San Simon, Pampanga


San Simon, officially the Municipality of San Simon, is a municipality in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the, it has a population of people.

History

In 1770, Don Mariano del Pilar de los Reyes founded a farming village named 'Barrio Del Pilar', which later became the town of San Simon. The village was located between the towns of San Luis in the north and Apalit in the south. As the population of the village kept on growing, the village leaders of that time petitioned to consolidate the village and portions of the towns of San Luis and Apalit, to form an independent pueblo.
On November 15, 1771, Don Simón de Anda y Salazar, the governor general of the Philippines at that time, approved the official creation of the town. The town was named after the Spanish governor general who approved its creation and of the Apostle Simon Peter, the patron saint of Apalit.
In 1898, the retreating forces of General Antonio Luna, on their way to Nueva Ecija, burned the town's parish church. The church was only rebuilt after almost a century in 1979.
In 1904, San Simon was merged with San Luis but only for three years. In 1920, the geographical boundaries of the towns of Apalit, San Luis, and Simon are officially established.
By the year 1835, San Simon had eight barrios. But in the late 1940s, the population grew and the number of barrios were increased to fourteen, which has been maintained until the present times.

Geography

San Simon is accessible via the North Luzon Expressway via the San Simon current exit. It is from San Fernando, from Manila, and from Baliwag.

Barangays

San Simon is politically subdivided into 14 barangays, as shown below. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

Demographics

In the 2024 census, the population of San Simon was 65,760 people, with a density of.

Religion

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Fernando has jurisdiction over the 1771 Virgen del Pilar Parish Church.
Like most Kapampangan people, residents of San Simon retain their Kapampangan language and traditional culture and arts brought about by their Malay ancestors and enriched by Chinese, Spanish, American, Japanese and other ethnic and foreign cultures. Religious affiliations are:

Economy

The principal industries in San Simon are farming, fishing and poultry and swine industries. There are two public markets in San Simon, one in the old poblacion area and another one located in the industrial zone area.

Government

Local government

San Simon is governed by a mayor and vice mayor who are elected to three-year terms. The mayor is the executive head and leads the town's departments in executing the ordinances and improving public services. The vice mayor heads a legislative council consisting of councilors from the barangays of barrios.

List of local chief executives

Available records at the Municipal Hall list the following town executives from 1898 until present:
YearNameTitle
1898Juan AguloKapitan del Pueblo
1899Solomon IbanezKapitan del Pueblo
1900Diego de los SantosKapitan del Pueblo
1901Macario SantosKapitan del Pueblo
1902Basilio de los SantosKapitan del Pueblo
1903Manuel IbanezKapitan del Pueblo
1904Mariano PanganKapitan del Pueblo
1905Mariano VergaraKapitan del Pueblo
1906–1908Sisenando PinedaPresidente Municipal
1908–1910Pablo CruzPresidente Municipal
1910–1912Teodoro PunsalanPresidente Municipal
1913–1915Macario PerezPresidente Municipal
1916–1918Urbano GuevaraPresidente Municipal
1919–1924Servillano IbanezPresidente Municipal
1925–1927Ramon TuanoPresidente Municipal
1935–1936Catalino IbanezAppointed Mayor
1937–1938Domingo PinedaAppointed Mayor
1938–1939Patrocinio YabutActing Mayor
1939–1941Patrocinio YabutElected Mayor
1941–1942Agustin SeseActing Mayor
1942–1944Ramon IbanezAppointed Mayor by Japanese
1945–1946Felipe AlmarioAppointed Mayor
1946Eusebio FranciscoAppointed Mayor
1947–1949Fernando GalangAppointed Mayor
1949–1952Jose S. Yabut Sr.Elected Mayor
1953–1956Gregorio M. Santillan Sr.Elected Mayor
1957–1960Jose S. Yabut Sr.Elected Mayor
1960Felicisimo PamandananOfficer-In-Charge
1961–1968Cornelio S. SangaElected Mayor
1969–1975Lamberto PunsalanElected Mayor
1976–1979Ruben DagdagAssumed the post being Vice Mayor at the time.
1980–1986Jose Yabut Jr.Elected Mayor
1986–1988Gaudencio PinedaAppointed Mayor
1988–1998Manuel S.BondocElected Mayor
1998–2001Azor L. SitchonElected Mayor
2001–2010Rodrigo Miranda CanlasElected Mayor
2010–2019Leonora Capule WongElected Mayor
2019–2025Abundio Punsalan Jr.Elected Mayor
2025-presentAnne CanlasActing Mayor

Education

The San Simon Schools District Office governs all educational institutions within the municipality. It oversees the management and operations of all private and public, from primary to secondary schools.

Primary and elementary schools

  • Dela Paz Elementary School
  • San Agustin Elementary School
  • San Isidro Elementary School
  • San Jose Elementary School
  • San Juan Elementary School
  • San Miguel Elementary School
  • San Nicolas Elementary School
  • San Pablo Elementary School
  • San Pedro Elementary School
  • San Simon Elementary School
  • Sta. Cruz Elementary School
  • Sta. Monica Elementary School
  • Sto. Nino Elementary School
  • The Covenant United Methodist Church Child Developmen Center
  • The United Methodist Church Ecumenical Kiddie Mission School

Secondary schools

Higher educational institution

  • Next Generation Technological College
  • St. Augustine Institute of Pampanga

Telecommunications

The town is served by PLDT, PilTel, DatelCom, Smart, Globe, Dito and with new copper line Converge ICT.