Town History:

		Apalit
		Lubao
		Masantol
		Mexico
		Minalin
		San Fernando
		San Luis
		San Simon
		Santo Tomas

Others:

		Pampanga High School
		PHS Class of 1954

Andro's Main Page

Prior to the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in the Philippines in the 16th century, Lubao was one of the three oldest settled communities in Pampanga with advanced culture and civilization. It was then a large territory, which extended to the present boundaries of the provinces of Bataan, Tarlac and Bulacan. Believed to have been founded by Malays, it was once governed by a native chief named Datu Macabulos assisted by a council of elders. Even the famous Rajah Soliman and Rajah Lakan Dula, descendants of the ancient royalty of Brunei were presumed to have loyal Lubenian warriors who fought with them in many wars to repel foreign invaders. As the Lubenians are known for their bravery and valor in battles, the Spaniards had to skirt Lubao when they were colonizing the Pampanga hinterland. In 1572, the power of the Christian cross converted many Lubenians to the Roman Catholic faith and their first church, one of the oldest churches in the Philippines was constructed in barrio Santa Catalina and transferred to its present site thirty years later.

Lubao which was once also called Baras derived its present name from a Kapampangan word meaning "outside of the narrow sea between two isles", is typically rural and it is endowed with fertile land and water resources very rich in marine life. Farming and fishing are the main sources of livelihood of its industrious people. Its current geographical area is situated in the southwestern part of Pampanga bounded in the north by the municipality of Floridablanca, in the east by the municipality of Guagua, in the south by the town of Sasmuan and in the west by the Province of Bataan.

Lubao catapulted to international prominence when one of its favorite sons, President Diosdado P. Macapagal was elected to the presidency of the Republic of the Philippines on November 14, 1961.

His dedication to public service is carried on by his three offsprings namely, former Pampanga Vice Governor Cielo Macapagal-Salgado, former Senator and current Vice President of the Philippines Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and former Undersecretary of Finance Diosdado Macapagal, Jr.

Today, this peaceful and prosperous first-class municipality shows its love and human compassion to thousands of Pampangans who became unwilling victims of the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo. Lubenians share their economic wealth and provide these unfortunate and homeless people the shelter they need until such time they could be on their own.. This is made possible through the resourcefulness and efficient leadership of the honorable Mayor Lilia G. Pineda who is also the president of the Pampanga and Central Luzon Mayors Leagues and the strong support of Lubenian Congresswoman Zenaida C. Ducut, the dynamic lawmaker of the 2nd District of Pampanga.

Lubao has an annual income of more than fifty million pesos to run the municipal government and to finance the town's carefully planned capital projects such as concrete roads, school classrooms, barangay halls, artesian wells, etc..

Second to the town of Porac in land area in Pampanga, it covers about 156 square kilometers under its present jurisdiction. Its population of 113,358 souls (as of the 1995 census) is spread over the following forty-fiver (45) barangays:

Lubao is proud to have reared many Lubenians who excelled in government service. To name a few in addition to the "Poor Boy From Lubao" lovingly called Cong Dadong, are:

Rogelio de la Rosa

Popular stage and movie actor who was elected a senator in the early '60s. He campaigned for the Philippine presidency but aborted his candidacy before the scheduled election. He joined the department of foreign affairs as an ambassador for many years.

Leandro Ibarra

Secretary of Interior of the Philippine Revolutionary Government under General Emilio Aguinaldo.

Jose B. Lingad

World War II military officer who later served as provincial governor of Pampanga, congressman of the first district and commissioner of the Bureau of Customs , the Games and Amusement Board and the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

Hugo Gutierrez, Jr.

A pillar of the legal profession who served as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines.

Dominador Danan

Designated as Bureau of Prisons Director and Caloocan City Chief of Police in the '60s.

Colonel Jesus "Romy" Tayag

President Diosdado Macapagal's security officer who was later appointed as Chief of Police of Caloocan City.

Captain Jose Salvador Manuel

The youngest Chief of Police of Lubao at the time of his appointment and who was credited of saving the lives of many Lubenians from the cruelties of the Japanese soldiers during World War II.

Angel "Star" Macapagal

Served as vice-governor of Pampanga and elected as congresman of the 1^st District of Pampanga in the '60s.

Anastacio Bernal

An architect by profession, he was elected as municipal mayor of his hometown and appointed as Chairman of the Board of Examiners for Architects.

Concordia Kabiling Vitug

A doctor of pharmacy who was designated as Chairperson of the Board of Examiners for Pharmacists in the Philippines by President Diosdado P. Macapagal. She is the founding president of the Lubenians of California and the Hormiga de Hiero Association USA.

Benito Manalansan

A successful lawyer who became General Manager of the National Rice Corporation (NARIC) of the Philippines.

Conrado Manalansan

Well-known sugar and rice planter who was appointed to head Sugar Quota Administration.

Emigdio L. Lingad

A political science scholar in California who returned to his homeland to follow the political legacy of his father, Governor/Congressman Jose B. Lingad. Emigdio was elected as congressman in his first try for a political office.

Jesus C. Razon

A prominent lawyer and government scholar sent to the USA. He served as foreign department director and deputy governor of the Central Bank of the Philippines. He was appointed as the founding or first chairman of the Philippine Deposit and Insurance Corporation (PDIC). His daughter, Henedina who is married to Secretary of Education and former congressman Florencio Abad, was elected representative of the lone district of Batanes in the May 2004 election.

Theresa Zuñiga Camiling-Gutierrez

Born in the City of San Fernando in the Province of Pampanga, Philippines and with heritage in the three towns of Lubao, Apalit and Bacolor in the same province, she is a pride of Filipino-Americans for her scholastic and outstanding professional accomplishments. As an active community organizer and  strong advocate of the propagation of her native language and culture, she founded the Philippine-American Youth Association in the cities of Altadena and Pasadena, California. She was the first Filipino-American Field Office Director of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Chairperson of the Federal Executive Board of Greater Los Angeles.

Prior to assuming the role of Los Angeles Field Office Director in December 2003, Theresa was the Field Office Director for the Santa Ana, California HUD Office, and had been a Project Director for a real estate auction marketing firm, a Marketing Vice President, a commercial and residential Real Estate Agent, and the head of a nonprofit housing organization. The spirit she brought to HUD’s Los Angeles Office and Santa Ana, California HUD Field Office magnified her efforts to support low-income families as they strive to live the American Dream. As an Environmental Health Specialist with the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services she investigated and issued Notices of Violations of health and safety codes in the arena of Housing as well as retail food handling.
 
Educated at the University of Southern California, Theresa had served on the boards of several nonprofit housing organizations throughout Southern California. She joined HUD in 1999 as a Community Builder Fellow and graduated from the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government Executive Management Program. After her fellowship, she became a career Community Builder and was promoted later to Senior Community Builder for the Santa Ana, California HUD Office. In April of 2002, she was selected as the Santa Ana, California Field Office Director and then transferred to the Los Angeles, California HUD Field Office in 2003. For her outstanding achievements as a US federal governmental agency executive, she was recognized and awarded plaques of appreciation by the Inspector General of the US Department  of Housing and Urban Development, the United States Office of Personnel Management in Washington DC and by the Federal Executive Board of Greater Los Angeles.

Floro Dabu

Famous medical doctor who became Secretary of the Department of Health of the Philippines.

Amable Aguiluz

President Diosdado P. Macapagal's financial adviser whom he appointed as Budget Commissioner and Treasurer of the Philippines:

Diosdado Aguiluz

Another presidential confidant who served as director of the Bureau of Prisons in the Philippines.

Cornelio Regala

Well-known businessman and government executive who directed the Philippine Bureau of Printing.

Jose Regala

Eminent member of the legal profession who became the administrator of the City of Manila.

Antonio Ibarra

Another topnotch lawyer and tough prosecutor who became Assistant Solicitor General of the Philippines in the '60s..

Orlando Macaspac

Honest and efficient police officer who rose to the rank of general in the Philippine National Police.

Roman Kabiling

Wealthy sugar and rice planter who devoted many years of public service as municipal mayor of his beloved hometown.

Salvador Dimson

An engineer by profession and a descendant of the famed Dimson clan, he turned to politics in the early '60s to the late '80s. He faithfully served the people of Lubao as municipal mayor for several terms and spent his later life in southern California but returned to his hometown before he joined his Creator in the mid-90s.

In the field of business, agriculture and other professions, Lubao is fortunate to present to the whole world many individuals who excelled in their respective undertakings.

Self-made millionaires Regalado Montemayor, founder of X'or Studios and Rodolfo Bong Pineda, the benefactor of many young people who need monetary assistance in pursuing their education and poor people who need financial help for medical care and other personal necessities are also natives of this community. The rice and sugar industries owe a debt of gratitude for the major contribution in rice and modern sugar growing technology of Lubenian rice and/or sugar magnates Don Martin Gonzales, Don Rufino Dimson, Don Pedro Barin, Dona Teodorica Arrastia-Reinares, Colonel Eloy Baluyut, Pragmacio Vitug, Ursino Manalansan, Dionisio V. Zuniga and presidential confidant and legal adviser Atty. Alejandro Z. Barin.

In music, the world famous concert pianist, Cecile B. Licad calls Lubao as her hometown. In the movie industry, Lubenians who made the headlines were Jaime de la Rosa; Africa de la Rosa, Engracio Ibarra and movie director Gregorio Fernandez. The debonair movie and television star Rudy Fernandez and the beautiful and expressive Letty Arrastia known as Letty Alonzo, wife of the late movie and TV personality, Mario Montenegro are also Lubenians.

Success of many Lubenians in various professions is attributed primarily to the existence of not only good public and parochial schools in Lubao but also the establishment and operation of non-sectarian private institutions such as the Lubao Institute which is owned by Jeremias and Maria Rosario Garcia and the Santa Cruz Central Institute which is managed by the Jimenez family.

Lubao was once also a center for the production of stage plays known as Zarzuelas and the hometown of great writers. Some of Lubao's great writers are award-winning poet laureate Delfin T. Quiboloy; short story writer Constantino T. Quiboloy, whose articles were published in the Manila Sunday Times Magazine, the Tribune, Focus and Kislap-Graphic; Kapampangan playwright Urbano Macapagal of "Bayung Jerusalem" fame; the energetic intellectual Francisco Cunanan, an administrative assistant to the mayor's office and Editor-In-Chief of the Kapampangan newsletter, "Ing Sulu"; Bienvenido N. Santos, the author of two masterpieces "The Scent of Apples" and "The Volcanos" although born and raised in Manila, he considered himself from Lubao, hometown of his parents and so with Jose Luna Castro, Editor-In-Chief of the Manila Times.

In times of war to defend democratic ideals and freedom, Lubenians are always ready and willing to answer the call of duty. Three of the well-known Philippine guerrilla commanders in the forties who fought valiantly against the Japanese Imperial Forces during the Japanese occupation of the motherland were Abelardo Zuniga (aka Commander Verzosa), Abelardo Dabu and Silvestre Liwanag (aka Commander Linda Bie) of Lubao. During World War II Lubenians rescued, protected and fed thousands of American and Filipino prisoners of war when the Death March from Bataan passed through the patriotic and historic town of Lubao.

(email:  camiling@rcf.usc.edu)

About the Authors:

Andro and Tess Z. Camiling are conscientious students and researchers of Kapampangan history, language and culture. They wrote “ Pampanga: History and Culture", "Pampanga: Towns and Barangays", "The Province of Pampanga and Its People” and other articles including “Malay Relation With Kapampangan Language and Culture” , "Spanish Relation With Kapampangan Language and Culture", biographies of sixteen (16) famous Kapampangan and the history of the towns of Apalit, Lubao, Masantol, Mexico, Minalin, San Fernando, San Simon and Santo Tomas of the Province of Pampanga, Philippines. Andro is a true-blue Kapampangan based in California USA where he is employed as an accounting/financial director at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and practices his CPA profession as a management and tax consultant. His wife and co-author of the aforementioned articles, the former Teresita Manalansan Zuniga of Lubao, Pampanga, Philippines is a public school teacher in Pasadena, California. Both of them are dedicated socio-civic-religious leaders in their community and served as long-term presidents of their town non-profit charitable organizations in the USA.