Minalin which used to be called Minalisis a peaceful town of about 39,194 people as recorded by the Philippine National Census of 1995. It has a land area of about 48.27 square kilometers and it is located southwest of the capital town of San Fernando.
According to Don Mariano Henson’s "The Province of Pampanga and Its Towns", the four founders of this town namely, Mendiola, Nucum, Lopez and Intal negotiated with the Datu of Macabebe to acquire an initial piece of land as far as the boundary now called Lacmit and named the place as Santa Maria in honor of the four founders’ respective wives named Maria. When a church was about to be built in Santa Maria and the lumber was piled up already, the flood waters carried the construction materials to another site called Burol (Hilly Place) where the church was finally constructed. Since then the community was called Minalis meaning ‘moved to" until the 18th century when an error was made by the then Capitan Mayor Diego Tolentino who inadvertently wrote the name of the town as "Minalin" instead of the original name "Minalis".
However, according to some documents on file in the office of Mr. Ricardo G. Santos, the current Municipal Planning and Development Coordinator of Minalin, this present town originated as a Malayan settlement under the leadership of Kahn Bulaun, a descendant of Prince Balagtas. This settlement was called Tigip but when the Spaniards came who looted the town and raped the women, they renamed the settlement as "Mina Linda de las Mujeres" because of the many pretty women they encountered in the settlement. A Chinese merchant from Wawa (Guagua) who established a general store in this town mispronounced the name of the town as "Minah Linah Neh Lah Muchele" but the town people shortened it as Minalina.
A fourth class municipality in terms of tax revenue collection, meaning less than twenty million pesos per year, Minalin has now fifteen (15) barangays namely:
Records at the Minalin Municipal Hall indicate that the township comprising the old community of Santa Maria and the newly-created barrios of Santa Monica, San Nicolas, Santo Rosario, Santa Catalina, San Francisco, Santa Rita, San Pedro, San Jose, San Pablo, San Bartolome and San Vicente was created on May 4, 1700 with the approval of Spanish Governor Fausto Cruzat y Gongora and with Don Diego Tolentino as the first capitan mayor . He was succeeded as capitan mayor in the next twenty years from 1701 to 1721 by distinguished gentlemen such as Nicolas Mendiola, Rufino Carlos, Simeon Dimacali, Lorenzo Bondoc, Nicolas Timbol, Martin Dimacali, Diego Laqui, Cristobal Lumanug, Nicolas Lumanug, Gaspar Zapata, Juan Nuqui, Tomas Tayag, Pedro Calaquian, Nicolas de la Cruz, Agustin Pangan, Romulo Carlos, Sebastian Sanchez, Nicolas Catacutan, Bartolome Munoz, Jose Lopez and Gregorio Laxamana.
From 1722 to 1899 there were many more Minalin leaders who were designated as capitan mayor commencing with Don Tomas Tayag and ending with Don Juan Yabut, the last town executive who held on to that government title. There was no organized municipal government in 1900 and 1901 because of the Revolution against Spain and the Philippine-American War. When the American civil government was established in 1902, Don Martin Mercado was appointed as Municipal Resident. When the town of Santo Tomas was created by the administration of Governor General Robert Taft in 1903, Minalin was annexed to Santo Tomas under its jurisdiction and Gregorio Pineda was appointed as Municipal President.
On July 26, 1904, for economy and efficiency, Minalin was consolidated with the capital town of San Fernando. However, through the effort and influence of Don Andres Lagman, Don Martin Mercado and a local revolutionary hero, Don Cristino Lagman, Minalin was returned to its former status as a separate municipality in 1909 when Governor Macario Arnedo of Apalit was still the provincial executive .
Don Cristino Lagman, a brave Katipunan commander served as municipal president of Minalin during the American regime under the administration of Governor Generals James F. Smith and W. Cameron Forbes.
Martin Mercado, Gregorio Santiago, Fortunato Galang, Francisco Lopez, Benito Mercado, Julian Mercado and Celestino Macapinlac served also as municipal presidents. The present energetic and popular town mayor, Honorable Santiago M. Yabut, Jr. succeeded many well-known municipal mayors such as Urbano Pineda, Julian Lagman, Francisco G. Flores, Agapito Magat, Feliciano Pacia, Sabas N. Pingol, Juan T. Macapinlac, Domingo Sagmit and Francisco Flores.
Minalin’s first Catholic Church was erected in 1650 during the term of Spanish Governor General Diego Fajardo. Minalin has also the distinction of having one of the first thirteen Augustinian missions in Pampanga before the close of the 17th century.
Saint Monica became the town’s patron saint and the town people of Minalin celebrate their town fiesta on the 11th of May of every year.
Like a typical town located in the Pampanga delta, the principal industries of Minalin are farming and fishing. Despite of the damages caused by the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo and the occasional flow of lahar during rainy seasons, the industrious people of Minalin manage to maintain and continue the economic development of their beloved hometown. Currently, poultry and swine raising is also a major industry in this locality.
Many Minalenians answered also the call of duty of their beloved country by enlisting in the Armed Forces of the Philippines in defending the motherland against foreign invasion and in preserving a democratic form of government. It is to be noted that the town of Minalin is the birthplace of the Huk Regiment of the USAFFE under Colonel Bernardo Poblete known as Commander Jose Banal which was organized in 1944 within the compound of the Minalin Parish Church with the approval and blessings of the Spanish priest, Fr. Daniel Castrillo. This regiment was trained in Minalin by United States Army officers under the command of Colonel Horton V. White and Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC) agent William Owens. After a few months of intensive training, this regiment assisted the American Liberation Forces in restoring and maintaining peace and order in Central Luzon and helped capture Japanese stragglers hiding in Corregidor.
-------------------------------------------------
MINALIN
Minalin is dubbed as the 'Egg Basket of Luzon' because of its large-scale poultry industry, producing millions of chickens and eggs that reach millions of Philippine homes and restaurants.
Minalin is also noted for its Aguman Sanduk: 'Belles of Minalin' New Year's parade of men dressed as beauty queens.
Legend & History
Minalin used to be called 'Minalis.' According to Don Mariano Henson's 'The Province of Pampanga and Its Towns,' the four founders of this town namely, Mendiola, Nucum, Lopez, and Intal negotiated with the Datu of Macabebe to acquire an initial piece of land as far as the boundary now called Lacmit and named the place as Santa Maria in honor of the four founders' respective wives, who were all named Maria. When a church was about to be built in Santa Maria and lumber was already piled up, floodwaters carried the construction materials to another site called 'Burol' (Hilly Place) where the church was finally constructed. Since then the community was called 'Minalis,' meaning 'moved,' to until the 18th century when an error was made by the then Capitan Mayor Diego Tolentino, who inadvertently wrote the name of the town as Minalin instead of the original name 'Minalis.'
Another version of how Minalin got its name is found among documents on file at the Municipal Planning and Development Office of Minalin. This version states that the town originated as a Malayan settlement under the leadership of Kahn Bulaun, a descendant of Prince Balagtas. This settlement was called 'Tigip.' However, when the Spaniards came and looted the town and raped its women, they renamed the settlement as 'Mina Linda de las Mujerez,' after the many pretty women they encountered in the settlement. A Chinese merchant from 'Wawa' (Guagua), who established a general store in this town, mispronounced the name of the town as 'Minah Linah Neh Lah Muchele,' which the townspeople shortened to 'Minalina.'
-------------------------------------------------
History[edit]
Founded in 1614, Minalin parish started as a visita (sub-parish) of Macabebe, Pampanga. Fr. Miguel de Saldaña was assigned in 1618 as its own parish priest. On October 31, 1624, the Minalin parish was accepted as independent vicariate under its prior, Fr. Martin Vargas. Minalin was given the two visitas of Pangasinan and Tubungao (Sta. Maria) in 1633. The act was reconfirmed in 1639. The convent of Minalin was under the Augustinians as of May 5, 1670. was added to Bacolor on May 9, 1650 and to Betis on October 21, 1678, and May 11, 1680. Don Lorenzo Malaca was the first native secular assigned to Minalin in 1771, succeeded by Don Manuel Francisco Tubil.
The original location of the church was in Barangay Santa Maria. However, lumber stocks for the church construction were carried by floods from Santa Maria to a hilly place called Burol, which eventually became the location of the present church. The legend of the town's name came from "minalis la ding dutung, minalis ya ing pisamban" (the lumber moved, and so must the church). Capitan Diego Tolentino wrote the location as “minalis”, which evolved into "Minalin."
There are no records as to who built the church, although it has been attributed to the work of Augustinian Fr. Manuel Franco Tubil in 1764. One documented source cites the church’s completion by the Augustinians in 1834.[1] Another account shows that construction by Augustinian friars was started sometime in the 1600s and completed in 1764. Mayor Cristino Lagman on July 30, 1911 stated that the church was completed in 1764 under Bachiller Calixto Gregorio.
Fr. José Seguí, the Archbishop of Manila, visited Pampanga in 1831 and met the secular parish priest of Minalin, Don Quintin Cándido Paríon. Dr. Mauricio Miranda was the parish priest in 1834 when the great flood occurred devastating the town. Despite the church’s elevated location, the flood waters of 1834 reached its main altar.
The Church was reconstructed at various stages: in 1854, 1877 (repaired by Fr. Isidro Bernardo), 1885 (by P. Galo de la Fuente) and in 1895 (by Vicente Ruiz). Fr. José Torres' petition to rebuild the church and parochial house, was granted about July 5, 1866. The last Augustinian friar was Fr. Faustino Diez and the church was turned over to Alcalde (Mayor) Pedro Diaz and to the first native priest P. Macario Panlilio.[1] Another account states that the last Augustinian priest to serve Minalin was Fr. Jose Sales.
-------------------------------------------------
In 1937, the Most Rev. Michael J. O'Doherty, Archbishop of Manila, approved the request of Rev. Fr. Prudencio David, parish priest of Minalin for re-plastering of the walls, and repainting of the church interiors. Parish priest Fr. Daniel Castrillo, a Spanish Augustinian was assigned in August 1942.
MINALIN, Pampanga. Minalin is dubbed as the 'Egg Basket of Luzon' because of its large-scale poultry industry, producing millions of chickens and eggs that reach millions of Philippine homes and restaurants. Minalin is also noted for its Aguman Sanduk: 'Belles of Minalin' New Year's parade of men dressed as beauty queens.
Minalin: Legend & History. Minalin used to be called 'Minalis.' According to Don Mariano Henson's 'The Province of Pampanga and Its Towns,' the four founders of this town namely, Mendiola, Nucum, Lopez, and Intal negotiated with the Datu of Macabebe to acquire an initial piece of land as far as the boundary now called Lacmit and named the place as Santa Maria in honor of the four founders' respective wives, who were all named Maria. When a church was about to be built in Santa Maria and lumber was already piled up, floodwaters carried the construction materials to another site called 'Burol' (Hilly Place) where the church was finally constructed. Since then the community was called 'Minalis,' meaning 'moved,' to until the 18th century when an error was made by the then Capitan Mayor Diego Tolentino, who inadvertently wrote the name of the town as Minalin instead of the original name 'Minalis.'Another version of how Minalin got its name is found among documents on file at the Municipal Planning and Development Office of Minalin. This version states that the town originated as a Malayan settlement under the leadership of Kahn Bulaun, a descendant of Prince Balagtas. This settlement was called 'Tigip.' However, when the Spaniards came and looted the town and raped its women, they renamed the settlement as 'Mina Linda de las Mujerez,' after the many pretty women they encountered in the settlement. A Chinese merchant from 'Wawa' (Guagua), who established a general store in this town, mispronounced the name of the town as 'Minah Linah Neh Lah Muchele,' which the townspeople shortened to 'Minalina.' 