THE HUNDRED ISLANDS NATIONAL PARK:
The Hundred Islands National Park (Pangasinan: Kapulo-puloan or Taytay-Bakes) is a national park in the Philippines. The protected area is located in the city of Alaminos, in the province of Pangasinan in northern Philippines. The islands, totaling 124 at low tide and 123 at high tide, are scattered in Lingayen Gulf covering an area of 16.76 square kilometres (6.
47 sq mi). Only three of them have been developed for tourism: Governor Island, Quezon Island, and Children's Island. The Lucap wharf in Alaminos, the entrance to the National Park, is about 240 kilometres (150 mi) north of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. ALAMINOS, PANGASINAN:
Alaminos, officially the City of Alaminos (Pangasinan: Ciudad na Alaminos), is a fourth class city in the province of Pangasinan, Philippines. It is bounded by the municipalities of Sual, Bani, and Mabini. Hundred Islands National Park, a tourism destination composed of 123 small islands, is located off the coast of Barangay Lucap, Alaminos City. The Communist Party of the Philippines was founded by Jose Maria Sison in the remote barangay of Dulacac on December 26, 1968. Alaminos was badly hit in May 2009 by Typhoon Emong which damaged a lot of houses in the city, including the roof of the main church. Due to this, several organizations had requested donations and aid to help in restoring the town back to its former self. The Alaminos Airport is currently being built near the city to service the local area. PANGASINAN PROVINCE:
Pangasinan is a province of the Philippines. Its official language is Pangasinan or Pangasinense and its provincial capital is Lingayen. Pangasinan is located on the western area of the island of Luzon along the Lingayen Gulf and South China Sea. It has a total land area of 5,451.01 square kilometres (2,104.65 sq mi). According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 2,779,862 people. The official number of registered voters in Pangasinan is 1,651,814. Pangasinan is the name for the province, the people, and the primary language spoken in the province. Indigenous Pangasinan speakers are estimated to number at least 1.5 million. The Pangasinan language is one of the officially recognized regional languages in the Philippines. Pangasinan is spoken as a second-language by many of the ethnic minorities in Pangasinan. The minority ethnic groups in Pangasinan are the Bolinao and Tagalog. The name Pangasinan means "place for salt" or "place of salt-making"; it is derived from the prefix pang, meaning "for", the root word asin, meaning "salt”, and suffix an, signifying "location". At present it is pronounced Paŋgasinan. The province is a major producer of salt in the Philippines. Its major products include "bagoong" ("salted-fish") and "aramang" ("salted-shrimp"). Pangasinan was founded by Austronesian-speakers who called themselves Anakbanwa by at least 2500 BC. A kingdom called Luyag na Kaboloan, which expanded to incorporate much of northwestern Luzon, existed in Pangasinan before the Spanish conquest that began in the 16th century. The ancient Pangasinan people were skilled navigators and the maritime trade network that once flourished in ancient Southeast Asia connected Pangasinan with other peoples of Southeast Asia, India, China, and the Pacific. The ancient kingdom of Luyag na Kaboloan was in fact mentioned in Chinese and Indian records as being an important kingdom on ancient trade routes. Popular tourist attractions in Pangasinan include the Hundred Islands National Park and the white-sand beaches of Bolinao and Dasol. Dagupan City is known for its Bangus Festival ("Milkfish Festival"). Pangasinan is also known for its delicious mangoes and ceramic oven-baked Calasiao p**o ("rice muffin").. Pangasinan occupies a strategic geo-political position in the central plain of Luzon, known as the rice granary of the Philippines. Pangasinan has been described as a gateway to northern Luzon and as the heartland of the Philippines.
