Place:San José del Monte, Bulacan, Central Luzon, Philippines

source: Family History Library Catalog

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

San Jose del Monte, officially known as the City of San Jose del Monte (abbreviated as SJDM or CSJDM; ), is a 1st class component city in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 651,813 people, making it the largest local government unit within the province of Bulacan and Central Luzon and the 18th most populated city in the Philippines. The City of San Jose del Monte, has proclaimed as a highly-urbanized city on December 4, 2020, by the virtue of Proclamation No. 1057, signed by President Rodrigo Duterte and shall take effect after the ratification in a plebiscite.

Located in the southeast of the province, it is bordered by the city of Caloocan in Metro Manila to the south, by the town of Rodriguez, Rizal to the east, the towns of Santa Maria and Marilao to the west and Norzagaray to the north.

The city is home to some of the biggest resettlement areas in the Philippines like the Sapang Palay resettlement area spread over 36 barangays, Pabahay 2000 in Barangay Muzon and Towerville in Barangay Minuyan Proper. Most of the city's population come from former informal settlers along the creeks, esteros, riverbanks and railway tracks of Metro Manila.

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Early accounts on the founding of the city, as gathered from the old people, contend that it was formerly a part of the town of Meycauayan. This is supported by a decree from the Archbishop of Manila dated March 1750 on the creation of new municipalities. The municipality of San Jose del Monte was then officially founded on March 2, 1752.^[1]

The decree included the list of families who volunteered to be relocated. These families, most if not all from Lagulo (now Malhacan) in Meycauayan, brought with them rice, wine, nganga and salt from in exchange for the wild pigs, deer, yantok and almasigan of the Itas and Dumagats, the native inhabitants of the area. Solares, including intended lots for main roads, were peacefully distributed to the new occupants after being measured and surveyed.

The town reportedly got its name from Saint Joseph whose statue was found in a veritable forest; the hunters called it “San Jose del Monte” ( “Saint Joseph of the Mountain”). In all probability, the hunters reported their find to the parish priest of Meycauayan. It was said that the priest built a stone church at the site where the town proper is now located. The statue was installed in the new church. Extant Catholic Church records reveal that the first parish priest was Father Antonio de Moral. He took charge of the parish in 1845.

During the revolt against Spain, the town became a battleground between the Katipuneros and the Spanish forces. The revolutionaries lost and the vengeful Spanish soldiers burned down the settlement. The town people fled for their lives to nearby towns. At the advent of the American rule, it was made a part of Santa Maria until 1918 when the town was recreated and Ciriaco Gallardo appointed the first municipal president. Public schools were opened at the start of the American regime but due to the scarcity of the population, the highest grade organized was at the fourth grade.

During the Japanese occupation, the town became an ideal hiding place of the local recognized guerrillas because of the town's hilly and wooden terrain. The Japanese Imperial Army took over the local government of San Jose del Monte from 1942 to 1943. In resistance, the municipality formed its own guerrilla unit. San Jose del Monte experienced large casualties when the Americans bombed the town center on January 11, 1945, and again on January 14, 1945. When the combined Filipino and American troops came, peace reigned but not for long.

At the height of the Hukbalahap Rebellion, the town was raided on October 10, 1950. The Huks burned down the town hall. The town was raided for the second time on March 21, 1951. The Huks did not succeed because of the precautionary measures instituted by the town officials after which the Huks were gradually eliminated.

In the 1980s, thousands of informal settlers from Metro Manila were relocated to San Jose del Monte. Bulacan Governor Roberto Pagdanganan recalled in 1996 that the relocation did not ensure new livelihoods for its informal settlers, thus turning many squatters toward criminality; he noted that the town had the highest crime rate in the province according to police reports.

Cityhood

On September 10, 2000, San Jose del Monte was proclaimed as a Component City under Republic Act No. 8797. It became the first city in the province of Bulacán and was recorded as the 86th chartered city of the Philippines. On December 18, 2003, the City of San Jose del Monte became the 1st Lone Congressional District in Bulacán.^[1]

Highly urbanized city

On December 4, 2020, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte declared San Jose del Monte as a highly-urbanized city through Proclamation No. 1057. However, it will have to go through a plebiscite to ratify its city charter, and it will be held four months after the 2022 national and local elections.

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