Bustos, Bulacan

Bustos, Bulacan, Philippines
Municipality

Municipal Hall

Flag

Seal

Map of Bulacan showing the location of Bustos
Bustos, Bulacan, Philippines

Location within the Philippines

Coordinates: 14°57′N 120°55′E / 14.950°N 120.917°E / 14.950; 120.917Coordinates: 14°57′N 120°55′E / 14.950°N 120.917°E / 14.950; 120.917
Country Philippines
Region Central Luzon (Region III)
Province Bulacan
District 2nd District
Founded 1867
Barangays 14
Government[1]
  Mayor Arnel F. Mendoza (NUP)
Area[2]
  Total 69.99 km2 (27.02 sq mi)
Population (2010)[3]
  Total 62,415
  Density 890/km2 (2,300/sq mi)
  Poverty rate Decrease 5.9%
Demonym(s) Bustosenyo
Time zone PST (UTC+8)
ZIP code 3007
Dialing code 44
Income class 2nd Class
Electricity Manila Electric Company
• Consumption 19.66 million kWh (2003)

Bustos is a second class municipality in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 62,415 inhabitants.[3]

With the continuous expansion of Metro Manila, Bustos is now included in the Greater Manila's built-up conurbation area which reaches San Ildefonso, Bulacan at its northernmost part.

Brief History

Bustos was a part of its neighboring town, Baliuag, during the Spanish and American colonial period. The town was separated from Baliuag by a tragic incident when around 1860, a rainy Sunday, a group of natives from Bustos with babies in their arms were on their way to St. Augustine Parish Church of Baliuag for baptismal when they drowned when the raft or planceta they were riding capsized while crossing the wild river of Angat due to the strong water current. This fateful event led the people of Bustos to request and build their own parish church and decided to choose the Holy Child Jesus (Sto. Niño) as their patron saint in honor of those infants that died in the river.

Bustos also gained its independence from Baliuag in April 29, 1867 through the painstaking efforts and sacrifices of its inhabitants with the integration of barrios Bonga Mayor and Bonga Menor. The town got its name from Don Pedro José de Busto[s], an Austrian mining engineer and right-hand of Simon de Anda y Salazar who was appointed tenyente heneral alkalde of Bulacan and an aide of a Spanish Governor General of the Philippines during the late 1700s. But the town became a part of Baliuag again during the American period. Bustos became also a part of the historical World War II in the Philippines and it served as the headquarters of soldiers in the province of Bulacan during the war in 1945. Bustos was again separated from Baliuag and became a distinct municipality on January 1, 1916 during the Philippine Assembly through 4th Philippine Legislature Assemblyman Ricardo Lloret Gonzalez. After a year when the town became a distinct municipality, the town inaugurated its Municipal Hall on January 1, 1917. Leon Prado became its first local leader and served from 1917 to 1919. Padre Gabriel Alvarez served as the first parish priest of the institutionalized Sto. Niño de Bustos Parish Church.

Hymn

Bayang Dakila
Lyrics by Mayor Arnel Mendoza
Music by Mike Santos
Arrangement by Armando Salinas
Sung by the "Euphonistas" of Bulacan State University-Bustos Campus
Mula sa agos ng karilagan,
Sumibol ang tanging bayan.
Binhi ng araw at kalangitan,
Paraisong aming tahanan.
Lupain ng kasaganahan,
Karikta'y ningning ng 'yong parang.
Himig ng uhay sa kapatagan,
Dakilain ang 'yong ngalan!
Chorus:
Bustos, Bayang Dakila.
Bustos, hinirang ka!
Bustos, supling ng umaga.
Bustos, dakila ka!
Limbag sa dahon ng kasaysayan,
Laksang bayaning naghandog,
Sa alta ng giting ay tumindig,
Sa bayang sawi nagtanggol.
Magkaisang bisig na hahakbang
Sa l'walhating mithi ng bayan.
Hindi mapapawi magpakailanman,
Bantayog ng 'yong pangalan!
Chorus:
Bustos, Bayang Dakila.
Bustos, hinirang ka!
Bustos, supling ng umaga.
Bustos, dakila ka!

Local Government

Based on the 2013 Philippine Local and National Elections, the following local officials were elected and inaugurated:

Mayor: Arnel F. Mendoza (NUP)

Vice Mayor: Leonida "Loida" L. Rivera (LP)

Members of the Sangguniang Bayan:

Barangay Chairmen:

The Municipality of Bustos is one of the 185 city/municipality recipients (out of 1,490 cities and municipalities) who received the 2015 Seal of Good Local Governance in the whole country. The criteria is based on these following points: transparency in government, charity for the poor, disaster preparedness, strong campaign against criminality, and being supportive in economy and business. The plaque of recognition is given by the Department of Interior and Local Government.

Local Offices

Barangays

Bustos is politically subdivided into the following fourteen barangays (six urban, eight rural).[2]

  • Bonga Mayor
  • Bonga Menor
  • Buisan
  • Camachilihan
  • Cambaog
  • Catacte
  • Liciada
  • Malamig
  • Malawak
  • Poblacion
  • San Pedro
  • Talampas
  • Tanawan
  • Tibagan

Demographics

Population census of Bustos
YearPop.±% p.a.
1990 34,965    
1995 41,372+3.20%
2000 47,091+2.81%
2007 60,681+3.56%
2010 62,415+1.03%
Source: National Statistics Office[3]

Geography

Bustos is located at the center of five adjoining towns of Bulacan Province: San Rafael and Baliuag on north; Pandi on south; Angat on west; and Plaridel on east. The land area are mostly rice fields devoted for planting crops and agriculture. Some barangays of the town are covered by irrigation system coming from Bustos Dam and Angat Dam on the Angat River. Bustos was once hailed as one of the largest rice producers of the country and the Central Luzon Region, the Rice Granary of the Philippines, and received the Hall of Fame award at Rice Achievers Award of 2014.

Economy

Bustos Wet and Dry Public Market

The Bustos commercial center in the town proper is still expanding with the influx of more business investors willing to venture in this small but flourishing town. In the present, the town has its one public and few small private markets and businesses, a Banco de Oro branch, a 7 Eleven branch, All Day Convenient Store, and Nesabel Wholesale & Retail Warehouse in Brgy. Poblacion, one mini public market in Brgy. Liciada, & Tibagan Coop-Mart in Brgy. Tibagan.

Bustos has their own trademark product, the tasty and delicious finger food 'Minasa'. Minasa refers to "Cassava Cookies", made from cassava flour, egg yolk, yeast, butter, and coco milk. It is somehow compared to Uraro, another local delicacy. It is one of the famous treats from the province of Bulacan which is traded in local and global market of Filipino pasalubong products. Way back Spanish colonization era here in the Philippines, these Minasa cookies were made of sago starch and not cassava. The main ingredient was changed because of the long production time of sago starch and cassava starch was cheaper and easier to produce. Also, these were exclusively produced and eaten by the elite Bulakeños for they are the only ones who can afford the ingredients and had the equipment for the production of it. The word minasa in English is "molded". The process of preparing Minasa is like making and baking cookies. The only thing special about Minasa is its shape which was molded on a special wooden molder with intricate designs, commonly floral designs, and it is baked in a hurno or a brick stone oven which adds to the yumminess of the cookie. Minasa is said to be a part of history and culture of Bulacan because of those egg yolks that were left in building old stone houses that were made of egg whites. Currently, there are stalls all around Bustos selling this very delicious local delicacy making the municipality hailed as the "Home of Minasa".

Bustos has a rural bank, the Rural Bank of Bustos, which is located at Gen. Alejo Santos Highway, Brgy. Bonga Menor, beside the Bustos by-pass road going to Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija.

Other products, industries, & services:

North Luzon Expressway have also made a by-pass road that passes through the municipality of Bustos that shortens the transportation of goods and passengers from some areas in Bulacan going to Metro Manila and vice versa. The Bustos by-pass road passes through Gen. Alejo Santos Highway at Brgy. Bonga Menor, Bustos, Bulacan and travels to NLEx Bocaue Toll Plaza leading to Quezon City on the other side and Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija on the another side of which is under construction.

Sister cities:

Festivals

Bustos is famous for its Minasa Festival showcasing the town locally made food products like the irresistible delicacies Minasa cookie and the dry-like wafer crispy Barquillos. Celebrated during the month of January in the same time with the feast of their patron saint Holy Child Jesus, the Minasa Festival event is a televised week-long festivity of street dancing parade in colorful costumes and also features a row of makeshift stalls selling local food and merchandise inside the municipal compound; live band concerts of well-known performers; photo contest and exhibits; traditional Filipino games as well as singing and dancing competitions among every barangay and school of the town; and is a famous tourist-attracting event in the province. It started in the year 2011 and celebrated annually with the participation of Bustosenyos and tourists globally. It also became a headline on a broadsheet of The Philippine Star in 2014 on its 4th year of celebration in the theme "Mas Pinasayang Minasa Festival" through its chief photographer Valentino Rodriguez. The Sto. Niño de Bustos Parish Church also hold its lively Tugyaw (Tugtog at Sayaw) street dancing and the "Bata-Bata" festival (where children are dressed like the image of Sto. Niño) every year in honor of Holy Child Jesus, the patron saint of the municipality.

Celebrated in honor of the Holy Child Jesus, the Sto. Niño Festival of Bustos is always celebrated in the month of January in the same date as the feast of the Holy Child in the Philippines. Carnivals and bazaars are always present while the Sto. Niño Parish commonly has its variety show in its patio area. Celebrities were commonly invited to join the feast. Roads in Brgy. Poblacion up to Brgy. Tanawan were commonly filled with people and stranded vehicles due to traffic during the peak day of the feast.

The annual Holy Week Lenten observance is observed nationwide, but in contrast with the revelry and grandiose of a regular merrymaking festival, Bustos' Semana Santa is celebrated plain and simple. The procession of saints is a spectacular scene to watch—the long line evening parade of scintillating series of life-sized biblical images atop a moving elaborate floats depicting the life and death of Jesus Christ; the popular among the kids is the Bustos Theater Guild's Cenaculo stage drama and hundreds of bloody back whipping and cross-carrying penitents around each village done traditionally called Penitensiya or penitence both showing sacrifices of Jesus Christ.

The Grand Marian procession is held every year in Brgy. San Pedro in honor of the feast of the Virgin of Lourdes and the yearly traditional Santacruzan and the thanksgiving feast celebrations (after a bountiful rice harvest) in almost every barangay. The feast of St. Peter the Apostle, also in brgy. San Pedro has already started its first "Manok-Manok" festival in reference about the rooster that crowed three times when Peter denied Jesus Christ.

Held during 14 or 15 May, the Feast of San Isidro Labrador is celebrated at Brgy. Liciada in honor of their parochial patron saint Isidore the Laborer. Nine days before the festival, processions are happened during 5:30 in the morning and novena masses in the evening.

Religion

Church and Chapels

Sto. Niño de Bustos Parish Church

List of covered chapels of the Parish Church of Sto. Niño de Bustos:

Other Religious Groups

Landmarks and attractions

Library, Museum and Heritage Park (Brgy. Poblacion)

Tourism is one of the sources of income of the municipality of Bustos. Its destinations are always used as filmmaking area. Famous tourist attractions are as follows:

Education

Façade of Bulacan State University-Bustos Campus (Brgy. Poblacion)

The Bulacan State University - Bustos Campus (BulSU-Bustos) is one of the largest satellite campuses of the university. It was established in 1976. In the past twenty five years, BulSU-Bustos has evolved from its focus on two year vocational and technical courses to its current emphasis on preparing students for careers in education and industrial technology. The curriculum also includes introductory classes in engineering for those students planning to transfer to the main campus. In keeping with the university's vision and mission, BulSU has become one of the higher education institutions in Bulacan on a par with leading learning institutions in the region.

From the year it was founded, the campus grew physically from sharing a roof with the Bustos Elementary school to a five-room former public market building to the imposing campus of today. The school grew as well from offering vocational and technical courses and trade secondary school curriculum and two-year technical education courses, to the four-year and five-year degree programs that it now offers. The campus boasts of its upgraded and revitalized curriculum.

List of high schools:

List of public elementary schools:

Notable people

Local heroes:

Images

References

  1. "Official City/Municipal 2013 Election Results". Intramuros, Manila, Philippines: Commission on Elections (COMELEC). 11 September 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
  2. 1 2 "Province: BULACAN". PSGC Interactive. Makati City, Philippines: National Statistical Coordination Board. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 "Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay: as of May 1, 2010" (PDF). 2010 Census of Population and Housing. National Statistics Office. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
  4. "Mga Bahay at Yaman ni San Martin de Porres - Home".
  5. "Portico de Busto Events Place - Home".
  6. "Galilee Wonderland Hotel and Resort - Home".
  7. Galende, OSA, Pedro (1996). Angels in Stone: Architecture of Augustinian Churches in the Philippines (2nd ed.). Intramuros, Manila: San Agustin Museum. p. 107. ISBN 9719157100.
  8. 1 2 "Biyahero: Philippine Travel Portal - Bustos". www.biyahero.net. Retrieved August 2014.

External links

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