Paombong ( or ), officially the Municipality of Paombong (), is a municipality in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the , it has a population of people.
Legend has it that the name Paombong was taken from the Tagalog word bumbóng or tukil, a long bamboo tube used for collecting nipa sap. The practice of extracting nipa sap bumbóng made the town known as the "town with many bumbóng."
It is claimed that Spaniards who first visited the place were so amused with the bumbóng that, after learning its name from the natives, they named the town after the container, a name which later evolved to Paombong.
Paombong was originally one of the visitas (subsidiary missionary station) of Malolos, mentioned in Chapter XXXVI of Conquistas de Las Islas libro segundo by Fray Gaspar de San AgustÃÂn, OSA. In a meeting held in Tondo convento, the Provincial Chapter created the Town of Malolos in June 1580 with Fray Matheo de Mendoza, OSA as its first minister, together with barrios of Mambog under the patronage of Saint Roch, Matimbo under the Holy Cross, and Paombong under Saint James the Apostle. In 1619, Augustinians already established the Paombong convento but the town was administered by the justice of friars from Malolos. Paombong was not as wealthy as its neighbours Malolos and Hagonoy, and it did not sustain its township leading to its return to the status of barrio and being a visita in 1638.
In 1639, Paombong was turned over to the town of Calumpit from its mother town of Malolos and in 1649 it was returned again to Malolos. On November 28, 1650, it was finally given its own civil government, making Paombong a full township with Don AgustÃÂn Mananghaya as its first gobernadorcillo.
In the middle of the 1750s, Paombong grew into a modest community from what was once cogon-grown land inhabited by a handful of Tagalogs.
During the Philippine Revolution against the Spanish Empire, Paombong's coastal area, more specifically, Barangays Masukol and Binakod, played a significant role in Philippine history being known battlefields between Spanish soldiers and Katipuneros. Maloleño General Isidoro "Matanglawin" Torres used to retreat with his troops to Barangay Masukol and Barangay Binakod to avoid the advancing Spanish forces. In the latter village, he organized the Katipunan militia of Paombong.
It is from these skirmishes that Barangays Binakod and Masukol earned their present names. In one encounter, Binakod was where the enemies where "fenced in" (binakuran) and it was in Masukol where they were eventually "cornered" (nasukol) and defeated.
In 1898, the first civilian in the person of Don Victorio de León headed the Municipal Government until 1900. The seat of the local government was first established on the ground floor of Paombong ChurchâÂÂs clergy house, then popularly called the "zaguán". It was later transferred to the house of Numerino Lindayag located in Población, then was transferred to the location of the present Rural Health Center I. Eventually it was moved to the place where it is presently located which since has been the seat of the Municipal Government since then. In 1941, the head of the Municipal Government was later on called Municipal Mayor.
Paombong is situated south-west of the province of Bulacan, with a total land area of . It is bounded by the municipality of Calumpit to the north, Malolos to the east, municipality of Hagonoy to the west, and the Manila Bay to the south. The municipality is approximately from Metro Manila, it is a by-pass town and can be accessed via North Luzon Expressway and MacArthur Highway.
Paombong is politically subdivided into 14 barangays (6 urban, 8 rural), as shown below. These barangays are headed by elected officials: Barangay Captain, Barangay Council, whose members are called Barangay Councilors. All are elected every three years. Each barangay consists of 7 puroks and some have sitios.
In the 2020 census, the population of Paombong, Bulacan, was 55,696 people, with a density of .
Public land transport in Paombong is served by provincial buses, Jeepneys, for-hire Tricycles, Pedicabs, and UV Express AUVs. Maritime transport is served by motorboats. Both First North Luzon Transit and Baliwag Transit buses pass through the municipality.
There is one hospital operating in Paombong and a main rural health care center unit. The San Pascual Baylon Maternity Hospital, situated at Barangay Santo Niño that offers secondary healthcare services. And the main rural health care center is one of the district rural health center owned and controlled by the Provincial Government of Bulacan. It offers primary healthcare services which also includes laboratory and dental and maternity services.
Just as the national government, the municipal government is divided into three branches: executive, legislative and judiciary. The judicial branch is administered solely by the Supreme Court of the Philippines. The LGUs have control of the executive and legislative branch.
The executive branch is composed of the mayor and the barangay captain for the barangays. The legislative branch is composed of the Sangguniang Bayan (town assembly), Sangguniang Barangay (barangay council), and the Sangguniang Kabataan for the youth sector.
The seat of Government is vested upon the Mayor and other elected officers who hold office at the Town hall. The Sanguniang Bayan is the center of legislation.
The following officials were elected on May 9, 2022, to serve a three-year term.
The Paombong Schools District Office governs all educational institutions within the municipality. It oversees the management and operations of all private and public, from primary to secondary schools.