Floridablanca, officially the Municipality of Floridablanca (; ) is a municipality in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the , it has a population of people.
The town was initially named San José de Calampaui, in honour of its patron, Saint Joseph. Floridablanca itself is derived from Spanish and translates to "white flower,â with two versions of the name's origin.
One version suggest that the town was named in honor of José MarÃÂa de Castillejo y Moñino, 3rd Count of Floridablanca (25 February 1826 â 1892), who inherited the title of Condado de Floridablanca from the 2nd holder, his aunt MarÃÂa Vicenta Moñino y Pontejos, through his mother, MarÃÂa Ana. MarÃÂa Vicenta died in 1867 and thus José inherited the title; 1867 was also the year the town was renamed "Floridablanca". The rest of MarÃÂa Vicenta's titles devolved to her husband's family, the Marquesado de Miraflores, whose present holder married the granddaughter of President Elpidio Quirino. The Moñino family is popularly remembered as reformists against abuses by the Church: the clan patriarch, the first count also named José Moñino, secured from Pope Clement XIII the Suppression of the Society of Jesus in the reign of King Charles III of Spain, in 1767, exactly a hundred years before the foundation of the town. The expulsion of the friars in 1867 from the Calampaui monastery and renaming of the estate to Floridablanca thus made sense.
Another version of more credible origin suggests that the town was named after the white flowers of a pandacaqui plant (Tabernaemontana pandacaqui) that flourished in the area. Florida means "flower" and blanca means "white".
Floridablanca was founded in 1823 as Hacienda de San Jose de Caumpaui at the site of a monastery. In 1867, it was renamed to Pueblo de Floridablanca.
In the 1920s, the Pampanga Sugar Mill was built at Del Carmen in the 1920s. The area was the site of military bases of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and the Philippine Constabulary from 1942 to 1946. The Philippine Air Force established Basa Air Base at a former American military airfield in 1947.
In 1991, the Santo Nino enshrined in San Jose Obrero parish was stolen. Within two months or so, Mount Pinatubo erupted. Sand and ash and lahar fell into Floridablanca, killing hundreds and destroyed the rice paddies. Superstitions by the elders of the town exist that the theft of the statue resulted in such unimaginable disaster.
In 2024, the Santo Nino was rediscovered after almost 22 years. The Foronda family assisted in raising funds for its eventual return to San Jose Obrero parish.
Floridablanca is located on the western part of Pampanga along the Zambales Mountains and is bounded by the municipalities of Porac on the north, Lubao on the south, Guagua on the east, and Dinalupihan on the west. It is from the city of San Fernando, from Manila, from Balanga, and from Porac.
The town is at an elevation of above sea level. Floridablanca is north of Dinalupihan via Dinalupihan-Floridablanca Access Road at the Bataan-Pampanga boundary line.
With an area of , it is the third largest municipality in the province, after Porac and Candaba.
Floridablanca is politically subdivided into 33 barangays, as shown below. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.
In the 2024 census, the population of Floridablanca was 146,095 people, with a density of .
Floridablanca is the second largest producer of rice in the province. It produces more than enough rice to meet its needs resulting in a surplus. In 1999, only 37.76% of its produce was used for its own rice requirement resulting in a surplus of 65.24% equivalent to 17,553 metric tons.
The Bank of Florida, formerly Rural Bank of Floridablanca, Inc. was first established on February 10, 1964, with its first branch in Floridablanca, as one of the six subsidiaries of House of David Group headed by Ladislao Sibal-David, founder and chair. Its executive office, the BOF Corporate Center is located along Jose Abad Santos Avenue, San Jose, City of San Fernando, Pampanga.
Like other towns in the Philippines, Floridablanca is governed by a mayor and vice mayor who are elected to three-year terms. The mayor is the executive head and leads the town's departments in executing the ordinances and improving public services. The vice mayor heads a legislative council (Sangguniang Bayan) consisting of councilors from the Barangays of Barrios.
Capitan Municipal
Municipal Presidents
Aside from Basa Air Base, the town has cultural treasures and interesting points.
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. These are the Floridablanca East Schools District Office, and Floridablanca West Schools District Office.