Floridablanca, Province of Pampanga, Central Luzon Region, Philippines

🇵🇭 Floridablanca, officially the Municipality of Floridablanca is a 1st class municipality in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. Floridablanca is a part of the province of the Pampanga located in Central Luzon lying north of Dinalupihan, Bataan and south-southwest of San Fernando, Pampanga.

Etymology Previously, the town was named San Jose de Calampaui, which is derived from Spanish for Saint Joseph, its patron saint. Floridablanca itself is derived from Spanish which translates to "white flower". However, there are two versions of the name's origin.

One version suggest that the town was named in honor of José María de Castillejo y Moñino, III conde of Floridablanca, (25 de Febrero de 1826 y falleció en 1892), who inherited the title of Condado de Floridablanca from the 2nd holder, his aunt Maria Vicenta Moñino y Pontejos, through his mother, Maria Ana. Maria Vicenta died in 1867 and thus Jose inherited the title; 1867 was also the year the town's name was changed from San Jose de Calampaui to Floridablanca. The rest of Maria Vicenta's titles devolved to her husband's family, the Marquesado de Miraflores whose present title holder today married the granddaughter of President Elpidio Quirino. The Moñino family is popularly remembered for being reformists and being against the abuses of the Catholic Church. Its patriarch, the first count, another Jose Moñino, secured from the pope the Suppression of the Society of Jesus under the reign of King Charles III of Spain, in 1767, exactly a hundred years ago. The expulsion of the friars in 1867 from the Calampaui monastery and the naming of the estate to Floridablanca, therefore, made sense.

The Count of Floridablanca conquered the island of Menorca and helped create the Viceroyalty of La Plata or all the lands in present day Argentina and nearby. As a renowned statesman of the time, he helped Spain counterbalance its position between warring France and England. He also established the Compania de Filipinas in the South Seas that kept the Philippines connected to Spain through the maritime routes regularly passing to the upper stretches of Nuevo Mexico (a part of the Viceroyalty of Nueva Espana) down to the ports of Callao in Peru, where the Manila Galleon ships were known as the La Nao de Manila or the La Nao de China.

1867 was also the year when the de tallado image of San Jose Obrero and the de tallado Santo Nino accompanying it, was installed in the church of Saint Joseph the Worker church to signify the establishment of the new parroquia for the farm workers, separate from the old Spanish monastery of San Jose de Calampaui, and separate from the friars who owned all the lands from the foot of the mountains to the eastern boundaries of the nearly flat expanse that is Floridablanca. These statues are from the monastery that has been dissolved, pre-dating the naming of the area from Calampaui to Floridablanca.

Another version of a more credible origin suggests that the town was named after the white flowers of a pandacaqui plant (Tabernaemontana pandacaqui) that flourished in the area. Florida means "flower" and blanca means "fragrant".

History Floridablanca was founded in 1823 as Hacienda de San Jose de Caumpaui at the site of a monastery. In 1867, it was renamed to Pueblo de Floridablanca.

In the 1920s, the Pampanga Sugar Mill was built at Del Carmen in the 1920s. The area was the site of military bases of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and the Philippine Constabulary from 1942 to 1946. The Philippine Air Force established Basa Air Base at a former American military airfield in 1947.

In 1991, the Santo Nino enshrined in San Jose Obrero parish was stolen. Within two months or so, Mount Pinatubo erupted. Sand and ash and lahar fell into Floridablanca, killing hundreds and destroyed the rice paddies. Superstitions by the elders of the town exist that the theft of the statue resulted in such unimaginable disaster.

In 2024, the Santo Nino was rediscovered after almost 22 years. The Foronda family assisted in raising funds for its eventual return to San Jose Obrero parish.

Geography Floridablanca is located on the western part of Pampanga along the Zambales mountain ranges and is bounded by the municipalities of Porac on the north, Lubao on the south, Guagua on the east, and Dinalupihan, Bataan on the west. It is 40 km (25 mi) from the city of San Fernando and 106 km (66 mi) from Manila. The town is at an elevation of 12 feet (3.7 m) above sea level. Floridablanca is north of Dinalupihan, Bataan via Dinalupihan-Floridablanca Access Road at the Bataan-Pampanga boundary line.

With an area of 17,548 hectares (43,360 acres), it is the third largest municipality in the province, after Porac and Candaba.

Geography: Barangays Floridablanca is politically subdivided into 33 barangays: • Anon • Apalit • Basa Air Base • Benedicto • Bodega • Cabangcalan • Calantas • Carmencita • Consuelo • Culubasa • Dampe • Del Carmen • Fortuna • Gutad • Mabical • Maligaya • Mawacat • Nabuclod • Pabanlag • Paguiruan • Palmayo • Pandaguirig • Poblacion • San Antonio • San Isidro • San Jose • San Nicolas • San Pedro • San Ramon • San Roque • Santa Monica • Solib • Santo Rosario • Valdez.

Demographics In the 2020 census, the population of Floridablanca, Pampanga, was 135,542 people, with a density of 770 inhabitants per square kilometer or 2,000 inhabitants per square mile.

Economy Floridablanca is the second largest producer of rice in the province. It produces more than enough rice to meet its needs resulting in a surplus. In 1999, only 37.76% of its produce was used for its own rice requirement resulting in a surplus of 65.24% equivalent to 17,553 metric tons.

Banking and finance The Bank of Florida, formerly Rural Bank of Floridablanca, Inc. was first established on February 10, 1964, with its first branch in Floridablanca, as one of the six subsidiaries of House of David Group headed by Ladislao Sibal-David, founder and chair. Its executive office, the BOF Corporate Center is located along Jose Abad Santos Avenue, San Jose, City of San Fernando, Pampanga.

Tourist Industry Aside from Basa Air Base, the town has cultural treasures and interesting points. • 1887 San Jose Obrero Parish Church: the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Fernando exercises jurisdiction over the Heritage Church. • Bahay na Puti (Alvendia House): the Justice Carmelino Alvendia, Sr. ancestral mansion is owned, preserved and maintained by his family.

Education There are two schools district offices which govern all educational institutions within the municipality. They oversee the management and operations of all private and public, from primary to secondary schools. These are the Floridablanca East Schools District Office, and Floridablanca West Schools District Office.

Primary and elementary schools • Anon Elementary School • Apalit Elementary School • Basa Air Base Central School • Benedicto Elementary School • Bodega Elementary School • Cabangcalan Elementary School • Calantas Elementary School • Camachile Elementary School • Caritas Elementary School • Carmencita Elementary School • Central Luzon Adventist Academy • Consuelo Elementary School • Dampe Elementary School • Del Carmen Elementary School • Floridablanca Christian Academy • Floridablanca Elementary School • Floridablanca New Settlement Elementary School (Pabanlag) • Fortuna Elementary School • Golden Sunrise Learning Center • Gutad Elementary School • Mabical Elementary School • Marifer School of Divine Mercy • Mawacat Elementary School • Mindhearts Academy of the Philippines • Pabanlag Elementary School • Paguiruan Elementary School • Palmayo Elementary School • Pandaguirig Elementary School • Pulong Dagal Elementary School • San Isidro Elementary School • San Jose Elementary School • San Nicolas Elementary School • San Pedro Elementary School • San Ramon Elementary School • San Roque Elementary School • Sitio Culubasa Elementary School • St. Augustine Academy • Sta. Monica Elementary School • Sto. Rosario Elementary School • Valdez Elementary School • Zion of the Holy One Academy; Secondary schools • Basa Air Base High School • Diosdad Macapagal Memorial High School • Floridablanca National Agricultural School • Gutad National High School • Nabuclod Integrated School • Pagyuruan National High School • San Jose High School; Higher educational institutions • I S School of Technology and Skills Development • Megabyte College • West Central College of Arts and Science.