Poblacion


Poblacion or población is the common term used for the central, downtown, old town or central business district area of a Philippine city or municipality, which may take up the area of a single barangay or multiple barangays. It is sometimes shortened to Pob.

History

During the Spanish rule, the colonial government founded hundreds of towns and villages across the archipelago modeled on towns and villages in Spain. The authorities often adopted a policy of Reducción, for the resettlement of inhabitants in far-flung scattered barangays to move into a centralized cabecera where a newly built church and an ayuntamiento were situated. This allowed the government to defend, control and Christianize the indigenous population, to conduct population counts, and to collect tributes.

Features

The población is considered the commercial and industrial center of the city or municipality. Most citizens of a city or municipality residing in the outlying barangays and satellite sitios flock to the población on market days because most local products and goods from the barrios are brought to the public market located in the población. In this way their products could be sold faster by a wide range of buyers, though there are instances where some citizens would choose to go to another town's poblacion because it is closer to their residences. In some cities and towns, the población doubles as an old town district that features one or more of a few remaining Spanish-built structures in the country.
The cabecera has a basic plan, with a plaza mayor, church and attached convento, civic buildings such as the town hall, and houses of prominent Spaniards.
Other features include the public market, the central elementary school and high school, police station, and hospital.