HISTORY OF THE PROVINCE OF PANGASINAN

Seated among the plains of Nueva Ecija, the mountains of Benguet, and the ranges of Zambales, Pangasinan spans as the third largest province in the Philippines, with its total land area comprising almost one-half of that of the entire Region 1. 

The beginnings of Pangasinan traces to early Austronesians who inhabited Southeast Asia centuries ago. Sources portray the early Pangasinan settlements as divided into two sub-units: The Panag-asinan located near the seas and beaches, populated by settlers harboring the prized possession of the province, which is salt; and the Caboloan, situated near the rivers full of bamboos and trees. During the revolt against Spanish rule, the Pangasinenses and Juan de la Cruz Palaris charged and flushed out the local Spanish colony in the province. After the Second World War, Pangasinan was merged with the greater Ilocandia, piercing all the four provinces of the Ilocos Region.

Currently, the crescent-shaped province of Pangasinan occupies 536,818 hectares of land area. The province is composed of four cities and forty-four diverse and equally unique municipalities. Lingayen Gulf borders the area in the North, together with La Union and the Cordilleras. In the northeast lies Nueva Vizcaya. The plainfields of Nueva Ecija stand east alongside Tarlac people in the south, and Zambales and the Philippine Sea border the west. Today, 3.2 million Pangasinenses inhabit the province, speaking different languages such as Pangasinan, Ilocano, and Binubolinao. 

Pangasinan is known for their daing, or dried, boneless fish, which sprawls across the province. “Daing” is a special recipe that involves splitting any fish (usually bangus) into two halves and then manually removing the insides and fish bones. Then, the raw fishes were seasoned with pepper, salt, and garlic and were left under the sun to dry until they looked brown and crispy. The province is also home to Filipino delicacies such as the tupig of Mangaldan and San Fabian, the pindang of Mangaldan, the bangus of Dagupan City, the puto of Calasiao, and many more.

Given its natural endowments, Pangasinan is also home to refreshing tourism destinations. The city of Alaminos boasts its Hundred Islands; the Cape Lighthouse stands tall for people to see. Tayug’s Sunflower Garden is a burst of radiant sunshine here on Earth, while the Enchanted Cave in Bolinao gives a glimpse of the world down below. The Minor Basilica of Manaoag is a destination for many devotees. The beaches of Patar, Lingayen, Dagupan, Cabongaoan, Tondol, and San Fabian are fine picturesque of God’s gifts to humanity – a.l sprawled out across Pangasinan for the world to enjoy!