Mapandan

Mapandan, officially the Municipality of Mapandan (Baley na Mapandan; Ili ti Mapandan; ), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Pangasinan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 38,058 people.

Mapandan is known for its yearly Pandan Festival.

Etymology
Mapandan (meaning plenty of pandan) got its name from “pandan”, a native palm which grew in abundance in the place at that time. The leaves of the pandan add aroma to the cooked rice if cooked with it. The leaves are also stripped and woven into mats.

History
Mapandan was a former mere Barrio. That was former part of Municipality of Mangaldan.

Being originally a part of the municipality of Mangaldan, Mapandan was also once called “balon baley” which means new town in the local vernacular.

Mapandan was first established as a “pueblo” by virtue of Direction General No. 39 Administration Civil No. 169-C signed by Governor General Emilio Bravo on December 28, 1887. The Town originally comprised the southernmost barrios of the town of Mangaldan namely: Payapay, Baloling, Apaya, and Amanoaoac

The idea of organizing a separate town from its mother town Mangaldan was first conceived by some ten (10) local leaders in the persons of Antonio Morales, Sabino Prado, Andres Bongato, Ambrosio Calimlim, Valeriano Tamondong, Tomas Aquino, Fulgencio Nato, Filomeno Sarmiento, Jose Lalas and Florencio Datuin.

The town was first centered in Barangay Torres. Due to its remoteness, the same was transferred to its present location, which was formerly a sitio of Apaya. The lands in the present location of the Poblacion were predominantly owned by the illustrious Aquino clan.

It was Leon Hilario Aquino who encouraged the people to flock to the place by subdividing the land of the Poblacion into a lot of uniform sixes and offering these for three to each family head.

Mapandan was temporarily returned to its mother town in 1905 due to the outbreak of an epidemic that greatly depleted its population and finances. In 1908, the town was again reorganized and officially re-established.

Dwarfed amidst the more known neighboring towns of Manaoag, Mangaldan, San Jacinto, and Sta. Barbara, the town is heard of in the province but not many people have seen it.

In year 2002, Mapandan was elevated as a third (3rd) class municipality through the efforts and leadership of Hon. Jose Ferdinand Z. Calimlim Jr., who spearheaded strategies on income and revenue generation.

Mapandan is a Hall of Famer for having the Pangasinan's cleanest, safest and greenest municipality (Category B). Mapandan was also awarded the Pangasinan's Healthiest Municipality for having the fewest malnourished children.

Geography
Mapandan is located in Eastern-Central part of Pangasinan. Bordered by Mangaldan to the north, Manaoag to the east, and Santa Barbara to the west and southern part. It is landlocked, however, it is not too far from nearby coastal areas of Dagupan, Binmaley and Mangaldan. Mapandan is a central hilly area, having several mountains nearby.



Barangays
Mapandan is politically subdivided into 15 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.


 * Amanoaoac
 * Apaya
 * Aserda
 * Baloling
 * Coral
 * Golden
 * Jimenez
 * Lambayan
 * Luyan
 * Nilombot
 * Pias
 * Poblacion
 * Primicias
 * Santa Maria
 * Torres

Languages
Pangasinan and Ilocano are the two main spoken languages in the town, third is the Kapampangan Language. Filipino is also widely spoken in the town.

Religions
Major religions are in the town, with different branches of churches within.
 * Seventh-day Adventist Church (Poblacion and Kolos-Pias)
 * Iglesia ni Cristo (Nilombot and Luyan)
 * The Grand Mosque (Luyan)
 * The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Nilombot)
 * Kingdom hall of Jehovas Witnesses (Coral)
 * Roman Catholicism (Poblacion and Luyan)
 * Good news to the Nations Outreach (Poblacion)
 * Born Again Christianity (Poblacion)
 * God With Us Church(Aserda)
 * Come to Jesus Fellowship International (Luyan)

Roman Catholicism is the major Religion in Mapandan, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan, and it is annexed by different religions around.

Economy
Mapandan is practically rural in terms of its area. It is composed of farming areas and cattle ranch farms. It has a little part of Bued river in northern part and an irrigation project also known as Payas irrigation project, which aims for a standard irrigation for farming areas in the municipality.

Local government
Mapandan, belonging to the third congressional district of the province of Pangasinan, is governed by a mayor designated as its local chief executive and by a municipal council as its legislative body in accordance with the Local Government Code. The mayor, vice mayor, and the councilors are elected directly by the people through an election which is being held every three years.

Sister cities
These are cities Mapandan are associated with:
 * Hong Kong, China
 * Ontario, Canada