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Brief Description of the City
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Capital of Oriental Mindoro
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Land Area : 250.06 sq. km
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Population : 105,910 (year 2000)
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Composed of 62 barangays:
22 are urban and 40 are rural barangays
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Center of trade, commerce, education, and religious activities in
the province
HISTORY AND EVOLUTION
The City of Calapan was first founded as a parish in 1679
by a Spanish Agustinian Recollect priest, Fr. Diego de la Madre de
Dios. Around the parish church that was built, settlements were
established which became the beginning of a small town. These
settlements were built near the seashore along Calapan River. The
development of the town of Calapan was thus similar to the pattern
of town development during the Spanish colonial era where the
establishment of residences and the building of the town hall and
plaza around the church under the watchful eyes of the Spanish
priests followed the construction of a parish church. With the
gradual development of Calapan, it eventually became the seat of
administrative power and the capital of the whole province of
Mindoro during the last stages of the Spanish period.
The
derivation of the name of Calapan cannot be traced with
certainty. Some opined that it came from the word “Kalap” which
means to gather logs. Thus “Kalapan” was supposed to be a place
where logs were gathered. In the old records, however, there was
never a mention of Calapan as a place where logs were produced or
exported. Furthermore, huge forest trees where logs were produced
certainly did not grow near the town, which was swampy. Another
theory holds that Calapan was originally pronounced as “Kalapang”
which, according to an old Tagalog dictionary, was a synonym for
“sanga” or branch. It could then refer to the settlement of
Kalapang as a branch of its mother town of Baco, an adjoining
town. The name was later hispanized as Calapan.
Since the
last decades of the Spanish era to the time of American colonial
rule and the post war period to the 21st century,
Calapan has played the role as the commercial and industrial
center of the province of Oriental Mindoro, the center of higher
education and the financial hub of the province and the only city
in the island of Mindoro.
The year
1998 was a landmark event for Calapan when it was converted from a
municipality into a component city by virtue of Republic Act No.
8475. The law was authored in Congress by Rep. Renato V. Leviste
and was signed by President Fidel V. Ramos on February 2, 1998 in
Malacanang Palace. On March 21, 1998, the people of Calapan
ratified the creation of the City of Calapan in a plebiscite.
March 21, 1998 is therefore marked as the Foundation Day of the
City of Calapan. Incumbent Mayor Arnan C. Panaligan became the
last Municipal Mayor and the First City Mayor of the City of
Calapan.
Since its
creation as a city, Calapan has witnessed significant strides in
commerce and industry, infrastructure and social services. New
commercial establishments were opened providing employment and
income opportunities for the residents. An expanded program on
social services delivery, particularly in health care and
education, were undertaken. The city’s physical infrastructure
was upgraded which includes the construction of new roads and
drainage facilities, as well as a new City Government Center.
Tourism was boosted with the opening of inland resorts and new
hotels.
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