San Jose, officially the City of San Jose (; ; Pangasinan: Siyudad na San Jose), is a component city in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. According to the , it has a population of people, making it the second most populous city in Nueva Ecija after Cabanatuan, and a key urban center in the northern part of the province.

Etymology The town got its name after Saint Joseph, the patron saint of the place.

Before the city was founded by the Spanish colonizers, it is known as Kabaritan, named for the plant commonly seen in the area.

History Years before it became a town, San Jose was a wilderness and a veritable hunting ground of the inhabitants of its neighboring towns. The earliest inhabitants were known as Negritos (Baluga) headed by Kapitan Danding, a Negrito convert to Christianity residing in Pinagcuartelan. These early inhabitants depended mostly on hunting and fishing for their livelihood. Some hunters from the neighboring towns considered San Jose to be a good place for settlers due to its wide and uncleared agricultural land. The first group of settlers made some clearings (kaingin) on the outskirts of the present town.

Originally, San Jose was a part of the town of Puncan, but later on, because of its nearness to Lupao, it was made a barrio of the latter. The early history of this town was coupled with the early history of Puncan and Lupao. Formerly, San Jose was known as a barrio of "Kabaritan", referring to the barit, an Ilocano term for a plant related to rattan and was abundant in the place.

Spanish colonial era On March 19, 1894, San Jose became a full-fledged town, with an interim government headed by a capitán municipal. Kabaritan was separated from Lupao and renamed after Saint Joseph, its patron saint.

The local official was also converted from a Teniente Absoluto to a Capitán Municipal, the first one being Canuto Ramos, who served from 1894 to 1898. One of his remarkable achievements was the construction of an irrigation system which was later acquired and enlarged by the government (now the Talavera River Irrigation System), covering vast rice fields as far as Muñoz and Talavera.

Several years before the Philippine Revolution, Ilocanos from the Ilocandia and parts of Nueva Ecija, especially the towns of Santo Domingo, Muñoz and Lupao, as well as Pangasinenses of Pangasinan and northern Tarlac, Tagalogs (including Batangueños) and Kapampangans, settled the forest of Kabaritan, and cleared its wilderness. It was from this time that growth of the town began.

American era When the Revolution broke out and upon the surrender of the Spanish forces in 1898, a revolutionary government was set up in San Jose. The town remained as such until the establishment of local government under the Americans in 1901.

San Jose under the American Regime became a progressive town. Its inhabitants enjoyed more political, economic, intellectual and religious rights than before. This was due to the establishment of various schools, churches, public buildings and the construction of roads and bridges, which hastened the progress of the town.

From 1898 to 1900, the Philippines was placed under an American military government. In this period, José Cardenas was appointed Capitán Municipal and under him, the town saw the appointment of new officials, planning, and the establishment of new subsidiary settlements.

The second Capitán Municipal under the American military government (1900–1901) was Celestino Javalde, who continued the plotting of new settlements and construction of roads in the población.

When United States replaced military rule with the civilian Insular Government, Cornelio Ramos was appointed Capitán Municipal. He continued the roadworks in the población and aided the construction of irrigation canals leading to the different barrios of San Jose.

In 1904, Filipinos were given more rights and freedom in choosing government officials, with an election held. The first to be electer Municipal President in place of a Capitán Municipal was Crisanto Sánchez (1904–1906). He continued road construction projects, named streets in the población, and appointed lower municipal officials.

Celestino Javalde returned to govern the town as an elected Municipal President, serving from 1906 to 1908. With the help of his vice-president and other municipal officials, he focused on land reform, which paved the way for equal distribution of property.

The Municipal President-elect of 1908–1910, Valerio Escobar concentrated on the construction of roads from Sibut to San Agustin. He also founded the barrios of Santa Barbara and Kapisungan (now Bagong Sikat).

Desiderio de Guzmán was elected in 1910 and served till 1912. He had many achievements but among all these, he paid more attention to the improvements of records in the población.

Under Municipal President Agapito Kurameng, (1912–1916), he initiated the construction of a concrete elementary school building (Gabaldon building) which now comprises one of the central buildings of San Jose West Elementary School. The improvement of roads, and expropriation of lots for the Municipal Hall and the Public Market were among his other achievements.

The construction of the Municipal building and the construction of more roads leading to the barrios were launched by Gregorio Cadhit (1916–1919). He was re-elected to office from 1919 to 1922, and in his second term he initiated construction of part of the public market.

As years went by, the town developed such that there was a need for more public improvements and building constructions for the welfare of the populace. To meet these demands, the newly elected Municipal President Rafael Rueda and Municipal Vice-president Estanislao Arquero with the help of other municipal officials put up a Puericulture Center and a Municipal Nursery from 1922 to 1925. A second building for the public market was also constructed. Telephone lines connecting the población to all barrios were installed. A road to Kalbarito (now Palestina) was constructed, as was further road improvement.

Raymundo Eugenio was elected Municipal President for the period from 1925 to 1928. A third building for the public market was constructed and more construction of roads, especially those leading to Andres Bonifacio, were put underway.

In 1928–1931, Apolonio Pascual and Vice-president Victorino Villar were instrumental in putting up the fourth building for the public market and the municipal dispensary. More improvement of roads leading to the barrios was also done.

Raymundo Eugenio was re-elected to office, and served from 1931 to 1934 with Vice-president Ladislao Bunag. Eugenio was called the road-building President of San Jose because of his efforts in the construction of many roads especially leading to the barrios of Bagong Bayan, Porais, Tondod, and Andres Bonifacio.

Apolonio Pascual was re-elected for the 1934–1937 term. Dimas Tomás was his Vice-president. Changes in 1935 upon the establishment of the Philippine Commonwealth marked the transition of the heads of the municipal government to be known as the Alcalde and Vice-Alcalde. Aside from the construction of more roads, the barrios of Patacla (now San Francisco) and A. Pascual were founded. The waterworks that provide the people of San Jose with drinking water was constructed and installed. The home economics building of San Jose Central School was also constructed.

Alcalde Pedro del Pilar and Vice-Alcalde Severino Bautista, under the Commonwealth government, established the town’s buying stations for NARIC (National Rice and Corn, a predecessor agency of the modern National Food Authority). This was during their term of office from 1937 to 1940, and they were re-elected for the 1940–1942 term. As a continuation of their policies, the improvement of roads was continued.

Japanese occupation Upon the outbreak of World War II on December 8, 1941, San Jose became an evacuation center for refugees from neighboring provinces especially those from Manila and its suburbs. The town was bombed by two Japanese planes on December 23, 1941. The terrified populace, who suffered heavy casualties, fled to the remotest barrios of San Jose, while a provisional government operated in the barrio of Porais under Basílio Durán as Mayor, appointed by the military forces of the Commonwealth Government. This provisional local government existed only briefly due to the arrival of the Japanese Imperial Forces on January 26, 1942, who then established a rival provisional government with Matías Bautista as Mayor. After his refusal to cooperate, the Japanese replaced him with Anastacio Bascos. Engr. Casimiro Panajon succeeded him, but was later murdered by the Japanese for non-collaboration with them and his guerrilla activities.

During the Liberation of the Philippines in 1945, Anselmo Patacsil, Pedro del Pilar and Basílio Durán were appointed in succession as Mayors by the Philippine Civil Affairs Unit (PCAU). Each served for a short period from 1945 to 1946, working to re-organise the municipal government in cooperation with the PCAU. They helped in the establishment of emergency hospitals, the North Provincial High School, and the re-opening of elementary schools.

Philippine independence After Philippine independence in July 1946, Alfonso Villamar was elected Mayor with Paulino Margarejo as his Vice-Mayor (1947–1951). Among their achievements were the maintenance of evacuees, a pacification campaign, rehabilitation of devastated government buildings, the establishment of a fire department and a municipal library, and the improvement of roads.

Creation of Llanera In 1954, the barrios of Bagumbayan (townsite), Andres Bonifacio, Caridad, San Mauricio (portion), Parang Manga (portion), Santa Barbara, Floridablanca, Gomez, San Francisco, and Victoria were separated to form the town of Llanera along with some territories excised from Talavera and Rizal.

Cityhood

On August 4, 1969, by virtue of Republic Act 6051, San Jose was converted into a city, making it as the third city in Nueva Ecija after Cabanatuan and Palayan.

Demographics

Languages

The current population of San Jose City is 156,714 people in 23,191 households as of May 2024. The majority language used is Tagalog, more than 72 percent of the population speak it as their native tongue, followed by Ilocano, Kapampangan, and Pangasinense.

Religion

On February 16, 1984, the Diocese of San Jose was created by Pope John Paul II. The creation of the new diocese bisected the province horizontally into the Diocese of Cabanatuan in the south, and the Diocese of San Jose in the north, both the suffragans of the Archdiocese of Lingayen–Dagupan. 80% of the city residents are Catholics and the patron saint is Saint Joseph. The feast is celebrated every March 19 annually. The diocese now has 17 parishes administered by 22 priests working under one bishop. Among its Catholic institutions are 9 high schools, 4 elementary schools, 6 kindergarten schools, 1 diocesan catechetical center, and the Don Bosco Training Center.

Geography San Jose City is from Cabanatuan, from Palayan, from the Philippine capital Manila, and from Bayombong.

Barangays San Jose City is politically subdivided into 38 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.