Gumi, Lubao, Pampanga

A beautiful morning at a fish pond.

SAN JOSE GUMI, LUBAO, PAMPANGA

San Jose Gumi is one of the 44 Barangays of Lubao, Pampanga. 

Lubao is a first class municipality in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 160,838 people. It is bounded by the municipalities of Guagua on the north, Sasmuan on the east, Floridablanca on the west and Orani, Bataan on the south.

Located at the south-western part of Pampanga, it is noted for rice, sugar cane, fish, and sampaguita.

The name Lubao was derived from the indigenous word “lubo” which means low. “Lubo” is characteristically muddy and flooded; later, the term evolved into “lubao,” which is the town’s present name. The Austronesian word is associated with the low or depressed elevation of the town. Hence, Lubao is synonymous to its ancient name Baba.

The Parish of Saint Augustine celebrated its 440th Founding Anniversary on May 5, 2012 with the launching of the 1st Sampaguita Festival; participated by the six parishes of Lubao. Parish of St. Augustine de Hippo bagged the Over-All Champion trophy.

2nd Sampaguita Festival was held on May 5, 2013 participated by the 10 secondary public schools of Lubao. San Vicente National High School emerged as the Over-All Champion of the festival.

The 3rd Sampaguita Festival was celebrated on May 4, 2014 and participated by the 7 clustered barangays of Lubao. Cluster 6 (Cluster Malagu - Barangay Sto. Domingo, San Miguel, Concepcion, San Francisco, San Vicente, San Antonio and San Jose Apunan) was the Over-All Champion of the festival.

The 4th Sampaguita Festival was celebrated on May 4-5, 2015 and participated by the 7 clustered barangays of Lubao. Cluster 6 (Cluster Malagu - Barangay Sto. Domingo, San Miguel, Concepcion, San Francisco, San Vicente, San Antonio and San Jose Apunan) emerged again as the Over-All Champion of the festival. Festival King and Queen Pageant and Cong Dadong Awards were launched on the 5th day of May.

For the 5th edition of Sampaguita Festival, Cluster 6 (Cluster Malagu - Barangay Sto. Domingo, San Miguel, Concepcion, San Francisco, San Vicente, San Antonio and San Jose Apunan) was declared as the Over-All Champion for 3 consecutive years. The Streetdancing, Float Parade and Free Interpretation were held on May 4, 2016 and the Cong Dadong Awards (Pres. Diosdado Macapagal Awards for Outstanding Lubenians) and the Festival King and Queen were held on May 5, 2016.

The 6th Sampaguita Festival will be held on May 1-5, 2017 with the theme "Lubao, Maslag ka king Bayung Leguan, Gelingan at Kasalpantayanan" featuring the 7 faces of Lubao (Farming, Lubao International Ballon Festival, Fishing, Lubao Bamboo Hub, Holy Cross, Bale Kubu ng Apung Dadong and Matuang Pisamban ning San Agustin)

The 1st ever Philippine International Balloon Festival was held on April 10–13, 2014 in Barangay Prado Siongco, Lubao, Pampanga. It was organized by Pilipinas International Balloon Festival, Inc. (PIBF) in cooperation with the Arts, Culture and Tourism Office of Pampanga (ACTO) with the theme "It's More Than Just Hot Air"

The 2nd Lubao International Balloon Festival was held on March 26 to 29, 2015 in Pradera Verde, Prado Siongco, Lubao, Pampanga. It was organized by Forthinker Inc. Philippines. It was touted as the biggest annual hot air balloon festival in Southeast Asia that featured more than forty (40) colorful hot air balloons from different countries all over the world, fourteen (14) of which are special shaped balloons like Darth Vader, Yoda, Humpty Dumpty and Frog.

The 3rd edition of Lubao International Balloon Festival was held on April 14–17, 2016 in Pradera Verde, Prado Siongco, Lubao, Pampanga.

April 6 to 9 2017 Lubao International Balloon and Music Festival. For the 4th year in a row, 35 balloons showered the skies of Lubao, Pampanga with their magnificent design and beautiful colors while wonderful music from international artists (Alex Aiono and Redfoo) and local artists (Sponge Cola, Gloc 9, Parokya ni Edgar, Moonstar88, Yeng Constantino and Bamboo) graced the event.

The municipal government is divided into three branches: executive, legislative and judiciary. The executive branch is composed of the mayor and the barangay captains. The legislative branch is composed of the Sangguniang Bayan (town assembly), Sangguniang Barangay (barangay council), and the Sangguniang Kabataan for the youth sector.

The Lubao Institute is in front of the Diosdado Macapagal Museum and Library which is at the back of his Bahay Kubo birthplace. Some meters from these 2 landmarks is the San Nicolas Lubao residence of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. It is the first and oldest private school in Lubao established in 1929.

The Escolastica Romero District Hospital located in San Nicolas 1st, Lubao and St. Joseph Hospital of Remedios located in Brgy. Remedios, Lubao are the prime health institutions of the town.

The parish church of San Agustin (considered one of the oldest in Pampanga - 1572) celebrated its 440th Founding Anniversary last May 5, 2012 with the launching of the 1st Sampaguita Festival; participated by the six parishes of Lubao. And the reception of the relics of St. Augustine & St. Monica. The church was declared by the National Historical Commission as Important Cultural Property last August 28, 2013 (441st Founding Anniversary).

Baybay Ilog (Sagip Ilog) is a project of Department of Tourism and Congresswoman Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

In the Baybay Ilog, Bye-bye Basura project, officials and volunteers were gathered at the Banqueruan Port in San Nicolas 1st, Lubao where the kick-off the clean-up drive started. After a brief program, the whole contingent coursed the river, checked the preparation of the communities and conducted the river clean-up. The Lubao-Sasmuan River was one of the ecosystems heavily affected when Mount Pinatubo erupted 20 years ago. And with this project coinciding with the anniversary of the said volcanic eruption and our country's independence day celebration, the people from Lubao and Sasmuan are looking at it as a liberation from the dreaded effects of the said natural disaster which, through tourism, will pave the way for the rise to progress of the said communities. Once again, the river is resuming its role, as a driving factor for the growth of a civilization.

The symbolic river clean-up dubbed as “Baybay-Ilog, Bye-bye Basura”, is the first step in preparing the people in 17 identified Barangays that will benefit from the Pampanga bayou river cruise project spearheaded by the local government units of Sasmuan and Lubao in cooperation with the Provincial government of Pampanga and the second district congressional office of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. River Clean-up held last June 12, 2011. This event mobilized more than 700 volunteers from Sasmuan and Lubao for ground and boat contingents. With the support of the Local Government Units of Sasmuan and Lubao, Community Volunteers and Social Preparation Group of Pampanga Bayou Development Project, this was really an astounding success.

The 700 volunteers camer from 13 coastal barangays boarded participating boats at the Banqueruan banca port at the town of San Nicolas, Lubao to participate in the symbolic river cleanup shortly after the sun rose on an otherwise lazy Sunday morning. Armed with cleaning tools, the residents carefully rid the river of wastes in preparation for the formal launch of the town’s newest tourist attraction – the Pampanga river bayou cruise. Prior to the river cleanup, Christian Narito, project leader of the social preparation phase of the Pampanga Wetlands Development Project, said the identified 17 barangay communities located along the cruise route had earlier been educated about the benefits tourism could bring into the communities. “People within and around the area participated in determining how will they react or be affected by any major development planned within their area of residence. We helped them identify their strengths and how they could contribute to the river cruise project,” Narito said.

Copied from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lubao,_Pampanga