Plaridel, Bulacan

On December 29, 1936, a bill was passed and approved changing the town's name from Quingua to Plaridel, in honor of the great hero of Bulacan, Marcelo H. del Pilar.

Like many towns in Bulacan, Plaridel has its niche in Philippine history as the site of the Battle of Quingua during the Philippine–American War as part of the defense of the First Philippine Republic against the Northern Campaign of the American Army. The battle, manned by Pablo Tecson—Lt. Colonel Pablo Ocampo Tecson of San Miguel, Bulacan—under Gregorio del Pilar on the side of the First Philippine Republic, led to the death of Col. John Stotsenberg of the American Army on April 23, 1899. A marker now stands at the site of the battle in barangay Agnaya.

Plaridel's history can be traced through records back to 1581 in the early years of the Spanish colonization. The Augustinian friars from the Malolos Convent discovered a vast forest in 1581 then named as Binto; this would later be known as Quingua. As per the history of the Parish of St. James the Apostle, 2001 issue, Quingua was established by the Augustinian Friars of Malolos who initially named it "Encomienda Binto" (Barangay Bintog got its name from this settlement). They built a visita (chapel of ease) and placed it under the jurisdiction of Fray Mateo Mendoza, the prior of Malolos.

The visita of Binto was elevated to an independent parish named Parroquia de Santiago Apostol, and the whole of Quingua was separated from Malolos and was created as a new pueblo on September 27, 1602.

Plaridel is traversed by the Angat and Tabang Rivers. The Angat River, otherwise known as Quingua River, flows directly to Calumpit, Bulacan, meeting the Pampanga River. The Tabang River is a distributary of the Angat River via the Bustos Dam upriver. It also crosses Plaridel and divides into two bodies of water in the middle of the present poblacion of the municipality, with one distributary flowing towards an irrigation project while another, still known as the Tabang River, flows toward Manila Bay after passing through the towns of Guiguinto and Bulakan. The water of this river was called "tabáng," referring to its fresh water.

Initially very few people lived in the town, and most were closely related. Each group had a leader called "tandis". Different groups spoke different languages; Pampango, Pangasinan, Ilocano and Tagalog. From Malolos, the friar curate frequently visited the place, preaching the Catholic faith, using the "balsa" or bamboo raft as his means of transportation upriver and back through Angat River. The missionaries decided to clear the land and establish settlements, from which they could work to bring unity to the people. They needed ideas to bring this about, so each "tandis" drew up a plan to pursue. The groups of people labored, so much so that when the priest returned seven years later, he found the area completely cleared. The priests' party inquired among the natives as to whom the credit should go, and the Pampangos exclaimed, "Quing wawa". Thereafter, every now and then, to every question of the friars the people would reply "Quing wa". As a consequence, the place had come to be referred to as Quingua.

During the presidency of Manuel L. Quezon, the then "Alcalde", or Town Mayor, of Quinga, Jose J. Mariano, took the initiative of renaming the town. Representative Pedro Magsalin, a friend of the Alcalde, sponsored the bill changing the name of the town from Quingua to Plaridel. The bill was passed by the Philippine Congress and was approved by the President, and on December 29, 1936, the town was renamed as 'Plaridel', in honor of the great hero of Bulacan, Marcelo H. del Pilar. The celebrations that followed were attended by political luminaries of the time, including Speaker Gil Montilla, Congressman Magsalin, Nicolas Buendia, Eulogio Rodriguez, Elpidio Quirino and Governor José Padilla, Sr.

Notable families from Plaridel include the Vergel de Dios family (originally from Baliuag and that donated the public market of the town), the Garcías, the Buhains, and San Diegos.

In the 2020 census, the population of Plaridel, Bulacan, was 114,432 people,[3] with a density of 3,500 inhabitants per square kilometre or 9,100 inhabitants per square mile.

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  Don Jose J. Mariano Park
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  Marcelo H. Del Pilar Statue in front of the Municipal Hall
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  Don Jose J. Mariano Statue
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  World War II Veterans Memorial Statue
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  Don Cesario Muti-purpose Gymnasium
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  Control tower of Plaridel Airport and parked planes of the aviation schools located at the airport
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  Overview of the interior of the Parish of St. James the Apostle church
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  Plaridel Wet and Dry Public Market
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  La Consolacion University General Hospital (formerly University of Regina Carmeli)
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  Walter Mart Plaridel
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  Facade of Plaridel Terminal Mall
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  Front of Novo Department Store Plaridel
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  Front of the Plaridel Municipal Slaughterhouse
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  San Miguel Arkanghel Parish Church
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  San Nicolas de Tolentino Chapel
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  Nuestra Señora del Rosario Chapel
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  Chapel of the Holy Cross
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  Saint Anthony of Padua Chapel
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  Holy Angels Quasi-parish Church
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  Entrance to Lumina Homes Plaridel

• List of renamed cities and municipalities in the Philippines

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Plaridel, Bulacan.

• Philippine Standard Geographic Code
• Philippine Census Information
• Plaridel Bulacan