San Manuel, Pangasinan


', officially the ', is a of the Philippines| in the province of,. According to the, it has a population of people.

Geography

San Manuel, in Eastern Pangasinan has nearby neighbors: Cordillera Mountain, Tuba, Benguet, Pozorrubio, San Nicolas, Asingan, Tayug and Binalonan, all of Pangasinan, with a total land area of 183.39 sq.m.

Barangays

San Manuel is politically subdivided into 14 barangays.
Every barangay has a Catholic Chapel, which are maintained by the Lay Ministers Of St. Bartholomew Parish Church- Located in the town proper of San Manuel.

Etymology and history

The town's name originated from early settlers' founder, Don Manuel Sequig amid the town's existence in 1614, when Poblacion was in Pau with a population of 2,023.
In 1688 the Convento was erected and in 1720, both the church and convent were in place at Pau but were burned down due to a bad omen superstition, hence Asingan fused San Manuel was but natives moved Guiset, a name of San Manuel. In 1860, San Manuel was decreed a town for the second time.
San Manuel became a town, 44 years before Asingan was, but was absorbed by the latter from 1903 to 1907.

Incident

On September 12, 2012, gun-for-hire suspect Marcelino Cardinas Jr. was arrested on the Case Unclosed twin murders of San Manuel’s Vice Mayor Bonifacio Apilado and Christopher Alfonso. Regional Trial Court Judge Joven Costales of Branch 45, Urdaneta City issued the warrant of arrest for Renato Tarinay Jr. and Cardinas, Jr. Cardinas was arrested in the house of Leonardo Sol, Sol Group leader of a Private Armed Group in Barangay Flores, San Manuel town
In Barangay Gueset Norte, San Manuel, Pangasina, Romero Gorospe, 40 Narra Tricycle Driver-Operators Association President and bodyguard of San Manuel mayoral bet and retired Vice Admiral Virgilio Q. Marcelo was ambushed, while Ruth Palip and Rosalinda Calip also died while crossing the street on April 19, 2010.

Demographics

Climate

Language

San Manuel natives speak mostly Ilocano and Pangasinan. English and Filipino are spoken as well.

Local government

San Manuel's Chief Executive is Mayor Alain Jerico S. Perez with his Vice Mayor, Salvador M. Perez, and 8 Sangguniang Bayan Councilors, inter alia. They hold Office at the Session Hall which is located at the Legislative Building.

Tourism

San Manuel has the following attractions and interesting points:
It is Asia's tallest dam and largest private hydropower project, costing US$1.19 billion and generating 345 MW of power.
The 1687 St. Bartholomew Parish Church is under the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan, Roman Catholic Diocese of Urdaneta.
Its Feast Day is August 24, with Parish Priest, Father Diomedes S. Laguerta, Guest Priest, Father Rafael T. Cruz and Vicar Forane, Father Elpidio F. Silva Jr.
San Manuel first existed in barrio Pao in 1614, while the first church was built in Pao in 1688, which was burned in 1720, due to superstition. Hence, the natives heard Mass at Sinapug, name of Asingan.
Accepted in 1860, San Manuel became a House of the Dominican Order in 1878, per Royal Decree of July 6, 1878, an independent parish from Asingan. The first “ermita” of the town was erected with the help of the faithful by Kura Paroko, Fr. Bonifacio Provanza built the first "ermita" or Bisita in 1882, with a cruciform. Fr. Jose Ma. Puente continued the construction and on October 1, 1894, a great whirlwind destroyed the ermita which was rebuilt by Fr, Fuente adding the convent. The 1898 revolutionaries destroyed the Church. Fr. Probanza built a small convent and the old church was about 100 meter long and 20 meters wide.

Education

St. Mary's Dominican School is the first and only private Catholic School in the town. It was established by the late Fr. Mendoza and handed over to the Dominican Sisters.
Mataas na Paaralang Juan C. Laya is the largest public secondary school of the town. It was the home to thousand of students coming from different barangays of the town. It was named after the late Juan C. Laya, a distinguished writer and educator. Juan Cabreros Laya is the founder of Inang Lupa publishing and was active in textbook in the 1950s.
On 15 December 2012, For. Tom Valdez, SRPC vice president of San Roque Power Corp, operator of the San Roque Multi-purpose Project including the Dam, opened its Education Governance Programs for San Manuel and San Nicolas in Pangasinan and Itogon in Benguet - the communities housing San Roque Dam. Main features are the day-care center and the Laklak creek retaining wall in Barangay Camangaan, repair of 5-classroom building in Barangay Bobon and building of one-classroom building each for barangays Bomboaya and Don Cristobal.

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