Doña Remedios Trinidad, officially the Municipality of Doña Remedios Trinidad, known by its acronym as DRT, is a 1st class municipality in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 28,656 people, making it the least populated municipality in the province.

Etymology

The town was named by Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. after Remedios Trinidad Romualdez, mother of his wife Imelda Romualdez Marcos whose family was from Baliuag, Bulacan. Marcos, having absolute authority using dictatorial powers, grabbed large swaths of lands from nearby town to create the present borders of Doña Remedios Trinidad, despite opposition. Historians have noted that Marcos named the towns to honor a person without much significant historical value, with only family ties as actual reason. Some locals have called for the changing of the town's name in honor of actual heroes from Bulacan.

History

On September 13, 1977, under martial rule, president and dictator Ferdinand Marcos issued Presidential Decree No. 1196 creating the municipality of Doña Remedios Trinidad as a personal namesake gift to his wife's family. The municipality covers seven barangays: Pulong Sampaloc and Camachile from Angat; Bayabas and Kabayunan from Norzagaray; and Talbac, Camachin and Kalawakan from San Miguel.

Geography

Doña Remedios Trinidad is the largest municipality in Bulacan, occupying almost 1/3 of the total land area of the province. It lies on the southern edge of the Sierra Madre mountain range, and partially embraces three major conservation areas: the Angat Watershed Forest Reserve, Biak-na-Bato National Park, and Doña Remedios–General Tinio Watershed Forest Reserve, comprising 327.3 km2 of alienable and disposable public land. Doña Remedios Trinidad is bordered by Norzagaray, Bulacan to the south; by General Nakar, Quezon and Dingalan, Aurora to the east; San Rafael, Angat, San Ildefonso, and San Miguel to the west; and Gapan and General Tinio, Nueva Ecija to the north.

Topography

List of highest peaks in Doña Remedios Trinidad by elevation:

Waterfalls

List of waterfalls in Dona Remedios Trinidad:

Rivers

Barangays

Doña Remedios Trinidad is politically subdivided into 8 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Doña Remedios Trinidad was 28,656 people, with a density of undefined PD/km2. Doña Remedios Trinidad is the least populated of all the municipalities and cities of Bulacan, with less than one percent of the province's population.

Languages

The municipality, along with two other municipalities (San Miguel and Norzagaray) and one city (San Jose del Monte) of Bulacan, is the homeland of the Alta Kabulowan, the first inhabitants of Bulacan, whose language is also called Alta Kabulowan. Their language is currently endangered and is in dire need of local government intervention. The majority of residents in the town are native speakers of the Tagalog language.

Economy

Municipality of Doña Remedios Trinidad is a mainly agricultural town. Agricultural products, such as pineapples, are the main source of income of the town and its residents. On December 12, 2007, the Province of Bulacan and the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) signed an agreement for the development of an P11-billion bulk water supply project. Ayala-owned Manila Water Co. Inc. will implement the project. MWSS and Manila Water will provide a financial package of an infrastructure grant, a P10-million development assistance and a P10-million royalty fee to the towns of Norzagaray and Doña Remedios Trinidad, which will host the water supply project.

Education

One of the main secondary schools in DRT is the Laura De Leon Halili High School, located in Barangay Pulong Sampaloc. Most of the students in this school come from three barangays of DRT (Pulong Sampaloc, Camachile, and Bayabas) and some from the adjacent barangay of Banaban in Angat. The San Ildefonso-based Bulacan Agricultural State College opened a branch campus as Bulacan Agricultural State College-DRT located in Barangay Sapang Bulak.

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