Cabanatuan, officially the City of Cabanatuan (; ; Kapampangan: Lakanbalen/Ciudad ning Cabanatuan), is a component city in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines.
According to the , it has a population of people, making it the most populous in Nueva Ecija, seventh in the whole of Luzon outside the Greater Manila Area, and the largest city north of Metro Manila along the Pan-Philippine Highway (AH26). It has earned the moniker "Gateway to the North."
The city is known for being home to more than 30,000 motorized tricycles, making it the "Tricycle Capital of the Philippines." Its strategic location along the Cagayan Valley Road has helped make the city into the major economic, educational, medical, entertainment, shopping, and transportation center it is today. It is the commercial center for Nueva Ecija and nearby provinces in the region such as Tarlac, Aurora, and Bulacan.
Cabanatuan remained Nueva Ecija's capital until 1965 when the government recognized nearby Palayan City as the new provincial capital. Nueva Ecija's old capitol and other government offices are still used and maintained by the provincial administration. Cabanatuan also briefly became the capital of the Philippines during the First Philippine Republic while President Emilio Aguinaldo was moving north to evade capture by American forces.
After the campaign for the city's designation as a highly urbanized city failed, a motion was made to convert the city into a lone district instead.
History Cabanatuan was founded as a Barrio of Gapan in 1750 and became a municipality and capital of La Provincia de Nueva Ecija in 1780. Majority of the original settlers of Cabanatuan were Tagalogs from Bulacan and Morong (Rizal Province); other early settlers came from Ilocos, Pampanga and Tayabas (now Quezon Province). The Tagalogs settled the barrios on the western part while Kapampangans and Ilocanos settled in the vicinity around Sangitan.History of Cabanatuan CityHistory of Nueva Ecija
Cabanatuan is the site of the historical "Plaza Lucero" and the Cabanatuan Cathedral, where General Antonio Luna was assassinated by Captain Pedro Janolino and members of the Kawit battalion. Cabanatuan lost the title of provincial capital in 1850 when the capital of Nueva Ecija was moved to San Isidro, another historic town. It was only in 1917, when the administrative code was enacted, that Cabanatuan was restored as capital of the province. In 1926, the historic College of the Immaculate Conception was established within the vicinity of the Cabanatuan Cathedral by the Roman Catholic Church. In 1938, Ling Hong Temple, the second oldest Buddhist temple in the Philippines, was established in Cabanatuan.
During World War II, the occupying Japanese built the Cabanatuan Prison Camp, where many American soldiers were imprisoned, some of whom had been forced to endure the infamous Bataan Death March. In January 1945, elements of the U.S. Army 6th Ranger Battalion and two teams of Alamo Scouts marched behind enemy lines to rescue the prisoners in what became known as the Raid at Cabanatuan. As a result of the raid on January 30, 1945, victorious Filipino guerrillas, American troops of the U.S. Army 6th Ranger Battalion and Alamo Scouts celebrated having obtained the freedom of 500 American prisoners of war. Soon thereafter, Philippine and American forces re-established the presence of military general headquarters and military camp bases of the Philippine Commonwealth Army, Philippine Constabulary 2nd Constabulary Regiment, and the United States Army in Cabanatuan from February 1, 1945, to June 30, 1946, during the Liberation of the Philippines. Before long, the combined Philippine Commonwealth and American armed forces, in cooperation with local guerrilla resistance fighters and Hukbalahap Communist guerrillas, had liberated Central Luzon from Japanese Imperial forces, a campaign that lasted from January until August 1945.
In 1957, the barrios of Mataas na Kahoy, Balangkare Norte, Balangkare Sur, Sapang Kawayan, Magasawang Sampaloc, Talabutab Norte, Talabutab Sur, Platero, Belen, Pecaleon, Piñahan, Kabulihan, Pasong-Hari, Balaring, Pulong Singkamas, Panaksak, Bravo, Sapang Bato, Burol, Miller, Tila Patio, Pula, Carinay, and Acacia were separated from Cabanatuan and constituted into a separate and independent municipality known as General Mamerto Natividad.
1990 Luzon earthquake Cabanatuan was near the epicenter of the 1990 Luzon earthquake, which registered a 7.8 on the surface wave magnitude scale, at around 3:00 pm on July 16, 1990. The quake leveled several buildings, most notably the Christian College of the Philippines (Liwag Colleges) in the midst of class time, trapping 250 students and teachers and killing at least 133.
Unlike in Baguio, local and international journalists were able to arrive at Cabanatuan hours after the tremor, and media coverage of the quake in its immediate aftermath centered on the collapsed school, where rescue efforts were hampered by the lack of heavy equipment to cut through the steel reinforcement of fallen concrete.
Cityhood
Cabanatuan became a city by virtue of Republic Act No. 526, approved on June 16, 1950. In 1965, Congress created Palayan City, and transferred the capital of Nueva Ecija from Cabanatuan to the newly created city of Palayan.
Highly Urbanized City (HUC) In 1998, Cabanatuan was declared a highly urbanized city by President Fidel V. Ramos. However, it failed ratification after the majority of votes in the plebiscite was negative.
Cabanatuan was declared as a highly urbanized city again by President Benigno S. Aquino III under Presidential Proclamation No. 418 on July 14, 2012. A plebiscite scheduled in December 2012 was moved by the Commission on Elections to January 25, 2014, so as not to burden the poll body during its preparation for the 2013 local elections in the province. Incumbent Governor Aurelio Matias Umali, who had a strong voter base in the city, opposed the conversion and submitted a petition to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order on January 24, 2014. On April 23, 2014, voting 9–5–1, the Supreme Court granted a petition for certiorari filed by Nueva Ecija Gov. Aurelio Umali and declared as null and void Comelec Minute Resolution No. 12-0797 dated September 11, 2012, and Minute Resolution No. 12-0925 dated October 16, 2012, setting a date for the conduct of a plebiscite in which only registered voters of Cabanatuan would be allowed to vote. The province-wide plebiscite was rescheduled for November 8, 2014, but cancelled again because the Cabanatuan City government could not provide the necessary funds. No new date is to be set until the city government certifies that 101 million is available for the holding of the plebiscite.
Geography Cabanatuan is located in the rolling central plains of Luzon drained by the Pampanga River. The city stands southwest of the provincial capital Palayan City and north of Manila. It is bordered by Santa Rosa to the south, Talavera and Gen. Mamerto Natividad to the north, Palayan to the north east, Laur to the east, and Aliaga to the west.
Climate and natural disasters Cabanatuan has a tropical wet and dry climate (Köppen climate classification: Aw), with year-round warm weather and distinct dry and wet seasons. It is touted as one of the hottest cities in the country; in the summer season of 2011 Cabanatuan reached its hottest temperature at 39.8 °C, also the hottest in the Philippines in that same year, and on June 4, 2015 PAGASA reported a heat index for the city, which is the hottest yet recorded.
According to the fifth Annual Natural Hazards Risk Atlas (NHRA) report in 2015, Cabanatuan was ranked as the sixth city in the Philippines with extreme exposure to a myriad of natural hazards, especially typhoons and flooding.
Notable disasters have struck Cabanatuan in the past decades, including the 1990 Luzon earthquake, 2013 Typhoon Santi, and 2015 Typhoon Lando. The 2013 Typhoon Santi brought extreme winds measuring up to 120 km/h, causing widespread infrastructure damages and power loss to the city.
Later in 2015, Typhoon Lando caused massive damage in the form of severe flooding in Central Luzon, including Cabanatuan. The city experienced severe flooding, which hampered the operations of many establishments. Most roads going to the major districts of Cabanatuan were not passable to light vehicles for two to three days after the storm.
Recently in 2022, Typhoon Karding damaged numerous establishments, farmlands, and electric lines in the city.
Barangays Cabanatuan is administratively subdivided into 89 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.
BarangayPopulation (2015)Population (2020)Aduas Centro (Aduas)5,1165,116Aduas Norte 5,5465,755Aduas Sur6,7457,640Bagong Sikat4,5995,272Bagong Buhay852934Bakero3,0733,359Bakod Bayan7,6599,981Balite2,1412,307Bangad7,5967,688Bantug Bulalo2,3902,009Bantug Norte8,6958,686Barlis2,0662,258Barrera District (Poblacion)5,3745,290Bernardo District (Poblacion)1,2331,144Bitas5,7795,513Bonifacio District (Poblacion)2,9173,041Buliran3,3223,461Cabu4,0545,182Caudillo1,6141,920Calawagan (Kalawagan)1,7571,836Caalibangbangan11,11211,104Camp Tinio (Campo Tinio)11,44911,917Caridad Village1,8851,905Cinco-Cinco1,8162,163City Supermarket/Bayan (Poblacion)17295Communal1,4511,791Cruz Roja4,1455,354Daan Sarile7,1918,030Dalampang2,0572,202Dicarma (Poblacion)4,4804,344Dimasalang (Poblacion)1,4211,281Dionisio S. Garcia (D.S. Garcia)7,0767,405Fatima (Poblacion)886777General Luna (Poblacion)1,5481,516Hermogenes C. Concepcion Sr. (H. Concepcion)4,0394,756Ibabao-Bana2,3132,662Imelda District4,0013,639Isla (Poblacion)2,0812,340Kalikid Norte3,3443,585Kalikid Sur5,0566,210Kapitan Pepe Subdivision (Poblacion)4,4254,795Lagare2,3662,715Lourdes (Matungal-tungal)2,4572,478M.S. Garcia4,6706,148Mabini Extension3,3143,208Mabini Homesite4,3175,501Macatbong3,3783,623Magsaysay District4,4924,242Magsaysay South2,8002,419Maria Theresa930969Matadero (Poblacion)1,1231,010Mayapyap Norte2,2882,750Mayapyap Sur5,4735,904Melojavilla (Poblacion)654387Nabao (Poblacion)730703Obrero4,3614,360Padre Burgos (Poblacion)324328Padre Crisostomo4,0184,298Pagas2,9973,261Palagay2,2212,648Pamaldan3,8704,203Pangatian2,8153,290Patalac2,3492,417Polilio2,6052,913Pula1,7081,306Quezon District (Poblacion)1,9491,648Rizdelis (Poblacion)789784Samon1,7131,806San Isidro4,9966,277San Josef Norte4,4424,684San Josef Sur6,7937,785San Juan Accfa (San Juan Poblacion)6,6878,772San Roque Norte1,128944San Roque Sur1,3561,314Sanbermicristi (Poblacion)1,3311,298Sangitan2,0151,566Sangitan East2,0501,531Santa Arcadia4,5985,751Santo Niño 1,8071,946Sapang1,3821,590Sumacab Este4,1184,517Sumacab Norte4,6984,869Sumacab South4,4875,776Talipapa1,7962,498Valdefuente4,3214,216Valle Cruz4,8566,503Vijandre District (Poblacion)1,3761,096Villa Ofelia Subdivision (Villa Ofelia-Caridad)1,3191,315Zuleta District (Poblacion)1,5581,495
Demographics
Religion Roman Catholicism has been the predominant religion in the city, being host to a major cathedral – the St. Nicholas of Tolentino Cathedral which serves as the seat of the bishop of the Diocese of Cabanatuan. Other major Catholic structures located within the city includes: Our Mother of Perpetual Help Parish (Dambana ng Ina ng Laging Saklolo), Santuario de Sto. Niño Parish, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Monastery (the Carmelite Sisters Convent), St. Joseph the Husband of Mary Parish, St. Vincent Ferrer Parish, and the Maria Assumpta Seminary. Local chapels/parishes are also present in most barangays. The Roman Catholic Church owns the College of the Immaculate Conception, the first and only Catholic higher education institute in the city.