Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
Region III – Central Luzon
Schools Division of Tarlac Province
Moncada South District
SAN JULIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Moncada, Tarlac
S.Y.2018-2019

History of Tarlac

Melting Pot of Central Luzon

OVERVIEW

Tarlac is the most multicultural of the Central Luzon provinces. A mixture of four
district groups, the Pampangos, Ilocanos, Pangasinenses, and Tagalogs, share life in
the province.

Tarlac is best known for its fine foods and vast sugar and rice plantations. That it has
fine cooking to offer is due largely to the fact that it is the melting pot of Central
Luzon. It offers some of the best cuisines from the places of ancestry of its settlers,
the provinces of Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Zambales, Pangasinan, and the Ilocos Region.

Historical sites, fine food, vast plantations, a beautifully landscaped golf course, and
so many other attractions – all these make the province of Tarlac one of the best of
the places to visit in Central Luzon.

CLIMATE

Like the rest of Central Luzon, the province has two distinct seasons: dry from
November to April and wet for the rest of the year.

COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

Principal crops are rice and sugarcane. Other major crops are corn and coconut;
vegetables such as eggplant, garlic, and onion; and fruit trees like mango, banana,
and calamansi.

Because the province is landlocked, its fish production is limited to several

fishponds. On the boundary with Zambales in the west, forestlands provide timber
for the logging industry. Mineral reserves such as manganese and iron can also be
found along the western section.

Tarlac has its own rice and corn mills as well as sawmills and logging outfits. Other
firms service agricultural needs such as fertilizer. Among its cottage industries,
ceramics making has become important because of the abundant supply of clay.

It is also in Tarlac City where the Hacienda Luisita can be found that has the Central
Azucarera de Tarlac and the Luisita Business and Industrial Park. Various malls and
supermarkets are also found in the city center such as the Metrotown Mall, EZ Mart,
Magic Star Mall, and recently established SM Tarlac City Mall located along the Mc
Arthur Highway.

HISTORY

Tarlac was originally a part of the provinces of Pangasinan and Pampanga. It was the
last Central Luzon province to be organized under the Spanish regime in 1874.

During the Philippine Revolution of 1896, Tarlac was one of the first eight provinces
to rise in arms against Spain. It became the new seat of the first Philippine Republic
in March 1899 when Emilio Aguinaldo abandoned the former, Malolos, Bulacan. This
lasted only for a month as the seat was moved to Nueva Ecija in Aguinaldo’s attempt
to elude the pursuing Americans.

On October 23, 1899, Gregorio Aglipay, military vicar general of the Revolutionary
Forces, called the Filipino clergy to a conference in Paniqui. There, they drafted the
constitution of the Philippine Independent Church. They called for the Filipinization
of the clergy, which eventually led to a schism in the Roman Catholic Chuch in the
Philippines.

Tarlac was captured by American forces in November 1899. A civil government was
established in the province in 1901.
During the World War II, Camp O’Donnell in Capas became the terminal point of the
infamous “Death March,” involving Filipino and American soldiers who surrendered
in Bataan on April 9, 1942. The camp was so overcrowded that many allied prisoners
who survived the grueling march died here of hunger and disease.

Tarlac is the home province of former Philippine President Corazon C. Aquino and
her husband, Benigno Aquino, whose assassination at the Manila International
Airport in 1983 started the protest movement against the Marcos dictatorship, which
culminated in the EDSA Revolution of 1986. Tarlac is the hometown of the newly-
elected President of the Republic of the Philippines, Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III.

Geography
The province is situated at the center of the Central Plains of Luzon, landlocked by
four provinces: Nueva Ecija on the east, Pangasinan on the north, Pampanga o the
south, and Zambales on the west. Approximately 75% of the province is plain while
the rest is hilly to mountainous.

Political Subdivision
Tarlac is divided into three congressional districts with 17 towns and 1 city with an
aggregate of 510 barangays.

Language/Dialect
Ilocano is spoken by half of the population followed by Pampango spoken by 41%.
Everybody understands the Tagalog language.
 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region III – Central Luzon
Schools Division of Tarlac Province
Moncada South District
SAN JULIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Moncada, Tarlac
S.Y.2018-2019

History of Moncada

In the early part of the year 1860, four family heads of barrio Magaspac, Gerona,
Tarlac namely: Don Juan Sagun, Don Pedro Sapon, Don Victoriano Avillanosa and
Don Agustin Germinal packed up their belongings and hurriedly left their homes
together with their families. They have incurred the hatred of the Spanish curate of
Gerona, Fr. Modesto Perez, who was feared for his irritable nature and fierce
vindictiveness. They decided to evacuate Magaspac to escape from the ire of the
curate.

Travelling northward for days through primeval forests, the refugees went past the
old town of Paniqui. Then they took a northwesterly course and ultimately reached
Sitio Caarosipan, nestling amidst the vast wastelands and within sight of scenic
Morong Creek. Here the sturdy pioneers decided to stay. They noted with great
admiration and interest the verdant environment dotted here and there by a big and
stately arosip trees, the luscious fruit of which fascinated birds which fed with gusto
as they chirped and fluttered all day.

Not long after wards, the rainy season set in. After dreary days of intermittent
rainfall, Sitio Caarosipan was inundated to the utter disappointment of the
prospective residents. Undaunted by Mother Nature’s challenge, they moved out for
good and repaired to higher ground, this time hitting Sitio Payacan (now Barrio
Capaoayan) four kilometers east of Caarosipan. Here they built better homes and
made wider clearing for their work animals and domestic pets. Since then, they
called Caarosipan, Barriodaan, a contraction of the Ilocano phrase “barrio nga
daan”.

Convinced of the fertility and favorable elevation of the surrounding terrain, the four
family heads lost no time in enticing other probable settlers from Gerona and
Paniqui to try their luck with them. Not long afterwards, uninvited immigrants from
Pangasinan and the Ilocos provinces arrived in Payacan. Many of these immigrants
came from Paoay, Ilocos Norte hence, the present name of Barrio Capaoayan. Within
a period of two years, the population of the settlement rose to sixty-four families. The
municipal authorities of Paniqui, of which Payacan was then a part, thought of
converting the sitio into a barrio. When this plan was finally realized, they selected
Don Antonio Longa as teniente del barrio. He held the position up to 1862.

The settlers were quite inspired by their accompishments as well as by the bountiful
blessings showered upon them by the Almighty. In ardent thanksgiving, they
changed the name of their newly created barrio from Payacan to San Ramon in honor
of the venerated patron St. Raymund Nonnato, to whom they rendered special
devotion aside from equally honoring Fr. Ramon Villanova, Spanish Curate of
Paniqui at the time.

As San Ramon showed signs of advancement and progress, a Christian Chinese who
was a merchant by calling, came to try his luck in the place. Through sheer industry
and thrift, he soon emerged as the most prosperous and pivotal entity in the barrio.
His influence among the residents gained headway with his material prosperity. He
stirred the interest and imagination of civic-minded citiizens to work with him for
the conversion of San Ramon into an independent Municipality. Misfortune befell the
entire scheme when the amiable Chinese died without realizing his pet dream.
Nevertheless, the spirit of the movement did not perish with him. He ha an adopted
son with the Christian name of Vicente Tintiangco who as also a full-blooded
Chinese. As was the ante-mortem request of his dead benefactor, Don Vicente
pursued with equal vigor and determination the succeeding phase of the
undertaking.

Through his persistent machination, he succeeded in having San Ramon into a full-
fledged municipality by virtue of a proclamation by the Spanish Military General of
Tarlac province, Don Julian Ocon. This very historic event took place on July 1, 1875.
The infant municipality was named MONCADA in honor of a certain influential
nobility in Spain. The first town executive of Moncada was Don Sinforoso Marquez
who rendered service from 1875-1877. As such, his title was Governadorcillo y Juez
Local Ex-Officio.

In recognition of his meritorious service and sacrifices for the commoner, Don
Vicente Tintiangco was posthumously awarded the diploma of honor and a medal of
merit by the GOVERNADOR Y CAPITAN GENERAL DE FILIPINAS, Don Joaquin
Jovellar Y Soler in an elaborate ceremony on July 14, 1884. Don Fruto Tintiangco, one
of the three sons of the Chinese founder of Moncada, stood to accept the much-
deserved awards.
 DepEd – Region III
Schools Division of Tarlac Province
Moncada South District
SAN JULIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Moncada, Tarlac

GEMMA AMOR B. MENDOZA, Ph.D.

ESP – I