Bulakan is a first class urban municipality in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 76,565 people. It is 35 kilometres north of Manila. Bulacan, which is one of the oldest towns in the Philippines, became the encomienda or capital of the Provincia de la Pampanga, and later became the first capital of the Province of Bulacan before it was moved to Malolos shortly after the American occupation.