Basista

Not to be confused with Batista or Bautista, Pangasinan.

Basista, officially the Municipality of Basista (Pangasinan: Baley na Basista; Ilocano: Ili ti Basista; Tagalog: Bayan ng Basista), is a municipality in the province of Pangasinan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 37,679 people.^[5]

Basista
Municipality
Municipality of Basista
Seal
Nickname:  Home of the finest musicians
Map of Pangasinan with Basista highlighted
OpenStreetMap
Basista Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 15°51′09″N 120°23′51″E
Country	Philippines
Region	Ilocos Region
Province	Pangasinan
District	2nd district
Founded	September 5, 1961
Chartered	May 8, 1967
Barangays	13 (see Barangays)
Government  [1]
• Type	Sangguniang Bayan
• Mayor	Jolly R. Resuello
• Vice Mayor	Dante P. Bustarde
• Representative	Mark Cojuangco
• Municipal Council	Members Christian S. Bacani Jake Niccole L. Perez Dominador A. Frias Monica N. Ramos Vanessa F. Baraquio Marino C. Capua Bernard S. Doria Teresita S. Erquiza
• Electorate	26,433 voters (2025)
Area [2]
• Total	24.00 km2 (9.27 sq mi)
Elevation	15 m (49 ft)
Highest elevation	48 m (157 ft)
Lowest elevation	6 m (20 ft)
Population  (2024 census)[3]
• Total	37,840
• Density	1,600/km2 (4,100/sq mi)
• Households	8,824
Economy
• Income class	4th municipal income class
• Poverty incidence	18.54 % (2021)[4]
• Revenue	₱ 170.6 million (2022)
• Assets	₱ 195.3 million (2022)
• Expenditure	₱ 140.2 million (2022)
• Liabilities	₱ 28.54 million (2022)
Service provider
• Electricity	Central Pangasinan Electric Cooperative (CENPELCO)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	2422
PSGC	0105509000
IDD : area code	+63 (0)75
Native languages	Pangasinan Ilocano Tagalog

Basista is 29 kilometres (18 mi) from Lingayen, 198 kilometres (123 mi) from Manila, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from San Carlos, and 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) from Bayambang.

History

The former barrio, now the site of the town proper or poblacion, was once the biggest and one of the progressive barrios located in the far south of the mother town, San Carlos (now a city).

As early as 1918, influential and prominent citizens of the then barrio of Basista came together and initiated an attempt to petition the municipal government of San Carlos and the provincial board of Pangasinan to grant the status of township to their barrios. Prominent politicians during that time volunteered their help in making representations with the proper authorities, but their request was not granted.

On September 5, 1961, President Carlos P. Garcia issued Executive Order No. 446, creating the town of Basista composed of 13 out of the 28 barrios that petitioned.^[6] Four years after, however, the Philippine Supreme Court declared the town's creation as being without legal basis, citing their ruling in the "Emmanuel Pelaez vs. Auditor General" that "municipalities created under Executive Orders are void". It was here that Republic Act No. 4866 filed by Pangasinan 2nd District Representative Jack L. Soriano was enacted into law and legally created Basista as a town of Pangasinan.^[7][8]

Geography

Basista is situated 30.34 kilometres (18.85 mi) from the provincial capital Lingayen, and 204.71 kilometres (127.20 mi) from the country's capital city of Manila.

Barangays

Barangays of Basista

Basista is politically subdivided into 13 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

• Anambongan
• Bayoyong
• Cabeldatan
• Dumpay
• Malimpec East
• Mapolopolo
• Nalneran
• Navatat
• Obong
• Osmena, Sr.
• Palma
• Patacbo
• Poblacion

Climate

Climate data for Basista, Pangasinan
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	31 (88)	31 (88)	31 (88)	33 (91)	32 (90)	32 (90)	30 (86)	30 (86)	30 (86)	31 (88)	31 (88)	31 (88)	31 (88)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	21 (70)	21 (70)	22 (72)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	23 (73)	23 (73)	23 (73)	23 (73)	23 (73)	22 (72)	23 (73)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	5.1 (0.20)	11.6 (0.46)	21.1 (0.83)	27.7 (1.09)	232.9 (9.17)	350.8 (13.81)	679.8 (26.76)	733.1 (28.86)	505 (19.9)	176.6 (6.95)	67.2 (2.65)	17.7 (0.70)	2,828.6 (111.38)
Average rainy days	3	3	3	4	14	18	23	25	22	15	8	4	142
Source: World Weather Online (modeled/calculated data, not measured locally)[9]

Demographics

Population census of Basista

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1970 14,204 —     1975 15,241 +1.42% 1980 17,191 +2.44% 1990 22,360 +2.66% 1995 24,278 +1.55% 2000 26,616 +1.99%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 2007 28,104 +0.75% 2010 30,385 +2.88% 2015 32,959 +1.56% 2020 37,679 +2.86% 2024 37,840 +0.10%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[10][11][12][13][14]

Economy

Public market and tricycle terminal

Poverty incidence of Basista

10 20 30 40 2000 38.29 2003 25.90 2006 29.90 2009 24.61 2012 11.61 2015 17.62 2018 14.48 2021 18.54 Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]

Government

Basista Town Hall

Local government

Main article: Sangguniang Bayan

Basista, belonging to the second congressional district of the province of Pangasinan, is governed by a mayor designated as its local chief executive and by a municipal council as its legislative body in accordance with the Local Government Code. The mayor, vice mayor, and the councilors are elected directly by the people through an election which is being held every three years.

Elected officials

Members of the Municipal Council (2022):^[23]

• Mayor: Jolly R. Resuello
• Vice Mayor: Dante P. Bustarde
• Councilors:
  • Christian S. Bacani
  • Jake Niccole L. Perez
  • Dominador A. Frias
  • Monica N. Ramos
  • Vanessa F. Baraquio
  • Marino C. Capua
  • Bernard S. Doria
  • Teresita S. Erguiza

Education

The Basista Schools District Office governs all educational institutions within the municipality. It oversees the management and operations of all private and public elementary and high schools.^[24]

Primary and elementary schools

• Alejandro V. Frias Elementary School
• Anambongan Elementary School
• Aquilino Banaag Elementary School
• Basista Central School
• BFF (Bancolita-Frias Family) Learning Academy
• Cabeldatan Elementary School
• Dumpay Elementary School
• Magsaysay Elementary School
• Mary Help of Christians Catholic School
• Obong Elementary School
• Patacbo Elementary School
• Perez Elementary School
• Palma Elementary School

Secondary schools

• Basista National High School
• Bayoyong National High School
• Dumpay National High School