San Fabian, Pangasinan

San Fabian, officially the Municipality of San Fabian (Baley na San Fabian; Ili ti San Fabian; ), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Pangasinan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 87,428 people.

Etymology
The town got its name after Saint Fabian during the Spanish era.

History
The town used to be called Angio, and had been a mission territory of friars of the Dominican Order during the Spanish era. It is named after Saint Fabian, who was a pontiff and saint of the Roman Catholic Church.

Around 1818, San Fabian had a boundary dispute with Mangaldan. The boundary between the two towns was the Angalacan river, which sometimes overflows because of floods. The boundary dispute was settled in 1900, when the mayor of San Fabian agreed to meet the mayor of Mangaldan and the two reached an agreement with a boundary marker being erected at Longos between the towns of San Fabian and Mangaldan. The agreement was signed by Juan Ulanday, Nicolas Rosa, Vicente Padilla, Marcelo Erfe, and approved by the American Commander Capt. Ferguson.

During the Philippine–American War, hundreds of Pangasinense soldiers and soldiers of the Philippine government died in San Fabian battling the Americans. After the pacification of Pangasinan by the United States, the first town President of San Fabian was Ińigo Dispo. In 1903, the town of Alava became a part of San Fabian and became a mere village or barrio.

During World War II, the liberation of US Naval and Marine forces in Pangasinan started when troops under Gen. Walter Krueger landed on Lingayen and San Fabian beaches. San Fabian landing zones were called White and Blue beaches, names which continue until the present time.

In October 2009, San Fabian was among the places heavily affected by the floods caused by the release of water by the San Roque Dam at Rosales during the height of the Typhoon Pepeng.

Geography
San Fabian is geographically located in the northern portion in Pangasinan, bordering the provincial boundaries of La Union. It has a land area of 8,129 hectares. It is bounded in the north by Rosario (La Union), Sison in the northeast, Mangaldan in the south, Pozorrubio and San Jacinto in the southeast, Dagupan in the southwest, and in the west by Lingayen Gulf.

San Fabian is 28 km from Lingayen, 59 km from San Fernando, and 234 km from Manila.

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


 * Alacan
 * Ambalangan-Dalin
 * Angio
 * Anonang
 * Aramal
 * Bigbiga
 * Binday
 * Bolaoen
 * Bolasi
 * Cabaruan
 * Cayanga
 * Colisao
 * Gumot
 * Inmalog Norte
 * Inmalog Sur
 * Lekep-Butao
 * Lipit-Tomeeng
 * Longos Central
 * Longos Proper
 * Longos-Amangonan-Parac-Parac Fabrica
 * Mabilao
 * Nibaliw Central
 * Nibaliw East
 * Nibaliw Magliba
 * Nibaliw Narvarte (Nibaliw West Compound)
 * Nibaliw Vidal (Nibaliw West Proper)
 * Palapad
 * Poblacion
 * Rabon
 * Sagud-Bahley
 * Sobol
 * Tempra-Guilig
 * Tiblong
 * Tocok

Local government
San Fabian, belonging to the fourth 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.

The present Mayor of San Fabian is Marlyn Espino-Agbayani, the second woman to be elected as the Local Chief Executive of the said town. Current Vice Mayor is former Mayor Constante Batrina Agbayani, the husband of the current Mayor. Former Vice Mayor Dr. Leopoldo N. Manalo is the only Vice Mayor to be elected and have completed the three-term limit on the said position. Former Mayor Irene F. Libunao is the first woman to be elected as Mayor in the municipality, who served from 2010 to 2013. Marinor Baltazar-De Guzman, the town's Vice Mayor from 2019 to 2022, became the first woman to be elected Board Member representing the 4th Provincial District of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Pangasinan.

Notable personalities

 * Andres Narvasa, a former Chief Justice
 * Perfecto V. Fernandez, a Filipino lawyer
 * Bella Poarch, a Filipino-American singer and social media star