The City of Dagupan (Pangasinan: Ciudad na Dagupan) is a first class city in the Philippines. It is an independent component city of the province of Pangasinan. According to the latest census, Dagupan City has a population of 149,554 people in 25,921 households. Located on Lingayen Gulf on the island of Luzon, Dagupan is the commercial and financial center north of Manila. Also, Dagupan is the center of medical services, media and communication in Northern Luzon. The city is known as the bangus (milkfish) capital of the Philippines because of its abundance of fresh bangus. The city’s name is derived from pandaragupan in the local Pangasinan language meaning ‘gathering place’ as the city has been a regional market center for centuries.
Geography
Dagupan City covers a total land area of 4,008 hectares. However, the digitized cadastral maps reveal that the sum of the lands within Dagupan’s boundaries is 4,446 hectares, bounded by the Lingayen Gulf in the north, San Fabian in the northeast, Mangaldan in the east, Calasiao in the south and Binmaley in the west. Land use is primarily for Agriculture with 35.98% of the total land area, fishpond, cropland, residential with 22.88%; others uses are commercial, industrial, institutional, government private, parks, and roads.
Dagupan City is politically subdivided into 31 barangays.
Barangay Population(2007)
Bacayao Norte 2176
Bacayao Sur 2011
Barangay I 741
Barangay II 2158
Barangay IV 985
Bolosan 3187
Bonuan Binloc 7507
Bonuan Boquig 10852
Bonuan Gueset 20335
Calmay 5386
Carael 4368
Caranglaan 7848
Herrero-Perez East 2241
Lasip Chico 774
Lasip Grande 2705
Lomboy 1304
Lucao 7974
Malued 9798
Mamalingling 1280
Mangin 3611
Mayombo 6566
Pantal 16835
Poblacion Oeste 4231
Pogo Chico 4852
Pogo Grande 2243
Pugaro Suit 4063
Salapingao 2466
Salisay 2191
Tambac 2064
Tapuac 4166
Tebeng 2636
Dagupan has a high concentration of 57 banks and 44 financial institutions that support its status as the major trading and commercial center in North Luzon[citation needed]. It has several malls, supermarkets and multi-national food chains.
Dagupan was identified in 2008 as one of the country’s most competitive small-sized cities for doing business in an annual survey conducted by the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) Policy Center. It was ranked based on its respective costs of doing business; the dynamism of the local economies; human resources and training; infrastructure; the responsiveness of the local government units to business’ needs; and the quality of life of its inhabitants. The annual survey is a research undertaking of the AIM Policy Center that seeks to identify the best cities in the country in which to live, work and operate a business.
Economy
Dagupan have been named as one the most competitive cities outside Metro Manila in the Philippine Cities Competitiveness Ranking Project 2009 (PCCRP) of the Asian Institute of Management Policy Center. The study, which was launched Monday in Pasay City, used six criteria in ranking the 29 cities: dynamism of local economy, responsiveness of the LGUs to business, infrastructure, quality of life, and cost of doing business and human resource and training.Dagupan City is the most competitive among the emergent cities. It bested the cities of Angeles, Butuan, Cotabato, Lucena, Naga, Legaspi, Pagadian, Puerto Princesa, Ormoc, Iligan, Tagum, and San Fernando in La Union, Surigao, Tuguegarao, Tacloban and Santiago.
Dining
Filled with the aroma of various cuisines, the city contains a variety of restaurants and fast foods outlets. In Bonuan-Tondaligan area alone, there are about 30 seafood diners, which serve the famed Dagupan Bangus any way one wants it: inihaw (roasted/broiled), sinigang, kilawen and daing. For those with adventurous palate, they can try the local favorites “pigar-pigar” in Galvan Street and “kaleskes” in Herrero-Perez.
Nightlife
The city’s disco houses, clubs, music bars, video lounge and concert halls offer diverse recreation.
