Urbiztondo, officially the Municipality of Urbiztondo (Pangasinan: Baley na Urbiztondo; Ilocano: Ili ti Urbiztondo; Tagalog: Bayan ng Urbiztondo), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Pangasinan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 55,557 people.[3]
History
The municipality was named after General Juan Antonio de Urbiztondo y Eguía, the Spanish Governor-General of the Philippines from 1850 to 1853, who was also known as the conqueror of the Muslims in Jolo. He then issued a decree founding the town and consequently the newly formed town was named “Urbiztondo” in his honor. The Municipality of Urbiztondo's establishment as a town was primarily due to Fr. Ramon Dalmau, the parish priest of San Carlos (Binalatongan), who in 1852 began the process for its separation from San Carlos. While the area remained a visita of San Carlos for that year, the town of Urbiztondo was finally established as a separate entity on November 28, 1853, when it was assigned its own curate (parish priest). The Dominicans accepted Urbiztondo as a vicariate in 1855 and assigned Rev. Father Francisco Treserra to the town; he is also responsible for relocating the town to the place where it is now located.
Geography
Barangays
Urbiztondo is politically subdivided into 21 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.
Urbiztondo, belonging to the second congressional district of the province of Pangasinan, is governed by a mayor designated as its local chief executive and by a municipal council as its legislative body in accordance with the Local Government Code. The mayor, vice mayor, and the councilors are elected directly by the people through an election which is being held every three years.