BARANGAY SAN JUAN DE MATA HISTORY

Barangay San Juan de Mata is one of the 19 barangay enclosed in the West District Division of 76 Barangay in Tarlac City. Barangay Sto. Domingo bound it on the North and also Sta. Ignacia Municipality, Laoang, Mapalad and Baras-Baras on the East, San Jose Municipality on the West, Sapang Maragul on the Southeast.

It is approximately 11.2 kilometers away from city proper. It has a total land area of 992.54 hectares divided into agriculture, residential and industrial area. 73.4 hectares corresponds to agriculture and 519.14 hectares designate to residential and industrial area. It also divided into 7 Sitio’s namely: Sitio Happy Valley, Sitio Centro, Sitio Masipag 1, Sitio Masipag 2, Sitio Saranay, Sitio Paradaan, Sitio San Vicente.

Barangay San Juan de Mata classified as Rural Barangay, it has a total population of four thousand four hundred twelve (4,412) as of 2020, and a household population of one thousand one hundred forty two  (1,142).

Barangay San Juan de Mata is also an agricultural barangay. Farming is their primary source of livelihood. They cultivate palay, corn, vegetables and other crops depending on the season of planting. Almost 70% of the total population here were farmers. Others were employees, laborers, construction workers, drivers, and so on. And some has their own businesses such as sari-sari stores, canteen and so on.

This Barangay was once called as “Barrio Malatiki” because of its wide grassland and forested area wherein different kinds of trees grows particularly that tree so-called “Tiki”. The word Malatiki derived from an Ilokano word, which means many trees or many “Tiki”. However, as time goes by, the said trees slowly extinct in the area, because of that residents decided to change its name from Malatiki to San Juan de Mata. They named it after their Barangay Captain Mr. Mata.

Regular session January 11 1966

Resolution #173

On motion of councilor Pedro B. De Jesus, duly seconded.

Resolved, that the petition of the qualified voters of Sitio Malagayaman with barrio San Juan de Mata, this Municipality requesting that their place be converted into a separate and independent barrio with the same name, be referred to the committee of zonification thru its chairman and to the councilor of the district, for study the recommendation.

Fifty percent of the total populations are Pampango, and the rest are Tagalog, Bisaya, Pangasinense, and Ilocano.

Barangay San Juan de Mata celebrates their feast day every March 7-8 as a thanksgiving to their Patron San Juan de Dios/Saint John of God. Saint John of God was canonized by PopeAlexander VIII in 1690, and later named the patron saint of hospitals, the sick, nurses, firefighters, alcoholics, and booksellers