Bulacan Foundation Day in the Philippines Date in the current year: August 15, 2024

Bulacan is a Philippine province in the Central Luzon region, immediately north to the National Capital Region (Metro Manila). As of 2020, it was the most populous province in Central Luzon and the third most populous in the country. The name of the province is derived from the Tagalog world bulak (cotton or kapok), which is a reference to the abundance of cotton plants and kapok (Java cotton) trees growing in the area.

During the pre-colonial era, the indigenous inhabitants of Bulacan’s coastal areas were fishermen and seafarers; they made contact with Arab and Chinese traders as early as the 10th century. Those living deeper into the island were primarily farmers. The first Europeans to arrive in Bulacan were Spanish conquistador Martín de Goiti and his people in 1571. They established what is now the municipality of Calumpiti and the city of Malolos as an ecomienda entrusted to two conquistadors from Miguel Lopez de Legazpi’s first group of conquerors.

The town of Bulakan was founded by the Augustinians in April 1578 as a visita of Tondo. Originally dedicated to Saint Augustine, it was later rededicated to Our Lady of Assumption (Nuestra Señora de la Asunción). Since the Feast of Assumption is celebrated on August 15, this day is regarded as the founding anniversary of Bulacan even though the exact date of the province’s foundation is unknown.

During the Philippine Revolution, Bulacan was one of the first eight provinces to rebel against the Spanish. In 1888, it became the birthplace of the first constitutional democracy in Asia when Barásoain Church in Malolos was chosen as the site of the Revolutionary Congress, where the constitution of the First Philippine Republic was discussed.

Following the defeat of the Philippines in the Philippine-American War, Bulacan, along with the rest of the country, came under the American rule. The Americans moved the provincial capital from Bulakan to Malolos in 1901, and the US-governed province of Bulacan was officially created on March 10, 1917.

During World War II, the province was invaded by the Japanese in 1941 and occupied in 1942. It was liberated in 1945 by the combined American and Filipino forces, including local guerrillas. After the war, Bulacan was embroiled in the Hukbalahap Rebellion of communist former guerrillas against the Philippine government. In 1975, part of Bulacan was split from the province to form the National Capital Region.

Bulacan’s foundation anniversary was designated as a special non-working holiday in the province. Festivities held on the occasion include include a holy mass, a flag-raising ceremony, a wreath-laying ceremony at the monument to Philippine hero Marcelo H. del Pilar, solemn speeches, and various cultural events and activities highlighting the history and heritage of Bulacan.