Bulacan is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon
region. It has two cities: Malolos City (the capital) and San Jose del
Monte City. Bulacan is located immediately north of Metro Manila.
Bordering Bulacan are the provinces of Pampanga to the west, Nueva Ecija
to the north, Aurora and Quezon to the east, and Rizal to the south. Bulacan
also lies on the northern shore of Manila Bay.
Bulacan figures prominently in Philippine History. Many national heroes
and political figures were born in Bulacan. The province was also one of
the first to revolt against Spain. Bulacan is most noted for being the capital
of the first Philippine Republic in the now city of Malolos as well as
its Malolos Constitution.
The province's name is derived from the Tagalog word "bulak" meaning cotton,
which was its former principal product.
Bulacan started with small fishing settlements along the coast of Manila
Bay, and expanded into the interior with the coming of the Spaniards in the 16th
century. These settlements formed the nucleus of towns that were founded from
1572 (Bulacan and Calumpit) to 1750 (San Rafael). In 1848, the town of San
Miguel was annexed to Bulacan from Pampanga.
A session of the Malolos Congress at Barasoain Church.Bulacan was
one of the first eight provinces to rise against Spanish rule in the Philippine
Revolution. The first phase of the revolution ended with the signing of the Pact
of Biak-na-Bato in San Miguel in 1897 between the Filipinos and the Spaniards,
after which the revolutionary leader Emilio Aguinaldo was exiled to Hong Kong.
The second phase saw the drafting of the constitution of the First Philippine
Republic by the Malolos Congress at Barasoain Church in 1898. The
subsequently established republic had its capital at Malolos until
President Emilio Aguinaldo transferred it to San Isidro, Nueva Ecija in 1899
when the Philippine-American War broke out.
When the Americans established a civil government in the Philippines, they held
the first election in the country in the town of Baliuag, Bulacan on May
6, 1899.
Notable Filipino figures from Bulacan include Francisco Baltazar (Balagtas),
Marcelo H. Del Pilar, and Gregorio del Pilar.
Bulacan has a total land area of 262,500 hectares or roughly 14 percent
of the total area of Central Luzon, the biggest Philippine island, and 0.9% of
the country's total land area. The province has 22 municipalities, 2 component
cities and 569 barangays. Malolos in the southwestern part is the capital of the
province. Of the 22 municipalities and 2 component cities of the province, Doņa
Remedios Trinidad (DRT) is the biggest municipality having a total land area of
about 93,298 hectares or almost 36 percent of the provincial land total. DRT is
followed by the municipalities of San Miguel and Norzagaray with land areas
representing more than 6 percent of the provincial total. Obando, on the other
hand, has the smallest landmass with only 1,458 hectares or 0.56 percent of the
entire area of Bulacan.
This dam over the Ipo River and watershed in Norzagaray was defended by Japanese in late 1945. US Army 43rd Infantry Divsion advanced on Ipo begining on May 10, 1945. After reaching Hill 815, and securing it on May 12, they push within site of the dam the following day. On May 17, an assault captures the dam intact and enemy resistance in the Ipo area ends two days later. click the arrow in the middle to watch
This dam over the Ipo River and watershed in Norzagaray was defended by Japanese in late 1945. US Army 43rd Infantry Divsion advanced on Ipo begining on May 10, 1945. After reaching Hill 815, and securing it on May 12, they push within site of the dam the following day. On May 17, an assault captures the dam intact and enemy resistance in the Ipo area ends two days later. click the arrow in the middle to watch