Paniqui ([pɐnɪˈki]), officially the Municipality of Paniqui (Ilocano: Ili ti Paniqui; Pangasinan: Baley na Paniqui; Tagalog: Bayan ng Paniqui), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Tarlac, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 103,003 people.^[3] It is the birthplace of the 11th President of the Philippines, Corazon Aquino.

Quick Facts Country, Region ...

Paniqui
Municipality
Municipality of Paniqui
Downtown area
Flag Seal
Etymology: Paniki (Bats)
Map of Tarlac with Paniqui highlighted
OpenStreetMap
Paniqui Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 15°40′05″N 120°34′44″E
Country	Philippines
Region	Central Luzon
Province	Tarlac
District	1st district
Founded	March 13, 1712
Barangays	35 (see Barangays)
Government  [1]
• Type	Sangguniang Bayan
• Mayor	Leonardo M. Roxas
• Vice Mayor	Aida D. Roxas II
• Representative	Jaime D. Cojuangco
• Municipal Council	Members Felomina F. Bravo Christian Alfred F. Cuchapin Javerne D. Santillan Charo L. Gonzales-Oca Nestor B. Castro Rachilda Myra P. Olonan-Garcia Robert J. Torio Mary Anne B. Fernandez
• Electorate	70,802 voters (2022)
Area [2]
• Total	105.16 km2 (40.60 sq mi)
Elevation	21 m (69 ft)
Highest elevation	40 m (130 ft)
Lowest elevation	15 m (49 ft)
Population  (2020 census)[3]
• Total	103,003
• Density	980/km2 (2,500/sq mi)
• Households	24,942
Economy
• Income class	1st municipal income class
• Poverty incidence	4.58 % (2018)[4]
• Revenue	₱312,653,249.52 (2021)
• Assets	₱ 1,093 million (2020)
• Expenditure	₱ 244.3 million (2020)
• Liabilities	₱ 361 million (2020)
Service provider
• Electricity	Tarlac 1 Electric Cooperative (TARELCO 1)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	2307
PSGC	036910000
IDD : area code	+63 (0)45
Native languages	Pangasinan Ilocano Tagalog Kapampangan
Website	www.paniqui.gov.ph

Close

Paniqui is a Hispanized term derived from the Ilocano word "pampaniki" which means "bat",^[5] since the town has caves that house bats.

This section relies largely or entirely on a single source. (November 2022)

The birth of Paniqui could be traced way back in 1712 when the provincial government of Pangasinan sent a group of men south of Bayambang, Pangasinan for the expansion of the Christian faith. The pioneering group was led by two brothers, Raymundo and Manuel Paragas of Dagupan and established the Local Government in a Sitio called "manggang marikit" (mango of an unmarried woman). Surprisingly, in this sitio, there is a great number of mammals called by Ilocanos "pampaniki" and it was from this term that the name Paniqui was derived.

An uprising led by Caragay during the early part of 1720 forced the Local Government in "manggang marikit" to abandon the place and to evacuate for lowland called "Acocolao", a place 2 kilometers (1.2 mi) west of the present Poblacion. It was a historical sitio where the first Filipino Moro, Sultan Ali Mudin, was baptized in 1750.

Paniqui was a sprawling town that covered a wide area that time. Some of the barrios that formerly comprised Paniqui were "San Roque", now Cuyapo; "Barong", now Gerona; "San Jose De Camiling", now Camiling; "Bani", now Ramos; "San Ramon", now Moncada; and Anao.

The period between 1750 and 1896 were painful years of Spanish tyranny and oppression because the insurrectos and sometimes bandits, who are conveniently sprouted among the people, made sporadic attacks upon the conquistadores. These attacks on the Spaniards, who came on the islands bringing the sword and the cross, were marred by cholera and smallpox epidemics punctuated by floods and typhoons.

However, a group of Paniqui patriots, welded together by a common belief of oneness, unselfish devotion for freedom and who were spurred by ruthless Spanish tyranny, organized a legitimate segment of the Katipunan on January 12, 1896, which is a far cry from the bandits that used to harass the Spaniards.

These dauntless men made daring exploits, unrecorded in the history of the Katipunan, the most prominent of which was the ambuscade of Spanish soldiers along the road going to Anao and killing a great number of them. These incidents made a prelude to the end of the Spanish occupation in Paniqui.

The advent of American occupation saw a happy transition from the almost aristocratic and enigmatic characteristic of Spanish conquistadores to the democratic way of life under American tutelage.^[6]

Paniqui is situated between the towns of Gerona in the south, Moncada in the north, Anao and Ramos in the east while Camiling and Santa Ignacia are to its west.

The town was originally part of the province of Pangasinan. It is first known as Manggang Marikit, a sitio of Pangasinan, in 1571 and as Pampaniki in 1686.

Paniqui is 146 kilometers (91 mi) from the nation's capital Manila and is 22 kilometers (14 mi) from the provincial capital, Tarlac City.

In the 2020 Philippine census, the population of Paniqui, Tarlac, was 103,003 people^[3] with a density of 980 inhabitants per square kilometre or 2,500 inhabitants per square mile.