Angeles City, Philippines

List of Barangays in Angeles City, Pampanga

History of Angeles City, Philippines

The transition of Angeles from a jungle clearing to a barrio, to a town, and finally to a city took one hundred sixty eight (168) years; and in all that time, it has survived locusts infestations, conflagrations, wars, epidemics, volcanic eruptions and typhoons to become one of the fast rising cities in the country.

Culiat, as Angeles was known in the early times was a barrio of San Fernando for thirty three (33) years. It became a separate town one hundred thirty five (135) years later. It was just any other backward town until the early fifties when it picked up to rise as a progressive municipality.

It was in 1796, when the Captain (Municipal Mayor) of San Fernando, Don Angel Pantaleon de Miranda, together with his wife, Doña Rosalia de Jesus and followers moved on foot towards north. They made extensive clearing to be called Culiat, after the vines then abundant around.

Doña Rosalia supervised the clearing until her husband, Don Angel returned from Military Service in 1811. He was a Captain of the Manila Hussers Squadron.

Don Angel built his house with light materials at the Northwest corner of the intersection of Sapangbalen and the road going towards the town of Porac which later was donated to the Roman Catholic Church as the first cemetery made known as the “Capong Santong Matua” now the site where the Nepomuceno Colisium is situated.

Barrio Culiat was already a town except in name in 1812 with the rise of new barrios like Sto. Cristo (as the poblacion or town proper), Cutcut, Pampang, and Pulung Anunas.

On February 11, 1829, Don Angel filed aa petition for the segregation of Culiat from San Fernando, followed by another petition within the same year jointly signed by Don Angel, his son-in-law, Dr. Mariano Henson and the latter’s father Severino Henson.

It was not however, until December 8, 1829, that Culiat was officially recognized as an independent town, inspite of the fact that it only had a population of six hundred sixty one (661) people. It steadily increased however in 1991, due to the massive destruction brought about by the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in June 1991 and the withdrawal of Americans from Clark Air Base in November 1991, decreased from the two hundred thirty six thousand six hundred sixty five (236, 665) NSO census made in June 1990, to two hundred six thousand eight hundred thirty six (206,836) CPDO census in 1992. The town was renamed Angeles, in honor of its founder and titular saint, “Los Santos Angeles Custodios” (The Holy Guardian Angel). Much of the credit for the granting of the petition however, must be conferred upon the founder’s son-in-law, Dr. Mariano Henson who actually handled the negotiations.

On May 7, 1899, Gen Emilio Aguinaldo made Angeles the seat of the Philippine Government. A field mass was held in his honor. The first anniversary celebration of the Philippine Independence proclaimed a year earlier in Kawit, Cavite was held in Angeles in June 12, 1899. It was highlighted with a parade led by the youngest ever Filipino General, Gregorio del Pilar, and Manuel Tinio. It was viewed by Gen. Aguinaldo from the Pamintuan residence (restored recently to its original, now houses the Central Bank Clearing Office, the Presidential Palace at that time.

During Aguinaldo’s stay in Angeles, Manuel L. Quezon, then a member of the General’s Staff, stayed in the house of a certain Don Lorenzo Sanchez (then just across the Pamintuan residence). Aguinaldo’s sojourn was short however, for in July of this same year, he transferred his government to Tarlac, following its occupation by the American Forces. On January1, 1900, Gen. Frederick D. Grant organized the first U.S. Civil Government by appointing an Alcalde.

By October of 1902, the U.S. Army in Angeles established its Camp at Talimundoc (now Lourdes Sur) near the Angeles Railroad Station. On the latter part of the following year, they moved far north to a place called Mangga and Sapangbato which was later called Fort Stotsenberg, named after Colonel Jon Stotsenberg who died in Plaridel, Bulacan, during an encounter with the soldiers of General Aguinaldo. Moreover, in 1919, Angeleños were startled to see military planes flying over Angeles for the first time, taking off from a new airfield constructed beside Fort Stotsenberg and which later until recently was known as Clark Air Base, then the largest American Military installation outside Mainland America.

War historians considered the bombing of Clark Air Base on December 8, 1941 as one of the most destructive air raids in World War II because almost all the American war planes were wrecked to the ground. On the early morning of the New Year’s Day of 1942, the first Japanese troops entered the town, occupying it up to January 1945.

Unwanted and unfortunate events have formed part of history; and Angeles is no exception. On October 7, 1871, a strong typhoon destroyed hundreds of houses and thousands of colorful lantern and paper castles made on order by the then Mayor Mariano Vicente Henson in preparation of the forthcoming feast of “La Naval” and “Fiesta ng Apo”. Furthermore, the town as well as the whole Pampanga was infested by locusts in the year 1939. The calamity that befell the town, which old folks could still vividly recall, was the influenza epidemic in 1918. The dead were just being dumped in carabao carts and buried later en masse. Since the epidemic was claiming lives almost by the minute, even the tolling of the church bells for the dead was suppressed. The first conflagration recorded was one that razed down the entire public market in 1885. The market was rebuilt, only to be gutted down again in 1897 and several times more in later years until the latest on January 19, 1982, considered the biggest and costly causing the loss of more than P20 million worth of property. In the early morning of June 12, 1991, after sleeping for about 600 years, the erstwhile majestic and calm Mt. Pinatubo in proper, suddenly burst into a gigantic mushroom-shaped explosion described as the biggest in the world this century. Its worst effect however, hit the city on June 15. Millions of pesos worth of properties were destroyed by heavy ashfall and cascading mudflow. Thousands of families either fled or lost their houses. A score of people also their lives.

Nearby Clark Air Base, much closer to the erupting volcano suffered more destruction. There were no casualties reported inside Clark since two days before the initial eruption, its personnel were all able to evacuate to Subic. The eruption of Mt. Pinatubo forced the hand of the US to prematurely abandon its military installation at Clark Air Force Base. This is in addition to the vetoing in 1991 of the extension of the Laurel Langley Act which allows the presence of of US military forces on Philippine territory by the Philippine Senate. Thus ending the long chapter of Filipino-American relations in the history of Angeles City.

On the other hand, it was not always misfortune that was part of Angeles history. In other words, if there were the bad times, there were also the good times. Likewise, the rainy days were also sprinkled with dry and sunny days. And what makes many a heart happy, but tales of romance.

An interesting episode in the history of Angeles even for future perusal by analyst and researchers was the introduction of lanzones in this place. The planting of the first lanzones tree played a rather significant role in a romantic interlude which culminated in the intermarriage of a Nepomuceno from Lucban, Tayabas (now Quezon Province) with the Henson in Angeles. It is said that it was during the wooing stage, that the lovesmitten Pio Rafael Nepomuceno presented to Agustina a gift, the ffirst lanzones tree to be planted in Angeles soil, with the “Romeo” volunteering to plant the tree himself. The knowledge that lanzones were scarce in Pampanga, prompted Mr. Nepomuceno to do what he did. Today, lanzones trees abound in Sto. Entierro and Sto. Rosario Streets, besides perhaps other trees growing in other parts of the city.

Through the years, although Fort Stotsenberg (later Clark Air Base) continued to expand, Angeles despite its proximity to the American Camp, did not progress as fast, and was just like any ordinary town. It was only in 1949 that Angeles reached the take off stage for progress was so tremendous that even as a town, it was already considered by many as a city.

On January 1, 1964, Angeles was finally inaugurated as a chartered city under Republic Act. No. 3700. It was Rafael del Rosario’s brainchild that Angeles became a city. He gained the distinctions of being the last Town Mayor and at the same time, the first City Mayor of Angeles. He was assisted in the preparation of the City Chapter by Atty. Enrique Tayag, a prominent resident of the town. Then Congresswoman Juanita L. Nepomuceno of the first district of Pampanga sponsored the bill in Congress and approved by then President Diosdado Macapagal, a province mate.

Present day observers considered the effects of the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo and the withdrawal of American Military personnel from Clark Air Base as telling blows to its economy. Yet it cannot be denied that it is innate in the native Angeleños to survive the tests of time such as conflagrations, typhoons, and volcanic eruption and political rebuffs.

Today, the heavy flow of vehicles and people in the city proper is one clear indication of the calamity befallen city’s re directed efforts towards its physical and economic recovery.

source: Verbatim from The LGU of Angeles City, Philippines

People of Angeles City, Philippines

Population of CITY OF ANGELES, PAMPANGA as of 2020 census: 462,928
Population of Angeles City (as of 2015) Census: 411,634
Population of Angeles City (as of 2010) Census: 326,336
Population of Angeles City (as of Aug 1, 2007): 314,493

Government of Angeles City, Philippines

Address: City Hall Building Pulung Maragul, Angeles City

Tel. No.: (045) – 322 – 5540
Telefax No.: (045) – 323-4105

Angeles City Elected Officials of Angeles City for the term of 2019-2022

Mayor of Angeles City: LAZATIN, CARMELO JR. (PFP) 59,192
Vice-Mayor of Angeles City: VEGA, VICKY (PFP) 55,874
Councilors of Angeles City:
1. SULLER, ATTY POGS (PFP) 89,734
2. LACSON, DANILO (PAK) 66,685
3. PONCE, PG (PAK) 62,799
4. AGUAS, JC PARKER (PAK) 57,834
5. BONIFACIO, JOSEPH ALFIE (PAK) 56,748
6. INDIONGCO, THELMA (PAK) 52,867
7. BAÑOLA, KAP NIKNOK (PFP) 49,659
8. RIVERA, AMOS (PAK) 48,430
9. SANGIL, JAY (KMBLN) 45,697
10. DEL ROSARIO, RACO PAOLO (PAK) 43,547

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Updated: October 12, 2023

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Last Updated on December 17, 2021