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Binalonan Pangasinan
Lat 16° 2' 56N Long 120° 35' 43E Located 12.4 miles east of Mangaldan inland from Lingayen Gulf. Small town on the highway, midway between Pozorubio and Urdaneta.
Records show that many years before the advent of the American Regime,
Binalonan was a mere piece of uninhabited land with a crude wooden fence around
it. This lot belonged to a wealthy landlord whose named was Don Salvador, a
resident of Manaoag.
Before approaching the once insignificant place, two majestic camachile trees,
recognizable at a far away distance, caught the attention of all passerby. The
landscape was flat and covered with grass where the owner, Don Salvador pastured
his large cattle. Most of the workers were Ilocanos. The camachile trees stood
in the center of this land where the graziers used to shade and under which they
had their lunch. When laborers arrived here, they used to hung their lunch bags
on any of the two trees. It became the meeting place of graziers who often times
greeted each other, especially during lunch time "binna-lonan," which means
"everyone brought their own baon".
As there were many immigrants from Ilocos Region coming to Manaoag, this rich
man sent them to this inhabitable place. Seeing that the place was flourishing,
they brought their own families and resided here permanently. A sizeable village
started to progress and became larger as there were many immigrants pouring in.
eventually, to make the place distinct and known from other places, they called
it Binalonan.
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Famous Binalonians
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is the daughter of a Binalonian,Dr. Evangeline Macaraeg who was married to the president Diosdado Macapagal.
Carlos Bulosan's legacy is his book, America is in the Heart, which inspires millions of people around the world.
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