BARANGAY LOURDES HISTORY

Barangay Lourdes/Texas is one of the 24 barangays enclosed in the South District Division of Barangays in Tarlac City. It has bounded by Barangay Balete on the West, Barangay Cut-Cut 2nd on the North, Barangay Bantog on the East, Barangay Asturias on the Southeast and Barangay Central on the West.

It is approximately 13.7 kilometers away from city proper. It has a total land area of 667.99 hectares wherein the whole area has designated to residential and commercial area.

It is also divided into 8 Purok namely Purok 1, Purok 2, and Purok 3 to Purok 8.

Barangay Lourdes/Texas classified as Rural Barangay, it has a total population of two thousand eight hundred eighty eight (2,888) as of 2020, and a household population of six hundred thirty one (631).

Barangay Lourdes/Texas is one of the eight barangays within the Hacienda Luisita. Most of the people residing in this area are Hacienda workers. The 10% are working in the factory like IWS and Sanyo. At present, there is a massive unemployment due to unresolving dispute between labor and management of Hacienda Luisita resulting to poverty. For survival and daily living people planted vegetables and tree bearing fruits in their backyards. The vast land of sugar cane plantation turned to garden of grasses and weeds.

Barangay Lourdes as it traces by its history originated since 1900’s. It was given three names namely Kato, Texas and Lourdes. Mrs. Luisa Kato Manuel most commonly known as “Apung Isang” started to recall her experience from way back then. According to her the founder or pioneer of this barangay was her parents. Her father Yeikichi Kato was migrated in the Philippines by year 1903. From then, he is just 17 years old boy when he had witnessed the Philippines together with his other Japanese Merchants. From his travel, he reached Tarlac and met his wife in the named Ines Yutuc Pineda, a native of Concepcion Tarlac. From then on, they formed their family and blessed with five children. And from those five children, “Apung Isang” was the youngest. Her father Yeikichi Kato has been encouraged by Mr. Mendez to lead the clean up drive and deforestation of this place. Year 1920’s when he and his family started to dwell in this place together with the other families settled here. Among them were Pineda, Yutuc, Cano, Tiglao, Valerio, Reyes and others.

After a few months, residents of this place decided to give it a name and they called it Kato in honor to their leader Mr. Kato. At that time, it called Sitio Kato under the territory of Mapalacsiao, one of the barangay in Hacienda Luisita.

By November 23, 1940, it was the sorrowful moments happen to Kato Family and Sitio Kato. Mr. Yeikichi Kato passed away with the cancer of the throat.

World war II has comes. A battle of Filipinos and Japanese colonizers started. After a year, Americans help us to fight against Japanese conquerors. At sudden moments, American warplane false down from the space and landed at the front of Sitio Kato. American soldiers were almost come from Texas, one of the cities in America. And from then on, it was called a Sitio Texas.

After World War II, they started to build their place again and started praying for the recovery of peace and order of this place with the help of their patron Our Lady of Lourdes. Their prayers heard and after that, their place has given another name called Sitio Lourdes until it became now an independent barangay coined as barangay Lourdes. At present time, Barangay Captain Benigno D. Macapinlac headed it.

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

Barangay Lourdes/Texas celebrates their feast day every February 10-11 as thanksgiving to the Patron Our Lady of Lourdes. Our Lady of Lourdes is the generous Mother of God.