Pantabangan, officially the Municipality of Pantabangan, is a 1st class
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
in the
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...
of
Nueva Ecija
Nueva Ecija, officially the Province of Nueva Ecija ( tgl, Lalawigan ng Nueva Ecija , also ; ilo, Probinsia ti Nueva Ecija; pag, Luyag/Probinsia na Nueva Ecija; Kapampangan: ''Lalawigan/Probinsia ning Nueva Ecija''), is a landlocked province i ...
,
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 31,763 people.
This is the site of the
Pantabangan Dam
Pantabangan Dam is an earth-fill embankment dam on the Pampanga River located in Pantabangan in Nueva Ecija province of the Philippines. The multi-purpose dam provides water for irrigation and hydroelectric power generation while its reservoir, ...
and Lake.
Located in the northern part of Nueva Ecija, Pantabangan is located at the foot of Mt. Mabilog below Mt. Dalimanok which are found between
Sierra Madre
Sierra Madre (Spanish, 'mother mountain range') may refer to:
Places and mountains Mexico
*Sierra Madre Occidental, a mountain range in northwestern Mexico and southern Arizona
*Sierra Madre Oriental, a mountain range in northeastern Mexico
*S ...
and
Caraballo Mountain ranges. It is home to the
Pantabangan–Carranglan Watershed Forest Reserve
The Pantabangan–Carranglan Watershed Forest Reserve is a conservation area located in the upper reaches of the Pampanga River in Nueva Ecija, Philippines, and borders the Sierra Madre and Caraballo Mountains in Aurora and Nueva Vizcaya. It enc ...
.
Pantabangan is from
Cabanatuan
Cabanatuan, officially the City of Cabanatuan ( fil, Lungsod ng Cabanatuan; ilo, Siudad ti Cabanatuan), is a 1st class component city in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 327,325 peop ...
, from
Palayan
Palayan, officially the City of Palayan ( fil, Lungsod ng Palayan, Ilocano: ''Siudad ti Palayan''), is a 5th class component city and capital of the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of ...
, and from Manila.
History
The place was discovered on November 30, 1645, by Fr. Juan Alonzo de Abarca, an Augustinian priest who with the 29th Spanish mission in the Philippines.
The village grew into a settlement and was officially included in the map of the Philippines in 1747. In 1900, Pantabangan formally became a town.
In early 16th to 17th centuries, the “Id-dules” (
Aetas or
Baluga) and
Egongots (
Ilongots) tribe inhabited the southern
Sierra Madre
Sierra Madre (Spanish, 'mother mountain range') may refer to:
Places and mountains Mexico
*Sierra Madre Occidental, a mountain range in northwestern Mexico and southern Arizona
*Sierra Madre Oriental, a mountain range in northeastern Mexico
*S ...
and Caraballo Mountains. Pantabangan (Pantabanganan in early 18th century) may have came from the root Ilongot word "Sabangan or Sabanganan" that means "junction of water streams". It was learned that most of the places in Central Luzon were derived from Ilongot word like
Caanaoan,
Puncan, Cadanglaan (now
Carranglan
Carranglan, officially the Municipality of Carranglan ( ilo, Ili ti Carranglan; tl, Bayan ng Carranglan), is a 1st class municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. According to ...
), Kabaritan (Now
San Jose City) and others. Bungamong (Bongabon) and Cadanglaan was formerly sitio of Pantabangan and Kabaritan also part of Pantabangan.
When the Second World War broke out, Japanese Imperial forces occupied the town municipality of Pantabangan in 1942 under the Japanese Occupation. During the Liberation, combined military forces of the Filipino troops under the Philippine Commonwealth Army and Philippine Constabulary units and the American troops of the United States Army and the U.S. Army Air Forces came, invaded and recaptured the town of Pantabangan and defeated Japanese soldiers in the Battle of Pantabangan and ended World War II.
In May 1966, the Old Philippine Congress passed the Upper
Pampanga River
The Pampanga River is the second largest river on the island of Luzon in the Philippines (next to Cagayan River) and the country's fifth longest river. It is in the Central Luzon region and traverses the provinces of Pampanga, Bulacan, and Nueva ...
Project Act (Republic Act 5499) authorizing the construction of the
Pantabangan Dam
Pantabangan Dam is an earth-fill embankment dam on the Pampanga River located in Pantabangan in Nueva Ecija province of the Philippines. The multi-purpose dam provides water for irrigation and hydroelectric power generation while its reservoir, ...
and its appurtenant structures. The groundbreaking ceremony led by then President Ferdinand E. Marcos took place on June 11, 1971. The project was finally completed in August 1974.
The construction of the Dam had great economic and social impact on the lives of Pantabangeños. About of productive farmland and the town center (East and West
Poblacion
''Poblacion'' (literally "town" or "settlement" in Spanish language in the Philippines, Spanish; ) is the common term used for the administrative center, central, downtown, old town or central business district area of a Philippines, Philippi ...
) along with seven outlying barangays (Villarica, Liberty, Cadaclan, San Juan, Napon-Napon, Marikit and Conversion) were submerged under the new lake. Residents were relocated to higher ground overlooking the vast reservoir, which became the new Pantabangan town center. Before the expansion of the dam through the Casecnan Project in the 1990s, the belfry of the 18th century church resurfaced from the dam's summer low water level. During drought in 1983, some areas of the old town emerged.
The Pantabangan Dam is claimed to be the second largest dam in Asia, and supplies the irrigation requirements for about of agricultural lands in Central Luzon. Its power station generates 112 megawatts of hydroelectric power.
In February 1996, then President
Fidel V. Ramos
Fidel Valdez Ramos (, ; March 18, 1928 – July 31, 2022), popularly known as FVR and Eddie Ramos, was a Filipino general and politician who served as the 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He was the only career military ...
led the ground-breaking ceremony of the Casecnan Transbasin Project, a tunnel from the Casecnan River in Nueva Viscaya to a terminal point at the Pantabangan reservoir and was commissioned on December 11, 2001. The project aims to augment the capacity of the dam to irrigate an additional of agricultural land and generate an additional 140 megawatts of hydroelectric power for the Luzon grid.
The present Pantabangan town has 14 barangays and a total land area of about 41,735 hectares. The succeeding years since its relocation saw its progress from a fifth-class municipality in 1975, then to a fourth-class, then to a second class Municipality in 2006 and finally, in July 2008, pursuant to Section 2 of the Department of Finance Order No. 23-08, Pantabangan was reclassified as First-Class Municipality. It is the only town in the Philippines which boasts of three hydroelectric plants within its territorial jurisdiction.
Geography
Barangays
Pantabangan is politically subdivided into 14
barangay
A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolitan ...
s.
Climate
Demographics
Languages
Tagalog is predominantly spoken in Pantabangan followed by Ilocano dialect. People of Pantabangan "Pantabangenian" are also known for their very distinct strong Pantabangan accent, called "Adyu-ari".
Economy
Arts and Culture
The Pandawan Festival made its debut in April 2008, showcasing many local talents as well as other entertainments including Indigenouism art activities like art workshop and rural development thru art awareness programs. It features cooking contests, dance competitions and street dancing, and a parade.
Gallery
File:Pantabangan Dam.jpg, Pantabangan Dam
File:Cad1645jf.JPG, Forests and mountains (Cadaclan)
File:1648jf.JPG, Pantabangan N.E. Transport and Public Market (East Poblacion)
File:Mar6182jf.JPG, Hills and forests (Marikit)
Notable personalities
*
Jason Abalos
Jason Joel Jimenez Abalos (born January 14, 1985) is a Filipino actor, host, model, endorser and politician.
Acting career
Abalos is a former member of Star Magic talents until 2017. He was discovered after joining Star Circle Quest, a realit ...
, a Filipino actor.
References
External links
*
*
Philippine Standard Geographic Codebr>
Philippine Census InformationLocal Governance Performance Management System
{{Authority control
Municipalities of Nueva Ecija
Populated places on the Pampanga River
1645 establishments in the Spanish Empire