Mabalacat


', officially the ', is a of the Philippines| in the province of,. According to the, it has a population of people.
The former municipality was officially upgraded to a city following a referendum on July 21, 2012 and became the third in Pampanga after Angeles and San Fernando.
The city's name is derived from indigenous Negrito word mabalacat meaning "forest of balacats".
Mabalacat has a land area of. Roughly majority of the Clark Freeport Zone is located in Mabalacat, the rest in nearby Angeles, where the main gate is located. The Clark International Airport, as well as the numerous hotels, casinos, golf courses, and resorts in Clark Freeport, are mostly situated in Mabalacat City.
in Mabalacat City, Pampanga
The soil is charcoal black and shiny, a sign of fertility, and is suitable for growing rice, sugarcane and other rootcrops. Like the neighbouring cities of Angeles and San Fernando and the towns/municipalities of Porac, Bacolor, Santa Rita, Mexico, Magalang and Arayat, this city rarely gets inundated by floods from heavy rains and typhoons because it is situated on an elevated, well-drained part of the Central Luzon plains known as the "Upper Pampanga".
Mabalacat is from Manila, from Angeles, and from the provincial capital, San Fernando.

Barangays

Mabalacat is politically subdivided into 27 barangays.
The largest barangay is Dau, which became a barrio in 1936 by virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 1. It is now a business center whose commercial output runs parallel to that of downtown. A former terminus of the North Luzon Expressway, it is the most urban and most populous area in Mabalacat, home to roughly 23% of the city's population.
San Francisco, the second largest barangay, along with San Joaquin, Santa Ines, Poblacion, Calumpang and other barangays are categorized as urban in view of their proximity to the city proper. Sapang Balen, with a population of 166 persons, is the smallest barangay.

History

Prior to 1712, Mabalacat was a barrio of Bambang, now Bamban, Tarlac. It became a town in 1792, and was named after the abundant Balacat tree, a fourth class timber tree with bark that possess antimicrobial properties. Once a settlement of an Aeta tribe, the area was a virtual forest of balacat trees. "Ma-balacat" in the native Kapampangan language means "full of Balacats." Mabalacat in Maranao is "Mababaapalaqat", which means "maiksing hagdan" in Tagalog.
In 1853 Mabalacat had a population of 2,611 and four barangays, namely, Babangdapu, Duquit, Malabni, and Paglimbunan. By 1903 its population increased to 7,049 in 19 barangays. These were Bical, Bundagul, Dapdap, Dau, Dolores, Iba, Mabiga, Mamatitang, Mangalit, Matas, Mawaque, Paralayunan, Poblacion, Quitangil, San Joaquin, Santa Ines, Santa Maria, Sapang Balen, and Sapang Biabas. In 1948, Mabalacat's barangays increased to 20 with the addition of Fort Stotsenburg.
In 1860 a military command was established by authorities of the Spanish Governor-General due to the lawlessness and depredations perpetrated by the negritos. The Pampanga towns of Bamban, Capas, Concepcion, Victoria, Tarlac, Magalang, Porac, and Floridablanca and Mabalacat were created into what was called a Commandancia Militar. However, in 1873 the Military Command returned Mabalacat together with the towns of Magalang, Floridablanca, and Porac to the parent province, Pampanga.

Demographics

Climate

Economy

Mabalacat has an average annual income of as of 2011 derived mostly from municipal license fees, land tax, Internal Revenue allotment, roads and bridges fund. In 1997, there were 2,447 business establishments registered in the Mabalacat City, consisting of 79 manufacturers mostly involved in sash factory, iron works, ceramics, bakery and 1,806 trading companies. The financial needs are served by eleven banks, mostly concentrated in Dau.
Public utilities include the Mabalacat Water System, Pampanga Electric Corporation II, three telephone companies namely, Datelcom Corporation, Smart Communications and Digital Telecommunications Philippines, Incorporated and one cable television network which runs solely for Mabalacat.
The city is also a major transportation hub; a number of major road networks including the North Luzon Expressway, Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway, and MacArthur Highway cut across the region. At the southern part of the city is the Dau Bus Terminal, which caters to passengers bound for Metro Manila and provinces in Northern Luzon such as Tarlac, Pangasinan, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Nueva Ecija, La Union, Bataan, and Zambales.

City Fiesta

Legend tells us that when the early settlers were clearing the forests, Cabezang Laureana's workers found, hidden among the bushes, a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary with baby Jesus sitting on her lap. On February 2, the statue was presented by Caragan as a gift to Padre Maximo Manuguid, the priest of the early Mabalacat Church that was made of sawali and cogon grass. From then on, the city fiesta was observed on the second of February.

Pastorella

The pastorella ceased in Pampanga towns for 40 years after Vatican II.
In Mabalacat, however, at Our Lady of Divine Grace Parish and San Rafael Arkanghel Parish, pastorella lives on: In the 4:30 a.m. mass on Monday, the pastorella repertoire includes the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus and Agnus Dei. The hymns are in Latin, except for Kyrie, which is in Greek."

Education

There are 31 educational institutions in Mabalacat: one state college, one private college, one technical training school, two secondary public, two private high schools and 25 public elementary schools divided into two districts, Mabalacat North and Mabalacat South. Technical Education and Skills Development Authority accredited institutions offering vocational-technical skills abound in the area.

State University

The University of the Philippines - Diliman Extension Program in Pampanga is located in a portion of Clark Freeport Zone that is located in Mabalacat City. It offers undergraduate courses such as BA Applied Psychology, BA Business Economics and BS Business Management. It also offers a non-thesis graduate course, Master in Management .

Private schools

Private schools in Mabalacat listed with the Department of Education are Livingstone International School, Athena's Cradle Center, Inc., Brightstone Learning Center, Children of Fatima School, Inc., Christian Vision Academy Madapdap, Dee Hwa Liong College Foundation, Don Bosco Academy Pampanga, Don Teodoro V. Santos Institute, Doña Asuncion Lee Integrated School, Great Shepherd Christian Academy, Immanuel Montessori School, Inc., Clark College of Science and Technology, Jose C. Feliciano College, Mabalacat Christian Academy, Mary Help of Christians School, Inc., Montessori School of St. Nicholas, Nehemiah Christian School, Inc., School of the Infant Jesus the Empowered Zone for Excellence in Education, Inc. Dau, Shield of Victory Christian School, St. Anthony College of Technology, , and Divine Grace Academy, FDSA Aviation College of Science and Technology Inc.
Listed with and accredited by TESDA is the Asian Institute of Computer Studies, a private technical school offering I.T. courses.

Government

Mabalacat City Government is composed of a Mayor as a Chief Executive and Sangguniang Panlungsod headed by the City Vice Mayor and 10 Sangguniang Panlungsod members with 3 ex-officios
MAYOR
Crisostomo "Cris" C. Garbo
VICE-MAYOR
Atty. Gerald Guttrie "Geld" P. Aquino
SANGGUNIANG PANLUNGSOD MEMBERS
1. Krizzanel "Win-Win" Garbo
2. Marcos "Jun" Castro Jr.
3. Liza Pineda
4. Niño Reynan "RS" Delos Reyes
5. Dr. Victor "Cocoy" D. Tiglao II
6. Jerry Magsino
7. Noelito "Noel" B. Castro
8. Dwight Oliver Morales
9. Timothy Paul "Timmy" Llanos Dee
10. Francis Carlo "Carl" Dizon
11. Marjorie Grace Morales-Sambo
12. Hans Christian G. Balingit
13. Ruvielane Margarito

The story of the Motto

Since the inauguration of Mayor Crisostomo Garbo's first term, he added the name Bayung to Mabalacat making it Bayung Mabalacat or New Mabalacat. Mayor Garbo took the Mayoralty of Mabalacat after the former Mayor Marino "Boking" P. Morales' Certificate of Candidacy cancelled due to the petition filed by Ms. Pyra Lucas who was one of the opponent of Mayor Garbo and former mayor Morales during the 2016 elections. Morales served as the City Mayor for 22 consisting years giving him the longest serving Mayor, not only in Pampanga but in the whole country. On July 17, 2017, Mayor Garbo officially take the Office of the City Mayor. In less than a month, Mayor Garbo started to give medical services for indigent Mabalaqueños. He also give scholarship programs and Funeral service program. The LGU also released emergency vehicles such as ambulance for every barangay and police mobile for peace and security. Mayor Garbo also hired new job orders who will maintain the cleanliness of all the Barangay.
On July 2018, a year after he ascended into his office, the Local Government Unit released the official theme of Bayung Mabalacat wrote by Alex Castro, tune of Leo Calma, arranged by Joshue David and sung by John Iric Inrico.

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