Balaoan

Philippines / Ilocos / Balaoan /
 town, municipality, third-level administrative division
Municipality of Balaoan, Province of La Union
ZIP code: 2517

Balaoan is a coastal municipality in the province of La Union in the Philippines. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 37,910 people.

Balaoan is one of the oldest municipalities in La Union, having been founded in 1704. Its first Capitan is Ignacio Duldulao.

The dominant language spoken in Balaoan is Ilocano. The patron saint of the town is St. Nicholas of Tolentino, whose feast day is celebrated on September. Additionally, a town fiesta is celebrated on December 21-23. The municipal zip code is 2517.

As of May 2007, the incumbent mayor is Atty. Al-Fred Concepcion. He succeeded Hon. Joaquin Ostrea, Jr.

Geography:

Balaoan is situated north of Bacnotan, south of Bangar, Sudipen and Santol on the east and Bacnotan on the south. Located 30 kilometers north of San Fernando City, the provincial capital of La Union and the regional capital of Region I. Balaoan is approximately 300 kilometers north of Metro Manila. Balaoan has one of the pristine coastal towns of La Union facing the Luzon Sea.

Balaoan can be reached from Manila using the MacArthur Highway, or via plane landing in Canaoay Airport in San Fernando City.

Balaoan is composed of 36 barangays. Four barangays compose the poblacion or town proper. The vast land area of 6,450 hectares consists mostly of agricultural lands. The municipality occupies 4.3% of the total area of the province. Among the barangays in the municipality, Nagsabaran Sur is the largest with 842 hectares or 13.05% of the municipality's land area and the smallest is Nalasin with only 33 hectares (0.51%).

The following is a list of barangays in Balaoan:

-Almeida
-Antonino
-Apatut
-Ar-arampang
-Baracbac Este
-Baracbac Oeste
-Bet-ang
-Bulbulala
-Bungol
-Butubut Este
-Butubut Norte
-Butubut Oeste
-Butubut Sur
-Cabuaan Oeste
-Calliat
-Calungbuyan
-Camiling
-Camilo Osias
-Guinaburan
-Masupe
-Nagsabaran Norte
-Nagsabaran Sur
-Nalasin
-Napaset
-Pagbennecan
-Pagleddegan
-Pantar Norte
-Pantar Sur
-Pa-o
-Paraoir
-Patpata
-Sablut
-San Pablo
-Sinapangan Norte
-Sinapangan Sur
-Tallipugo


History:

Balaoan was originally part of Ilocos Sur. The town's present name originated during the Spanish colonial era. Balaoan was formerly called Puraw (meaning "white"). A group of Spanish soldiers were on patrol and went on to rest on a sitio.

The villagers were curious about the soldiers because of their unusual descent and fair skin color. They flocked the soldiers touching their guns, too afraid that the guns might explode accidentally, one villager asked the soldier in a local vernacular.. "Aoan bala?" (meaning "No bullets?"). The soldier did not understand what the villager meant, he uttered the last word first, and remembering the last, he said "Bala aoan".

During the Spanish occupation in the Philippines, a secret society of insurectos was organized in the municipality. Its purpose was to fight and revolt against the Spanish Government in the area. On the eve of the revolution, a traitor told the Spanish of their plan. The Spanish soldiers, without any investigation arrested seven members of the secret society, and executed them the same night.

One escaped with only leg wounds, he was Fernando Ostrea. He informed the people about what has happened. In memory of the seven Martyrs, a masonic lodge, Siete Martires Lodge No. 177, was organized.

Schools:

* Almeida Elementary School
* Apatut Elementary School
* Ar-arampang Elementary School
* Balaoan Central Elementary School
* Balaoan Christian School
* Bulbulala Elementary School
* Bungol Elementary School
* Bungol National High School
* Butubut Elementary School
* Butubut National High School
* Butubut Norte Elementary School
* Calliat Elementary School
* Castor Concepcion Memorial High School (Balaoan National High School)
* Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University National High School (Paraoir)
* Guinaburan Elementary School
* Masupe Elementary School
* Nagsabaran Sur Elementary School
* Osias Educational Foundation
* Pantar Norte Elementary School
* Pantar Sur Elementary School
* Paraoir Elementary School
* Patpata Elementary School
* San Nicolas Academy
* Sinapangan National High School
* Sinapangan Norte Elementary School
* Sinapangan Sur Elementary School
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balaoan,_La_Union
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   16°48'14"N   120°23'28"E

Comments

  • were the balaoan
  • hahaha thats where i fuckin live! i fuckin love that town <333
  • Balaoan La Union have a nice beach that we can go swimming and going picnic.It's nice for gathering a family reunion,coz it's not been populated,and it;s really nice.The water is clean and the sand is white.So we should visit our beach in BALAOAN,LA UNION.
  • i used to live here. that was like how many years go. cant remember though
  • I want to learn more about the place to be able to reach and meet my beautiful daughter of mrs.fanateer KAP.
  • i just left balaoan six months ago, miss living there.. pink town of the north. i look forward to seeing the place again especially my place sablut..
  • da mayor of balaoan is nice and handsome``````````,,,,,,,,, my idol mr.aksyon man ,,,,,,,
  • the head of the town is too very strict even the things which is owned by you,we the residents get taxes from the lot where our houses resides and the vehicles which peoples utilizes has permits...... i like the mayor of the town because he is strict, he manages the town properly but one thing i can say about is that don't mind the property which owned by the people give us also the privacy...because its our property......
  • (ukis ti sabawil) wow, i just came up to my senses when i read the history of my home town - the place where i grew up, it gives me the fantasies and creeps of what it had been before the date of my birth. i was born 1987 and i was amazed by the history of my town over and over again though i knew it all in the first place.
  • mailiwak iti ili ti balaoanen, agduwa tawen nangruna di limwasak toy manila
  • oh see,balaoan was originally part of ilocos sur..i luv coming back to my hometown!!
  • Show all comments
This article was last modified 9 years ago