Nueva Ecija, Philippines

Nueva Ecija is in the eastern section of the central plains of Luzon and is landlocked. Encircling the province are the provinces of Pangasinan in the northwest, Tarlac in the west, Bulacan in the south, Aurora in the east and Nueva Viscaya in the north. The land rises gradually from the swampy regions of the southwest and levels off as one moves towards the east and north. The plains break into rolling hills as one approaches the Caraballo Mountains and the Sierra Madre Mountains in the north and east. In Nueva Ecija there exist three climate types. In the province’s southwest, a pronounced dry season occurs from November to April while rains fall during the rest of the year. In the east, close to the Sierra Madre Mountains, rain falls evenly throughout the year while in the north and northeast; there is no pronounced seasonal variance although it is relatively dry between the months of April and November.
From:geocities.com/lppsec/pp/necija.htm

HISTORY OF NUEVA ECIJA

Nueva Ecija was formed as a military district of the province of Pampanga at the beginning of the 18th Century after the Augustinian missionaries had reduced some Ilongots into Christian communities. These communities formed the nucleus of the towns of Bongabon, Pantabangan and Carranglan. It is said that the comandancia was so named by the Governor General after his hometown of Ecija in southern Spain. From being a military outpost, Nueva Ecija was transformed into a regular province a century later.

In 1818, the province stretched over huge areas of Central Luzon and much of the Pacific coast from Palanan down to present day Infanta. Despite its great size, the province was very sparsely populated. However, during the 19th Century, Ilocano migrants from Pangasinan and Ilocos and Tagalog settlers from Bulacan moved into the sparsely settled province to turn what once was wilderness into some of the most productive agricultural lands in the country. In 1848, several towns of Pampanga (Aliaga, Cabiao, Gapan, San Antonio and San Isidro) were added to the province of Nueva Ecija. In 1853, the district of Principe was created from out of the towns of Baler and Casiguran along the Pacific coast. In 1856, the town of Palanan and neighboring regions were ceded to the province of Isabela. Infanta (Binangonan de Lampon) and Polillo were constituted into a separate district in 1858, reducing the province to approximately to its present size.

Nueva Ecija was one of the first provinces where the Revolution of 1896 broke out. In 1898, the province came under Revolutionary control. Cabanatuan became the seat of the Revolutionary government in May 1899. In June of that year, General Antonio Luna was assassinated in Cabanatuan in one of the most tragic episodes of the Revolutionary War.

In World War II, Cabanatuan was the site of an infamous camp for American prisoners of war run by the Japanese Imperial Army. In January 1945, Filipino guerrillas liberated the American captives of the camp. A memorial stands at the site in recognition of the bravery and fortitude of American and Filipino fighters in resisting the Japanese.
From:geocities.com/lppsec/pp/necija.htm

People, Culture and the Arts

• Population of NUEVA ECIJA, REGION III (CENTRAL LUZON) as of 2020 census: 2,310,134
• Population of Nueva Ecija as of 2015 census: 2,151,461

Elected Government Officials of Nueva Ecija, Philippines

Last Updated on December 20, 2021