Santo Tomas, Pampanga

Santo Tomas, officially the Municipality of Santo Tomas (Kapampangan: Balen ning Santo Tomas; Tagalog: Bayan ng Santo Tomas), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 40,475 people.[3]

Santo Tomas
Municipality
Municipality of Santo Tomas
Municipal Hall
Seal
Nickname(s):  Casket capital of the Philippines
Map of Pampanga with Santo Tomas highlighted
OpenStreetMap
Santo Tomas Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 14°58′N 120°43′E
Country	Philippines
Region	Central Luzon (Region III)
Province	Pampanga
District	4th District
Founded	1792
Chartered	October 12, 1951
Barangays	7 (see Barangays)
Government  [1]
• Type	Sangguniang Bayan
• Mayor	Gloria P. Ronquillo
• Vice Mayor	Matias C. Pineda
• Congressman	Juan Pablo P. Bondoc
• Electorate	28,278 voters (2019)
Area  [2]
• Total	21.30 km^2 (8.22 sq mi)
Population  (2015 census)[3]
• Total	40,475
• Density	1,900/km^2 (4,900/sq mi)
• Households	8,675
Economy
• Income class	4th municipal income class
• Poverty incidence	5.32% (2015)[4]
• Revenue (₱)	92,724,632.37 (2016)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	2020
PSGC	035421000
IDD : area code	+63 (0)45
Climate type	tropical monsoon climate
Native languages	Kapampangan Tagalog
Website	www.stotomaspampanga.com

As the youngest and smallest Pampanga town, Santo Tomas has a total land area of 1,467 hectares. It is a mainly agricultural and fishing community; industry includes casket manufacture, ceramics, and carpentry.[5]

Etymology

The town's name is derived from Baliwag ("tardy" in Spanish) a reference to local habit of arriving late for Mass. Baliwag, whose original name was Santo Tomas, had its Patron, St. Thomas the Apostle. He is also called Doubting Thomas or Didymus (meaning "twin," as does "Thomas" in Aramaic) and was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. The Patronal Feast is celebrated yearly on the 21st of December from the town's original founding date of 1792.

History

On September 15, 1792, Santo Tomas was severed from its parent Minalin, Pampanga. On May 4, 1899, the town was under the U.S. Force's administration. On January 2, 1905, it was ceded to San Fernando, Pampanga until 1905. On October 12, 1951, Executive Order No. 476 (issued by Elpidio Quirino) created Santo Tomas and its five barrios of San Matias, San Vicente, San Bartolome, Santo Rosario and Santo Tomas with the seat of government at barrio San Vicente.

On January 11, 1952, the municipality of Santo Tomas was re-inaugurated. The first municipal hall was temporarily at the house of late Mayor Patricio Gomez, the first municipal mayor.

In 1955, RA 1250, the San Matias seat was transferred to Santo Tomas. Presidential Decree No. 1441 was issued by President Ferdinand E. Marcos on June 11, 1978, transferring the seat of municipal government from Barangay SantoTomas to Barangay San Vicente.

The town became the site of the bloody encounter between Filipino and American forces during Philippine Revolution known as the Battle of Santo Tomas.

Geography

The municipality of Santo Tomas, the smallest town in Pampanga, is at the heart of the province. The capital city of San Fernando bounds it on the north-west the municipality of San Simon on the north-east, the municipality of Minalin on the south-east and Bacolor on the west.

Barangays

Santo Tomas is politically subdivided into seven barangays:

• Moras De La Paz
• Santo Tomas
• San Bartolome
• San Matias
• San Vicente
• Santo Rosario (Pau)
• Sapa (Santo Niño)

Climate

Climate data for Santo Tomas, Pampanga
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	28 (82)	29 (84)	31 (88)	33 (91)	32 (90)	31 (88)	30 (86)	29 (84)	29 (84)	30 (86)	30 (86)	28 (82)	30 (86)
Average low °C (°F)	20 (68)	20 (68)	21 (70)	23 (73)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	23 (73)	22 (72)	21 (70)	23 (72)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	6 (0.2)	4 (0.2)	6 (0.2)	17 (0.7)	82 (3.2)	122 (4.8)	151 (5.9)	123 (4.8)	124 (4.9)	99 (3.9)	37 (1.5)	21 (0.8)	792 (31.1)
Average rainy days	3.3	2.5	3.6	6.6	17.7	22.2	25.2	23.7	23.2	17.9	9.2	5.2	160.3
Source: Meteoblue [6]

Demographics

Population census of Santo Tomas

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1903 4,271 —     1960 12,097 +1.84% 1970 18,907 +4.56% 1975 21,320 +2.44% 1980 24,951 +3.19% 1990 33,309 +2.93%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1995 29,628 −2.17% 2000 32,695 +2.13% 2007 37,866 +2.05% 2010 38,062 +0.19% 2015 40,475 +1.18%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[3][7][8][9]

In the 2015 census, the population of Santo Tomas, Pampanga, was 40,475 people,[3] with a density of 1,900 inhabitants per square kilometre or 4,900 inhabitants per square mile.

Economy

Casket manufacturing

In the records of Department of Trade and Industry (Philippines), the town holds the title “casket capital of Central Luzon.” It is home to 300 family-owned casket businesses that each produce about 80 caskets monthly or a total production of 24,000 a month.[10][11] Casket capital of the Philippines, Oct. 22, 2012

Tourism

Santo Tomas' main attractions and events are:

• The yearly Easter Sunday Flower Scattering Festival or Sabuaga Festival (from sabuag and sampaga which means scatter flowers) originated from Easter Sunday “Salubong” (April 8, 2012) where estabats scatter flowers.[12]
• First Evacuation Center and Multi-Purpose Hall at Barangay Santo Tomas, July 5, 2010.
• The Northville 12 ECCD Center and Health Center, July 15, 2010.
• Municipal Hall Annex, Donato B. Pangilinan, Sr. building, also the New Public Market and Police Station, inaugurated on the 60th anniversary of Santo Tomas founding, October 12, 2011.[13]

Local government

Pursuant to the local government[14][15] the political seat of the municipality is at the Municipal Town Hall. The gobernadorcillo is the chief executive who holds office in the Presidencia. During the American rule (1898–1946), the elected mayor and local officials, including the appointed ones, hold office at the Municipal Town Hall. The legislative and executive departments perform their functions in the Sangguniang Bayan (Session Hall) and Municipal Trial Court, respectively, and are in the Town Hall.

Santo Tomas' incumbent mayor is Johnny A. Sambo and the municipal vice mayor is Gloria P. Ronquillo.[16]

On July 23, 2012, incumbent mayor Joselito Naguit[17] filed his counter-affidavit to the Office of the Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon on graft charges against him by former municipal administrator Rodelio Garcia. The mayor said over the weekend that "the P9.5 million in cash advances he allegedly made for the months of May to November 2011 were all returned, accounted for to the last centavo and deposited in the municipal fund of Santo Tomas."[18]

In March 2012, Mayor Naguit opened the LGU's approved project under the Local Government Support Fund (LGSF) on February 29, 2011: "P 700, 000 Improvement and Concreting of Balangcas Road."[19]

Churches

St. Thomas The Apostle Church

San Matias Parish Church

St. Thomas the Apostle Parish Church

The 1767 St. Thomas the Apostle Parish Church (Santo Tomas, Pampanga) belongs to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Fernando. The Parish celebrated its 250th Founding Anniversary in 2017.[20][21][22][23][24][25][26] The feast is every Easter Sunday and July 3 and its current Parish Priest was Rev. Fr. Marcelino M. Miranda of the Vicariate of Christ the King[27] It has a population of 20,202, with Catholics, 19,833.

On February 14, 2004, the Parish Pastoral Center and Convent were blessed and inaugurated by Bishop Paciano Aniceto. On October 16, 2004, the columbarium, mortuary and museum were blessed.

San Matias Parish Church

The 1962 San Matias Parish Church[28] belongs to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Fernando.[20][21][22][23][24][27][29] Its incumbent parish priest is Rev. Marius P. Roque, of the Vicariate of Christ, under Vicar Forane, Rev. Reynaldo D. dela Cruz.[30] It has a population of 16,672 with Catholics, 16,005. The former parish priest was Rev. Marlon Cunanan and parochial vicar was Rev. Nestor Figueroa.

References

1. "Municipality". Quezon City, Philippines: Department of the Interior and Local Government. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
2. "Province: Pampanga". PSGC Interactive. Quezon City, Philippines: Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
3. Census of Population (2015). "Region III (Central Luzon)". Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. PSA. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
4. "PSA releases the 2015 Municipal and City Level Poverty Estimates". Quezon City, Philippines. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-02-16. Retrieved 2013-01-12.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
6. "Santo Tomas: Average Temperatures and Rainfall". Meteoblue. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
7. Census of Population and Housing (2010). "Region III (Central Luzon)". Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. NSO. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
8. Censuses of Population (1903–2007). "Region III (Central Luzon)". Table 1. Population Enumerated in Various Censuses by Province/Highly Urbanized City: 1903 to 2007. NSO.
9. "Province of Pampanga". Municipality Population Data. Local Water Utilities Administration Research Division. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
10. "The casket capital of Central Luzon". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on 2012-09-29.
11. "Coffin festival, anyone?". ABS-CBN News. ABS-CBN. October 30, 2008.
12. The Minimalist Sense: 1st Sabuaga Festival at Barangay SantoTomas, Santo Tomas, Pampanga
13. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-02-16. Retrieved 2012-03-12.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
14. "About the Philippines". www.gov.ph. Archived from the original on 2009-01-22. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
15. "The Local Government Code of the Philippines". Chan Robles Virtual Law Library.
16. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-02-16. Retrieved 2013-01-12.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
17. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-02-16. Retrieved 2013-01-12.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
18. Santo Tomas mayor on cash advances: Everything accounted for | Sun.Star
19. "Two in a Row: Live TV Guestings for the Promotion of Manila Bay Clean Up, Rehabilitation and Preservation Project". dilgr3.com. Department of the Interior and Local Government - Kagawaran ng Interyor at Pamahalaang Lokal - Central Luzon Office.
20. "Home". cbcponline.net.
21. "Parishes". cbcponline.net.
22. David M. Cheney. "San Fernando (Archdiocese) [Catholic-Hierarchy]". catholic-hierarchy.org.
23. "History of Pampanga Towns". andropampanga.com.
24. "Archdiocese of San Fernando, Pampanga". claretianpublications.com.
25. Archidoecesis Sancti Ferdinandi; Created Diocese: December 11, 1948. Elevated to Archdiocese: March 17, 1975. Erected: June 25, 1975. Comprises the Civil Province of Pampanga, City of San Fernando and Angeles City. Suffragans: the Diocese of Balanga, Iba and Tarlac. Titular: St. Ferdinand, King, Secondary Patron: Our Lady of the Assumption. Archbishop Paciano B. Aniceto, DD. Coordinates: 14°59'19"N 120°42'30"E; Titular: St. Thomas the Apostle).
26. "St.Thomas The Apostle Catholic Church (Santo Tomas, Pampanga) Santo Tomas". wikimapia.org.
27. "List of Parishes of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Fernando". nfo.ph.
28. San Matias, Santo Tomas, 2020 Pampanga; Titular: St. Matthias, Apostle, February 24 & May 14
29. Archidoecesis Sancti Ferdinandi; Created Diocese: December 11, 1948. Elevated to Archdiocese: March 17, 1975. Erected: June 25, 1975. Comprises the Civil Province of Pampanga, City of San Fernando and Angeles City. Suffragans: the Diocese of Balanga, Iba and Tarlac. Titular: St. Ferdinand, King, Secondary Patron: Our Lady of the Assumption. Archbishop Paciano B. Aniceto, DD).
30. "San Matias Parish Church". Foursquare.

Pampanga History

External links

• Santo Tomas Profile at PhilAtlas.com
• Philippine Standard Geographic Code
• Website of Santo Tomas
• Local Governance Performance Management System