This article is about the province. For the municipality, see Bulacan, Bulacan. For the river, see Bulacan River. For the barangay, see Hindang, Leyte; Looc, Occidental Mindoro; Mabini, Batangas; Malalag, Davao del Sur; Payao, Zamboanga Sibugay; or Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte

Bulacan (PSGC: 031400000; ISO: PH-BUL), officially called the Province of Bulacan (or Lalawigan ng Bulakan in Filipino) or simply Bulacan Province, is a first class province of the Republic of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Region (Region 3) in the island of Luzon, north of Manila (the nation's capital), and part of the Metro Luzon Urban Beltway Super Region. Bulacan was established on the 15th day of August 1578.

It has 569 barangays from twenty-one (21) municipalities and three (3) component cities (Malolos, the capital city; Meycauayan; and San Jose del Monte). Bulacan is located immediately north of Metropolitan Manila. Bordering Bulacan are the provinces of Pampanga to the west, Nueva Ecija to the north, Aurora and Quezon to the east, & Metro Manila and Rizal to the south. Bulacan also lies on the north-eastern shore of Manila Bay.

Bulacan prides itself for its rich historical heritage. The province figures prominently in Philippine History. Many national heroes and political figures were born in Bulacan. The province was also one of the first to revolt against Spain (The province is honored as one of the 8 rays of the sun in the national flag). In 1899, the historic Barasoain Church in Malolos, is the birthplace of the First Constitutional Democracy in Asia. It is also the cradle of the nation's noble heroes, of great men and women; also home to many of the country's greatest artists, with a good number elevated as National Artists.

Today, Bulacan is among the most progressive provinces in the Philippines. Its people—the Bulaqueños (or Bulakenyo in Filipino)—are highly educated, enterprising and industrious. It is well-known for the following industries: Marble and Marbleized Limestone, Jewelry, Pyrotechnics, Leather, Aquaculture, Meat and Meat Products, Garments, Furniture, High-Value Crops, and Sweets and Native Delicacies, and a wide variety of high-quality native products.

Bulacan has fast become an ideal tourist destination, owing to its vital role in Philippine history, and its rich heritage in culture and the arts. The province is popularly known for its historical sites; nostalgic old houses and churches; idyllic ecological attractions; religious attractions; colorful and enchanting festivals; swimming and various themed attractions; and a wide selection of elegant native crafts and sumptuous delicacies. It is also home to numerous resorts, hotels, restaurants, and other recreational facilities.

Geography

Bulacan is bounded by Nueva Ecija on the north, Aurora (Dingalan) on the northeast, Quezon (General Nakar) on the east, Rizal (Rodriguez) on the southeast, Metro Manila (Valenzuela City, Caloocan City and Quezon City) on the south, Manila Bay on the southwest, and Pampanga on the west,

Several rivers irrigate the province of Bulacan; the largest one is that of Angat. Angat River passes through the towns of Angat, San Rafael, Baliuag, Plaridel (Quingua), and Calumpit. It flow thence into the Pampanga River, goes out again, washes Hagonoy and loses itself in the mangroves. The banks of these rivers are very fertile and are covered with trees.

Political

Bulacan is subdivided into 21 municipalities and 3 cities.

Legislative districts:

Name	Type	District	No. of Brgy	Zip Code
BULACAN	Province	5 Districts	569	-
1. Angat	Municipality	3rd	16	3012
2. Balagtas (Bigaa)	Municipality	2nd	9	3016
3. Baliuag	Municipality	2nd	27	3006
4. Bocaue	Municipality	2nd	19	3018
5. Bulacan or Bulakan	Municipality	1st	14	3017
6. Bustos	Municipality	2nd	14	3007
7. Calumpit	Municipality	1st	29	3003
8. Doña Remedios Trinidad	Municipality	3rd	8	3009
9. Guiguinto	Municipality	2nd	14	3015
10. Hagonoy	Municipality	1st	26	3002
11. Malolos	Component City	1st	51	3000
12. Marilao	Municipality	4th	16	3019
13. Meycauayan	Component City	4th	26	3020
14. Norzagaray	Municipality	3rd	13	3013
15. Obando	Municipality	4th	11	3021
16. Pandi	Municipality	2nd	22	3014
17. Paombong	Municipality	1st	14	3001
18. Plaridel	Municipality	2nd	19	3004
19. Pulilan	Municipality	1st	19	3005
20. San Ildefonso	Municipality	3rd	36	3010
21. San Jose Del Monte	Component City	Lone	59	3023; Sapang Palay 3024
22. San Miguel	Municipality	3rd	49	3011
23. San Rafael	Municipality	3rd	34	3008
24. Santa Maria	Municipality	4th	24	3022

Converted into a city under Republic Act No. 8754; ratified on October 8, 2002.

Converted into a city under Republic Act No. 9356; ratified on December 10, 2006. .

Converted into a city under Republic Act No. 8797; ratified on September 10, 2000..

Physical

Terrain

Bulacan lies in the southern portion of the fertile plains of Central Luzon. The area is drained by the Angat and Pampanga rivers. The Sierra Madre mountain range forms the highlands of Bulacan in the east. Angat Lake, which was formed by the Angat Dam is located in that area. The highest point in the province at 1170 meters is Mount Oriod, part of the Sierra Madre.

On January 19, 2008, an 18-hectare dump site, a new landfill that would also be a tourist attraction opened in Norzagaray, Bulacan province. Ramon Angelo Jr., president Waste Custodian Management Corp. stated: "I want them to see our system in our place which should not be abhorred because we are using the new state-of-the-art technology."

Climate

November to April is generally dry while wet for the rest of the year. The northeast monsoon (amihan) prevails from October to January bringing in moderated and light rains. From February to April, the east trade winds predominate but the Sierra Madre mountain range to the east disrupts the winds resulting to a dry period. From May to September, the southwest monsoon (habagat).

The hottest month is May having an average temperature of 29.7°C while the coldest is February with an average temperature of 25.1°C.

Demographics

Languages and Ethnicity

As it is part of the Tagalog cultural sphere (Katagalugan), Tagalog is the predominant language of Bulacan. Inhabitants also speak Kapampangan, which is the language of neighboring Pampanga.

Population

According to the 2007 census (as of August 1 of the same year), there are a total of 2,826,926 Bulaqueños (or Bulakenyos) with annual population growth rate of 3.30 from the year 2000 to 2007, making Bulacan the second most populous province in the country. It is also the 4th most densely populated province at 1,076 people per square kilometer. There are ?? households in the province with an average size of ?? persons, significantly lower than the national average of ??. Bulacan had a median age of 23 years in 2000.

Population by year

Year	Population
1948	394,000
1960	515,000
1970	738,000
1975	900,000
1980	1,096,000
1990	1,505,000
1995	1,784,000
2000	2,234,000
2007	2,826,926

Total Population by Region, Province and Municipality: Based on 1995, 2000 and 2007

Region, Province, City, Municipality	1-Sep-95	1-May-00	1-Aug-07
Central Luzon	7,092,191	8,204,742	9,720,982
BULACAN	1,784,441	2,234,088	2,826,926
1. Angat	39,037	46,033	53,117
2. Balagtas (Bigaa)	49,210	56,945	62,684
3. Baliuag	103,054	119,675	136,982
4. Bocaue	69,718	86,994	105,817
5. Bulacan or Bulakan	54,236	62,903	72,289
6. Bustos	41,372	47,091	60,681
7. Calumpit	70,839	81,113	98,017
8. Doña Remedios Trinidad	11,194	13,636	19,086
9. Guiguinto	52,575	67,571	89,225
10. Hagonoy	99,423	111,425	126,329
11. Malolos City	147,414	175,291	223,069
12. Marilao	68,761	101,017	160,452
13. Meycauayan City	137,081	163,037	196,569
14. Norzagaray	51,015	76,978	105,470
15. Obando	51,488	52,906	56,258
16. Pandi	40,520	48,088	60,637
17. Paombong	33,149	41,077	53,510
18. Plaridel	66,355	80,481	99,817
19. Pulilan	59,682	68,188	85,008
20. San Ildefonso	69,319	79,956	93,438
21. San Jose Del Monte City	201,394	315,807	439,090
22. San Miguel	108,147	123,824	138,839
23. San Rafael	58,387	69,770	85,284
24. Santa Maria	101,071	144,282	205,258

Source: National Statistics Office

Details may not add up to totals due to rounding.

Figures are from NSO census and considered correct and exact.

U.N. Millennium Development Goals

In 2006, the Provincial Government received from Galing Pook - a Special Citation on Local Capacity Innovations for the Millennium Development Program in an awarding ceremony held last October 16 at the Teatro Marikina in Marikina City. The province is one of the ten local government units recognized for its pioneering effort in the localization of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and promoting good governance. M.D.G. is a set of quantifiable, measurable, and time-bound development goals and targets for global human development set by UN member-states to be achieved by 2015.

Economy

Industries. The province of Bulacan is steadily becoming industrialized due to its proximity to Metro Manila. Many corporations put up industrial plants and site in Bulacan. Some of the businesses and industries include Agribusiness; Aquaculture; Banking; Cement Bag Making Ceramics; Construction; Courier; Education; Food/Food Processing; Furniture; Garments; Gifts, Houseware & Decors; Hospitals; Hotels, Resorts & Restaurants; Information and Communications Technology; Insurance; Jewelry; leather & leather tanning; Manpower; Manufacturing; Marble; Printing Press; Pyrotechnics & Fireworks Manufacturing; Realty/Real Property Development; Shoe Manufacturing; Textile; Trade; Transport Services; Travel & Tours; Other Services

Agribusiness & Aquaculture

The rural areas still mostly depend on agriculture (in the plains) and fisheries (in the coastal areas) as a source of income. Some of the major crops are rice, corn, vegetables, and fruits such as mangoes; and various kinds of fishes and seafoods.

Banking and Finance

Bulacan ia served by all major banks with more than 200 banks doing business in the province. The entrepreneureal culture is supported by the strong cooperative movement with total assest of over PhP 2 Billion.

Transportation and Road Networks.

Bulacan is dubbed as "The Gateway to the Northern Philippines". The province is linked with Metro Manila primarily through the North Luzon Expressway and Manila North Road (well known as the MacArthur Highway) which crosses the province into Pampanga and western part of Northern Luzon (western Central Luzon, Ilocos and Cordillera Administrative Region). While taking the Cagayan Valley Road in Guiguinto, the road leads to Nueva Ecija and to the eastern part of Northern Luzon (eastern Central Luzon and Cagayan Valley Region).

The MacArthur Highway traverses the province from north to south. Most major towns can be reached through the North Luzon Expressway. A good number of motor vehicles owned largely by private individuals provide mobility to Bulacan’s populace. Aside from five main highways that traverse the province, all roads are widely dispersed throughout Bulacan.

Bus terminals of Baliuag Transit, California Bus Line, Sampaguita Liner and Royal Eagle are in Baliuag, Balagtas and Hagonoy. The main bus lines of Philippine Rabbit, Victory Liner, Aladdin Transit that originate from their main terminals in Manila, Pasay and Quezon City and travel northward to cities and towns in Pampanga, Tarlac and Zambales, pass through Bulacan via the Tabang exit.

Public transportation within the province, like in most of the urban areas in the Philippines, is facilitated mostly using inexpensive jeepneys and buses. Tricycles are used for short distances.

Industrial Estate and Parks.

This is a partial list of Industrial sites in the Province.

• First Bulacan Industrial City - Malolos City
• Intercity Industrial Estate - Wakas, Bocaue
• Bulacan Agro-Industrial Subdivision - Calumpit
• Bulacan Metro Warehouse (BMW) Center - Guiguinto
• Meycauayan Industrial Subd. I, II, III & IV - Meycauayan
• Meridian Industrial Compound - Meycauayan
• Muralla Industrial Project - Meycauayan
• First Velenzuela Industrial Compound - Meycauayan
• Sterling Industrial Park Phase I, II, III & IV - Meycauayan
• Grand Industrial Estate - Plaridel
• Sapang Palay Industrial Estates - San Jose del Monte City
• Agus Development Corporation - Sta. Maria
• Bulacan ICT Park - Marilao

History

Pre-Historic Era

The story of Bulacan really begins with cataclysmic changes in the earth’s crust which, started during the late Cretaceous period, about 65 million years ago and eventually led to the formation of the Philippine Archipelago and the China Sea out of the vast expanse of the Pacific.

In this group of islands gradually isolated at the end of the last glacial period from the Asian underbelly on the largest island of Luzon, three mountain ranges, the Sierra Madre, the Zambales and the highlands of Laguna and Batangas conspired with the great Central Valley to produce tectonic stages and the patient gathering of effluvia more than one million years ago, the Bulacan River and its delta on which, Bulacan is now built.

Pre-Hispanic Period

The earliest Bulacan men came on the scene towards the end of the Paleolithic age about 250,000 years ago and was preceded by elephants and rhinoceros whose fossils have been found in what are now parts of the Province of Bulacan. He was like the rest of the human family of his time, a caveman, feeding on small animals like bats which he trapped and on the snails, crabs and shellfish which he found in the mud of the deltaic swamp of his still nameless home. In time he developed flake tools, adzes and chisels and drills and small stone knives and suddenly mobile one day he began to move up and down the Bulacan River in crude boats.

And thus he learned to communicate and to trade. After many more years he began to mine metal, to plant, to weave and to make glass and jade ornaments for the women. The large Manila Bay, the Binoangan, the Maycapiz and the Wawang Dapdap Rivers joined with the mighty Pampanga River and the Bulacan River attracted a new population, the slim, brown, lank haired Malays from the Malay Peninsula and Indonesia.

They came in ships called balangay, the name they gave their first social unit, the clan village. During the reign of the Tang emperors in the 10th century, Arab and Chinese traders began to come to Bulacan, with both Indian and Chinese influences intensifying in the 11th and 12th centuries. Bulacan had by this time became an entreport and the Bulakeños expert seafarers.

They built and sailed ships of many kinds, river canoes as well as larger vessels to carry merchandise and as many as a hundred rowers and 30 fighting men. They lived in comfortable houses made of wood, bamboo and palm leaf thatch, had a syllabary written on bark and bamboo, played music, wore silk doublets and loin clothes or flowing skirts and flimsy blouses and a great deal of jewelry.

They had devised a complicated social scheme of nobles, freemen and serfs and buried their dead in formal graveyard (with grave furniture consisting of imported Chinese pottery) at least one example of which can still be seen in Bulacan today.

The history began when a small settlement of fishermen lived along the coast of Manila Bay before the coming of the Spaniards. Later on, these settlers became farmers after moving inwards as they discovered that the land in the interior part was fertile and very much drained by the network of rivers and streams. These settlers grew and flourished into large and prosperous settlement now known as the province of Bulacan.

Quite interesting more on the country's prehispanic highlights was the discovery of the Laguna Copperplate Inscription or the LCI at the Lumbang River in Laguna in 1991 (and deciphered by Antoon Postma of Mangyan Heritage Center in Mindoro). Historians such as Zeus Salazar of the University of the Philippines considered the date of the LCI AD 900 as the start of the recorded Philippine history, not of 1521. This copperplate was written in Kavi, an ancient script related to baybayin, and contains the placename Binoangan (now a barangay of Obando), Pailah (now Sitio Paila, San Lorenzo, Norzagaray), and Puliran (first to be said somewhere in Laguna, but Postma announced that it was much near to be Pulilan of Bulacan), and a native chieftain named Bukah in to which Gatbuka in Calumpit probably derived. All of these were now part of Bulacan.

Etymology

It is believed that flowers bloomed in the region when the Spaniards came. Because of these sprawling green orchards, vegetables and profusely flowering plants, as well as the beautiful women, this lovely land had come to be called Bulacan as sort of shortened term for "bulak-lakan" and/or a derivative of the word "bulak" (kapok or cotton) which abound in the province even before the Spaniards came.

But some historians disagree on where the name Bulacan came from: some say from the word burak, because the place was swampy and muddy, while others say from the word bulak, since the road to the capital town was once upon a time lined with rows of cotton trees. According to Bahay-saliksikan ng Bulacan (Center for Bulacan Studies), this assumption may have come from the controversial Will Of Pansonum (Christened as Fernando Malang Balagtas, descendant of the Kapampangans who came from Kingdom of Achem in Sumatra, somewhere in 1380's - 1400's, and born at Tambugao [a topoplace between Calumpit and Apalit] in Calumpit (source ?)).

Another point of disagreement is the year it became a province: officialy it is recognized to be 1578, but a few documents would indicate that Pampanga covered much of inhabited land between Manila and Ilocos; even Tondo inhabitants spoke Kapampangan ( source ? ). Sun Star Pampanga: How Pampanga got smaller by Robby Tantingco. With the research conducted by the Bahay-saliksikan ng Bulacan in 2005, then its director Prof. Reynaldo S. Naguit agreed that it was founded in August 15, 1578. But if you will review his references, more particularly the report of the encomiendas of the Governor-general Gomez Perez Dasmariñas to King Philip II, it would appear:

According to the Relación de encomiendas en las Islas Filipinas, which may be considered as the first census report of the Philippines prepared by Governor Gómez Pérez de Dasmariñas in 1591, there were 75,000 "souls"in "Pampanga, which included Bataán and Bulacán."Blair and Robertson, The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Vol. VIII, p. 96-141. The Arthur H. Clarke Company.;
Census of the Philippines, 1903 Vol. I, p.421-423

Under the Provincia de Pampanga, its encomiendas was divided into 4 alcaldias,

• The Alcaldia de Bitis y Lubao (encompasses the today's towns of Lubao, Guagua, Floridablanca, Sasmuan, and Sta. Rita, and its capital was the Betis y Lubao [Betis is now part of Guagua]),
• Alcaldia de Candava (encompasses the today's towns of Northern Apalit, San Simon, San Luis, and Candaba as its capital),
• Alcaldia de Calonpite (more likely the Alcaldia de Calumpit and encompasses the today's towns of Macabebe, Masantol, Minalin, Sto. Tomas, part of Apalit, Hagonoy, Paombong, and Calumpit as its capital), and
• The Alcaldia de Bulacan (where its capital was at the present-day town of Bulakan and encompasses he today's entire Bulacan, except those towns that were part of Alcaldia de Calonpite and the Northern Bulacan, because the northern part of Bulacan and Pampanga were then at the progress of Spanish exploration.

All of these alcaldias under Provincia de Pampanga, with one corrigmiento, and that was the Corigimiento de Batan (the today's Province of Bataan) were all became alcaldias during the time of Governor-General Gonzalo Ronquillo de Peñalosa somewhere in 1580 according to Gov. Gen. Dasmariñas' report. Even though there were created as alcaldias, still there were part of Provincia de Pampanga, and the more exciting fact here was that Dasmariñas' report tells us that the town of Bulakan was recognized as "the capital-town and encomienda of Provincia de Pampanga" and it only means that the seat of Pampanga's capital was then at Bulakan, Bulacan before it became a separate province in Pampanga somewhere in 1680 (according to Dr. Jaime B. Veneracion's book 'Kasaysayan ng Bulakan') or in 1755 (according to the Erreciones that can be found at the Pampanga documents in the National Archives and also appeared at Fr. Pedro A. Gallende's Angles in Stone: Augustinian Churches in the Philippines).

In fact, many places in Bulacan bear Kapampangan names: Barangay King Kabayo in San Miguel (king is a preposition that means "in" or "at"); Quingua (now Plaridel) (quingua or kingwa is a verb that means acquired); Similarly, some folks believe that barrio Batasan (also in San Miguel) on the border with Candaba came from Batasan Pambansa, but it's actually the Kapampangan word for "shortcut"; Other places in Bulacan with Kapampangan names include barrios Kapitangan, Longos, Calumpang and Iba in Hagonoy; Pinaod and Makapilapil in San Ildefonso; Mayumu,Ilug Bulo,Biclat and Cabio in San Miguel; Masukol and Binakod in Paombong; Dalig, Batin and Balagtas in Balagtas town; Penabatan and Inaon in Pulilan; Taliptip and Bambang in Bulacan town; and Talaksan in San Rafael.

Jean Baptiste Mallat described Bulacan in his accounts, "The Philippines"(published in 1846), as "one of the richest, best cultivated , happiest and cleanest [province] in the whole archipelago." According to him, Bulacan's major products were as follows: rice; corn; coconut, the oil of which is used for lighting and fuel; nipa; sugarcane; indigo which is made into liquid paste; a little cacao; coffee which is as good as that from Moka and of the same quality as that from Indan and Silang in the province of Cavite.

Mallat further described Bulacan's economic life during the 1840s:

Trade is very abundant in this province: its connections with Manila, by sea as well as by land, facilitate development of trade.

Inhabitants of the coasts engage in fishing; in the province are counted about 15 hundred looms of which are manufactured stripped cloths of silk and cotton, tapis, cambayas, sinamay.

Shops are primarily kept by women.

Moreover, Bulacan has a great number of beggars; it is not that they would lack work if they looked for it, but it seems that in the lower class, there are many lazy and indolent people.

Spanish Period

The history of the province from the Spanish occupation has been replete with events worthy of recollection. As early as the time of the coming of Legaspi to conquer Manila with two of his subordinate officers, Martin de Goiti and Juan Salcedo, the 1000 Moro Bulakenyos through their seafaring brothers from Hagonoy showed their instinctive love of country by helping Bambalito ( source ? ) , a brave datu of Macabebe, a quite near town to Bulacan in Pampanga (which according to Conquistas de las Islas Filipinas of Fray Gaspar de San Agustin in 1590's he was a brave youth from Macabebe), and another 1000 Kapampangan Moros of Macabebe, Lubao, Betis, and some records tells also Calumpit fought at the naval Battle of the Bangkusay Channel on June 3, 1571. For Bahay-saliksikan ng Bulacan, as Bokal Ernesto Sulit of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan ng Bulacan on May 2008 recognized it as part of Bulacan's celebration to the month-long National Flag and Anthem Month (May 15-June 30, 2008), as the first recorded heroic deed of the Bulakenyos in history. Here also in this battle, Spanish friars and chroniclers recorded that Bulakenyos and Kapampangan Moro warlords sent 40 caracoas (an ancient warboat and trading boat of the Austrsnesians) to Tondo with lantakas (a native cañon believed to be made in Capalangan, Apalit, Pampangan by Panday Pira) and during that time a barangay having this caracoa means royalty, prosperity, and power in the seas and rivers. This is also recognized by Dr. Sonia M. Zaide as the first ever naval battle in the country.

By the time of Governor-General and adelantado Miguel Legazpi in 1571, Bulacan was reported to be well populated. The Spaniards organized the then existing barangays in Bulacan into pueblos (towns). The first pueblo established in Bulacan is the town of Calumpit. Calumpit was also the birthplace of Christianity in the province.

”The recorded history of Bulakan might as well start in 1572, when Fray Francisco Vivar of Guadalajara, an Augustinian, opened missions in Bulakan, Malolos and Hagonoy. He was the first to plant the Cross on Bulakan soil with the help of the Sword. He arrived in the Philippines from Mexico in 1570 and died in Pampanga in 1603. Three years later, in 1575, Calumpit was founded as a town. In 1578, Bulakan, Bulakan was established as the capital town of the province. With Bulakan as the center, the missionaries and the military might of Spain worked hand in hand to subjugate the pagan population to accepth the Christian faith. Fray Agustin Albuquerque established a mission in this town, then with 4,000 inhabitants. According to Fray Juan de Medina, O.S.A. “All the Manila religious extol the “Indians” of this town as the most tractable and most attached to the church.”

In the year 1578, the Franciscans founded the town of Meycauayan thru the zealous work of Fray Juan de Plasencia and Fray Diego de Oropeza. Old Meycauayan is composed of the different towns in the southern part of Bulacan namely Bocaue, Polo,San Jose Del Monte, Obando, Santa Maria, and Marilao.

It was in 1580 that the town of Malolos founded. According to Blair and Robertson, the name “Li-han” was the ancient Chinese name for Malolos, whose princess bore the title of “Gat-Salihan” or Gatchalian. The western town of Hagonoy became an independent town from Calumpit in 1581. The first Bulakeño uprising against Spanish rule occurred in 1587. The Chief of Bulakan, Esteban Tasi was executed with other Bulakeño chieftains in the same year. Felipe Salonga who started the revolt was exiled from Polo, Bulakan to New Spain, Mexico.

A Royal Decree in 1595 created the Archbishop of Manila, which has jurisdiction of all the parishes in the province of Bulakan. The power of the church bells was now encompassing more and more pueblos under its sway. The Cross and Sword worked marvels in the organization of the pueblos during the 17th century: the town of Bocaue was founded by the Franciscans in 1606, followed by the town of Polo in 1623 by the Franciscans and in 1628 Captain Fernando de Perona was appointed Alcalde Mayor of the Province of Bulakan and also as military commander.

A three-year war occurred in Bulakan province (1638-1640) where Chinese in many parts of Luzon revolted against Spain. There were more than 300 Chinese rebels killed in Bulakan by the Spaniards and the Bulakeños. Three years later (1643) another revolt took place led by Don Pedro Ladia, a native of Borneo. Ladia claimed that he was a descendant of Rajah Matanda, the petty King of Maynila in 1571. Ladia styled himself King of the Tagalog. This rebellion was checked by Fray Cristobal Enriquez. Ladia was arrested and sent to Manila where he was executed.

The last town in the 17th century succumb to the power of the bells was Paombong which became a town in 1650. The 18th century found Baliuag a separate pueblo from Quingua in the year 1733. In 1750 the Augustinians had 11 parishes in Bulakan, namely; Angat, Baliuag, Bulakan, Dapdap (now the barrio of Sta. Ana), San Miguel, Guiguinto, Malolos, Quingua, Hagonoy, Paombong and Calumpit while the Franciscans had 9 parishes:Meycauayan, Bocaue, Polo, San Jose Del Monte, Obando, Santa Maria, Marilao, Pandi, and Balagtas . October 4, 1762 marked the Fall of Manila from the British invaders.

That same night Simon de Anda y Salazar left Manila aboard a small banca for Bulakan, Bulakan. Early in the morning of October 5, 1762 Simon de Anda landed on the Bulakan, Bulakan pier. Incidentally, the exact location of this wharf is the site of this writer’s residence. On the same day Anda issued his first proclamation naming himself Captain General and the Supreme Governor of the Philippines and President of the Real Audiencia on account of the Fall of Manila to the British.

During the years 1745 and 1746 there were agrarian revolts in several provinces near Manila, which included Bulacan, on account of occupations of Filipino lands by religious orders. In a royal decree of November 7, 1751, it noted that in the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Morong (Rizal) (especially in the towns of Hagonoy, Taguig, Parañaque, San Mateo, Bacoor, Cavite Viejo (Kawit), Silang, Imus, and Biñan the people revolted because the religious orders had usurped "the lands of the Indians, without leaving them the freedom of the rivers for their fishing, or allowing them to cut wood for their necessary use, or even to collect the wild fruits; nor did they allow the natives to pasture on the hills near their villages the carabaos which they used for agriculture."

On January 18, 1763, Capt. Slay left Manila for Bulakan with a force of 400 British soldiers, 300 Malabar Negroes and 2,000 Chinese allies. The Alcalde Mayor and Fr. Agustin de San Antonio, the Recollect Curate of Bulakan, fought them courageously but in vain. Fr. San Antonio died heroically in defending this town against the British invaders. But his death paved the way for unifying force among the Spaniards and Bulakeños.

It was in this first battle of Bulakan that the Catholic Church was burned. The British did not stay long in Bulakan, Bulakan. By June 1763, a strong force of Filipinos and Spaniards estimated at around 8,000 stormed the town under the command of Jose Pedro Bustos. With heavy casualties the British were forced to retreat to Manila. For the first time the valor of the Bulakeño soldier was recorded in our history.

In an article by Isidro C. Gregorio of Aliaga, Nueva Ecija published in The Philippines Free Press on September 29, 1962, the following portion appears: “The British issued a proclamation declaring Anda a bandit and promising a reward of P5,000 for his capture, dead or alive. Anda countered with an edict awarding 10 million pesos to anyone who could kill or capture a British officer. While the fighting raged in the Philippines, the Seven Years War came to an end, resulting in the signing of a peace treaty on February 10, 1763. Called the Treaty of Paris, it gave the Philippines back to Spain.

Accordingly, on May 31, 1764, Anda and his men entered Manila to receive the city form the enemy. The turnover rites took place on that same day in the patio of the Sta. Cruz Church. The British sailed away after having occupied Manila for a year and a half.” The story of the British occupation cannot be told without mention of the courage and fighting spirit displayed by the Filipino warriors. In this connection, General Draper wrote in his journal: “Had their skill or weapons been equal to their strength and ferocity, it might have cost us dear.

Although armed chiefly bows, arrows and lances, they advanced up to the very muzzles of our guns, and kept repeating their assaults…” The Fall of British in Bulakan marked a new epoch. It was a period of reconstruction: the government buildings were reconstructed but the church had to wait for another 50 years before it could be reconstructed from the ruins of war.

The Fall ushered in an era of peace that would last for more than a century. The Spanish colonizers also envisioned the use of the Cross and the Plow in giving the people of the pueblos under the bells an era of peace, progress and prosperity. In 1763 San Miguel was founded as a town by Miguel Pineda who became the first capitan municipal of the town. Vast tracts of land were cultivated and planted to the golden grain which brought bountiful harvest of the basic food. In 1782 Angat became a separate town from Bocaue.

The missionaries encourage the people of Angat to develop the iron mines for the production of harrows and plows for the peasants. The plows and harrows and other agricultural implements helped accelerate the agricultural development of the province. In 1792 the town of Sta. Maria was founded followed by Marilao in 1796. In that same year Pulilan was founded by Augustinian friars. The symbol of this town up to the present is the carabao, the peasants’ beast of burden.

In 1848, the towns of San Miguel, Baliuag (including Bustos), Pulilan, and Quingua (now Plaridel) was annexed to Bulacan from Pampanga.

First Philippine Republic

At the height of the Filipino-Spanish conflict in 1890s, Bulacan was one of the first eight provinces to take up arms against the Spaniards in 1896. However the first phase of the revolution ceased in 1897 with the signing of the Pact of Biak-na-Bato in San Miguel. Under it terms the leaders were to go to Hong Kong and reside there. Under the illusory peace created by the Pact, the end of 1897 saw greater determination pm the part of the Filipinos to carry on the revolution. In early 1898, the provinces of Zambales, Ilocos, Pampanga, Bulacan, Laguna, Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac. and Camarines rose again. In Central Luzon, a revolutionary government was organized under General Francisco Makabulos, a Kapampangan revolutionary leader of La Paz, Tarlac.

By the middle of 1898, the second phase of the revolution broke out and culminated with the establishment of the First Philippine Republic. Reynaldo Naguit's Hinubog sa Batong Buhay: Mga Dakilang Bulakenyo sa Kasaysayan (published by the Bahay-saliksikan ng Bulacan in 2004) noted that on June 1, 1898, Gregorio del Pilar attacked at the midnight the cazadores of the Spaniards in Bulakan, Bulacan. After the ranging smokes of the revolutionaries of del Pilar, at the break of the morning, Spaniards hided inside the Paroquia of the Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion and later surrendered with them. Also on this day, San Miguel de Mayumo was also liberated. June 10, 1898 San Ildefonso was next to be liberated. Following Biak-na-Bato on June 21, 1898, and finally on June 24, 1898 in Bulakan, Bulacan, the Spaniards finally liberated the Province and a treaty of surrendering was signed between the Spanish governor of the Province and del Pilar, the first Filipino governor of Bulacan appointed by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo on June 19, 1898 to be the military dictator of Bulacan and Nueva Ecija. For the first time, the Philippine flag was hoisted and the national anthem was played by a band for the first time while the Spanish flag was strikes down on the pole, with a feast celebrated for the whole day.

August 22, 1898 Gen. Aguinaldo announced that Malolos will be the next capital of the Philippines, as it was formally became the seat on September 9, 1898 upon the revolutionary government arrival at Malolos. The Malolos Cathedral and the Barasoain Church became the executive headquarter of President Aguinaldo and the legislative headquarter of the Malolos Congress, respectively.

American Period

The Americans established a local Philippine government in the Philippines when they held the first election in the country in the town of Baliuag, Bulacan on May 6, 1899.

In book, The Philippines and Round About (published in 1899), George John Younghusband described the town of Malolos during the height of the Philippine-American War:

In Malolos, we saw considerable numbers of Spanish prisoners, bare-headed, bare-footed, and in rags, performing all the most menial offices as domestic servants to individual natives or as public scavengers.

Every railway station was guarded by insurgent troops, and every train at each station was carefully examined by them.

Not even an American can travel without a passport, and the only safe and convenient nationality to assume is that of a British subject.

Japanese Occupation and World War II

In 1942, the Japanese Imperial Army occupied Bulacan.

In 1945, combined Filipino and American forces including local guerrillas, attacked Japanese Imperial forces and liberated Bulacan.

The Historical Parishes in Bulacan

• • Angat : Santa Monica de Hippo - 1683
  • Balagtas : San Lorenzo de Diacono y Martir - 1621
  • Baliuag : San Agustin de Hippo - 1752
  • Malolos : Our Lady of Mt. Carmel - 1630 (the Barasoain Church)
  • Bocaue : San Martin de Tours - 1606
  • Bulacan : Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion - 1578
  • Bustos : Santo Niño de Bustos - 1867
  • Calumpit : San Juan de Bautista - 1672
  • Doña Remedios Trinidad : Nuestra Señora de Lourdes - 1989
  • Guiguinto : San Ildefonso de Toledo - 1641
  • Hagonoy : Santa Ana de Nazareth - 1581
  • Malolos : Nuestra Señora La Virgen Immaculada Conception - 1580 (the Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception
  • Marilao : San Miguel de Arcanghel - 1796
  • Meycauayan : San Francisco de Assisi - 1578 (Parish of St. Francis of Assisi)
  • Norzagaray : San Andres de Apostol - 1587
  • Obando : San Pascual de Baylon - 1754
  • Pandi : Nuestra Señora Immaculada Conception - 1911
  • Paombong : Santiago de Apostol - 1619
  • Plaridel : Santiago de Cuantioso - 1602
  • Pulilan : San Isidro de Labrador - 1749
  • San Ildefonso : San Ildefonso de Toledo - 1885
  • San Jose Del Monte : San Jose de Obrero - 1751
  • San Miguel : San Miguel de Mayumo - 1763
  • San Rafael : San Juan de Dios - 1758
  • Santa Maria : Nuestra Señora La Purissima Concepcion - 1792
  • Valenzuela : San Diego de Alcala - 1623

Education

Bulacan is noted for its advanced methods in both secondary and tertiary education. The Bulakeño students excel in different academic disciplines that made the province of Bulacan among one of the best areas of teaching in the Philippines aside from Metro Manila. The province is home to several nationally recognized public and private educational institutions such as the Bulacan State University (Main, Satellite & International Campuses), University of Regina Carmeli (the "only Catholic University in the province"), and Centro Escolar University (Malolos Campus).

Primary and Intermediate Education

Bulacan has a total of 473 public Elementary schools, 435 public schools under the Department of Education (DEPED) Division of Bulacan and 38 public schools under the Division of City Schools of Malolos.

Private Schools

There are many privately-owned (by individual or group) and church-operated schools established in the city. Private Schools in the province are member of Bulacan Private Schools Association (BULPRISA) While in Malolos, private schools are organized as Malolos City Private Schools Association (MACIPRISA)

Secondary Education

Bulacan has a total of 68 public high schools, national and provincial. Sixty-five (65) under the Department of Education (DEPED) Division of Bulacan and three (3) public high schools under the Division of City Schools of Malolos.

The following are the top public secondary schools in Bulacan based on students' performance and teaching effectiveness arranged in alphabetical order.

1. Assemblywoman Felecita G. Bernardino Memorial Trade School, Marilao
2. Bulacan State University Laboratory High School, City of Malolos
3. Calawitan High School, San Ildefonso
4. Calumpit National High School (formerly San Marcos High School), Calumpit
5. Marcelo H. del Pilar National High School, Malolos City
6. Mariano Ponce National High School, Baliuag
7. Meycauayan National High School, Meycauayan
8. Obando National High School,Obando
9. Parada High School, Santa Maria
10. Prenza National High School, Marilao
11. Pulong Buhangin National High School, Santa Maria
12. Ramona S Trillana High School, Hagonoy
13. San Ildefonso National High School, San Ildefonso
14. San Miguel National High School, San Miguel
15. Sapang Palay National High School, City of San Jose del Monte
16. Sta. Monica National High School, Hagonoy

Tertiary Education

The following are the top colleges and universities in Bulacan: (In alphabetical order)

1. AMA Computer College (AMACC), City of Malolos
2. AMA Computer Learning Center (AMACLC); Baliuag, Cities of Malolos, Meycauayan & SJDM
3. ABE International College of Business & Accountancy, City of Malolos
4. Baliuag University, Baliuag
5. Bulacan Merchant Marine Academy, Balagtas
6. Bulacan Agricultural State College , San Ildefonso
7. Bulacan Polytechnic College , City of Malolos (Main), Obando, San Miguel, City of San Jose Del Monte
8. Bulacan State University - Main Campus, City of Malolos
9. Bulacan State University - Satellite Campuses, Bustos; Bulakan, Bulacan; City of San Jose Del Monte
10. Centro Escolar University , City of Malolos
11. College of Saint Anthony, City of San Jose Del Monte
12. Fernandez Colleges Baliuag, Bulacan
13. Immaculate Conception International College of Arts and Technology, Santa Maria
14. Jesus Is Lord Colleges Foundation, Inc., Bocaue
15. Mariano Quinto Alarilla Polytechnic College, Meycauayan
16. Meycauayan College, Meycauayan
17. Norzagaray College, Norzagaray
18. Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Santa Maria Extension, Santa Maria
19. Saint Mary's College of Meycauayan, Meycauayan
20. University of Regina Carmeli, City of Malolos
21. Saint Mary's College of Baliuag, Baliuag
22. St. Augustine School of Nursing, Malolos City
23. STI College, Balagtas, Sta. Maria
24. Sienna College, City of San Jose del Monte
25. Baliuag Polytechnic College, Baliuag
26. TESDA Korea-Philippines Information Technology Training Center, Guiguinto
27. Philippine Womens University - Bulacan, Baliuag

Government

Current Government Officials (2007-2010)

• Governor: Jonjon Mendoza
• Vice Governor: Wilhelmino Sy-Alvarado

Provincial Board Members

First District:

• Christian D. Natividad,
• Vicente C. Cruz Sr.
• Patrocino F. Laderas

Second District:

• Atty. Ramon Posadas
• Ariel S. Arceo

Third District:

• Ernesto S. Sulit
• Enrique V. Viudez II

Fourth District:

• Glenn B. Santos
• Enrique A. delos Santos
• Eulogio C. Sarmiento III

Congressional Representatives

• First District: Ma. Victoria R. Sy Alvarado
• Second District: Pedro M. Pancho
• Third District: Lorna C. Silverio
• Fourth District: Reylina G. Nicolas
• Lone District of San Jose del Monte: Arthur B. Robes

Previous governors

1. Gregorio del Pilar (1898-1899)
2. Isidoro D. Torres (1899)
3. Jose Serapio (1900-1901)
4. Pablo Tecson (1902-1906)
5. Teodoro Sandiko (1906-1909)
6. Donato Teodoro (1910-1912)
7. Trinidad Icasiano (1912-1916)
8. Nicolas Buendia (1916-1919)
9. Juan Carlos (1919-1921)
10. Pio Valenzuela (1921-1925)
11. Restituto J. Castro (1925-1928)
12. Jose Padilla, Sr. (1928-1937)

1. Cirilo B. Santos (1931-1934)
2. Jacinto Molina (1938-1940)
3. Emilio Rustia (1941-1944)
4. Fortunato Halili (1948-1951)
5. Alejo Santos (1951-1957)
6. Tomas Martin (1958-1963)
7. Jose Villarama (1964-1967)
8. Ignacio Santiago, Sr. (1968-1986)
9. Amado Pineda (1987-1988)
10. Roberto Pagdanganan (1989-1998)
11. Josefina Mendoza-dela Cruz (1998-2007)
12. Joselito "Jonjon" Mendoza (2007-present)

Bulacan festivals and fiestas

Bahay-saliksikan ng Bulacan (Center for Bulacan Studies) of the Bulacan State University will soon to publish (probably on the year 2009) a special publication about the Bulacan celebrations and festivities entitled Makulay na Bulacan: Mga Makukulay na Pagdiriwang sa Bulacan.

For a meanwhile, this is the list of Bulacan festivals and there are other local festivals to be recorded and documented.

• Paglalayag Festival of De La Costa Homes III[34094] (City of San Jose del Monte)
• Halamanan Festival (Guiguinto)
• Kasilonawan sa Obando (Fertility Rites, Obando)
• Carabao Festival (Pulilan)
• Angel Festival (San Rafael)
• Sto. Nino sa Pariancillo Malolos)
• Luyang Dilaw (Marilao)
• Ligiran sa Wawa(Bocaue)
• Kawayanan Festival(Meycauayan)
• Liston Festival(Meycauayan)
• Libad ng Calumpit (Calumpit)
• Salubong sa Quingua(Plaridel)
• Bulak Festival (San Ildefonso)
• Buntal Hat Festival (Baliuag)
• Singkaban Festival: Linggo ng Bulacan
• Santisima Trinidad Fiesta:Barihan,Malolos City

Singkaban Fiesta

Singkaban Fiesta (Sining at Kalinangan ng Bulacan), a festival of arts and culture in honor of Capitol's patron saint, "Our Lady of Victory", showcasing the traditional arts of "Balagtasan", "Kundiman" and folk dances amidst of the "Singkaban" arches. The festival is celebrated in every second week of September which is in conjunction with the "Linggo ng Bulakan". Linggo ng Bulacan (Held during September 8-15), A province-wide, week-long celebration consisting of various colourful cultural presentations, art and culinary exhibits, arts and skills contests, and the prestigious annual Dangal nF Lipi Awards Night. Yearly, its activities vary depending upon the chosen theme for the year.hagonoy(Desposorio festival)

Longest carabao milk candy

Graced by Guest of Honor (LWUA) Prospero Pichay, the 2008 "Pista sa Nayon" (with the theme "Araw ng Magsasaka at Mangingisda") highlighted Bulacan's "Singkaban Festival". a 202.6-meter long "pastillas". Gov. Joselito R. Mendoza announced "We have successfully staged 202.6 meters long pastillas (4,000 kilos, made of 12,800 liters carabao milk and 1,600 kilos of white sugar, from San Miguel, Bulacan and San Ildefonso, Bulacan)." Mendoza said he applied for and submitted the feat to Guinness World Records' office. Further, residents also cooked 50 lechon (roast pigs), lechong manok (roast chicken), and 10,000 eggs.

Recent events

Bulacan P 11-billion bulk water supply project

On December 12, 2007, Bulacan and the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) signed an agreement for the development of an P11-billion bulk water supply project. Ayala-owned Manila Water Co. Inc. will implement the project. MWSS and Manila Water will provide a financial package of an infrastructure grant, a P10-million development assistance and a P10-million royalty fee to the towns of Norzagaray and Doña Remedios Trinidad, which will host the water supply project.

ICT Park jobs allotment

Bulacan Governor Joselito Mendoza announced before thousands of students who graduated from the College of Information and Communication Technology of the Bulacan State University that 3,000 jobs will be allotted for the Business Processing Outsourcing and call center company (PLDT) that will be built in the Marilao, Bulacan ICT Park, a special economic zone. Mendoza said 300 Information Technology graduates will be employed by Bulacan government for the general revision of the Capitolyo computerization, particularly the Bulacan Satellite-Based Geographic Information System (SBGIS) Project. (PIA-Bulacan).

WDACL ABK2 - TEACh

A 4-year school project for child workers highlighted the Philippines' observance of 2008 World Day Against Child Labor (WDACL). Accordingly, representatives of the DOLE, WDF, CCF, and other social partners in the national drive against child labor gathered at the Bulacan State University (BSU) to mark WDACL, on June 13, 2008. ABK2 (Pag-aaral ng mga Bata Para sa Kinabukasan) or TEACh (Take Every Action for Children) project will be implemented with grants from the United States Department.

Points of interest

City	Points of Interest[34095]
Meycauayan City (19 km from Manila)	Important Road Networks: North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) through Meycauayan Exit; Manila North Road (MacArthur Highway) through Valenzuela City.
	Meycauayan Church Old Meycauayan Church, In 1668 the old Church edifice was constructed thus served as a mute witness to history of the town; Gat Ciriaco Contreras Marker, a monument in memory of the commander who fought a fierce battle against the Spanish forces in barrio Langka ; Acacia Tree – The late Pres. Manuel L. Quezon played under this tree in his childhood days; Liputan Islands – Surrounded by fishponds and accessible only through water transportation; De Larisse Resorts & Pavilion, Meycauayan Golf Driving Range, and Emco Pavilion in Pandayan; Golden Cocoon Resort & Ancon Resort in Malhacan; Joeri’s Resort & Pavilion in Lawa; Jerime Irish Pavilion & Villa Maria Ester Pavilion in Libtong
San Jose del Monte City (28 km from Tungko-Manila)	Important Road Networks: Quirino Highway through Caloocan City, North; NLEX through Bocaue Exit via Bocaue and Sta. Maria; Bulacan-Rizal-Manila-Cavite Regional Expressway (under planning)
	Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto, a replica of the Lourdes Grotto in France. it features a mock hill calvary where life-size statues depicting the passion and death of Jesus Christ; Grotto Mineral Spring – Located on a rolling hill, the natural spring is believed to be miraculous; Grotto Vista Resort in Gaya-Gaya; Cresta del Monte Resort and Palmera North Winds Resort in Sto. Cristo; Natural falls in San Isidro; Dalisay Farm in Tungkong Mangga
Malolos City (45 km from Manila)	Important Road Networks: NLEX via Tabang Exit; MacArthur Highway
	Barasoain Church - Also known as Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish. A national shrine, the historic Barasoain Church is the site of the Constitutional Convention of the first Philippine Republic, making the Philippines the very first Asian Government to promulgate a Constitution. It was the Seat of the First Philippine Republic on Sept. 15, 1898 to the last week of Feb. 1899 under the presidency of Pedro Paterno. In its convent the Universidad Literaria Cientifica de Filipinas (or Universidad Literaria de Filipinas) was first housed. It also boasts of a light and sound museum under the management of National Historical Institute. Malolos Cathedral and Convent, known as Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception The 10th Basilica in the Philippines. Its convent was the presidential quarters ("Palacio Presidencial") of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo of the First Philippine Republic in 1898, presently the seat of the Diocese of Malolos, and has been the bastion of faith for the past centuries.; Casa Real Shrine, Printing press of the First Republic, it was restored in 1852 and was converted into a municipal library. Now a museum serving as final repository of existing memorabilia. Barasoain Ecclesiastical Museum – Repository of religious items and relics of the entire province of Bulacan, a museum managed by National Historical Institute showcasing a collection of municipal antiques and priceless array of artifacts. Siar Tree – Now known as the “Kalayaan Tree”. It was planted by Gen. Aguinaldo during a lull in the Malolos Convention. Aguinaldo is said to have conducted many political discussions here. Under the tree is a monument that symbolizes the meeting of Filipino revolutionaries represented by Gregorio del Pilar and Gen. Isidoro Torres; Don Pablo Tecson, an erudite legislator; Padre Mariano Sevilla, a nationalist leader of the church and Doña Basilia Tantoco, portraying a woman freedom fighter. Kamistisuhan Houses – These structures, located at the Pariancillo of Malolos, typify the intricate architectural designs of Spanish buildings of the late 19th century. A classic example of this is the house of Don Jose Bautista (Bautista Mansion), which was built in 1877. It housed the Ministry of Interiors during the first Philippine Republic. The Mansion is situated along the nostalgic Kamistisuhan Street, this ancestral mansion was visited by the national hero Dr. Jose Rizal to convince Triumvirate of the Ten Gentlemen of Malolos to join the La Liga Filipina. Barasoain Museum – A museum managed by the National Historical Institute where the religious artifacts of the province are displayed; Museo ng Bulacan – A museum housing a collection of valuable relics, mementos, articles, documents and handicrafts of the Philippine Revolution. Located in Malolos to promote the cultural heritage and tradition of the province. It is under the management of the Provincial Government of Bulacan. Bulacan Provincial Capitol, seat of the provincial government of Bulacan. Bulacan Heroes Park (Panlalawigang Liwasan ng mga Bayani sa Bulacan), which enshrined all the Philippine national heroes who hailed from Bulacan and officially became the Province of Bulacan's provincial heroes' park by the help of Center for Bulacan Studies since 2004. Institute de Mujeres – The place where the 21 women of Malolos, addressed by Dr. Jose Rizal in his famous letter, conducted classes. Atlag United Methodist Church, founded in 1901, considered as the one of the oldest Protestant church in the country and the oldest in the City, as well in the Province.

Municipality	Points of Interest
Obando (17 km from Manila)	Important Road Networks: Bulacan-Obando road via Bulacan, Bulacan; Polo Road via Valanzuela City
	Obando Church, venue of the famous "Fertility Dance" in honor of San Pascual Baylon, Sta. Clara de Asis and Virgen de Salambao (May 17-19); Obando Town Fiesta – celebrated from May 17-19. Childless couples can take this occasion to appeal for heavenly intercession and dance to please the Virgin of Salambao, San Pascual de Bailon and Sta. Clara. Maidens and bachelors who want husbands and wives can dance for their mates. Farmers also thank the Virgin for bountiful harvests.
Marilao (22 km from Manila)	Important Road Networks: NLEX via Marilao Exit; MacArthur Highway
	National Shrine of the Divine Mercy; Marilao Catholic Church, a 17th century church; La Prenza Dam – 1989 communal irrigation system; serves as a checkgate to prevent water overflow from destroying rice crops in the area; Hanging Bridge – A 60-m long cable bridge linking barangays Lambakin and Sta. Rosa; Lustre Pavilion & Swimming Pool in Sarmiento Homes; Dad’s Vineyard and Medina’s Farm in Sta. Rosa; Villa Felomina Resort in Lias; Four Kings Resort in Abangan Sur; SM City Marilao; Bulacan ICT Park, a special economic zone.
Bocaue (27 km from Manila)	Important Road Networks: NLEX via Bocaue Exit; MacArthur Highway; San Jose-Bocaue Road
	Pagoda sa Wawa also known as the Pagoda Festival, a fluvial parade in honor of the miraculous "Krus sa Wawa", done every 1st Sunday of July, which is believed to have saved the life of a drowning old woman. The main feature of this fiesta is the Pagoda, which glides along the Bocaue River. The Pagoda is a guilty-decorated structure riding on a huge banca. People from all walks of life enjoy the ride on the Pagoda feasting on sumptuous food while the music plays. Bocaue Museum, houses a collection of municipal antiques and priceless array of artifacts; D. Lour Pavilion in Igulot
Balagtas (30 km from Manila)	Important Road Networks: NLEX via Bocaue Exit; MacArthur Highway
	Balagtas Monument and Museum – The monument was built in honor of Francisco “Balagtas” Baltazar, hailed as the Father of Tagalog Poetry, whose masterpiece, Florante at Laura, is very popular; Bahay na Tisa (Constantine House) – One of the oldest known tile-roofed houses in the province, it was constructed in 1840 and exhibits a mixture of mestizo, Spanish and native Tagalog designs.
Santa Maria (32 km from Manila)	Important Road Networks: NLEX via Bocaue Exit; MacArthur Highway via Bocaue Intersection; Quirino Highway via Sapang Palay
	Santa Maria Church, an 18th-century church, , which is part and parcel of Bulacan’s era that resisted the American regime; Huseng Batute Marker – A simple marker in honor of the country’s King of Balagtasan; Long Meadows Resort, Dad's Vineyard Resort & Butterfly Garden, Aqua Matina, and Pamar Wonderpool Resort in Mahabang Parang; Villa Natalia, Villa Carmen, Villa Antonia and Sitio Lucia Resorts in Pulong Buhangin; Lanesca Resort & 4-K Garden Resort in Catmon; Lanesca in Bulac; Cool Water Resort in Lalakhan; Vig Jam Resort in Balasing; Stone Bridge Resort in Tumana; Denverland in San Gabriel.
Guiguinto (34 km from Manila)	Important Road Networks: NLEX via Tabang Exit
	Guiguinto Gardens; Halamanan Festival; Garden City; C.M. Farm in Cut-cut; Golden Shower in Tabe; Hidden Mountain Rocks and Alcor Center in Tiaong; Luntiang Paraiso in Tabang; Old Train Station;
Bulacan (35 km from Manila)	Important Road Networks: MacArthur Highway through Guiguinto or Balagtas, or National Road through Obando
	Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion Parish - the "oldest Roman Catholic Church in the province." It was here that Gen. Gregorio del Pilar distributed the pamphlets published and sent from Spain by his uncle Marcelo del Pilar during the revolutionary period against Spanish colonization in the late 19th century. Marcelo H. del Pilar Historical Landmark and Museum – established in honor of the patriot, writer and editor of the revolutionary newspaper La Solidaridad. Frequent destinations include Coolwaves and Bon-Bon Resorts in San Nicolas, Jojima Resort in San Francisco, Maglalang Resort and Ulit Resorts in Pitpitan, Villa Elena Resort in Taliptip, and Evangelista Resort in San Jose.
Pandi (41 km from Manila)	Important Road Networks: NLEX via Bocaue Exit- Sta. Maria
	Site of Kakarong Battle, site of the Republic of Real of Kakarong de Sili of 1896; Inang Filipina Shrine; Pandi Catholic Church Pandi Mineral and Batch Spring Resort – Famous for its mineral water which is found to have medicinal and curative effects; Villa Concepcion in Barangay Masuso; Pandi Mineral Spring Resort in Poblacion; Fortune Ville Pool and Cabuhat Resort in Manatal Fresh Water Resort in Siling Bata; Licom Resort in Bagbaguin; Countryside Resort in Bunsuran II; Villa Aurora Resort in Mapulang Lupa
Plaridel (41 km from Manila)	Important Road Networks: NLEX via Sta. Rita Exit
	Battle of Quinwa Marker – Death marker of Col. John Strotsenberg of the Nebraska Volunteer Infantry
Pulilan (45 km from Manila)	Important Road Networks: NLEX via Sta. Rita Exit or Pulilan Exit; Daang Maharlika
	Pulilan Carabao Festival – Hundreds of work animals, mostly carabaos, are led on a parade in streets of the town every 14th and 15th of May, to honor San Isidro Labrador, the town’s patron saint. The carabaos, decorated with garlands and shaved for the occasion, genuflect and kneel in front of the church; Pulilan Butterfly Haven; Pulilan Museum; Pugpog River in Balatong B; Pulilan Resort in Dampol 2A; Taps Swimming Pool & Playgroung, Villa Lorenzo Resort, and Villa Cristia in Poblacion; MRC Resort in Tabon; Merryland Resort in Taal
Norzagaray (46 km from Manila)	Important Road Networks: NLEX via Bocaue Exit - Sta. Maria By-Pass Road - Sta. Maria-Norzagaray Road
	Hilltop, the "Baguio" of Bulacan, located atop the Sierra Madre range; Pinagcalan Cave – Served as the headquarters of the Katipuneros; Ipo Dam – Used as a reservoir for the La Mesa Dam which distributes water to Metro Manila residents; Angat Water Reservoir; Pugpog River – A natural attraction in Bulacan which clear water originating from the Sierra Madre mountains; Pugpog River and Prince Resort in Poblacion; Bakas Resort in Matictic; Adventure Resort in Bigte; Falcon Crest Resort in Bitungcol
Paombong (47 km from Manila)	Important Road Networks: NLEX via Tabang Exit, MacArthur Highway through Malolos City
	Kapitangan Chapel – known as a pilgrimage area during Holy Week. As a way of repenting and sharing in the sufferings of Christ, worshippers whip themselves during the Holy Week. Also, religious rituals are celebrated in all the towns especially in Malolos, Plaridel and Pulilan. Famous for families owning old, life-sized “santos”; Ciudad Clementino Resort and Museum in San Isidro
Baliuag (50 km from Manila)	Important Road Networks: NLEX via Sta. Rita Exit- Daang Maharlika- Cagayan Valley Road
	San Agustin Church; Lenten Processions – Unique processions featuring life-sized images depicting the life and death of Christ; Baliuag Museum; Baliuag Clock Tower; Buntal Hat; El Niño Resort in Calantipay; J.E. Garden Resort in Sabang; Glorietta Park; Skate Park; Senior Citizen's Park; SM City Baliwag
Bustos (52 km from Manila)	Important Road Networks: Cagayan Valley Road (from Baliuag); Bustos-Angat Road
	Mercado House, one of the several houses used as a fort by the Kapituneros. It boasts a unique architectural design of stone carvings on façade and walls. Bustos Dam – The longest “sector gate” in the world. This is the huge reservoir of the Angat Hydroelectric plant at Barrio Hilltop, which serves as the source of electric power in the province and Metro Manila; Sto Niño Church; Antique Adobe Stone House – Built during the Spanish era.
Angat (52 km from Manila)	Important Road Networks: NLEX via Bocaue Exit- Sta. Maria By-Pass Road-Sta. Maria-Norzagaray Road- Angat-Norzagaray Road
	Sta. Monica de Angat Church, displays a marvelous Baroque architecture. Its interior replicates the famous Sistine Chapel. Baras Bakal, a stone cave; the first choice of the Katipuneros before they finally selected Biak-na-Bato. Angat Hydroelectric Dam – One of the largest dams in the country which supplies water to the Greater Manila area. It facilitates fishing and boating in a man-made lagoon and hunting in the nearby area.
Hagonoy (53 km from Manila)	Important Road Networks:
	National Shrine of St. Anne, the only church in the Philippines where the relics of Saints Anne and Joaquim, parents of the Blessed Virgin, are venerated; Princess Caroline Resort in San Miguel.
Calumpit (54 km from Manila)	Important Road Networks: NLEX via Pulilan Exit; MacArthur Highway
	St. John the Baptist Church(Built in 1572), is the oldest church in Bulacan. Constructed under the supervision of Augustinian priest Diego Vivar Ordoñez, the church has been a mute witness to the Filipinos' struggle against Spanish, American and Japanese rule. Inside the church is a tunnel that, as legend would have it, was used by priests during the Spanish regime to keep gold, religious statues and ornate jewelry hidden from the sight of treasure hunters; Calumpit Church – Built in 1575, it has a built-in tunnel where revolutionaries and Spaniards were buried during the war. Also, the last battlefield of Gen. Tanaka of the Japanese Imperial Army. It is the birthplace of Christianity in the province; Meyto Shrine – A marker of Christianization; Bagbag Bridge, site of the first battle between Filipinos and American forces during the retreat of President Aguinaldo to the Ilocos Region; Libad Festival – The town’s patron saint, San Juan, is honored with gay fluvial parade as the main attraction for the celebration; Jed’s Island Resort in Gatbuca and El Bueno Resort in Longos
San Rafael (58 km from Manila)	Important Road Networks:
	San Rafael Catholic Church – site of the bloody battle between the Filipinos and the Spanish forces wherein the blood that drenched the church was ankle-deep; Royal Northwoods Golf and Country Club San Rafael Dam and After Bay Resort in San Rafael; Malangaan spring in Tukod; Villaflor Resort in Capihan; Villa del Carmen Resort in Capihan; Violago Resort in Maasim; San Rafael Christian Ret. Farm Resort in Pasong Callos; 8 Waves Waterpark in Ulingao; CnB Craft Private Resort in Maguinao.
Doña Remedios Trinidad (65 km from Manila)	Important Road Networks: DRT Highway; Cagayan Valley Road (from Baliuag)
	Torch of Freedom Marker – Erected for one of the guerilla base camps during World War II; Puning Cave; Baras Bakal Spring Cave; Madlum Cave; Mt. Bato Falls; Tumutulo Falls; Mt. Lumot
San Ildefonso (66 km from Manila)	Important Road Networks:
	Grotto Central Cement – A memorable place because of the grotto and the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as well as the beautiful landscape and natural scenery; Bulusukan, a garrison of the "insurrectos" during the Spanish Regime; Sand Spring – Believed to have some medicinal values; Bahay na Pula; Filipinas Resort, Paul Cruz Resort, and Vanguardia Resort in Sapang Putol; Jenerosas Resort and Carmi’s Resort in San Juan; Villa Cecilia Resort in Gabihan
San Miguel (75 km from Manila)	Important Road Networks: Cagayan Valley Road (from Baliuag)
	Biak-na-Bato National Park, Biak-na-Bato – A huge split boulder which is a mountain hideout of the revolutionary forces during the Spanish regime and the place where the Malolos Constitution was signed by Gen. Aguinaldo and Pedro Paterno of the Biak-na-Bato Republic; Buencamino House – A marker honoring the leading cabinet member of the revolutionary government of Aguinaldo. As a student of UST, he led the first student activist demonstration in 1869 and put up wall posters along the Puente de España; Ancestral Home of Former Cong. Jose “Boji” Cabochan – The grandfather of the former Congressman Don Felix de Leon was a close friend of Dr. Jose Rizal; Viola House – The original owner id Dr. Maximo Viola, companion of Dr. Jose Rizal in Europe during the time the latter was writing his two famous novels; San Miguel Catholic Church – Centuries-old (more than 200 years old) edifice built by Augustinian friars; Siojo House – Owned by the Siojo Family of which former NBI Dir. Alfredo Siojo Lim is a member; Doña Narcisa B. de Leon House – Owned by Doña Sisang of LVN Pictures, two of whose grandchildren are film director Mike de Leon and Ambassador Narcisa “Ching” de Leon-Escaler; Sibul Spring – Famous for its medicinal effects. The crystal spring water comes from the Sierra Madre Mountains; Madlum Cave – Another scenic spot where stalagmites and stalactites delights excursionist and nature lovers; Tilandong Cave – A natural fall which is now tapped as a source of electric power as well as irrigation; Tecson House

See also

• List of people from Bulacan

External links

• Official Website of the Provincial Government of Bulacan
• Bulacan Chamber of Commerce and Industry
• Philippine Standard Geographic Code
• 2007 Philippine Census Information

References

1. abs-cbnnews.com, New landfill opens in Norzagaray, Bulacan
2. Population and Annual Growth Rates by Region, Province, and Highly Urbanized City: Population Censuses 1995, 2000, and 2007
3. Cavite's 2.86 million population tops other provinces...
4. http://www.centralluzon.com/content/view/13/26/1/1/ Central Luzon Local Search Paradise Philippines Page 2 of 3
5. Total Population and Annual Population Growth Rate by Region, Province and Municipality: Based on 1995, 2000 and 2007 - Bulacan
6. pia.gov.ph, Gov bares need for 3,000 grads for Bulacan ICT park project
7. Experience Bulacan (pamphlet), Malolos: Bulacan Tourism Council.
8. http://www.pia.gov.ph/info/provinces/bulacan.pdf Province of Bulacan : A PROFILE
9. Ibid
10. Jean Mallat. Les Philippines; Histoire, Geographie, Mouers, Paris: Libraire de la Societe de Geographie, 1846 , p. 123 (translated to English by the National Historical Institute, 1981)
11. Ibid., p. 125
12. Ibid.
13. Felix de Huerta, OFM. Estado, geografico, topografico, Estadistico, Historico-Religioso de la Santa y apostolica provincia de San Gregorio Magno,. Binondo, Manila: 1885 p. 71
14. For the accounts of the attempted revolt, see Blair and Robertson, Vol. XXXVIII, p.98-99
15. Conrado Benitez. History of the Philippines, Ginn and Company, p. 275
16. Blair and Robertson, Vol. XLVIII, p.33
17. Maj. George John Younghusband. The Philippines and Round About, New York: The MacMillan Company, 1899, p.p.77
18. gmanews.tv/story, Bulacan comes up with 202-meter-long pastillas
19. pia.gov.ph, Pista sa Nayon highlights Bulacan's Singkaban Festival
20. Abs-Cbn, Bulacan govt, MWSS ink deal on bulk water supply project
21. gmanews.tv, DOLE to start school project for child workers