Mabalacat was derived from the Balacat tree (Zyzyphus Zonulata Balaco), a fourth-class timber. Mabalacat in the native Kapampangan dialect means “full of balacats”.
There is no official record on the foundation of the municipality but according to folk tales that were passed through generations, the first settlers were purely Negritos known as balugas or Aetas. A Negrito chieftain named Caragan led his tribe to the virtual forest of balacat trees and settled themselves within its plentiful resources. Caragan was later married to Laureana Tolentino from whom he adopted his family name. Laureana became the first Cabeza De Barangay of Mabalacat, a title now equivalent to Barangay Chairman.
Mabalacat’s soil is charcoal black and shiny, a sign of fertility, and is suitable for growing rice, sugar cane and other root crops. Later, because of the fertile soil and the abundance of wild animals and fowl, lowlanders arrived and drove the Negritos back to the nearby mountains and hills and claimed the land for themselves. Vast agricultural lands were owned by a few families such as the Dizons, Tiglaos, Guecos, Ramoses, Dominguezes and the Castros.
Mabalacat became a town in the year 1712. Before 1712, Mabalacat was a barrio (barangay) of Bambang, Bamban, Tarlac. Like Porac, Santa Rita, Magalang,and Angeles City, this town never gets inundated by floods from heavy rains because it is situated on an elevated plain known as “upper Pampanga”.
On May 15, 2012, His Excellency President Benigno S. Aquino III signed RA 10064 entitled “An Act converting the Municipality of Mabalacat, Pampanga into a component city known as Mabalacat City”. It was on July 21, 2012 when Mabalacat was proclaimed City as a result of a plebiscite where majority of the people of Mabalacat voted ’YES’. At present, the incumbent mayor is Hon. Crisostomo C. Garbo.
