Dagupan

Dagupan [dɐˈgupan], officially the City of Dagupan (Pangasinan: Siyudad na Dagupan, Ilocano: Siudad ti Dagupan, Filipino: Lungsod ng Dagupan), is an independent component city in the Ilocos Region of the Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 174,777 people. Located on Lingayen Gulf on the northwest-central part of Luzon, Dagupan is the primary commercial and financial center of Pangasinan. The city is also one of the centers of modern medical services, education, media and communication in North-Central Luzon. The NEDA-Regional Development Council officially recognized Dagupan as a regional center. The city is situated within the fertile Agno River Valley and is in turn a part of the larger Central Luzon plain. The city is among the top producers of milkfish (locally known as bangus) in the province and also the bangus capital of the country. From 2001 to 2003, Dagupan's milkfish production totaled to 35,560.1 metric tons (34,998.5 long tons; 39,198.3 short tons), contributing 16.8 percent to the total provincial production. Of its total production in the past three years, 78.5 percent grew in fish pens/cages, while the rest grew in brackish water fishponds. Dagupan is administratively and politically independent from the provincial government of Pangasinan and is only represented by the province's legislative district. It is the second most-populous city in the province and in the Ilocos Region, after San Carlos. It is the only independent city of Ilocos Region. Dagupan is one of the proposed metropolitan areas in the Philippines. Metro Dagupan is proposed to include the independent component city of Dagupan, as well as the towns of Binmaley, Calasiao, Lingayen, Manaoag, Mangaldan, Mapandan, San Fabian, San Jacinto, and Santa Barbara.