Victoria, officially the Municipality of Victoria (Ilocano: Ili ti Victoria; Kapampangan: Balen ning Victoria, Tagalog: Bayan ng Victoria), is a municipality in the province of Tarlac, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 69,370 people.[5]
The establishment of Victoria as a community may be traced back in the mid-1800s when the Spanish regime started to expand north from Manila. It almost happened at the same time when Porac and Floridablanca (now part of Pampanga) and Tarlac (now Tarlac City) were formed. In the mid-1800s people started to settle around the swamp or wetland in search for a place where food is abundant. By 1849, houses and pockets of communities were deriving subsistence from the wetland. The biggest sitio was Namitinan, which became part of the earliest barrio, called San Vicente de Canarum, which was formed in 1852.
Not until the signing of the decree by the Spanish Governor General Manuel Crespo on March 28, 1855, that barrio San Vicente de Canarum was separated from Tarlac to form an independent pueblo named Victoria. The name was used to highlight the victorious battle of the faithful followers of Queen Isabela II of Spain over their European enemies.
Traces of its Spanish history may still be seen in the well preserved municipal building, several old houses depicting Spanish architecture and various edifices that were built more than a hundred years ago.
Town center fire
A picture of the incident.
On December 13, 2024, around 6:00 in the evening, a fire erupted in a bakery near the town market.[6] The fire lasted for an hour and burnt down an ancestral home. It required more firetrucks from Tarlac City to be put out. As of now, the cause of the fire is unknown and only one casualty has been recorded.
Geography
Victoria lies between 1"42’ north latitude and 120º35’ and 120"45 east longitude. It is bounded by Tarlac City to the southwest; the municipalities of Pura, Gerona, and La Paz to the northwest; and, the province of Nueva Ecija to the east. The municipality has a total land area of 11,150 hectares, of which a large portion is used for agricultural activities.
Victoria is 15 kilometres (9.3mi) from Tarlac City and 139 kilometres (86mi) from Manila.
Barangays
Victoria is politically subdivided into 26 barangays, as shown below.[7]
In the 2020 census, the population of Victoria, Tarlac, was 69,370 people,[14] with a density of 620 inhabitants per square kilometre or 1,600 inhabitants per square mile.
Victoria Industrial Park, established in 2024, is a Philippine special economic zone comprising 297 hectares (730 acres) located in Barangay Baculong. It was created on July 4, 2024 by Proclamation No. 623 pursuant to Republic Act No. 7916 (the Special Economic Zone Act of 1995). The park will be evaluated by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) through engineering and feasibility studies.[23][24]
Education
There are two schools district offices which govern all educational institutions within the municipality. They oversee the management and operations of all private and public, from primary to secondary schools.[25] These are Victoria East Schools District Office, and Victoria West Schools District Office.
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