Pagsanjan (pronounced PAG-sang-han), officially the Municipality of Pagsanjan (Tagalog: Bayan ng Pagsanjan), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 44,327 people.[3]
Situated 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from Santa Cruz, 91 kilometres (57 mi) southeast of Manila, and 52 kilometres (32 mi) from Lucena, this town can reach via Manila East Road or SLEX. Pagsanjan is the tourist capital of Laguna and is the home of the Bangkero Festival held every March. The bangkeros are tour guides who steer boats along the river to Pagsanjan Falls (also called Magdapio Falls), for which the town is well known but is actually in neighboring Cavinti.[5][6]
Pagsanjan was the capital of the province of Laguna for 170 years (1688–1858) during which the town prospered as the commercial, cultural and learning center of the province.[7]
Etymology
Pagsanjan is located in the riparian delta formed by the confluence of the Balanac and Bumbungan rivers. Originally called Pinágsangahán ("branching" or "juncture"), this was shortened to "Pagsanjan" by early Spanish colonists because they found the name very difficult to pronounce.
History
Old Town Gate
Pagsanjan was originally a barrio of Lumban. In 1668, eight Japanese and Chinese traders, who were highly impressed by the strategic location of the barrio at the juncture of Balanac and Bumbungan, rivers founded the town. They established a trading settlement and engaged in the betel nut industry. In time, the barrio became the flourishing trading center of eastern Laguna and attracted families from the surrounding communities of Cavinti and Pila. On December 12, 1668, then-Governor-GeneralJuan Manuel de la Peña Bonifaz issued a decree elevating its status to a town. In 1688, Pagsanjan replaced Bay as the capital of the province. It remained such until 1858, during which it bloomed as the cultural and commercial center of the province.[8]
Pagsanjan has a land area of 26.4 square kilometres. It is bounded on the east by the Balubad Mountain; on the west by the capital town of Santa Cruz; on the north by the San Isidro Hill and Laguna de Bay; on the north-east by the town of Lumban; on the southeast by the towns of Cavinti and Luisiana; on the south by Mount Banahaw; and on the south-west by the town of Magdalena.
Barangays
Pagsanjan is politically subdivided into 16 barangays.[19] Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.
In the 2020 census, the population of Pagsanjan was 44,327 people,[3] with a density of 1,700 inhabitants per square kilometre or 4,400 inhabitants per square mile.
Economy
Poverty incidence of Pagsanjan
Culture
Pagsanjan March
The official song of the town is the "Pagsanjan March". The anthem was composed by Rogel Taiño, a native of Pagsanjan.
Notable personalities
Gregorio F. Zaide - historian and author, "Dean of Filipino Historiographers"
Pedro Pelaez - educator and priest, considered the "Father of Filipinization of the Church" and "The Godfather of the Philippine Revolution"
Conrado Benitez - First Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at the University of the Philippines, educator and author, one of the drafters of the 1935 Constitution.
José Fabella - Filipino physician and a public health advocate, Father of Public Health and Social Welfare in the Philippines.
Vicente Fabella – first Filipino certified public accountant and founder of José Rizal University
^"2015 Census of Population, Report No. 3 – Population, Land Area, and Population Density" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. Quezon City, Philippines. August 2016. ISSN 0117-1453. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 25, 2021. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
^ a b cCensus of Population (2020). "Region IV-A (Calabarzon)". Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
^"PSA Releases the 2021 City and Municipal Level Poverty Estimates". Philippine Statistics Authority. 2 April 2024. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
^"Pagsanjan, Laguna – The Tourist Capital of Laguna". Retrieved 2020-01-17.
^"The Philippine Star". Retrieved 2020-01-17.
^Pagsanjan Official Site Archived 2011-07-27 at the Wayback Machine
^"Pagsanjan, Laguna – The Tourist Capital of Laguna". Retrieved January 17, 2020.
^Report of the Commission on Elections to the President of the Philippines and the Congress on the Manner the Election was Held on November 10, 1959. Commission on Elections. 1960. p. 380. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
^Urera, Vivencio, ed. (1966). "Municipal Officials". Philippine Government Elective Officials: Semi-pictorial Directory. Manila, Philippines: Urema Publishing Co., Ltd. p. 183. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
^Commission on Elections (1969). "List of municipal and municipal district officials elected...". Report of the Commission on Elections to the President of the Philippines and the Congress. Manila, Philippines: Bureau of Printing. p. 370. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
^"Rebels kidnap 2 more bets". Manila Standard. Standard Publications, Inc. December 18, 1987. p. 8. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
^Juvida, Sol (March 11, 1988). "Pagsanjan: Happy, angry, sad". Manila Standard. Standard Publications, Inc. p. 8. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
^"Newly built pathway". Manila Standard. Kamahalan Publishing Corp. September 18, 1997. p. 18. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
^Esplanada, Jerry; Nocum, Armand N. (October 27, 2000). "Pagsanjan Palace: Who paid the bill?". Philippine Daily Inquirer. The Philippine Daily Inquirer, Inc. p. A18. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
^"Political dynasties win some, lose some". Philippine Daily Inquirer. The Philippine Daily Inquirer, Inc. May 12, 2016. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
^Nazario, Dhel; Damicog, Jeffrey G.; Panaligan, Rey G. (May 14, 2019). "Ejercito-Estrada clan takes a beating in the polls". Manila Bulletin. Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
^ "Province: Laguna". PSGC Interactive. Quezon City, Philippines: Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
^"Pagsanjan: Average Temperatures and Rainfall". Meteoblue. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
^Census of Population (2015). "Region IV-A (Calabarzon)". Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
^Census of Population and Housing (2010). "Region IV-A (Calabarzon)" (PDF). Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. National Statistics Office. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
^Censuses of Population (1903–2007). "Region IV-A (Calabarzon)". Table 1. Population Enumerated in Various Censuses by Province/Highly Urbanized City: 1903 to 2007. National Statistics Office.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
