Batac City, Ilocos Norte
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| City of Batac Ciudad ti Batac Lungsod ng Batac |
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| Nickname: Home of Great Leaders, City of My Dreams |
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| Motto: Aramid Pakakitaan | |||
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  City of Batac
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| Coordinates: | |||
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| Country | Philippines | ||
| Region | Ilocos Region | ||
| Province | Ilocos Norte | ||
| District | 2nd District, Ilocos Norte | ||
| Barangays | 43 | ||
| Cityhood | June 23, 2007 | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Jeffrey Jubal C. Nalupta (Elect) | ||
| - Vice Mayor | Ronald Allan M. Nalupta (Elect) | ||
| Area | |||
| - Total | 161.01 km² (62.2 sq mi) | ||
| Population (August 1, 2007) | |||
| - Total | 50,675 | ||
| Time zone | PST (UTC+8) | ||
| Postal Code | 2906 | ||
| Area code(s) | 77 | ||
| Languages | Iloco, Tagalog, English | ||
Batac is the newest city in the province of Ilocos Norte, Philippines. It was the most populous of the 22 municipalities in Ilocos Norte, with 47,682 people in 9,882 households according to the 2000 census.
Batac is situated at the heart of the province or in the mid southwestern portion of the province of Ilocos Norte. It lies approximately within altitude 17º17’ north and longitude 120º28’ east. Its boundaries include the Municipality of San Nicolas on the north; Municipality of Sarrat on the northeast; Municipality of Marcos on the east-northeast; Municipality of Banna on the east; Municipality of Pinili on the southeast; Municipality of Currimao on the southwest; and the Municipality of Paoay on the west. It is about 472 kilometers north of Metro Manila, about 18 km. south of Laoag City, the capital of the province; 275 km. north of San Fernando City, the regional center of Ilocos Region and 11.2 km east of the eastern shore of South China Sea. Travel time by motor vehicle at this time is very convenient because of well paved roads and is 15 – 20 minutes to Laoag City and 8 – 9 hours to Metro Manila.
Batac City has a total land area of 16, 101 hectares. The terrain of the city of Batac is gradually flat or level to rolling and hilly and very steep. The broad valleys are mostly located in poblacion with a slope of 0-8%. All the rural barangays except those in the eastern part have a slope of 0 -30%. There are various soil types that are poorly drained due to the heavy texture of most of the subsoil. The climate of Batac City is generally warm and is experiencing two clearly different seasons, the wet season from the later part of May to October, with an annual average rainfall of 114.07 inches (PAG-ASA, 2000) and the dry season from November to April. There are two rivers that cut across the city of Batac, the Quiaoit River(Pagdanuman) and the Garasgas River.
It is the home of eminent men and women who has significant contribution in the development and welfare of our country and fellowmen. Among these is the former Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos. It is also the birthplace of Gregorio Aglipay, the founder of the Philippine Independent Church (better known as the Aglipayan Church) and Gen. Artemio Ricarte, the "Father of the Philippine Army".
Batac City is currently well-known being the home of the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU), a high-degree university that has several branches throughout the province.
[edit] History
The town of Batac, Ilocos Norte, was founded by the famous conqustador Juan de Salcedo, way back in 1577, shortly after he had established Spanish sovereignty in Vigan, Ilocos Sur. It is one of the oldest towns in Ilocos Norte and its hoary Catholic Church attests to the glory and grandeur that once were Spain's in our beloved Philippines.
The word "Batac" in the dialect means "pull" - which depicts the people's pulling their efforts together." Batac has an interesting legend about the origin of its name. Many years ago, in a certain spot in the town of Batac which was still a wilderness, there was a man digging the ground for the root crop "camangeg". It is said that while he was digging, he accidentally fell in an upside down position into a deep narrow and circular hole. He struggled hard to get out but his efforts were all in vain. He cried for help but there was nobody around. He waited for hours and had given up hope of being saved. Fortunately, two men from neighboring town of Paoay happened to pass by. They heard the cries of the man, Upon seeing his God-brought saviors, the man said "bataquennac! Bataquennac! Which means "pull me up". The two men did not understand the word and they look at each other in wonderment. The man in the hole tried his best to explain the meaning of his word which is "help me!" The two men then hauled him out of the hole. It is further said that when the two men reached their hometown, they told their story to their friends. Since then, the town has been called "Batac" which is derived from the word "bataquennac."
In the early 1867, the first site of the town of Batac has San Josef, now the Palpalicong. There were two separate communities at that time. One was the Christian Community headed by a chief called Captain Bazar, and the other one a non-Christian group called "Itneg", headed by Captain Tagley who was then occupying Sitio Nagalisan, now a part of Brgy. Payao.
With the passing of time, the non-Christian were assimilated by the earnest and peace-loving Christians as Spain as Spain pushed through the frontiers by means of the cross and the sword the doctrines taught and left us by Christ. From then on, the united communities grew into the town Batac.
The Cityhood started with a dream and aspiration in 1998, when the Municipality of Batac was already qualified to become a city. Nine years later, Republic Act 9407, the law that converted the Municipality of Batac into a component city in the Province of Ilocos Norte, to be known as the City of Batac, was overwhelmingly ratified by the people in a plebiscite conducted in June 23, 2007.
[edit] Barangays
The City of Batac is politically subdivided into 43 barangays, 14 of which constitute the poblacion.
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