Dingalan

{{Infobox settlement

| name = {{PH wikidata|name}}

| image_skyline = File:Dingalanjf3332.JPG|Fisherfolk at Aplaya

| image_caption =

| image_flag = Flag_of_Dingalan,_Aurora.png

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| pushpin_map_caption = Location within the {{PH wikidata|country}}

| coordinates = {{PH wikidata|coordinates}}

| settlement_type = Municipality

| subdivision_type = Country

| subdivision_name = Philippines

| subdivision_type1 = Region

| subdivision_name1 = {{PH wikidata|region}}

| subdivision_type2 = Province

| subdivision_name2 = {{PH wikidata|province}}

| official_name = Municipality of Dingalan

| native_name =

| other_name =

| nickname = Gateway to Southern Tagalog

| motto = Positibo, Agresibo, Progresibong Pagbabago

| anthem =

| subdivision_type3 = District

| subdivision_name3 = {{PH legislative district}}

| established_title = Founded

| established_date = 1962

| parts_type = Barangays

| parts_style = para

| p1 = {{PH barangay count | {{wikidata|label|raw}} }} (see Barangays)

| leader_title = Mayor

| leader_name = Shierwin H. Taay

| leader_title1 = Vice Mayor

| leader_name1 = Edgardo R. Galvez

| leader_title2 = Representative

| leader_name2 = Rommel Rico T. Angara

| leader_title3 = Municipal Council

| leader_name3 = {{PH Town Council

| 1 =

| 2=Sheldon H. Taay

| 3=Raffy B. Padilla

| 4=Ian Ildefonso Joseph Mary B. Evangelista

| 5=Conrado L. de Guzman Jr.

| 6=Abigail G. Tan

| 7=Mylene M. Figuracion

| 8=Monaliza B. Belgar

| 9=Luis A. Borreo

}}

| leader_title4 = Electorate

| leader_name4 = {{PH wikidata|electorate}} voters (Philippine general election, {{PH wikidata)

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| government_footnotes = {{thinsp}}{{DILG detail}}

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| elevation_max_m = 1367

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| population_footnotes = {{PH census|current}}

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| population_blank1_title= Households

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| population_blank2_title=

| population_blank2 =

| population_demonym =Dingaleño

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| timezone = PST

| utc_offset = +8

| postal_code_type = ZIP code

| postal_code = {{PH wikidata|postal_code}}

| postal2_code_type = {{PSGCstyle}}

| postal2_code = {{PSGC detail}}

| area_code_type = {{areacodestyle}}

| area_code = {{PH wikidata|area_code}}

| website = {{PH wikidata|website}}

| demographics_type1 = Economy

| demographics1_title1 = {{PH wikidata|income_class_title}}

| demographics1_info1 = {{PH wikidata|income_class}}

| demographics1_title2 = Poverty incidence

| demographics1_info2 = {{PH wikidata|poverty_incidence}}% ({{PH wikidata|poverty_incidence_point_in_time}}){{PH wikidata|poverty_incidence_footnotes}}

| demographics1_title3 = Revenue

| demographics1_info3 = {{PH wikidata|revenue}} {{PH wikidata|revenue_point_in_time}}

| demographics1_title4 = Revenue rank

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| demographics1_title5 = Assets

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| demographics1_title6 = Assets rank

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| demographics1_title7 = IRA

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| demographics1_title8 = IRA rank

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| demographics1_title9 = Expenditure

| demographics1_info9 = {{PH wikidata|expenditure}} {{PH wikidata|expenditure_point_in_time}}

| demographics1_title10 = Liabilities

| demographics1_info10 = {{PH wikidata|liabilities}} {{PH wikidata|liabilities_point_in_time}}

| demographics_type2 = Service provider

| demographics2_title1 = Electricity

| demographics2_info1 = {{PH electricity distribution | {{wikidata|label|raw}} }}

| demographics2_title2 = Water

| demographics2_info2 =

| demographics2_title3 = Telecommunications

| demographics2_info3 =

| demographics2_title4 = Cable TV

| demographics2_info4 =

| demographics2_title5 =

| demographics2_info5 =

| demographics2_title6 =

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| demographics2_title7 =

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| blank_name_sec1 = {{PH wikidata|climate_title}}

| blank_info_sec1 = {{PH wikidata|climate_type}}

| blank1_name_sec1 = Native languages

| blank1_info_sec1 = {{PH wikidata|language}}

| blank2_name_sec1 = Crime index

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| blank7_name_sec1 =

| blank7_info_sec1 =

| blank1_name_sec2 = Major religions

| blank1_info_sec2 =

| blank2_name_sec2 = Feast date

| blank2_info_sec2 =

| blank3_name_sec2 = Catholic diocese

| blank3_info_sec2 =

| blank4_name_sec2 = Patron saint

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}}

Dingalan {{IPA|tl|ˌdiŋɡɐˈlan|}}, officially the Municipality of Dingalan ({{langx|tl|Bayan ng Dingalan}}; {{langx|ilo|Ili ti Dingalan}}), is a municipality in the province of Aurora, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 27,878 people.{{PH census|current}}

Dingalan has several caves, of which the Lamao Caves are the best known. The rough shoreline and very high waves of Dingalan make it attractive to surfers. Dingalan is nicknamed "Gateway to Southern Tagalog", as it is bordered by Quezon Province (in the south), which is part of Southern Tagalog, of which Aurora was a part; Aurora was a sub-province of Quezon.

History

File:Administrative Divisions of the Philippines (1899).svg

Early settlers recounted that Dumagat tribes inhabited the territory now known as Dingalan. The names of most landmarks and places in this municipality were said to have been given by these first inhabitants. It is believed that the name “Dingalan” is a Dumagat word which means “by the River of Galan” because the territory straddles fifteen (15) rivers and streams which show the abundance of water.

It is also believed that there were two Dumagat brothers named Ding and Allan who were hunting animals in the forest. They were shouting at each other’s name as they went astray away from each other hence the name DINGALAN.

In the early 1900s, settlers from Quezon, Nueva Ecija, and Ilocos started to migrate to Dingalan. They were generally lowland cultivators in search of arable land. In-migration heightened in the 1930s when Don Felipe Buencamino started his logging and sawmill operations. Soon after, inter-marriages among Tagalogs, Ilocanos, Pampangos (Kapampangans), and Bicolanos enriched the cultural stock of settlers.

During World War II, Dingalan was occupied by the Japanese imperial forces. The Japanese took over the operation of sawmills and cut timber to construct their barracks and garrisons. The Dingalan-Gabaldon highway was originally built (1942-1945) as a logging road. On the verge of defeat in 1945, the Japanese used Dingalan Bay as an “exit point” when they retreated.

The strategic location of Dingalan Bay for military purposes was rediscovered after the RP-US Mutual Defense Treaty of 1951, when the municipality became the Training Ground in 1957 for the South East Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) as well as the United States Seventh Fleet. Dingalan also became a site of the RP-US Balikatan Military Exercises for three (3) consecutive years from 1982-1984.

Dingalan was recognized as a municipal district on June 16, 1956 under Republic Act 1536 with an initial population of 2,000 residents. Prior to that, Dingalan was merely a sitio of Barrio San Luis, Municipality of Baler, Tayabas (now Quezon) Province. Dingalan became a regular municipality on June 16, 1962 by virtue of Republic Act No. 3490.

From the 1930s to 1990s, logging was the main driver of Dingalan’s economy and the principal magnet to migrants. In the 1970s, three logging companies operated in Dingalan namely; Dingalan Wood Industries Corporation (DWICO), South Eastern Timber Corporation (SETIC) of Mr. Roberto Gopuansoy, and Inter-Pacific Forest Resources Company. They obtained a combined allowable cut of 169,416 cubic meters of lumber per annum, roughly equivalent to 4,500 fully loaded ten-wheeler trucks each year.

Because of relentless logging between 1930 and 1995, Dingalan today has only 2% of its original old growth dipterocarp forest. More than 10% of the area is denuded or devoid of trees. Its rate of deforestation is faster than the country’s average of 1.4% per year. The brownish color of Dingalan’s river channels reveals the extent of soil erosion and siltation resulting from the loss of adequate tree cover upstream.

Geography

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the municipality has a land area of {{convert|304.55|km2}},{{PSGC detail|area}} constituting {{percentage|304.55|3,147.32|2|pad=yes}} of the {{convert|3,147.32|km2|2|adj=mid|-}} total area of Aurora.

Dingalan is situated {{convert|140.93|km}} from the provincial capital Baler, and {{convert|227.31|km}} from the country's capital city of Manila. It is bounded on the north by San Luis, west by Gabaldon, General Tinio, and Doña Remedios Trinidad, south by General Nakar, and east by the Benham Rise or Plateau and Philippine Sea.

It is a small town with one main cemented road with branching alleys. Further south of the town proper are the barangays of Aplaya, Butas na Bato, Matawe, Ibona, Dikapanikian and Umiray. The premier barangay north of the town is Paltic. All of the barangays are located on the seashore, except for Poblacion and two barangays located in the mountains. The whole town is mountainous due to the Sierra Madre. The Umiray River separates the town from Quezon Province.

The National Government has an ongoing move to transfer Municipality of Dingalan to become part of Nueva Ecija Province for the reason that the said municipality is geographically and strategically within the said Province. This was favored by most of the residents was opposed by the Provincial Government of Aurora. One reason is that you must travel via the province of Nueva Ecija before reaching the province of Aurora, which is especially difficult during disasters. It is more economical and practical to deliver Dingalan to the province of Nueva Ecija.

=Barangays=

Dingalan is politically subdivided into 11 barangays.{{PSGC detail|nscb}} Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

{{PH brgy table lite|037705013| Umiray (Malamig) | 4380| 3963}}

=Climate=

{{Weather box

| location = Dingalan, Aurora

| width = auto

| metric first = Yes

| single line = Yes

| Jan high C = 26

| Jan low C = 20

| Feb high C = 27

| Feb low C = 20

| Mar high C = 29

| Mar low C = 21

| Apr high C = 31

| Apr low C = 22

| May high C = 31

| May low C = 24

| Jun high C = 30

| Jun low C = 24

| Jul high C = 30

| Jul low C = 24

| Aug high C = 30

| Aug low C = 24

| Sep high C = 29

| Sep low C = 23

| Oct high C = 29

| Oct low C = 23

| Nov high C = 28

| Nov low C = 22

| Dec high C = 27

| Dec low C = 21

| Jan precipitation mm = 21

| Feb precipitation mm = 18

| Mar precipitation mm = 16

| Apr precipitation mm = 18

| May precipitation mm = 65

| Jun precipitation mm = 102

| Jul precipitation mm = 112

| Aug precipitation mm = 95

| Sep precipitation mm = 91

| Oct precipitation mm = 99

| Nov precipitation mm = 58

| Dec precipitation mm = 49

| Jan rain days = 6.8

| Feb rain days = 5.2

| Mar rain days = 6.1

| Apr rain days = 7.1

| May rain days = 16.1

| Jun rain days = 20.2

| Jul rain days = 22.6

| Aug rain days = 21.6

| Sep rain days = 20.9

| Oct rain days = 16.0

| Nov rain days = 9.0

| Dec rain days = 9.3

| source 1 = Meteoblue (modeled/calculated data, not measured locally)

{{cite web

| url = https://www.meteoblue.com/en/weather/forecast/modelclimate/dingalan_philippines_1714743

| title = Dingalan, Aurora: Average Temperatures and Rainfall

| publisher = Meteoblue

| access-date = 27 December 2018}}

| date = 27 December 2018

}}

Demographics

{{Philippine Census

| align= left

| title= Population census of {{PH wikidata|name}}

| 1903 =

| 1918 =

| 1939 =

| 1948 =

| 1960 = {{PH census population|1960}}

| 1970 = {{PH census population|1970}}

| 1975 = {{PH census population|1975}}

| 1980 = {{PH census population|1980}}

| 1990 = {{PH census population|1990}}

| 1995 = {{PH census population|1995}}

| 2000 = {{PH census population|2000}}

| 2007 = {{PH census population|2007}}

| 2010 = {{PH census population|2010}}

| 2015 = {{PH census population|2015}}

| 2020 = {{PH census population|2020}}

| 2025 =

| 2030 =

| footnote= Source: Philippine Statistics Authority{{PH census|2015}}{{PH census|2010}}{{PH census|2007}}{{LWUA population data}}

}}

In the 2020 census, Dingalan had a population of 27,878.{{PH census|current}} The population density was {{convert|{{sigfig|27,878/304.55|2}}|PD/km2}}.

Economy

Education

The Dingalan 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.{{Cite web |date=January 15, 2021 |title=Masterlist of Schools |url=https://www.deped.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/SY-2020-2021-Masterlist-of-Schools-Address-only-1-1.pdf |access-date=May 16, 2025 |website=Department of Education}}