Obando, Bulacan

From Freepedia

Obando is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. It is 16 kilometers away from Rizal Monument in Luneta. Obando is bounded by Valenzuela City in the east, Malabon City in the south, Bulacan in the north, and the waters of Manila Bay in the west. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 52,906 people in 11,229 households.

Contents 1 Demographics 2 Economy 3 Topography 4 Climate and rainfall 5 Land use/resource 6 Barangays 7 History 8 External links

Demographics

Obando is a rural community. As of 2002, it has an estimated population of 58,245 wherein 49% and 51% are female. Of the current population, about 84% live in rural areas 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.

Economy

Fishing is the major means of livelihood for the people of Obando. Other sources of income are garments and jewelry making, food processing, duck, poultry and hog raising.

Topography

Flat and low-lying coastal plains characterize the general topography of Obando. The area was formerly an estuary, 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.

Climate and rainfall

Obando just like any other towns of Bulacan, has two (2) pronounce seasons namely: dry and wet season. The wet season starts from May to October and the dry season starts from November to April. Dominant rainy month is from May to October. Total rainfall of the months counts for about 80% of the annual rainfall, which is because of the influence of west monsoon and typhoons.

Land use/resource

Obando has a total land area of 15.91 km². It has an urban area of 1.85 km² which comprise 2 barangays, the other 9 barangays constitute about 14.06 km² of rural area of the abovecited area, 82.50% are fishponds.

Barangays

Obando is politically subdivided into 11 barangays (8 urban, 3 rural). Barangays Binuangan and Salambao are located along the Paliwas River, and can only be reached by means of motorized boats.

• Binuangan
• Catanghalan
• Hulo
• Lawa
• Salambao
• Paco
• Pag-asa (Pob.)
• Paliwas
• Panghulo
• San Pascual
• Tawiran

History

In the 18th century, the municipalities now known as Meycauayan, Polo and Obando comprised only one town, the Municipality of Meycauayan during that period. The town of Polo and Obando, formed a barrio which was called Catanghalan. In the year 1623, the municipality of Polo was organized and what is now the Town of Obando, because only a barrio of said municipality which carried the name Catanghalan. By virtue of a decree promulgated during the time of Governor and Captain General of the Archipelago who was Don Francisco de Obando y Solis Marquez of Obando. The town was created on May 14, 1753 in honor of him. Because of some unavoidable circumstances, the creation and establishment of the town was made and 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 formally attended the ceremony. 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 kilometres of Gasak, Navotas was returned back 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 in honor of one of its patron saints. To date, some just called it Barangay Salambao for short.

External links

• http://elgu2.ncc.gov.ph/obando/
• Philippine Standard Geographic Code
• 2000 Philippine Census Information