There are three conflicting origins of the name “Mangaldan”. the first version is about a Spanish missionary who asked the locals about the name of the settlement. One local thought that the Spanish missionary was asking for water so he replied “manga-alay-adan” which means “Adan is fetching”. The second tale implies that Mangaldan got its name from its first native chief “Babaldan”. the last story is about a towering mango tree at the center of the town laden with fruits. The locals picked the free fruits but as the number of mango fruits dwindle, the locals scramble to gather the remaining fruits resulting in a quarrel of “man-nga-ngal-ngalan”.
Mangaldan is the third oldest town in the Province of Pangasinan becoming a Spanish encomienda in 1591. the town was a former “visita” of Calasiao until the Dominicans established it as vicarite to honor St. Thomas Aquinas on June 2, 1600.
The municipality of Mangaldan is part of the fourth congressional district. It is 23 kilometers from the provincial capital Lingayen. the town has a land area of 4,847 hectares and a population of 113,185 people according to the 2020 census.
Mangaldan is known as the producer of the best-tasting ‘pindang’ or tapa (thin slices of dried and cured carabao meat). The festival was launched in 2012 as one of the highlights of the town fiesta that was intended to give honor to the local meat vendors and to give credit to the community’s meat industry as the main livelihood of the people.
Aside from pindang, the town also boasts of its peanut brittle product made popular by Romana de Vera, a Pangasinense who pioneered the creation of an original recipe and started her family business in 1958. In 2011, the product brand diversified and now selling peanut ‘adobo’ brittle, greaseless peanut, ube halaya, pastillas, and many more. The marketability of the products continuously soared over the years and has developed into a household name to date.
Officials
Mayor
Bona Fe Parayno
Vice Mayor
Mark Stephen Mejia
Councilors
Lovely Lian Maramba
Joselito Quinto
Aldrin Soriano
Fernando Juan Cabrera
Joseph Emmanuel Cera
Juvy Frialde
Christopher Romero
Joel Meneses
