Angeles City, Province of Pampanga, Central Luzon Region, Philippines

🇵🇭 Angeles City, officially the City of Angeles, is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines.

While Angeles City is politically independent from the province of Pampanga, it is usually grouped with it for statistical purposes.

Angeles City is one of the proposed metropolitan areas in the Philippines. Metro Angeles is proposed to include the component cities of Mabalacat and San Fernando, as well as the towns of Bacolor, Floridablanca, Guagua, Lubao, Mexico, Porac and Santa Rita.

History In 1796, the gobernadorcillo or town head of San Fernando, Don Ángel Pantaleón de Miranda, and his wife, Doña Rosalía de Jesús, along with some followers, staked out a new settlement, which they named Culiát because of the abundance of vines (Gnetum indicum) of that name in the area. The new settlers cleared the woodland and cultivated the area for rice and sugar farming. Don Ángel built his first house with light materials at the north-west corner of the intersection of Sapang Balen and the road going towards the town of Porac. It was later donated to the Catholic Church and became a cemetery called "Campo Santong Matua" (today the site of Nepomuceno Coliseum).

On May 12, 1812, the new settlers tried to make Culiat a self-governing town but the friars resisted the move, led by Fray José Pometa. Ten years later, on February 11, 1822, Don Ángel filed a petition for the township of Culiat to secede from San Fernando, but it was denied. This was followed by another petition within the same year, jointly signed by Don Ángel, his son-in-law, Mariano Henson, and the latter's father, Severino Henson. He donated 35 hectares for the construction of the first Catholic church, a convent and a primary school while Doña Agustina Henson de Nepomuceno, the niece of who would become the first gobernadorcillo of Angeles in 1830, Don Ciriaco de Miranda, gave land for the new public market. Don Ángel paid the complete amount required by law just for the secession of Culiat from San Fernando. There were only 160 taxpayers then but the law required that it should have at least 500 taxpayers.

Located some 10 miles (16 km) north of Pampanga's capital, Culiat became a barrio of San Fernando for 33 years and on December 8, 1829, became a separate municipality. The newly-autonomous town was renamed "El Pueblo de los Ángeles" in honor of its patron saints, the Holy Angels, and the name of its founder, Don Ángel, coinciding with the rise of new barrios such as Santo Cristo (as the población or town proper), Cutcut, Pampang and Pulong Anunas. The progressive barrios developed some new industries like a sugar mill and a wine distillery. The transition of Angeles from a jungle clearing to a barrio, to a town and finally to a city took 168 years and in all that time, it survived locusts' infestations, wars, epidemics, volcanic eruptions and typhoons to become one of the fast rising towns in the country. When it received its first official municipal charter, the town contained some 661 people, 151 houses and an area of 38.65 km².

On May 7, 1899, General Emilio Aguinaldo transferred the seat of the First Philippine Republic to Angeles. It then became the site of celebrations for the first anniversary of Philippine independence, which was proclaimed a year earlier in Kawit, Cavite. Events included a parade, led by the youngest ever Filipino generals, Gregorio del Pilar and Manuel Tinio, with General Aguinaldo viewing the proceedings from the Pamintuan Residence, which was the Presidential Palace from May to July 1899 (and later was the Central Bank of the Philippines office in Central Luzon, before its ownership passed to the National Historical Commission of the Philippines). Aguinaldo's sojourn was short, however, for in July of this same year he transferred his government to the province of Tarlac following Angeles' occupation by the American forces.

American invasion era On August 10, 1899, U.S. forces began the attack on Angeles confident in capturing it in a few days. However, the Filipino Army defending the town refused to give in so easily and fiercely fought back and for three months, they battled the Americans in and around the town. It was only after the battle on November 5, 1899, that the town finally fell into American hands. The Battle of Angeles was considered to be the longest in the history of the Filipino-American War in Pampanga. This led to the establishment of an American camp in Barrio Talimundoc (in what is now Lourdes Sur), located next to the railroad station, in order to establish control over the central plains of Luzon. In January 1900, General Frederick D. Grant organized the first U.S. Civil Government in Angeles by appointing an alcalde or municipal mayor, beginning American rule over Angeles.

In 1902, the United States Army studied relocating their post from Barrio Talimundoc to a fertile plain in Barrio Sapang Bato, which supposedly had better grass for their horses. A year after that, U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt signed an executive order on September 1, establishing 7,700 acres (31 km²) of land in Sapang Bato as Fort Stotsenburg (which later would expand to 156,204 acres (632.14 km²) in 1908 to become Clark Air Base). It was centered on what would in later years become Clark Air Base's parade ground.

The Americans quickly commandeered Holy Rosary Parish Church and converted it into an army hospital, with the choir loft served as a dental clinic. The convento, which now houses Holy Family Academy, was the barracks for medical officers and enlisted men. The sacristy was the only portion where Angeleños could hear Mass. When the Americans finally vacated the church in 1904 and relocated to Fort Stotsenburg, parish priest Rev. Vicente Lapus listed a total of US$638 for portions of the church destroyed, looted church items and treasures, and arrears on rentals.

History: World War II Hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan attacked the Philippines, targeting the American military presence, as well as the Philippine Army, and taking over the civilian government. During the Japanese occupation in the country, 57,000 Filipino and American prisoners of war passed the town of Angeles. They were forced to join the Bataan Death March, going to Camp O'Donnell in Capas, Tarlac. Angeleños showed their sympathy by handing them food, milk, boiled eggs, rice cakes, cigarettes, and water. Angeleños followed them up to the train station in Dau railway station in Mabalacat to give moral and spiritual support, and even helped the escapees.

War historians considered the bombing of Fort Stotsenburg on December 8, 1941, at 12:30 p.m. as one of the most destructive air raids in World War II, because almost all the American war planes were wrecked on the ground. In thirty minutes, the air might of the United States in the Far East was completely destroyed.

On the early morning of New Year's Day 1942, the first Japanese troops entered Angeles; they would occupy it until January 1945. During the Japanese invasion, another type of local government was set up on January 22, 1942. During the Japanese occupation, Clark Air Base then became a major centre for staging Japanese air operations. Japanese aircraft flying out of Clark participated in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, considered to be the largest naval battle of the Second World War and possibly the largest naval battle in history.

Clark Air Base was recaptured by the Americans in January 1945, after three months of fierce fighting in the Philippines. After three years of atrocities committed by Japanese forces, the town and the rest of the Philippines were finally liberated by the combined United States and Philippine Commonwealth troops in 1945. The building of the general headquarters of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and Philippine Constabulary was situated in Angeles from January 1945 to June 1946, during and after World War II.

Philippine independence After World War II, the Philippines gained independence from the United States on July 4, 1946, but then would be tied to a neo-colonial relationship. The "Treaty of General Relations" signed on independence day itself signified the Americans' withdrawal and surrender of possession, control and sovereignty over the Philippines, except the use of their bases. It was followed by the Philippine-American Military Bases Agreement on March 14, 1947, allowing the U.S. to maintain territorial integrity and sovereignty over Clark Air Base and Subic Naval Base for the next 44 years. Clark occupied 63,103 hectares and served as the tactical operational U.S. air force installation in the entire Southeast Asian region that had the capacity to accommodate the U.S. military transport planes, which served the entire Western Pacific.

Through the years, although Fort Stotsenburg continued to expand to become what would eventually be known as Clark Air Base, Angeles, despite its proximity to the American camp, did not progress fast and remained fairly small until the end of World War II. It was finally inaugurated on January 1, 1964, as a chartered city under Republic Act No. 3700 and then proceeded to enter a period of tremendous growth that resulted in its present position as the "Premier City in Central Luzon". It was through Mayor Rafael del Rosario's brainchild that Angeles became a city. He gained the distinction of being the last municipal mayor of Angeles. He was assisted in the preparation of the City Chapter by Attorney Enrique Tayag, a prominent resident of the town. Congresswoman Juanita L. Nepomuceno of the first district of Pampanga sponsored the bill in Congress, which was approved by then President Diosdado Macapagal, the ninth Philippine president and a native of the province of Pampanga.

Mount Pinatubo eruption and Angeles today On June 15, 1991, Angeles was affected by the cataclysmic eruption of nearby Mount Pinatubo, with up to 60,000 people being evacuated from the city. It was the second-largest volcanic eruption of the twentieth century and, by far, the largest eruption to affect a densely populated area. The province of Pampanga, Clark specifically, was badly hit and the agricultural lands, as well as other businesses, were covered by tons of lahar. There were no casualties reported inside Clark two days from the initial eruption because the 18,000 personnel and their families were transported to Guam and the Subic Naval Base in Zambales.

The eruption of Mount Pinatubo forced the leadership of the U.S. to prematurely abandon its military installation at Clark Air Base. This was in addition to a vote by the Philippine Senate in 1991 to no longer extend the Laurel–Langley Agreement, which allowed the presence of U.S. military forces on Philippine territory, thus ending the long chapter of Filipino-American relations in the history of Angeles. The U.S. military never returned to Clark, turning over the damaged base to the Philippine government on November 26, 1991

In 1993, cleanup and removal of volcanic ash deposits began. The former base re-emerged as Clark Special Economic Zone (CSEZ) approved by then President Fidel V. Ramos on April 3 of the same year. The airfield infrastructure was improved and destined to be the premiere airport in the country in the next five years and one of the most modern in Asia. The creation of CSEZ has helped to offset the loss of income and jobs previously generated by the presence of the U.S. base. Today, Angeles and Clark together form the hub for business, industry, aviation and tourism, as well as the entertainment and gaming centre of Central Luzon.

Among the draws for tourists is the local dish sisig which according to the Center for Kapampangan Studies, originated in this Angeles and has been on the menu since the 1730s. Pampanga is well known as the culinary centre of the Philippines.

In 2018, Angeles applied to be a UNESCO Creative City, while it also applied sisig into the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The applications are currently being processed by UNESCO.

Geography It is bordered by Mabalacat to the north, Mexico to the east, San Fernando to the south-east, Bacolor to the south, and Porac to the south-west and west. Though the city administers itself autonomously from Pampanga, it is the province's commercial and financial hub.

Angeles is served by Clark International Airport in Clark Freeport Zone.

Angeles is 83 km (52 mi) from Manila and 17 km (11 mi) from the provincial capital, San Fernando.

Barangays Angeles is divided into 33 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios. • Agapito del Rosario • Amsic • Anunas • Balibago • Capaya • Claro M. Recto • Cuayan • Cutcut • Cutud • Lourdes North West • Lourdes Sur (Talimundoc) • Lourdes Sur East • Malabañas • Margot • Mining • Ninoy Aquino (Marisol) • Pampang • Pandan • Pulung Cacutud • Pulung Maragul • Pulungbulu • Salapungan • San Jose • San Nicolas • Santa Teresita • Santa Trinidad • Santo Cristo • Santo Domingo • Santo Rosario (Poblacion) • Sapalibutad • Sapangbato • Tabun • Virgen Delos Remedios

Anunas Anunas is the barangay that houses the city's Koreatown, a chain of Korean establishments along the Fil-Am Friendship Highway. Anunas is also identified as one of the growth centres of the city, focusing on light industries such as woodcarving and rattan craft.

Balibago and Malabañas Balibago is the main entertainment district of Angeles. It contains Casino Filipino Angeles and the famous Fields Avenue tourist belt. The city's biggest mall, SM City Clark, is also situated in Barangay Malabañas.

Pampang and San Nicolas These two barangays form the main public market district of the city. The Pampang Wet Market, San Nicolas Market, Friday Flea Market (locally referred to as Apu), Jumbo Jenra Angeles, Puregold Angeles, and the Angeles Slaughterhouse are found here. The Pampang Wet Market is the largest and most frequented wet market in the province of Pampanga. It also attracts people from nearby towns. Ospital Ning Angeles (ONA),City College of Angeles, Angeles City National High School are located in Pampang.

Pulung Maragul Pulung Maragul is the barangay that houses the city's government complex, which includes the Angeles City Hall, the Angeles City Hall of Justice, and other government buildings. It is also the location of the Angeles Exit of the North Luzon Expressway and Marquee Mall, Ayala's first mall in Central Luzon. Marquee Place and Marquee Residences later rose in Pulung Maragul as well, next to the mall.

Santo Rosario Santo Rosario is the poblacion. It is home to most of Angeles' heritage and historical structures such as the Holy Rosary Parish Church, Pamintuan Mansion which is privately owned by Maverick Pamintuan, Bale Herencia, and Museo ning Angeles (former City Hall building). Holy Angel University, Central Luzon's largest university in terms of population, is also located here. Plans of declaring the barangay or parts of it a heritage zone are ongoing.

Sapangbato Sapangbato is the largest barangay in Angeles in terms of territory, with a total land area of 104,694 sq. meters and a population of 11,262. Located north-west of Angeles near Clark Freeport Zone, it is identified as the barangay in Angeles with the highest elevation of 750 feet above sea level. It is home to Fort Stotsenburg, also known as the Parade Grounds of Clark. apl.de.ap, member of the hip hop group The Black Eyed Peas, hails from Sapangbato. The famous Puning Hot Springs of Barangay Inararo in Porac are accessed through Sitio Target in Sapangbato.