New Washington, Aklan

This town was named after the first president of the United States of America – George Washington. I was curious on why and the answer can be found in Wikipedia:

Established on January 15, 1904, the municipality was named after the first president of the United States, George Washington, as a tribute to the Thomasites, a group of American teachers who in the early 1900s established a new public education system in the Philippines, taught basic education, and trained Filipino teachers with English as medium of instruction. The municipality was formerly called Fonda Lagatic, which was derived from Lagatik River that stretches along some of the municipality's barangays at a length of 9.6 kilometres (6.0 mi).

The Municipal Hall of New Washington, Aklan

New Washington, Aklan is also the birthplace of Jaime Cardinal Sin – famous archbishop of Manila during the Marial Law up to the Cory Presidency. There’s a huge statue of him at the New Washington Park.

One of the things I like about New Washington, Aklan is the Sampaguita Gardens. It’s like a private resort with Mediterranean and Christmas Theme. It’s definitely a must-see place in New Washington. I will post a separate blog article of Sampaguita Gardens soon.

Other things I like about New Washington, Aklan are the old houses. There’s a huge bahay na bato besides the public park that is repurposed into a business space for Palawan Express. An ideal way to preserve at the same time optimize existing old, stone houses.

New Washington also has a nice esplanade that gives you a great view of the sea.

Welcome to New Washington, Aklan

I love New Washington marker. I hope it could have been closely spaced.

A great view of the sea even from inside the tricycle.

New Washington Archway

A monument for New Washington’s famous son – Jaime Cardinal Sin of Manila

Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Church, New Washington, Aklan

Sampaguita Gardens, New Washington, Aklan. Will post more pictures of this gorgeous Christmas-theme inspired place.

Nice house along the National Highway, New Washington, Aklan

Old and New

Hall of Justice, New Washington, Aklan

An old house in Poblacion, New Washington, Aklan

New Washington Public Park

An old bahay na bato repurposed as a business establishment for Palawan Pawnshop

Another old house

I’m guessing this is the ancestral house of Jaime Cardinal Sin’s family in New Washington, Aklan. There’s a church logo on the facade

Another old house repurposed as an outlet for Western Union, New Washington

Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Church, New Washington

Interior shot of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Church, New Washington, Aklan

 

 

7-11 New Washington, Aklan

Some business in Poblacion, New Washington, Aklan

The Old Town Hall of New Washington, Aklan

Flickr Tags: New Washington,Aklan,Jaime Cardinal Sin,7-11

Some Old Houses of Pinamalayan, Oriental Mindoro

I am surprised at some of the old houses in Pinamalayan, Oriental Mindoro. Their municipal officers did a great job at preserving these houses. I’ve only visited A. Mabini Avenue in Pinamalayan due to a tie schedule but I’m hoping there are more old houses in the other streets.

I’m also hoping I could visit this town again to explore more.

It’s good to know that old houses in Pinamalayan are being repurposed without losing the architectural component of the house

I looked up the history of the town from the Official Website of Pinamalayan to know more.

The name Pinamalayan, as the story goes, came from the words “IPINAMALAY NA” (“It has been made known to us”), as exclaimed by its first settlers who lost their bearing amidst a turbulent sea,  when a rainbow appeared in the horizon and guided them towards safety and to a place where they discovered abundant resources for livelihood. Other sources  attribute the name Pinamalayan simply to the fact that the area was once a vast area planted to rice, hence the name “PINAGPALAYAN”.

The Town of Pinamalayan is one of the oldest in the Province of Oriental Mindoro.  Its territory once went as far as the old settlements of Sumagui and Anilao which are now part of the towns of Bansud and Bongabong respectively.  The Town of Pola was also a former part of Pinamalayan until it got its permanent township status in the early years of American Colonization while Gloria was separated from Pinamalayan in 1964.

These territorial reorganizations signify the role of Pinamalayan as a major political and economic center in the southern part of Oriental Mindoro way back the latter years of Spanish regime.  Administrative orders regulating secular activities in these settlements were once sent from Pinamalayan thereby giving the town derivative advantages in trade, infrastructure development, social facilities and even political accommodations at the onset of the century.

Pinamalayan was organized as a permanent settlement in 1800's under the leadership of a Gobernadorcillo. In 1914, the Municipal Council acted on the selection of a new town site through viva-voce voting. It was in 1916 that the seat of the Municipal Government was transferred from Lumambayan to its present site. During the American Occupation American planners made sure that the town is properly laid out according to a planning system that included wide, symmetrical roads with appropriate drainage facilities. It was also during this time that a big plaza was constructed adjacent to the municipal building. To date, Pinamalayan remains a model in town planning.

 

Cebuana Lhuillier and M Lhuillier side by side.

 

Flickr Tags: Old Houses of Pinamalayan,Oriental Mindoro

San Carlos City, Pangasinan

From Binmaley, I rode a tricylce to San Carlos City. I passed by several rice fields and palaisdaan.

 

San Carlos City is a huge city like Urdaneta. It was past lunch when I arrived here. I visited the St. Dominic Guzman Parish Church (built in 1587) and roam around the Poblacion or town proper. They have Jollibee, Magic Mall San Carlos, CSI City Mall San Carlos, among others.

Good thing the San Carlos City Hall is nearby so I was able to visit it. There’s a park between the San Carlos Church and Municipal Hall dedicated to Eugenio Padlan Perez. I tried to locate the market, but I can’t find it nearby.

It’s getting late in the afternoon and decided to finish my 2 days trip to Pangasinan by visiting my last destination – Malasiqui, Pangasinan.

Here are some information about San Carlos City from the Pangasinan Provincial Website:

San Carlos City was once known as Binalatongan.  From the time of its founding up to the middle of the 19th century, it was considered as the biggest and most populous town of Pangasinan composing a whole third of the Province. It is recorded in history as a bastion of freedom fighters, with famous uprisings against Spaniards led by Andres Malong (1660) and Juan dela Cruz Palaris (1762).  These heroic acts prompted the Spanish colonizers to change the name of the town to San Carlos in honor of King Carlos III of Spain.

San Carlos became a city by virtue of Republic Act No. 4487 signed on June 19, 1965.

MAYOR:    JULIER C. RESUELLO

VICE MAYOR:    JOSERES C. RESUELLO

LAND AREA:    17,087 hectares

POPULATION:    164,061

NO. OF BARANGAYS:    86

CLASSIFICATION:    3rd class city

FIESTA:   Mango Bamboo Festival  (April)

MAJOR CROPS:    rice, corn, root crops, vegetables, fruit trees

MAJOR INDUSTRIES:    handicraft, pottery making, mango culture, livestock trading

PRIME PRODUCTS:    tomato paste, cassava cake, bamboo, rug, furnitures, native cakes

TOURIST ATTRACTION:    St. Dominic Guzman Parish (1587)

You may also visit the San Carlos City website here.

San Carlos City Plaza in front of the St Dominic Guzman Church

CSI Mall, San Carlos City

Speaker Eugenio P. Perez Sr Memorial Building, San Carlos City, Pangasinan

 

St. Dominic Guzman Parish (1587), San Carlos City, Pangasinan

A lot of churches in Pangasinan are adored with statues of saints. Dagupan Church has this feature as well as Manaoag Church, Bolinao Church and Binmaley Church.

Bust of Eugenio P. Perez Sr

 

CSI Mall San Carlos City, Pangasinan

 

San Carlos City Municipal Hall, Pangasinan

 

San Carlos City Marker

Jollibee at the Magic Mall, San Carlos City

An old house in San Carlos City, Pangasinan

San Carlos City is a crossroad between several towns of Pangasinan. There’s a jeepney terminal that would take you to Malasiqui, Urbiztondo among other destinations.

Technorati Tags: San Carlos City,Pangasinan,CSI Mall,Magic Mall,St Dominic Guzman Parish Church

Alaminos City, Pangasinan

It was my Day 2 of my trip to Pangasinan last August 31, 2019. From Urdaneta City, I travelled to Alaminos City by bus. I left Urdaneta at an early hour because I want to be in Alaminos by early morning.

I was surprised by the number of old houses in Alaminos, which I posted before here. Alaminos is like Talisay City (Negros) or Pila, Laguna when it comes to heritage houses and I hope the City Government of Alaminos can protect these houses.

 

Alaminos is home to the Cathedral Parish of St. Joseph the Patriarch at the heart of the city as well as the Hundred Islands National Park, among other tourist spots. Here are some information about this wonderful city taken from the Province of Pangasinan website:

Alaminos City

“Home of the 100 Islands”

Alaminos used to be a part of Bolinao which was one of the nine towns in the northern most part of Zambales.  It became a town independent of its mother town in 1747.   The town got its name in 1872 in honor of Lieutenant Governor General Alaminos, the then Governor General of the Philippines.

The town became a city in 2001 by virtue of Republic Act 9025, An Act Converting the Municipality of Alaminos, Province of Pangasinan into a
Component City to be known as the City of Alaminos.

Alaminos is the home to the Hundred Islands National Park, the very first national park in the Philippines.  It is also the heart of Western Pangasinan, its center of commerce, finance, education, industry and services.

MAYOR:   Arth Bryan C. Celeste

VICE MAYOR:   Jose Antonio Miguel Y. Perez

LAND AREA:   16,426 hectares

POPULATION:   89,708

NO. OF BARANGAYS:   39

CLASSIFICATION:   4th class; component city

FIESTA:
March 18-19
Galila Hudre Islands Festival

INDUSTRIES/PRODUCTS:
Noodles (bijon)
Salt
Deboned/Processed Bangus
Processed Meat

TOURIST ATTRACTIONS:
Parish of St. Joseph Church (1766)
Hundred Islands
Hundred Islands National Park,
Lucap Wharf
Bolo Beach
Caves

You can click on this link to visit the website of Alaminos City.

After touring Alaminos City, I rode a jeep to Bolinao, Pangasinan.

There’s a 5 Star Bus Company in Alaminos City

 

There’s also Victory Liner in Alaminos City

There’s a Novo Hotel in Alaminos City

 

 

 

The Alaminos City Hall

 

Interior shot of the Cathedral of St Joseph the Patriarch in Alaminos City

Colegio San Jose de Alaminos

 

Cathedral of St Joseph the Patriarch, Alaminos City

Bonifacio Monument in Alaminos City

 

Some of the old houses in Alaminos City. You can click here to view the other Heritage Houses in Alaminos City

 

 

 

Hundred Islands National Park, Alaminos City

 

Don Leopoldo Sison Convention Center, Alaminos City

Warehouse Club, Alaminos

Technorati Tags: Alaminos City,Pangasinan,Heritage Houses,Cathedral