Santo Tomas (Pampanga)

Santo Tomas is a fourth class municipality in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 38,062 people. As the youngest and smallest Pampanga town, Santo Tomas has a total land area of 1,467 hectares. It is a mainly agricultural and fishing community; industry includes casket manufacture, ceramics, and carpentry.Etymology and historyThe town's name is derived from Baliwag a reference to local habit of arriving late for Mass. Baliwag, whose original name was Santo Tomas, had its Patron, St. Thomas the Apostle. He is also called Doubting Thomas or Didymus and was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. The Patronal Feast is celebrated yearly on the 21st of December from the town's original founding date of 1792.On September 15, 1792, Santo Tomas was severed from its parent Minalin, Pampanga. On May 4, 1899, the town was under the U.S. Force's administration. On January 2, 1905, it was ceded to San Fernando, Pampanga until 1905. On October 12, 1951, Executive Order No. 476 created Santo Tomas and its five barrios of San Matias, San Vicente, San Bartolome, Sto. Rosario and Poblacion with the seat of government at barrio San Vicente.