San Simon

August 5, 2022

890

The Municipality of San Simon is a third-class landlocked municipality in the coastal province of Pampanga, part of Region III or Central Luzon.

The cities neighboring San Simon are San Fernando, Pampanga, Malolos, Bulacan, Angeles, Mabalacat, Pampanga, Meycauayan, Bulacan, and San Jose del Monte, Bulacan. The closest municipalities are Apalit, Pampanga, San Luis, Pampanga, Santo Tomas, Pampanga, Calumpit, Bulacan, Mexico, Pampanga, and Minalin, Pampanga.

The municipality of San Simon is also known as “The Emerging Business Haven of Central Luzon” because of the existence of diverse industrial establishments in the area.

History

As early as 1770, the town of San Simon had its humble beginnings as a farming village established by Don Mariano del Pilar de los Reyes and called the village ‘Bario Del Pilar’.

The farming village was positioned between the towns of San Luis in the north and Apalit in the south.

As the population kept on increasing in the local village of barrio Del Pilar, the foremost residents of the progressive village started a petition to combine a portion of the southern part of the town of San Luis and a land area from the northern part of the town of Apalit to constitute a sovereign municipality.

On November 15, 1771, Don Simón de Anda y Salazar, who is the Spanish Governor-General approved the formal establishment of the newest town during his second tenure as the chief administrator of the Philippines, considering the economic potential of a new town and confidence in the management competence of the leaders. The town was named after the Spanish Governor General who permitted its formation and of the Apostle Simon Peter, the patron saint of Apalit.

The receding armed forces of General Antonio Luna burned the parish church on the way of going to Nueva Ecija in 1898.

In 1904, the town of San Simon was combined with the municipality of San Luis, and about 3 years after, it became again an independent municipality.

The geographical borders of San Luis, Apalit, and San Simon were formally created in 1920.

By the year 1835, San Simon started with 8 barrios (barangay). Nonetheless, in the late 1940s, the residents grew and the number of barrios was increased to fourteen, which has been upheld until the present-day times

Barangay

The Municipality of San Simon is subdivided into 14 barangays.

Concepcion	De La Paz	San Juan (Poblacion)	San Agustin	San Isidro
San Jose	San Miguel	San Nicolas	San Pablo Libutad	San Pablo Proper
San Pedro	Santa Cruz	Santa Monica	Santo Niño

Festivals

Sun-Sea-Moon Festival

The festivity is part of the celebration of San Simon’s founding anniversary held every November 15.

Landmark and Attraction

Nuestra Senora Del Pilar Parish

In 1898, the receding military forces of General Antonio Luna on their way to Nueva Ecija burned the parish church. In 1979, through the effort and financial donations of the Ibanez, Guevarra, Santos, Punsalan, Pangan, and other families, the parish church was reconstructed and called Nuestra Senora Del Pilar.