LINGAYEN, Pangasinan – After a thorough study, the Research and Study Committee on Pangasinan’s Charter Date chaired by lawyer Gonzalo T. Duque has recommended April 5, 1580 as the founding date of the province.

This developed after the group came up with its report following several meetings and thorough research from the records of the National Library, National Archives, and artifacts were conducted by the committee following its creation last year by Pangasinan Gov. Amado T. Espino Jr.

Earlier, Espino said that Pangasinenses deserve to know their point of origin and the establishment of such facts will provide a more solid foundation for the identity of the province.

Based on research, the committee came up with five significant data which date back to the Ming Dynasty when Luzon began to be referred to as Lu-sung, and Fang-chia-chi-lan as Pangasinan.

Tribute missions to Lu-sung (Luzon) were conducted in 1372 and 1410 while the chiefs of Fang-chia-chi-lan (Pangasinan) brought tribute in 1406 and 1412.

These, however, do not conclusively indicate Pangasinan’s being a political unit since contacts were limited basically to trade.

Another fact came from the writings of the renowned historian, Dr. Rosario Mendoza Cortez, where she wrote that “Pangasinan was among those organized into alcaldias mayors in 1580.”

Cortez cited Miguel de Loarca’s Relacion de las Islas Filipinas in 1582 and Bishop Domingo Salazar’s confirmation in his chronicle of 1588, “that Pangasinan was among the seven well-populated provinces of Luzon which had an alcalde mayor before 1856.”

The National Heritage Institute (NHI), Atang the Philippines: Land and People, affirmed that Pangasinan was one of the provinces created by Governor-General Ronquillo de Penalosa in 1580 with Don Pedro Manrique appointed as the alcalde mayor.

Alcalde mayor then is defined as “head of province” or a region in colonial Philippines with judicial function as that of a provincial governor. Despite the fact, there are no available documents as to the exact date.

Another gathered fact is that the province was founded during the American regime through Act No. 86 on February 16, 1901 entitled “An Act Extending the Provisions of the Provincial Government Act to the Province of Pangasinan.”

Records, however, show that the province was organized and already existed as a province prior to the American regime.