Aside from being the Bangus Capital of the country, Pangasinan is also considered as the Salt Capital of the Philippines. In fact, the province got its name from the vernacular "Pag-asinan", meaning the place to make salt. Pangasinan is the country's 15th largest in area, the 5th largest in population and the 6th largest in income (see comparison). It is bounded on the north by the Lingayen Gulf and the provinces La Union and Benguet, on the west by the Luzon Sea, on the south by the provinces of Zambales, Tarlac, and Nueva Ecija, on the East by the Cordillera mountain ranges and the province of Nueva Vizcaya. Except for the small mountainous northeastern and southwestern part, the province's terrain is largely flat. Climate is Type I - dry from November to April and wet during the rest of the year.

Pangasinan Provincial Capitol

The population is composed of Pangasinenses, Ilocanos, Kapampangans, and a few Tagalogs and Igorots.

1. Fidel V. Ramos - President, cabinet Member, Chief of Staff
2. Eugenio Perez - Speaker of the Philippine House of Representative (1946 - 1953)
3. Jose de Venecia - Congressman, Speaker of the House
4. Oscar Orbos - Congressman, Secretary, Governor, TV host
5. Manuel V. Moran - Supreme Court Chief Justice (1945 - 1951)
6. Victorio C. Edades - 1976 National Artist for visual arts (painting)
7. Carmen C. Velasquez - 1983 National Artist
8. F. Sionil Jose - 2001 National Artist
9. Salvador F. Bernal - 2001 National Artist
10. Carmen C. Velasquez - 1983 National Scientist in biology (parasitology)
11. Perla Dizon Santos-Ocampo - 2010 National Scientist in Pediatric Medicine
12. Juan Dela Cruz Palaris - Leader of a revolt against the Spaniards (1762-1765)

Agricultural production of Pangasinan in 2007 are as follows (figure in thousand metric tons, rank among 79 provinces)

Animal inventory of Pangasinan in 2007 are as follows (figure in thousand, rank among 79 provinces)

A large coal-fired power plant is located in Sual town. A plan to extend the Subic-Clark-Tarlac expressway up to Dagupan City is underway. Large manufacturing plants in the province include cement, machine parts, feedmills, and beverages. Smaller factories includes rice milling, brick making, and furniture making. The San Roque Dam in San Manuel provides 365 megawatts of electricitry and promises to irrigate a total of 32 thousand hectares of farmlands. During the presidency of Fidel V. Ramos, a car factory was put up but it has since stopped operation. As of 2007, there were 208 bank branches serving the people of Pangasinan with total deposits of 36.8 billion pesos.

As a leading agricultural province, Pangasinan offers a lot of opportunities in agribusiness especially in food processing such as fruit and vegetable preservation, meat and fish processing, milk production, and fertilizer manufacturing. A modern cold storage terminal should be put up. Production of clothing and other consumer items such as detergents and personal care is viable considering the large market in Central and Northern Luzon and even for export. Real estate such as housing and commercial buildings can prove to be profitable ventures.

1. Hundred Islands National Park
2. Our Lady of Manaoag Shrine - a pilgrimage site
3. Cape Bolinao Lighthouse - rises 351 feet above sea level atop Punta Piedra Point
4. Mabini Caves
5. Veterans Park and Capitol Compound in Lingayen
6. Beaches in San Fabian

Capitol photo credit to victorvillanueva.net

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