The History of Urdaneta

Urdaneta was organized into a pueblo on January 8, 1858 when the contiguous settlement of the pioneering inhabitants, mostly Ilocanos and a sprinkling of Pangasinenses, met all requirements of becoming a town. it came into existence from the conglomeration of portions of barrios from the surrounding towns of Asingan, Villasis, Malasiqui, Sta. Barbara, Mangaldan, Manaoag and Binalonan.

          The petitioners for the creation of the new independent town identified themselves as Cabeza Tenientes representing the inhabitants of barrios Batad in Asingan, Nancamaliran in Sta. Barbara and Caocalan in Mangaldan. They proposed that the new town be named Soldevilla, in honor of the Alcalde Mayor of the Province at that time, Senior Don Manuel Boutelon y Soldevilla. However, the Alcalde Mayor himself declined the honor and, instead proposed, with the recommendation of the Parish Priest, Fr. Nicolas Manrique Alonzo, the name Urdaneta. Father Andres de Urdaneta was a famous soldier, navigator, historian, cosmographer and evangelist who was assigned by King Philip II of Spain to join the Legaspi Expedition of 1564. The Vicar of Sta. Barbara and the curates of Asingan and Mangaldan supported Father Alonzo’s proposal to name the new town Urdaneta.

          The petition took almost two years to be processed. But soon after that the Governor-General issued a decree and the new town of Urdaneta was finally born on the 8th of January 1858. Two months later, on March 8, 1858, the town of Urdaneta was finally inaugurated. An assembly of Principales representing the seven towns composed of Asingan, Sta. Barbara, Mangaldan, San Jacinto, Manaoag, Binalonan, and Villasis gathered in Urdaneta. The documents on the proclamation of the new town was executed and signed by all the participating officials. Simultaneous was the construction of Urdaneta’s first concrete church, forerunner of today’s Catholic Cathedral, now the site of Eastern Pangasinan’s Bishopric.

          On January 10, 1998, through a bill sponsored by Rep. Amadeo R. Perez Jr., the Philippine Congress enacted R.A. 8480 converting the Municipality of Urdaneta into a component city of the Province of Pangasinan. The people of Urdaneta, in a plebiscite, overwhelmingly ratified this legislative act and Urdaneta was proclaimed a city on March 21, 1998.

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