Villasis, Pangasinan

Infobox Philippine municipality
infoboxtitle = Municipality of Villasis, Pangasinan


sealfile = Villasis Pangasinan.png region = Ilocos Region (Region I)
province = Pangasinan
pop2000 = 54,224
barangays = 21
districts = 5th District, Pangasinan
class = 2nd class; rural
locatormapfile = Ph_locator_pangasinan_villasis.png caption = Map of Pangasinan showing the location of Villasis.

Villasis is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Pangasinan, Philippines. It is a small farming town situated by the Agno River. On its borders are the towns of Malasiqui and Asingan and Urdaneta City. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 54,224 people in 11,001 households.

Hemmed between two bustling areas, Urdaneta City and Rosales, Villasis is one of the fastest developing towns in the province. It also thrives on its rice, corn and tobacco plantations. Its hilly barangays situated along the Malasiqui boundary is an ideal place for resort developers and agri-businessmen.

The town holds an annual fiesta in honor of its patron saint, San Antonio de Abad.

History

Villasis was a barrio of Malasiqui in the early part of the 17th century and was known by its former name, "Pandoyocan." The place had no fixed boundaries. It was simply a frontier settlement, a thickly forested region covering most of the southeastern parts of the province. Few people lived in this place due to the unavailability of open space for farming. In this thick forest however, was a nesting ground of bees called "oyocan". The abundance of honey attracted Spaniards and inhabitants of neighboring places to settle in this village. Because of this, the place was called "Pandoyocan", meaning "colony of bees."

Economy

The town's accessibility to all kinds of land transportation has made Villasis a bustling center of trade and commerce. It is intersected by the Manila North Road from north to south, allowing all major bus lines plying the Manila-Region I CAR route to pass through the town 24-hours a day. The main agricultural crops of the town are rice, corn, cassava, cabbage, varieties of vegetables and fruits. Raising livestock is another livelihood of the townspeople who raise poultry, swine, cattle and goats.

There are 56 registered small to medium sized industries in Villasis. These include rice mills, metalcraft industries, cement production, poultry raising and piggeries and an ice-plant.

Talong festival

On January 18, 2008, Mayor Nonato Abrenica announced that hundreds of balikbayans joined the annual fiesta celebration, highlighted by the Talong Festival / fastest talong eater contest (boiled skin removed eggplant, long-purple casino type), in Villasis, Pangasinan. 12 of 21 villages / barangays are engaged in eggplant production with total of 3.35 km² planted by 600 residents. [ [http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=105950 Abs-Cbn Interactive, Balikbayans join Talong fest] ]

Barangays

Villasis is politically subdivided into 21 barangays.

* Amamperez * Bacag * Barangobong * Barraca * Capulaan * Caramutan * La Paz * Labit * Lipay * Lomboy * Piaz (Plaza)

* Zone V (Pob.) * Zone I (Pob.) * Zone II (Pob.) * Zone III (Pob.) * Zone IV (Pob.) * Puelay * San Blas * San Nicolas * Tombod * Unzad

External links

* [http://www.myvillasis.com www.myvillasis.com] Connecting Villasinians Around the World
* [http://pag.wikipedia.org Pangasinan Wikipedia]
* [http://www.villasis.gov.ph/home.php/ Villasis Online - Official Town Website]
* http://www.gov.pangasinan.com/towns/villasis.htm
* [http://www.nscb.gov.ph/activestats/psgc/default.asp Philippine Standard Geographic Code]
* [http://www.t-macs.com/kiso/local/ 2000 Philippine Census Information]
* [http://www.pangasinan.gov.ph Official Website of the Provincial Government of Pangasinan]
* [http://www.dalityapi.com Pangasinan: Preservation and Revitalization of the Pangasinan Language and Literature]
* [http://punch.dagupan.com Sunday Punch]
* [http://www.sunstar.com.ph/pangasinan Sun Star Pangasinan]
* [http://pangasinanstar.prepys.com Pangasinan Star Online]
* [http://www.gmanews.tv/video/17278/Kapuso-Mo-Jessica-Soho-Talong-Festival www.gmanews.tv/video, Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho: Talong Festival - 01/26/2008] (in Filipino)

References