Sasmuan

It was known as Sexmoán until January 15, 1991.^[7] The town's former name in Spanish was Sexmoán, as was initially transcribed by Spanish friars. In Spanish, the letter <x> used to be pronounced as a voiceless postalveolar fricative /ʃ/, identical to the digraph "sh" in English. It was derived from the ancient Kapampangan root word sasmo, which means to meet, according to a 17th-century Kapampangan dictionary. Sasmuan therefore is synonymous with "pitagmuan" or "meeting place of the datus" or "meeting point". It was named "Sasmuan" because it is where the Pampangos meet when they were at war with the Chinese in Guagua.^[8]

In 1991, the spelling was unanimously changed into Sasmuan, due to perceived sexual connotations of the former name.^[9][10]

Sasmuan already had a well-developed system of government well before the era of Spanish colonization. It was one of the major towns of Pampanga in the 16th century.

The Santa Lucia Church was one of the first Roman Catholic churches built in the Philippines by the Spaniards with the political and financial support of the Principalia.

Sasmuan is located in the southern part of Pampanga. It is bounded to the north by the municipalities of Guagua and Minalin; to the east by the municipality of Macabebe; to the west by the municipality of Lubao; and, to the south by Manila Bay. Most of the town's area is covered by fishponds. It is one of the three coastal towns in Pampanga along with Lubao and Macabebe.

In the 2024 census, the population of Sasmuan was 32,081 people,^[17] with a density of 350 inhabitants per square kilometre or 910 inhabitants per square mile.

Poverty incidence of Sasmuan

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority^{[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]}

Sasmuan has a unique geography in that it is surrounded by fish ponds. Aquaculture has been the main industry that drives the local economy. The fish from ponds and other areas are sold at the Fish Port.

The town has 2 prime business ventures and both are in the food industry. These two are Sasmuan Delicacies which was founded in 1990 and Aiza's Sweets which was started in 2000. For Sasmuan Delicacies, their products are being sold in many big supermarkets and malls in the Philippines, including SM City Malls. Aiza's Sweets on the other hand, has SM City Malls as one of their primary customer, but they also sell to several popular local shops such as Susie's Sweets, Nathaniels, etc. Also, Aiza's Sweets exports to the United States and Canada.

The Sasmuan Schools District Office governs all educational institutions within the municipality. It oversees the management and operations of all private and public, from primary to secondary schools.^[27]

• Jose Montemayor Jr., a candidate for the 2022 Philippine presidential election.
• Japeth Aguilar, Filipino basketball player
• Mónico R. Mercado, member of the Philippine Assembly from 1907 to 1912
• Lina Cabrera, Filipino politician

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  Welcome Marker at Lubao-Sasmuan Road
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  St. Lucy School of the Archdiocese of Pampanga
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  Covered court and gymnasium

Panorama of the Fish port

• List of renamed cities and municipalities in the Philippines
• Place names considered unusual