The origins of the Municipality of Binmaley are in rooted in legend .The most popular says
that two brothers, both heirs to a Lingayen Datu's throne, engaged into a dispute as to who should rule
between them as they has a keen rivalry resulting from their businesses in salt
making, fish processing (the manufacture of bagoong
or fish paste and daing or dried fish), and gold
artifacts, which they traded with the Chinese, Arabs and other oriental traders
frequenting the area. The younger of them felt cheated and complained to his
brother who ordered him to leave Lingayen. He did so
in rage with his followers, went eastward, and transformed small fishing
community from its lethargic existence to a bustling entrepot
of trade and industry that soon rivaled his erstwhile hometown. His boundless
energy and vision as well as his “business acumen, leadership, charming
personality, and honest dealings “served him well in drawing new members
(i.e. businessman, traders, fisherman, artisans, etc.) to the community. The
center was called Binmaley, which in Pangasinan means, “a place that became a town".
Another popular legend has it that a magnanimous
woman whom the town folk called Binamin founded the
municipality. She had no known beginnings and was said to the very first
inhabitants of the town>She was apparently accepted as a priestess and had a
big shelter constructed where she and her flock worshipped their idols and
where strangers dropped in occasionally for food and lodging. Grateful travelers , thus spread the news of her kindness and the
growing community eventually made her their leader, their loving
grandmother-their "Binamin". Some claim
that the term is actually the abbreviated form of the phrase "Bai-min-amin" which means "our grandmother"
A third legend says that Binmaley,
derived its name from the Pangasinan phrase "nanmaliw ya baley",
meaning a place or territory that has been converted into a town because it is
believed that the municipality was formerly a part of the town of Binalatongan now known as San Carlos City.
No records are extant as to when the first huts in
the community were erected. Binmaley was thriving
when a certain Very Revered Father Luis Gandullo
arrived from Binalatongan (now
The municipality covers a land
area of 6,120 hectares which is about 1.14% of the total
provincial area. More than half of Binmaley is
submerged, constituted by swamps and fishponds, especially along the banks of
the
Binmaley
has thirty-three(33) barangays
including the Poblacion. The three largest barangays are Pototan(386.02 hectares or 6.31% of total),Basing(386.99 hectares
or 6.03% of total) and Balagan(352.97 hectares or
5.32% of total). the smallest barangay
in terms of land area is Calit with only 56.73
hectares of roughly less than 1% of the total municipal lands.
Binmaley
is relatively flat compared to other municipalities of Pangasinan.
It is leveled with a slope from 0 to 3 percent, which indicates level to nearly
level lands. These are considered useful for paddy rice culture or for other
crops suitable to the local soil and climatic conditions. Binmaley's
fishponds are classified under this type of slope.
Two distinct seasons:
Average Temperature - 27º Celsius
Average Relative Humidity - 77.83%
5 Soil Type
Binmaley
is known for its large bodies of water, its greatest natural resource and, hence, the focal point of its economic development.
Predominantly a fishing community, the municipality is dubbed as the fishbowl
of the province. Milkfish (Bangus) feeds Binmaley folk, literally and figuratively. It is the
municipality's primary product raised in the ponds carved out of the swamps and
natural pools that make up nearly of the municipality's land area. Bangus has raised the economic status of Binmaley above par compared to the other 46 municipality of
Pangasinan, an achievement that once earned the
sobriquet "Bangus Queen of the
Several tributaries and branches
of the Agno river, which
feed a considerable number of fishponds, also crisscross the municipality. The
largest of these is the
Other
fishermen engage themselves in offshore fishing in
Out
of the total land area of 6,120 hectares,3,291
hectares(53%) are devoted to fishponds. Of this are, 3,080 hectares are
brackish water fishponds. There are 2,431 registered fishpond operators in Binmaley, which is the biggest producer of Bangus in the entire
The fishing industry in the
municipality is divided into 4 sub-industries each distinct from the other
these are (1) Inland Fishpond (2) Offshore (Municipal) fishing Operations (3)
Oyster Bed Operations and (4) Operation of Fishing Apparatus(sky-lab, lagao, trap nets, etc.).
There are 3,028.99 hectares of
brackish fishpond and 93.69 hectares of freshwater fishponds in the
municipality. Of the total,25% are considered
"First Class Fishponds". These fishponds along the Agno have greater land use intensity than the 1,088 hectares(35% of total)"Second Class fishponds" and
the 1,232 hectares(40% of total) of fishponds in the "Third Class"
category.
Bangus
is the principal specie of fish popularly and profitably raised in around3,080.36 hectares of fishponds. Prawn is generally
poly-cultured with Bangus, Siganid
and Tilapia are the other stocks popularly raise by bangus fishpond operators. Other marine species like
mullets, crabs, and shrimp enter the ponds during high tide and thrive together
with the principal stocks until these are harvested.
The
Oyster raising
is another source of income and livelihood for the people of Binmaley. An aggregate area of 14.27 hectares is devoted to
it in 19 barangays where 74 operators are actively
engaged. The oyster beds are located along the
Next to fishing, agriculture is
the secondary source of livelihood of the people in the municipality. Agricultural
land covers an appropriate area of 1,996.2 hectares or 32.16% of the municipal
land area. Of this ,some 1,377 hectares are actually
devoted to the production of rice and some 29.7 hectares to various crops such
as corn , legumes, vegetables, and root crops both for household consumption
with a little surplus for commercial purposes. Barangay
Papagueyan has the largest area of tillable soil with
122 hectares of un-irrigated rice lands with an additional 30 hectares of
irrigated land. Barangay Parayao
and Basing follow with 111 and 96 hectares of un-irrigated lands, respectively.
Binmaley
lies in the center of the long coastal seaboard of
The municipal Hall is one of the
oldest "presidencia" restored to its
original grandeur and beauty.
The Our Lady of the
The
The traditional Pista'y Dayat celebrated on the
first of May is by far the biggest activity held in the area. This celebration,
coinciding with Labor Day and held in honor of the "Lady of the
Poor", commences with a religious procession in honor of the Lady that
winds down from the Municipal Hall to the Beach area. Devotees, government
employees and flocks of visitors all participated in the religious parade.
Sports activities and competition are held after the event.
The two biggest traditional and
cultural activities Binmalenians look forward to are
the "Foundation Day of Binmaley"
and the "Feast of the Lady of the Purification" held
every February 1and 2,respectively,these celebrations
grand weeklong activities beginning in the last quarter of January. The night
of February 1 witness the culminating festivities while a high mass celebrated
by the Archbishop is held the Following day as a fitting and to the gala.