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  • Pangasinan, the people, language, province or region of Pangasinan located on the west coast of the island of Luzon off Lingayen Gulf in the Philippine archipelago.
  • Pangasinan language, a language of the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian family of languages; it is the primary language of the province of Pangasinan in the Philippines and the dominant language of central Pangasinan.
  • Pangasinan province, a province of the Philippines located on the west coast of the island of Luzon off Lingayen Gulf in the Philippine archipelago.
  • Pangasinan people, the people of Pangasinan, indigenous speakers of the Pangasinan language, or residents of Pangasinan.
  • Pangasinan coastal region, the coastal area of Pangasinan historically known for its salt making industry.
  • Pangasinan region, a linguistic, cultural and geo-political region located on the west coast of the island of Luzon off Lingayen Gulf in the Philippine archipelago with a distinct Pangasinan language, culture, and heritage.
  • Pangasinan nation, the united people of Pangasinan or as a linguistic and an ethnic group.
  • Pangasinense, a hispanicized term for Pangasinan.
  • Kaboloan or Caboloan, an old name of the region of Pangasinan; the etymology means "place of bolo"; it is derived from the Pangasinan word bolo, a variety of bamboo.
  • Pangalatok, a slang term of doubtful etymology mistakenly used by non-Pangasinans in the Philippines to refer to the Pangasinan language and its native speakers.


  • Pangasinan means "place of salt" or "place of salt-making"; it is derived from asin, the Pangasinan word for "salt."
  • pangasinan means "salt or salted-product container" or "salted-products"; it is derived from asin, the Pangasinan word for "salt."


Pangasinan Province

Pangasinan is a province of the Philippines located on the west coast of the island of Luzon off Lingayen Gulf. Its capital is Lingayen and borders La Union and Benguet to the north, Nueva Vizcaya and Nueva Ecija to the east, and Zambales and Tarlac to the south. To the west of Pangasinan is the South China Sea and the province encloses the Lingayen Gulf.

AREA: The land area of Pangasinan is 3,368.82 sq. km. It is divided into 44 municipalities, 4 cities, 1,364 barangay, and 6 congressional districts.

POPULATION: The population of Pangasinan is 2,434,086 (National Statistics Office, 2000 Census). Pangasinan is the most populated province in the Philippines. The estimated population of the indigenous speakers of the Pangasinan language is 55 percent of the total population of the province of Pangasinan.

Pangasinan is 170 km. north of Manila, 50 km. southwest of Baguio City and 115 km. north of Subic Bay Freeport.

Pangasinan is famous for the Hundred Islands National Park. This is a marine park located off the coast of Alaminos City in the Lingayen Gulf and is composed of some 123 islands, most of which are quite small and uninhabited. Lingayen Beach, Bonuan Blue Beach, and San Fabian White Beach are also popular tourist attractions. Many Christians make a pilgrimage to the shrines of Manaoag and Calasiao.

Pangasinan is noted as the birthplace of President Fidel V. Ramos and Speaker Jose de Venecia, Jr. It is also the home province of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's mother, and actor Fernando Poe Jr.'s father.

The Sual Coal-Fired Power Plant, San Roque Multi-Purpose Dam, Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines and the Northern Cement Corporation are located in Pangasinan. There are plans to make Sual Bay an international seaport, Lingayen a major airport, and the Dagupan City and San Carlos City corridor a "Silicon Valley."

Pangasinan occupies a strategic geo-political position in the central plains of Luzon, known as the rice granary of the Philippines. Pangasinan has been described as a gateway to the north of Luzon and as the heartland of the Philippines.

Out of concern for the welfare and progress of Pangasinan, some Pangasinans are demanding sovereignty or greater autonomy for Pangasinan; some are seeking political recognition for Pangasinan as an autonomous region, to be called Pangasinan Autonomous Region.

The state of crisis of the national government in Manila and the slow pace of development of the Philippine economy is forcing many Pangasinans to emigrate to wealthier countries, like the United States. But, true Pangasinans do not forget their baley, delicious mangoes, inlubi rice cakes, fresh bangus and, of course, the salty bagoong.

Province of Pangasinan
Region: Ilocos Region (Region I)
Capital: Lingayen
Founded: 1578
2000 census—2,434,086 (3rd largest)
Density—453 per km² (8th highest)
Area: 5,368.2 km² (15th largest)
Governor: Victor Aguedo E. Agbayani (2004-2007)
Image:Ph locator map pangasinan.png

People and culture

The people of Pangasinan are called Pangasinan, Pangasinense or simply taga Pangasinan, which means "from Pangasinan." The population of Pangasinan is 2,434,086 (National Statistics Office, 2000 Census). Pangasinan is the most populated province in the Philippines. The estimated population of the indigenous speakers of the Pangasinan language is 55 percent of the total population of the province of Pangasinan. Most of the rest of the population are Ilocano, Bolinao, and Tagalog.

The Pangasinan language is of the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian family of languages. It is the primary language of the province of Pangasinan and the dominant language in central Pangasinan. The Pangasinan language is similar to the other Malayo-Polynesian languages of the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Madagascar. It is closely related to the Nibaloi or Ibaloy language spoken in the neighboring province of Benguet. The Pangasinan language is an agglutinative language. Linguistic studies show some word correspondences between Pangasinan and the ancient Sumerian language, the first known written language. Sumerian was spoken in the ancient city of Sumer in southern Mesopotamia, and it is also an agglutinative language like Pangasinan.

The ethnicity of the people of Pangasinan is predominantly Malay or Malayan, like most of the people of the Phlippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Madagascar. The people of Pangasinan are also related to the Polynesians of the Pacific islands, the Formosan of Taiwan, the Cham of central Vietnam and Cambodia, the Malagasy of Madagascar, and probably distantly related to the Ainu of Japan.

The religion of the people of Pangasinan is predominantly Christian, although few are strict believers and continue to practice their indigenous beliefs and rituals, like most of the people of the Philippines. Spanish and American missionaries introduced Christianity to Pangasinan. Prior to the Spanish conquest in 1571, the religion of the people of Pangasinan was similar to the indigenous religion of the highland Igorot or the people of the Cordillera region who mostly retained their indigenous culture and religion.

The culture of Pangasinan is a blend of the indigenous Malayo-Polynesian and western Hispanic and American cultures, with some Indian, Arabic, and Chinese influences. Today, Pangasinan is very much westernized.

Some prominent people of Pangasinan heritage include President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo whose mother is from Binalonan, Pangasinan; President Fidel Valdez Ramos, who was born in Lingayen, Pangasinan; Speaker Jose de Venecia, Jr., who was born in Dagupan City, Pangasinan; and the late actor and presidential candidate Fernando Poe, Jr., whose father is from San Carlos City, Pangasinan.








Prehistoric Pangasinan

Archeological and paleontological evidence suggests that Homo sapiens or modern humans existed in Palawan at least 50,000 years ago. These inhabitants are called the Tabon Man. Genetic studies of human DNA markers also suggest the presence of modern humans in Southeast Asia and Australia at least 55,000 years ago.

Austronesian-speakers probably settled in Southeast Asia, South China, Philippines, Taiwan, Japan and the Pacific islands perhaps earlier than 5,000 years ago, as commonly accepted. The remains of the Kennewick Man, which was found near the coast of the State of Washington in the United States, has features that was more South Asian and Polynesian and was dated to be more than 9,000 years old. Austronesians may have been the first Americans and reached the Americas by a coastal route from Southeast Asia, perhaps as early as 15,000 years ago. The Pangasinan people are descended from the Austronesian language-speakers who are part of the prehistoric human migration that is believed to have originated in Africa.

Southeast Asian Maritime Trade Network

The ancient Malayo-Polynesians were expert navigators who had sailing ships capable of crossing the distant seas. The Malagasy sailed to Madagascar, an island across the Indian odean. The Polynesians navigated the distant Pacific islands as far away as Hawaii and Easter Island. In many Malayo-Polynesian languages, the words for canoe or ship and settlements or villages are often used interchangeably, like parao and barangay, both meaning meaning "ship" or "village."

The Malay parao probably even reached the land of the Pharaohs in Egypt. Malay ships may have been among the ships coming from the overseas lands of Dilmun, Magan and Melluha mentioned in Sumerian literature. A vast maritime trade network connecting the distant Malayo-Polynesian settlements from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean probably existed in ancient times.

Archaelogical evidence and early Chinese and Indian records show that the early inhabitants of the Philippine archipelago conducted trade with India, China and Southeast Asia as early as the 8th century A.D. Ethnic Chinese merchants traded with the people of the Philippines as early as the 8th century A.D.

Princess Urduja and Luyag na Caboloan

The legend of Urduja, who was described as a princesa or "princess", suggest that a kingdom, chiefdom or confederation may have flourished in Pangasinan or that Pangasinan may have been part of a larger maritime trade network before the Spanish conquest of 1571. Some historical sources and Pangasinan legends refer to a Luyag na Caboloan, meaning "Domain of Caboloan", which indicates the possible existence of an old political and economic confederation.

Spanish Conquest

The Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan sailed by the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans, with a fleet of ships under the Spanish flag, and reached the Philippine islands in 1521. Magellan had been in the nearby Spice Islands before and probably was already aware of the location of the Philippines. He was also accompanied by a Malay native from the Moluccas during the voyage. Magellan was killed in the Battle of Mactan in 1521, but his voyage proved to others that the earth can be circumnavigated. One of the Spanish ships returned to Spain by the Indian and Atlantic oceans with news of a new route to the Spice Islands, the Orient, and the islands that came to be called the Philippines.

On April 27, 1565, the Spanish conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi arrived in Cebu with about 500 soldiers to establish a Spanish settlement and begin the conquest of the Philippine islands.


By 1580, Pangasinan was subjugated and made into an Alacadia Mayor by the Spanish Governor of the Philippines. In 1611, Pangasinan became a Spanish colonial province, comprising the territories of Zambales and some areas of La Union and Tarlac. Lingayen was made the capital of the province (and still is to this day). Continued resistance to Spanish rule was forced to go underground or flee to the mountains.

Kingdom of Pangasinan

On December 1660, a rebellion led by Andres Malong, a native chief of the town of Binalatongan, now named San Carlos city, liberated the province from Spanish rule. Andres Malong was proclaimed King of Pangasinan. Pangasinan armies attempted to liberate the neighboring provinces of Pampanga and Ilocos, but were repelled by a Spanish-led coalition of loyalist tribal warriors and mercenaries. On February 1661, the newly independent Kingdom of Pangasinan fell to the Spanish.

Palaris Revolt

On November 3, 1762, a rebellion led by Juan de la Cruz Palaris erupted in Pangasinan, and the people proclaimed the independence of Pangasinan after the fall of Manila to the British on October 6, 1762. However, after the Treaty of Paris on March 1, 1763 ended the the Seven Years War between Britain, France and Spain, the Spanish colonial forces counter-attacked. On January 16, 1765, Juan de la Cruz Palaris was captured and Pangasinan independence was again lost.

Katipunan Revolt

The people of Pangasinan widely supported Andres Bonifacio and the Katipunan's fight for independence as a common struggle. Daniel Maramba was one of the revolutionary leaders from Pangasinan.

Philippine Republic

American Occupation

World War II.

Lingayen Gulf was one of the strategic places during the Second World War. Japanese forces under Gen. Masaharu Homma landed on Pangasinan in December 1941, a few days after the attack on Pearl Harbor and started the Japanese occupation of the country. In 1945, American troops landed here and started to free Luzon from the Japanese.

Martial Law

The imposition of martial law and the authoritarian rule of President Ferdinand M. Marcos resulted in countlesss human rights violations in Pangasinan.

Pangasinan fell victim to the gerrymandering of the Philippines by President Ferdinand E. Marcos when he made Pangasinan part of the northern Ilocos Region or Region I, although Pangasinan already enjoyed the status of a region because of its size, population and distinct primary language.

People Power Revolution

General Fidel V. Ramos, who was born in Lingayen, Pangasinan, was one of the leaders of a military mutiny and a people power revolt that led to the overthrow of President Ferdinand Marcos.

Era of Fidel V. Ramos

General Fidel V. Ramos was elected President of the Philippines.

Era of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

Vice-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, whose mother is from Binalonan, Pangasinan, was declared President of the Philippines after President Joseph Estrada was overthrown in another people power revolt.

Congressman Jose de Venecia, Jr., who is from Dagupan City, Pangasinan, was re-elected Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Actor turned politician Fernando Poe, Jr., whose family is from San Carlos, Pangasinan, ran for President against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The Pangasinan vote was split.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was elected President for another term. However, she was forced to declare a state of emergency to counter alleged destabilization plots. She immediately lifted the state of emergency, but her presidency is beset by demands for her resignation.

Tourist Attractions

Hundred Islands

The Hundred Islands National Park, off the coast of Brgy. Lucap in Alaminos City is composed of some 123 islands in the Lingayen Gulf. Most of the islands are quite small and appear to be rocky outcrops with lush vegetation on top.

Manaoag Shrine

The Shrine of Our Lady of Manaoag is famous throughout the country for its supposedly miraculous powers. Catholic devotees frequent the shrine especially on the feast days on the first of October and the 18th day after Easter Sunday. The Archbishop is Oscar Cruz, a critic of the current president, Gloria Arroyo.

See also

External links



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