La Union

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search
For places in Latin America and Spain, see La Unión (disambiguation).

La Union

Province

Province of La Union

Welcome arch at the La Union-Ilocos Sur border

Flag

Seal
 Location in the Philippines

Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap

Coordinates: 16°30′N 120°25′ECoordinates: 16°30′N 120°25′E

Country Philippines
Region Ilocos Region (Region I)

Founded March 2, 1850

Capital San Fernando

Government
• Type Sangguniang Panlalawigan
• Governor Francisco Emmanuel R. Ortega, III (PDP-
Laban)
• Vice Governor Mario Eduardo C. Ortega (NUP)

Area
[1]

• Total 1,497.70 km2 (578.27 sq mi)

Area rank 69th out of 81
 Highest elevation 1,888 m (6,194 ft)

Population
(2015 census)[2]
• Total 786,653
• Rank 36th out of 81
• Density 530/km2 (1,400/sq mi)
• Density rank 9th out of 81

Divisions
• Independent cities 0
• Component cities 1[show]
• Municipalities 19[show]
• Barangays 576
• Districts 1st and 2nd districts of La Union

Time zone UTC+8 (PHT)

ZIP code 2500–2520

ISO 3166 code PH
Languages  Ilocano
 Pangasinan
 Kankanaey
 Ibaloi
 Tagalog
 English

Website www.launion.gov.ph

La Union (Tagalog pronunciation: [la ˈuɲon]) is a province in the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region in the
island of Luzon. Its capital is the city of San Fernando, which also serves as the regional center of the whole
Ilocos Region.
The province is bordered by Ilocos Sur to the north, Benguet to the east, Pangasinan to the south and to the
west by the shores of the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea).

Contents

 1History
o 1.1Formation
o 1.21896 Philippine revolution
o 1.3American colonial era
o 1.4World War II
o 1.5Martial Law
 2Geography
 o 2.1Administrative divisions
o 2.2Barangays
 3Demographics
 4Economy
 5Education
 6Provincial government and politics
o 6.1Elected officials
o 6.2Court system
 7Notable people
 8References
 9External links

History[edit]
This section needs expansion. You
can help by adding to it. (June 2016)

Formation[edit]
La Unión, "The Union" in English, was formed in 1850 when the Spanish colonial government of Governor-
General Antonio Maria Blanco merged the three southern towns of Ilocos Sur province, the nine northern
towns of Pangasinan, and the western towns of Benguet to the east (Eastern Pais del Igorotes in the
Cordilleras). Pangasinans were the majority in the new province because most towns had been in the province
of Pangasinan.
On October 29, 1849, Governor General Claveria issued a promovido to fuse the Pangasinan-Ilocos-Cordillera
areas into La Union. On March 2, 1850, Governor General Antonio Maria Blanco signed the Superior Decreto
of La Union (34th province from Cebu-1565), with Captain Toribio Ruiz de la Escalera as the first Gobernador
Military y Politico. Isabella II of Spain decreed the province's creation on April 18, 1854. In 1661, Andres
Malong (Pangasinan) failed to recover La Union from the Spaniards after the Battle of Agoo.[3]
1896 Philippine revolution[edit]
In 1896, the people of La Union began a revolt against the Spaniards, who had called La Union "Una
Provincia Modelo" ("A Model Province"), led by Manuel Tinio Y Bondoc under Emilio Aguinaldo. The
Americans collaborated with the Filipinos to end the Spanish.
American colonial era[edit]
Dr. Lucino Almeida became the Presidente Provincial of the American regime, followed by the appointment of
La Union's first civil governor in 1901, Don Joaquin Joaquino Ortega.[4]
World War II[edit]
On January 4, 1945, La Union was liberated by the Battle of San Fernando and Bacsil Ridge.[3]
Martial Law[edit]
See also: Armando Palabay, Human rights abuses of the Marcos dictatorship, and Bantayog ng mga Bayani
Although economically affected by the rapid peso devaluation brought about by unbridled election
spending heading into the 1969 presidential elections,[5][6] political life in La Union was not significantly
impacted by Ferdinand Marcos’ declaration of Martial Law in 1972.[7]
The powerful family factions which had dominated La Union politics since before the American colonial era
largely remained in place, although the family of Congressman Jose D. Aspiras became much more prominent
after he became Marcos’ Tourism Minister. The main political change was the increased power of regional and
provincial offices of national agencies, whose directors were answerable directly to Marcos.[7]
This technique used by Marcos to consolidate political power did not get much resistance in the Ilocos
Region, [7] including La Union, which had strong ethnic associations with the Marcos family. [8] The Marcos
administration’s use of violent methods for stifling dissent thus mostly took place in other, non-Ilocano
provinces, such as nearby Abra, Kalinga, and Mountain Province.[8]
But there were still Ilocanos who were willing to object to the authoritarian practices and abuses of the Marcos
administration. [9][10] This included San-Fernando-raised student activists Romulo and Armando Palabay, UP
Students and La Union National High School alumni who were imprisoned for their protest activities, tortured
at Camp Olivas in Pampanga, and later separately killed before the end of Martial Law. [11] The martyrdom of
Romulo (age 22) and Armando (age 21) was later honored when their names were etched on the Wall of
Remembrance at the Philippines’ Bantayog ng mga Bayani, which honors the heroes and martyrs who fought
the authoritarian regime. [12]

Geography[edit]
La Union covers a total area of 1,497.70 square kilometres (578.27 sq mi)[13] occupying the central-southern
section of the Ilocos Region in Luzon. The province is bordered by Ilocos Sur to the north, Benguet to the
east, Pangasinan to the south, and to the west by the South China Sea.
La Union is 273 kilometres (170 mi) north of Metro Manila and 57 kilometres (35 mi) northwest of Baguio
City. The land area of the province is 149,770 hectares (370,100 acres).[1]
Like most of the Ilocos Region, the province is squeezed in by the Cordillera mountain range to the east and
the South China Sea to the west. Yet, unlike other portions of Luzon and the Philippines' two other island
groupings, the Visayas and Mindanao, La Union experiences a rather arid and prolonged dry season with little
precipitation to be expected between the months of November and May.

Landscape along Rosario

Tapuakan River along Pugo near the base of the Cordillera mountains
 

Coast along Agoo overlooking the South China Sea

Administrative divisions[edit]
La Union comprises 19 municipalities and 1 component city,[14] all of which are organized into two legislative
districts.[13]

Political map of La Union

 † Provincial capital and component city

 Municipality
City or munici Distric ±% Baran
Population Area[13] Density Coordinates[A]
pality t[13] p.a. gay

(2010
k sq /k /sq
(2015)[2] m
)[14] 2 mi m2 mi

63,69 0.95 52.8 20. 3,1

Agoo 2nd 8.1%
2
60,596
% 4 40
1,200
00
49 16°19′20″N 120°
21′58″E

47,45 1.04 84.5 32. 1,5

Aringay 2nd 6.0%
8
44,949
% 4 64
560
00
24 16°23′45″N 120°
21′19″E
 42,07 0.82 76.6 29. 1,4
Bacnotan 1st 5.3%
8
40,307
% 0 58
550
00
47 16°43′18″N 120°
20′59″E

13,45 1.27 107. 41. 34

Bagulin 2nd 1.7%
6
12,590
% 33 44
130
0
10 16°36′27″N 120°
26′15″E

39,18 0.63 68.7 26. 1,5

Balaoan 1st 5.0%
8
37,910
% 0 53
570
00
36 16°49′15″N 120°
24′09″E

35,94 0.77 37.3 14. 2,5

Bangar 1st 4.6%
7
34,522
% 6 42
960
00
33 16°53′37″N 120°
25′22″E

75,03 1.13 73.1 28. 2,6

Bauang 2nd 9.5%
2
70,735
% 5 24
1,000
00
39 16°31′35″N 120°
19′45″E

0.52 70.8 27. 28

Burgos 2nd 1.0% 8,067 7,850
% 0 34
110
0
12 16°31′11″N 120°
26′36″E

22,03 0.70 46.3 17. 1,2

Caba 2nd 2.8%
9
21,244
% 1 88
480
00
17 16°25′52″N 120°
20′38″E

35,80 0.23 42.9 16. 2,1

Luna 1st 4.6%
2
35,380
% 0 56
830
00
40 16°51′10″N 120°
22′35″E

54,22 2.18 104. 40. 1,3

Naguilian 2nd 6.9%
1
48,407
% 60 39
520
00
37 16°31′56″N 120°
23′45″E

19,69 3.40 62.8 24. 80

Pugo 2nd 2.5%
0
16,518
% 4 26
310
0
14 16°19′13″N 120°
28′02″E

55,45 0.98 73.9 28. 1,9

Rosario 2nd 7.0%
8
52,679
% 8 56
750
00
33 16°13′46″N 120°
29′16″E

San 15.5 121,8 114,96 1.11 102. 39. 3,1

† 1st 1,200 59 16°36′52″N 120°
Fernando % 12 3 % 72 66 00
18′57″E

18,17 1.71 129. 50. 36

San Gabriel 1st 2.3%
2
16,628
% 87 14
140
0
15 16°40′27″N 120°
24′04″E

37,18 1.11 57.1 22. 1,7

San Juan 1st 4.7%
8
35,098
% 2 05
650
00
41 16°40′12″N 120°
20′14″E

39,09 1.58 64.0 24. 1,6

Santo Tomas 2nd 5.0%
2
35,999
% 0 71
610
00
24 16°17′04″N 120°
23′19″E
 12,47 0.73 93.7 36. 34
Santol 1st 1.6%
6
12,007
% 0 18
130
0
11 16°46′22″N 120°
27′35″E

17,05 0.60 97.5 37. 44

Sudipen 1st 2.2%
6
16,531
% 9 68
170
0
17 16°54′27″N 120°
27′52″E

28,72 1.19 50.7 19. 1,5

Tubao 2nd 3.7%
9
26,993
% 5 59
570
00
18 16°20′49″N 120°
24′45″E
786,
Total
653