City Level Small Area Poverty Estimates; 2009, 2012 and 2015". Philippine Statistics Authority. July 10, 2019.
27. ^ "PSA Releases the 2018 Municipal and City Level Poverty Estimates". Philippine Statistics Authority. December 15, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
28. ^ "PSA Releases the 2021 City and Municipal Level Poverty Estimates". Philippine Statistics Authority. April 2, 2024. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
29. ^ "Municipal building". Baculud.com. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved December 12, 2012.
30. ^ "Historical sites". Baculud.com. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved December 12, 2012.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bacolor.

* Bacolor Profile at PhilAtlas.com
* Philippine Standard Geographic Code
* Philippine Census Information
* Local Governance Performance Management System

Preceded by

Manila

|  Capital of the Spanish East Indies
1762–1764  | Succeeded by

Manila

|
|

Places adjacent to Bacolor

|  | Angeles City |

|
|

|  |
Porac
Santa Rita |

Bacolor

| San Fernando
|  |
Guagua | Minalin | Santo Tomas

* v
* t
* e

Province of Pampanga

San Fernando (capital)
Angeles (largest city)

Municipalities|

* Apalit
* Arayat
* Bacolor
* Candaba
* Floridablanca
* Guagua
* Lubao
* Macabebe
* Magalang
* Masantol
* Mexico
* Minalin
* Porac
* San Luis
* San Simon
* Santa Ana
* Santa Rita
* Santo Tomas
* Sasmuan

Component cities|

* Mabalacat
* San Fernando

Highly urbanized city|

* Angeles (Administratively independent from the province but grouped under Pampanga by the Philippine Statistics Authority.)

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* United States

*[PSGC]: Philippine Standard Geographic Code
*[Pop.]: Population
*[±% p.a.]: Per annum growth rate. Executive Order 135 §6 states that for "census years" (years divisible by 10) the reference date would be May 1st, but for all other years, the reference date is to be the "middle of the year". This means that growth rates, although correct, are not necessarily simple year-on-year comparisons.
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template