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Founding
Founding of داغوبان
- 1590 – 1947
- Southeast Asia
Founding
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Dagupan [dɐˈgupan], officially the City of Dagupan (Pangasinan: Siyudad na Dagupan, Ilocano: Siudad ti Dagupan, Filipino: Lungsod ng Dagupan), is an independent component city in the Ilocos Region of the Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 174,777 people.
Located on Lingayen Gulf on the northwest-central part of Luzon, Dagupan is the primary commercial and financial center of Pangasinan. The city is also one of the centers of modern medical services, education, media and communication in North-Central Luzon. The NEDA-Regional Development Council officially recognized Dagupan as a regional center. The city is situated within the fertile Agno River Valley and is in turn a part of the larger Central Luzon plain.
The city is among the top producers of milkfish (locally known as bangus) in the province and also the bangus capital of the country. From 2001 to 2003, Dagupan's milkfish production totaled to 35,560.1 metric tons (34,998.5 long tons; 39,198.3 short tons), contributing 16.8 percent to the total provincial production. Of its total production in the past three years, 78.5 percent grew in fish pens/cages, while the rest grew in brackish water fishponds.
Dagupan is administratively and politically independent from the provincial government of Pangasinan and is only represented by the province's legislative district. It is the second most-populous city in the province and in the Ilocos Region, after San Carlos. It is the only independent city of Ilocos Region.
Dagupan is one of the proposed metropolitan areas in the Philippines. Metro Dagupan is proposed to include the independent component city of Dagupan, as well as the towns of Binmaley, Calasiao, Lingayen, Manaoag, Mangaldan, Mapandan, San Fabian, San Jacinto, and Santa Barbara.
The city's name was derived from the local Pangasinan word pandaragupan which means gathering place as the city has been a regional market center for centuries; the root word is dagop, Pangasinan term of gather.
Prior to the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century, the polity of Pangasinan was an ancient coastal region composed of various settlements, whose paramount leaders sent emissaries to China in 1406–1411.
The area of what is now known as Dagupan was described as a marshland thickly covered with mangrove and nipa palm trees. The natives lived along the shoreline and riverbanks of Calmay, Pantal, and Bonuan; but there were also communities in Malued, Lasip, Pogo, and Bacayao. The natives called the area Bacnotan which would later be incorporated into the encomienda of Lingayen that was established in 1583.
The first long distance railroad in the Philippines connecting Manila and Dagupan was opened on November 24, 1892.
Japanese planes bombed Dagupan in December 1941. Dagupan was occupied by Japanese forces starting in 1942. The city also served as a wartime capital of Pangasinan.
On January 8–9, 1945, U.S. General Douglas MacArthur landed his amphibious liberation force in the city's "Blue Beach" section in Bonuan Gueset along the shores of Lingayen Gulf. From his beachhead in Dagupan, along with those in neighboring towns Lingayen, Binmaley and San Fabian, MacArthur's forces under General Walter Krueger, together with the Philippine Commonwealth units under the Philippine Army and the Philippine Constabulary, penetrated Japanese defenses in Luzon and liberated Filipino and allied prisoners of war near Cabanatuan in the province of Nueva Ecija and in Manila's University of Santo Tomas, among others.
Dagupan became a city by virtue of Republic Act No. 170, authored by House Speaker Eugenio Pérez. It was signed into law by President Manuel Roxas on June 20, 1947.
The westward expansion of the city went as far as Lucao, which was also swampland. Local historian Restituto Basa surmised that the name Lucao may have been derived from the shellfish called lukan that used to abound in the swampy area.
In June 1962, Dagupan was shaken by a series of strong earthquakes which occurred at irregular intervals for about three weeks. The quakes toppled the belfry of the Roman Catholic church. Many people from Calmay, Carael and island barrios evacuated to other towns.
In 1968, the national government agencies opened offices in Dagupan and other key cities across the country. The daytime population increased substantially, causing congestion in the city that began to see the appearance of public utility tricycles and other modes of transportation.
On July 16, 1990, a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck northern Luzon, causing liquefaction, which made buildings tilt and sink due to their heavy weight and the looseness of the ground, which turned into sediment-rich mud. The Magsaysay Bridge, one of the two bridges especially spanning the Pantal River, collapsed, delaying people from crossing to the other banks and vice versa. Major damage caused businesses to be permanently transferred to the neighbouring towns of Mangaldan and Calasiao, but somehow, Dagupan and its inhabitants managed to recover from the earthquake.
At the turn of the millennium, seeking to promote the thriving milkfish industry that harnessed the city as the milkfish capital of the country, The Bangus Festival was formally launched in 2002 by then-Mayor Benjamin Lim. The city earned the World's Longest Barbecue record from the Guinness World Records in 2003 during the holding of the Kalutan ed Dalan where 10,000 pieces of bangus were grilled on the longest barbecue grill measuring 1,007.56 meters long.
Dagupan covers a total land area of 4,447.10 hectares (10,989.0 acres), bounded by Lingayen Gulf in the north, San Fabian in the northeast, Mangaldan in the east, Calasiao in the south and Binmaley in the west. Land use is primarily for agriculture with 35.98% of the total land area, fishpond, cropland, residential with 22.88%; others uses are commercial, industrial, institutional, government private, parks and roads.
Dagupan is 14 kilometers (8.7 mi) from Lingayen, the capital of Pangasinan, and 220 kilometers (140 mi) from Manila.
Dagupan is politically subdivided into 31 districts. Each district consists of puroks and some have sitios.
Dagupan has a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen climate classification: Am). It is in Type I climate zone in the Modified Coronas' Climate Classification, with a pronounced dry season from November to April.
In Dagupan, the Pangasinans are the predominant people and a minority of residents are dominantly Ilocanos.
Number of Registered Voters (2025): 144,481
Pangasinan is predominantly used in the city and environs, followed by Tagalog and English, as well as Ilocano, mainly in Calmay and Pantal. As Dagupan is the main financial center of Pangasinan and the center of education, media and communication in North Central Luzon, Tagalog or Filipino is mostly spoken by native Pangasinan-speaking residents as the second language, but because Dagupan is politically part of Ilocos Region aside from being the main financial center of Pangasinan, native Pangasinan-speaking residents learning & speaking Ilocano as 2nd language increased a little; the majority of native Pangasinan-speaking residents speaking Ilocano as 2nd language mostly grew up with Ilocano neighbors.
Chinese is mainly spoken only by a few city individuals of Chinese descent.
Poverty incidence of Dagupan (%)
5
10
15
20
2000 16.89
2003 10.82
2006 15.70
2009 13.93
2012 5.96
2015 9.21
2018 9.19
2021 14.40
2023 10.55
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority
Dagupan is the economic center of Pangasinan. As a major regional hub, many people in Pangasinan and nearby provinces commute to the city during the day; this causes the city's daytime population to rise and cause traffic in parts of the city, especially the downtown area. The city is a vital financial center housing numerous banks, non-bank financial institutions, headquarters of corporations and offices of major government departments and agencies.
Historically, Dagupan was a center for salt making in numerous salt evaporator beds in the low-lying swampy areas close to Lingayen Gulf. Beginning in the 19th century, some of the salt making operations gave way to pond culture of fish, most prominently, the milkfish (locally known as bangus), for which the city has become famous. Fisheries, aquaculture and processed fisheries products are an important mainstay of the city's economy.
Manila-based developers have set up shop in Dagupan due to its strategic location and growing population. These include Santa Lucia Land Inc. (Almeria Verde Subdivision), SM Prime Holdings, and Filinvest.
As of June 2020, Dagupan is one of the 25 cities in the Philippines identified as an area with "high-potential in IT-BPM industry" for transformation into "digital cities" by 2025. Sitel, a global business process outsourcing (BPO) firm, has opened in 2020 its first Sitel MAXhub in Dagupan.
The motor vehicle industry of Dagupan is centered around Caranglaan and Lucao districts. Many well-known automotive companies have a dealership in the city's metropolitan area.
Dagupan is a historic city that boasts numerous historical, cultural heritage, recreational, ecotourism, business, and culinary tourism of national importance.
Being at the center of trade in the north for centuries blessed with a geography crisscrossed by several rivers and sandy beaches, Dagupan has naturally become a multifaceted city in terms of tourism. Also, as the transportation hub of Pangasinan, the city is easily accessible to the public, whether coming from within or outside of the province.
Since the Spanish colonial times, the colonial government had put a great emphasis on the importance of the city due to being at the strategic center of the province and its accessibility to the sea for trading and transport. The first Philippine railroad system, the Manila-Dagupan railway, had its terminus in the city. Remnant of the historic rail transport locomotive can be seen displayed in front of the city museum.
During World War 2, Dagupan also served as the wartime capital of Pangasinan. The shores of Bonuan Gueset was a silent witness to the historic landing of Gen. MacArthur that eventually became one of the key historic points in the country's liberation. To immortalize this important feat in the city's history, a MacArthur Landing Park was built to stand by the shore of Tondaligan Beach, adjacent to Filipino-Japanese Peace Park.
More structures and landmarks of historic importance still dot the city, some of which are already listed as heritage sites by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP). These include: • Home Economics/Gabaldon Building at West Central Elementary School • Old City Hall and Water Tower • Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint John • Philippine National Railways Tracks and Station • Remnants of Franklin Bridge • Lighthouse in Bonuan
Aside from being the Bangus Capital of the Philippines, the city is also known as the Kitchen of the North. Many popular culinary traditions have originated in the city, including Pigar-Pigar, Kaleskes, and Bonuan Boneless Bangus. Plato Wraps, a contemporary food innovation that's now popularly sold in major shopping malls also hails from the city.
Dagupan is home to popular homegrown restaurants that branched out in many parts of Luzon.
Food Hubs: • Metro Plaza (International and national food and resto chains) • Galvan Street (The center for local Dagupan cuisines such as Pigar-Pigar, Kaleskes and other native dishes) • Tondaligan Food Hub (Alfresco dining by the beach hosting native delicacies, street foods and selected food kiosks) • Dagupan City Growth Center-Lucao (A modern lifestyle center and food hub by the river hosting popular restaurants & cafes) • Plaza Del Carmen (Hosts traditional and innovative cafes, bars and restaurants) • Royal Rays Food Hub (A hub for Filipino and Asian dining)
Dagupan, being surrounded by rivers and sea, offers extensive ecotourism activities for recreation, relaxation and adventure.
Tondaligan Beach is an urban beach park complex with numerous amenities. The extensive Tondaligan baywalk, dubbed as the longest in the region, is a prominent feature along the Bonuan shore wherein cyclists can enjoy biking and savor Lingayen Gulf's picturesque view.
Tondaligan Beach Park also hosts many historical landmark of national importance such as:
Other interesting spots and landmarks in the city that can be visited are as follows:
As the Bangus (Milkfish) Capital of the Philippines, Dagupan has been celebrating its produce through the Bangus Festival, which started in 2002. It is a yearly month-long celebration in the month of April.
The festival features the famous bangusine (bangus cuisine) which is one of the main highlights of the event, street dancing where competing barangays parade in the city's main avenue wearing colorful Bangus Festival costumes, bangus grilling, deboning, variety shows, trade fairs, beauty pageants, sports fest, cooking show, medical mission, visual arts, band concerts, sports activities, dog show, fluvial parade, drum and lyre parade, and street party. The festival concludes every April 30 with main events: Kalutan ed Dalan in the daytime and Bangusan Street Party concerts in the nighttime.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Dagupan”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.