76. 22 MUNICIPAL AND CITY HALLS OF THE PROVINCE OF PAMPANGA

ANGELES CITY HALL

The Angeles City Hall is located in barangay Pulung Maragul, the Angeles City Hall of Justice, and other government buildings. The original municipio however, was constructed during the American regime, in 1922, under mayor Juan D. Nepomuceno, and was built from the original 1840 Casa Tribunal. It is now a museum.

APALIT MUNICIPAL HALL

The municipal hall of Pampanga's Gateway to Manila and The Blacksmith Capital of Pampanga.

ARAYAT MUNICIPAL HALL

The renovated Arayat Municipal Hall is fronted by a monument of its most illustrious son, Gen. Jose Alejandrino, astride his steed.

BACOLOR MUNICIPAL HALL

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

CANDABA MUNICIPAL HALL

Candaba, the ancient town noted for its swamplands, and bird sanctuaries, has a neoclassic-style municipal hall centrally located in the poblacion, Brgy. Paralaya.

FLORIDABLANCA MUNICIPAL HALL

The Municipal Hall Building of Floridablanca is on Macabulos St., Brgy. Poblacion, next to the church of Floridablanca.

GUAGUA MUNICIPAL HALL

The heritage town hall of Guagua was built in 1937. The 80 year old Commonwealth-era edifice, which stands on the ground fronting Plaza Burgos,  has  kept most of its original features. The old statue of the patriotic writer, Aurelio Tolentino has been moved to the front of the municipal hall. It  has been declared an Important Cultural Property by the National Historic Commission of the Philippines.

LUBAO MUNICIPAL HALL

The Lubao Municipal Hall, ca. 1937 is one of the early concrete structures erected during the Commonwealth years. It was originally a 2-storey building with stairs at the sides, eventually acquiring a neo-classic look. Much of its original features are intact. In March 2016, a new municipal hall costing Php14.7 million is envisioned to rise  in Brgy. Santa Catalina in an area where the town traces its beginnings.

MABALACAT CITY HALL

The Mabalacat City Hall relocated  to the Xevera Complex of Brgy. Tabun in 2009, from its original site in Poblacion, where the old town hall building still stands next to the elementary school. The old municipio  dates from the American regime, and was improved and expanded in 1951.

MACABEBE MUNICIPAL HALL

The massive Macabebe Municipal Hall is noted for its statue of boy-hero Tarik Soliman, the first native to give up his life for independence at the Battle of Bangkusay, and recognized by the government.

MAGALANG MUNICIPAL HALL

The Magalang Municipal Hall is a town landmark located across the Plaza de la Libertad. Its predecessor was the old Spanish era Casa Tribunal (ca. 1866). The new edifice was built in 1922 , during the presidency of Antonio Y. Luciano, and was inaugurated 2 years later. The municipal building, which survived the war and other natural calamities, was declared an Important Cultural property in 2015.

MASANTOL MUNICIPAL HALL

In Oct. 2017, groundbreaking activities were held for the renovation of the old flood-prone municipal building that houses different government offices. The improvement calls for the construction of a 3-storey building, to be connected with the executive and legislative building for faster delivery of public service.

MEXICO MUNICIPAL HALL

Mexico’s 2-storey town hall is right in the town center, across the public market, adjacent to the police station and close to the Sta. Monica parish.

MINALIN MUNICIPAL HALL

The municipal hall of Minalin is a modernized period building , that includes the Police Station on its grounds.

PORAC MUNICIPAL HALL

The Porac Municipal Hall is a large, modern edifice along Gen. Luna St., in the town poblacion.

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO HALL

The City Hall is located in the heritage district of San Fernando, across the street from the Cathedral of San Fernando. It began as a casa municipal in 1755, made out of stone and thatch. It was burned by the Philippine Revolutionary Army on orders of Gen. Antonio Luna, on May 4, 1899. The building was again reconstructed in 1917. Burned down during WWII, the municipio was reconstructed post-war using its original adobe stonework. The municipio, considered a heritage building, was last restored in 2003 by Mayor Rey B. Aquino.

SAN LUIS MUNICIPAL HALL

The municipal hall of San Luis is an elongated, fenced-in 2 storey building in the heart of the town.

SAN SIMON MUNICIPAL HALL
The municipal hall of this town of over 55,000 people is a contemporary 2-floor building that is in a well-secured location on Punzalan St., Brgy. Tualoc, San Agustin.

SANTA ANA MUNICIPAL HALL

The Sta. Ana Municipal Hall is located in the poblacion, next to the church. As the building is small and situated in a traffic area, a plan  to transfer the town hall on a 1.5 hectare lang in brgy. Sto. Domingo was conceived in 2015, by then-outgoing mayor, Rommel Concepcion. It has been built since then, but is not functional.

SANTA RITA MUNICIPAL HALL

Sta. Rita Town Hall is a larger, new building built on the site of the old  municipio (built in 1951) that is just a stone’s throw away across the ancient Sta. Rita Church. The town hall is located in brgy. San Jose.

SANTO TOMAS MUNICIPAL HALL

When the municipality of Sto. Tomas was re-inaugurated in 1952, the first town hall was temporarily located at the house of its first mayor, Patricio Gomez. The current modern hall is compact in size, and in 2011, the Donato B. Pangilinan, Sr., an annex, was erected.

SASMUAN MUNICIPAL HALL

The municipal hall of Sasmuan, a contemporary 2-storey concrete building, of Sasmuan is located in brgy. Sta. Lucia.

SOURCES:
www.pampangatalents.com,
wikimedia commons
i-orbit news

25. 23 OFFICIAL SEALS OF PAMPANGA PROVINCE, ITS TOWNS AND CITIES

PAMPANGA SEAL, updated version, as approved by the NHCP

A gallery featuring the great seal of Pampanga province and the official seals of its 19 municipalities and 3 cities.

ANGELES. The seal of the city features a shield divided into 4 quadrants, with the following emblems: a ‘kuliat’ vine leaf  (Kuliat was the old town name of Angeles), an American eagle (home to Clark Air Base for nearly a century), a sun with 8 rays from the Katipunan flag (Aguinaldo celebrated the first anniversary of Philippine Independence in Angeles) and two  A’s ( Angeles name is derived from Angel Pantaleon de Miranda, the town founder, and Angeles Custodios, the town patrons).

APALIT. The apalit tree (Pterocarpus indicus) stands tall in the background, with an anvil and a blacksmith’s hammer in the foreground—symbols of its metalsmithing industry for which the town is known for. Many foundries still exist in the town.

ARAYAT. The landscape-like seal of Arayat shows its most famous landmark, the legendary Bundok Alaya (eastern mountain) more commonly known as Mount Arayat, with clouds billowing yonder.  Agricultural workers—a farmer plowing the fields with a carabao,  rice planters working in the paddies—are in the foreground.

BACOLOR. Through a decree of the King of Spain on November 9, 1765, Bacolor became "Villa de Bacolor", one of the only three villas in the Philippines and was granted a Special Coat of Arms. This was in recognition for being the capital of the exiled government of Gov. Gen. Simon de Anda from 1762-64, during the British Occupation of the Philippines. The coat of arms was adapted for its municipality seal.

CANDABA. Candaba’s well-composed seal makes reference to the many roles its pinac or swamp plays in its development—a sanctuary for migratory birds, a breeding ground for fishes during the wet season, and a field for growing its sweet watermelons during summer.

FLORIDABLANCA. Floridablanca’s seal features three important elements associated with the town: sugarmill smokestacks (Pampanga Sugar Mills or PASUMIL was located in Del Carmen), flying jetplanes (home to Basa Air Base) and a white flower (English meaning of "Floridablanca"). The seal was designed by Mr. Jose D. Laxamana, an artist-musician.

GUAGUA. The industries of Guagua are represented on its seal: agriculture, fishery, carpentry (Betis carpenters were renowned furniture makers, house builders and craftsmen). The torch represents enlightenment, as the town was also a seat of learning (Colegio del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús , Guagua National Institute) , home to erudites and literati (Aurelio Tolentino, Amado Yuson, Angela Manalang-Gloria) , and many religious (including the first Filipino cardinal, Rufino J. Santos).

LUBAO. The 3-layered seal of Lubao features the belltower of its ancient 17^th century church of San Agustin on top, a representation of its vast rice fields in the middle (it is the largest rice producer of the province), and its natural water resources at the bottom, as the town is traversed by the great Gumain and Kaulaman Rivers .

MABALACAT. Stalks of rice, canes of sugar—the town’s main agricultural produce—flank the sturdy ‘balacat’ (Zysiphus zonulata blanco) tree, which once grew in production in the area, and which gave Pampanga’s newest sity its name—Mabalacat. The tableau is circumscribed by 27 stars, representing the 27 barangays.

MACABEBE. The central figure of the seal is the young unknown Macabebe warrior, often referred to as Tarik Soliman or Bambalito. He died in the battle of Bangkusay in 1571, resisting the Spaniards to the very end, thus becoming the first native to die for freedom.

MAGALANG. The town of Magalang rests on the foothills of the great mountain of the east, Bundok Alaya, where the sun rises. Its exalted location is depicted on the seal, along with the town’s vast and extensive agricultural lands.

MASANTOL. Masantol’s seal makes references to the iconographic elements and attributes of its patron saint, San Miguel Arcanghel. A pair of angel’s wings is paired with the sword that the archangel used to subdue the devil. The blade supports two weighing pans to form a balance scale, which the saint employed to weigh people’s souls. San Miguel is also the patron of grocers and traders owing to his weighing scale), which alludes to Masantol’s important role as a trading post. 

MEXICO. The municipio or town hall of Mexico occupies an eminent place on the town seal, with nearby Mount Arayat on the right, and a representation of its strategic location that drives its commercial progress.  Then, as now, Mexico is an important crossing points between towns, hence the roads on the seal. The dove of peace flies overhead while the wheel of progress is turned by a man below.

MINALIN. The design of the Minalin seal echoes the Philippine tri-color. A chicken and her eggs occupy the red portion, an industry which has earned for Minalin the monicker “Egg Basket of the Philippines”. The fishing trade is represented by a pair of fish on the blue section. The seal is bisected in the middle by a stylized rice stalk that reaches to the 3 stars. 

PORAC. The mountainous terrain of Porac forms the backdrop of the town seal. A portion of Pinatubo is also appended to the municipality. In the foreground are its vast agricultural lands, an allusion to Porac as the biggest town of Pampanga (occupying 78,000 acres). Its primary product is represented by a clump of sugarcane  The 29 rays of the sun represent the 29 barangays.

SAN FERNANDO. True to its title as the “Christmas Capital of the Philippines”, the city seal prominently features its most popular product, the Christmas sampernandu lantern, a 5-pointed star. In the center, are the city’s high-rise buildings and avenues, symbols of its industry and progress.

SAN LUIS. The hatmaking tradition of this town is depicted on the upper part of the shield. It shows a silhouette of a man wearing a hat. The lower part shows symbols of its other important industries—a plow to represent agriculture and a fish, for fishery. Grains of rice and 17 stars representing its 7 barangays, circumscribe the seal.

SAN SIMON. The San Simon seal pays tribute to its many mango farms, its fishing and rice industry. The hand in broken shackles holding the rice seedling symbolizes the peasants’ freedom from the bondage of the soil, as the town played an important role in the 'revolt of the masses'and the Huk movement.

SANTA ANA. The dove of peace descends on the verdant plains of Sta. Ana, with the majestic Mount Arayat in the background. The scene is enclosed in a shield, its perimeter lined with fourteen stars, representing its 14 barangays.

SANTA RITA. Sta. Rita’s seal is laden with imageries inspired by its many local produce: fruits and vegetables, fishes and livestock, its landmark church and famous  duman (green glutinous rice) and suman. In the center is a hand holding a sapling, a visualization of the town motto: “Sesen taya ing Sta. Rita” (Let’s nurture Sta. Rita).

SANTO TOMAS. The nationally-renown pottery industry of Santo Tomas which has consistently been a driver of the town economy is given tribute  in its seal with a picture of a large pot (banga) in the center, surmounted by the 7 rays of the sun. 

SASMUAN. Sasmuan has a unique geography in that it is surrounded by fish ponds, and this forms an integral part of its seal. A hut is shown hear a fishpond teeming with shrimps, crab and fishes. Then, as now, aquaculture has been the main industry that drives the local economy.