Obando, Bulacan
Encyclopedia
Obando is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Bulacan, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

. It is 16 kilometers away from the Philippine capital Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...

. Obando is landlocked, bordered by two cities from Metro Manila namely Valenzuela City
Valenzuela City
Valenzuela ,In rare occasion it is pronunced as , with a glottal stop after /ɐ/ in Filipino/Tagalog languages. officially known as the City of Valenzuela is a highly urbanized, first-class city and one of cities in the Philippines that constitutes Metro Manila...

 in the east, Navotas and Malabon City
Malabon City
The City of Malabon is one of the cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila in the Philippines. Located just north of Manila, the city has a population of 363,681 as of 2007. It is primarily a residential and industrial town and is one of the most densely populated cities in the metropolis...

 in the south, Bulacan
Bulacan, Bulacan
Bulacan or Bulakan is a 1st class partially urban municipality in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 72,289 people in 13,577 households. It is 35 km north of Manila...

 in the north, and the waters of Manila Bay
Manila Bay
Manila Bay is a natural harbor which serves the Port of Manila , in the Philippines.The bay is considered to be one of the best natural harbors in Southeast Asia and one of the finest in the world...

 in the west. According to the latest census, it has a population of 56,258 inhabitants in 11,229 households.

Built up area

With the continuous expansion of Metro Manila, the city is now included in Manila built up area which reaches San Ildefonso in its Northernmost part.

Demographics

As of 2002, Obando has an estimated population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...

 of 58,245 wherein 49% are male and 51% are female. Of the current population, about 14% live in rural barangays while the rest constitute the urban population. There are 12,349 households. The average monthly income of a household is P9,000.00, slightly below the P9,540.00 minimum for a family of 6 threshold set by Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Problems

  • Heavy flooding during rainy seasons
  • River pollution caused by the Tanza, Navotas dumpsite. In 2002, under the leadership of Mayor Nesty Joaquin, the Sangguniang Bayan of Obando, Bulacan passed a controversial resolution allowing all the Phileco (Philippine Ecology Systems Corp.) barges that contains tons of Metro Manila's garbage to pass the river of Obando and dumped it in a river-turned "controlled" dumpsite facility in Tanza, Navotas which is only 1 km away from Obando. Mass actions followed but local officials failed to stop the dumping up to this date. Studies showed that the operation of the dump was polluting the river and had caused several diseases among residents, mostly old folks, women and children.
  • Obando Landfill. Environment Secretary Ramon J.P. Paje has been asked to revoke the environmental compliance certificate his department issued to a landfill project for aggravating the situation in Obando town of Bulacan. Coalition president Roy Alvarez warned Paje the flooding in Obando is proof that the fishing town is a flood-prone area and the construction of a sanitary landfill is a blunder. The threat of extreme weather disturbances due to climate change and constructing a landfill in a flood disaster hotspot like Obando, Alvarez said. Citizens’ groups, religious associations, an environmental health coalition and a fisherfolk alliance, had asked Paje to stop the construction of the 44-hectare landfill in Barangay Salambao in Obando. They cited the proximity of the waste disposal facility to Obando River and Manila Bay. The protesters said that the Obando landfill project is illegal and violative of the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act. They expressed belief the landfill will prejudice the health of Obando River and its people, worsen the decades-old flooding problem in the town, contribute to the deterioration of Manila Bay and destroy the livelihood of tens of thousands of people.
  • Jueteng. The rampant and widespread proliferation of Jueteng (an illegal numbers game) being tolerated by authorities.
  • Corrupt Officials

Geography

Flat and low-lying coastal plains characterize the general topography
Topography
Topography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, moons, and asteroids...

 of Obando. The area was formerly an estuary
Estuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....

, but it filled up partially from the peripheral parts of each sand bar and sand spit and formed up into current figure that mainly consisted of commercial district, partly industrial district, residential area and fishpond. Within the municipality are two rivers and three creeks namely Meycauayan River, in the north, Pinagkabalian River, in the south and Paco Creek, Hulo Creek and Pag-asa Creek traversing the town parallel to the provincial road.

Obando has a land area of 52.1 km². It has an urban area which comprise 2 barangays, the other 9 barangays of rural area of the abovecited area, 82.50% are fishponds. Obando is politically subdivided into 11 barangay
Barangay
A barangay is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district or ward...

s (8 urban, 3 rural). Barangays Binuangan and Salambao are located along the Paliwas River, and can only be reached by means of motorized boats.
  • Panghulo
  • Catanghalan
  • Pag-asa
  • Paliwas
  • San Pascual
  • Hulo
  • Lawa
  • Paco
  • Tawiran
  • Binuangan
  • Salambao


Obando, just like the other towns of Bulacan, has two pronounced seasons: dry and wet season. The wet season is from May to October and the dry season is from November to April. The rainfall of the wet season accounts for about 80% of the annual rainfall, which is due to west monsoons and typhoons.

History

In the 18th century, the municipalities now known as Meycauayan
Meycauayan, Bulacan
The City of Meycauayan is a 1st Class, highly urbanized city in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. The city is located about 19 km north of Manila and about 22 km south of Malolos City, the provincial capital city. It is bounded by the town of Marilao to the north, Valenzuela City to...

, Polo
Polo
Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...

 and Obando comprised only one town, the Municipality of Meycauayan. The town of Polo and Obando, formed a barrio called Catangalan. In the year 1623, the municipality of Polo, now called Valenzuela City was organized which included the present-day territories of the Town of Obando. By virtue of a decree
Decree
A decree is a rule of law issued by a head of state , according to certain procedures . It has the force of law...

 promulgated during the time of Governor and Captain General
Governor-General of the Philippines
The Governor-General of the Philippines was the title of the government executive during the colonial period of the Philippines, governed mainly by Spain and the United States, and briefly by Great Britain, from 1565 to 1935....

 of the Archipelago, Francisco Jose de Obando y Solis, the town was created and separated from its mother town Polo on May 14, 1753. In the Governor's untimely death at the hands of the British during the Seven Year's War, the creation and establishment of the town was made and attended by the Alcalde Mayor of the province, Don Francisco Morales y Mozabe, the Provincial Minister, S. Gregorio, Rev. Fr. Alejandro Ferrer, together with numerous religious devotees. The minister who was chosen to administer the town was Rev. Fr. Manuel De Olivendia. In the year 1907, Obando was made an independent town of Bulacan. Then through the untiring efforts of the municipal officials, a portion of Gasak, Navotas was reclaimed to form a part of Obando. The municipal officials, believing that this portion was once a part of the municipality but was adopted by Navotas in the course of time, effortlessly pushed through its claim to regain the area. The concerted action of all those concerned paid off when on January 30, 1975, by virtue of a Presidential Decree No. 646, a portion of approximately 1.78 square kilometers of Gasak, Navotas was returned to Obando. This is mostly fishpond and sandy beach and believed that when fully developed, this will serve as a good tourist attraction. By resolution of 1975 Municipal Council, the area was made into a barangay and named it Nuestra Señora de Salambao
Obando Fertility Rites
The Obando Fertility Rites is a Filipino dance ritual. Every year during the month of May, to the tune of musical instruments made out of bamboo materials, the men, women and children of Obando, Bulacan, Philippines wear traditional dance costumes to dance on the streets followed by the images of...

 in honor of one of its patron saints.

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Mayors Of Obando, Bulacan

Orencio Gabriel (2007–Present)

Zoilito Santiago (2004–2007)

Onesimo Joaquin (2001–2004)

Conrado Lumabas Jr. (1992–2001)

Bienvenido Evangelista (1988–2001)

Antonio Joaquin (OIC 1986 - 1988)

- Other names to follow -



Vice Mayors Of Obando, Bulacan

Danilo de Ocampo (2010–Present)

Leonardo Pantanilla (2007–2010)

Jose Correa (2004–2007)

Zoilito Santiago (2001–2004)

Onesimo Joaquin (1998–2001)

Romerico Santos (1995–1998)

Gaudioso Espinosa (1992–1995)

Remigio Dela Cruz (1988–1992)

- Other names to follow -

External links

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