Rizal, officially the Municipality of Rizal (; ) is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Nueva Ecija Nueva Ecija, officially the Province of Nueva Ecija ( ; ; ; ), is a landlocked province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the city of Palayan, while Cabanatuan, its former capital, is the largest Local gove ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 70,196 people. Rizal is from

Cabanatuan Cabanatuan, officially the City of Cabanatuan (; ; kapampangan language, Kapampangan: ''Lakanbalen/Ciudad ning Cabanatuan''), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. Acco ...

, from Palayan, from

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

, and from Bayombong.

History

Historically, two groups were known to have settled in the area. The main group consisted entirely of the pioneer-settlers who were Ilocanos, while others, who arrived later, were of different tribes with different dialects. They merged and formed a new neighborhood, originally called Bunobon after the ''bunobon'' seedlings that thrived in the soil. It became a sitio of Cabucbucan under the jurisdiction of Bongabon municipality. In 1904, sitio Bunobon became a barrio called Nazareth. Because of the steady arrival of new settlers, a council of elders was formed. Selected as head was Apo Juliano Paraiso, one of the eldest within the group, who took the lead in requesting that government convert Nazareth into an independent town. Through the help of Governor Manuel Tinio and Assemblyman Isauro Gabaldon, the request of the elders was approved in 1908. On December 26, 1912, Vice Governor Newton W. Gilbert signed the act and simultaneously issued a proclamation creating the town of Rizal, after Dr.

José Rizal José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda (, ; June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896) was a Filipino nationalist, writer and polymath active at the end of the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. He is popularly considered a na ...

. On January 1, 1913, Don Julian Paraiso was inaugurated as the first ''alcalde'' of the Municipality. In 1917 and 1918, the Bureau of Land surveyed the municipality for homestead and residential lots. In 1930, Barangay Paco Roman became a barrio, separating it from Barangay Estrella. In 1954, Villa Paraiso was created as a barrio out of barangay Canaan and was named in honor of late Mayor Gaudencio V. Paraiso. In 1959, General Luna officially became a barrio out of barangay Canaan. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, imperial Japanese forces entered and occupied the town in 1942. In 1945, combined U.S. and Philippine Commonwealth ground troops including the local various recognized guerrillas and

Hukbalahap The Hukbong Bayan Laban sa Hapon (), better known by the acronym Hukbalahap, was a Filipino communist guerrilla movement formed by the farmers of Central Luzon. They were originally formed to fight the Japanese, but extended their fight int ...

Communist guerrillas liberated the town and defeated Japanese forces therein. After the war, many families started business and agricultural and farm lands. In 1954, Rizal lost some of its territory when the barrios of San Felipe and San Alfonso were separated to form the town of Llanera along with some territory from Talavera and San Jose. In 1963, Villa Pascua was renamed Barangay Pag-asa which is a part of Barangay Agbanawag. In January 1968, Barangay Casilagan became a barrio thru Res. No. 2 of the Provincial Board on January 3, 1968, which was formerly a sitio of Canaan, which was bisected by the Bulalakay Creek, and it was divided into two barrios known as Canaan Este and Canaan Weste. On July 20, 1970, Sanggunian Panlalawigan passed Resolution No. 220 approving the creation of Barangay Maligaya in accordance with Republic Act No. 3590, the area to be taken from the Barangay Bicos and on July 12, 1971, then the Provincial Board Resolution No. 231, Villa Labrador became a Barrio separating it to Villa Paraiso. In July 1990, Rizal was close to the epicenter of a magnitude 7.7 earthquake. The town suffered unknown fatalities and damage to almost unknown homes, as well as total destruction of its city.

Geography

Barangays

Rizal is politically subdivided into 26

barangay The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...

s. Each barangay consists of

purok A ''purok'' () is an informal division within a barangay in the Philippines. While not officially considered a local government unit (LGU), a ''purok'' often serves as a unit for delivering services and administration within a barangay. ''Pur ...

s and some have

sitios A ''sitio'' (Spanish language, Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own bar ...

. * Agbannawag * Aglipay * Bicos * Cabucbucan * Calaocan District * Canaan East * Canaan West * Casilagan * Del Pilar * Estrella * General Luna * Macapsing * Maligaya * Paco Roman * Pag-asa * Poblacion Central * Poblacion East * Poblacion Norte * Poblacion Sur * Poblacion West * Portal * San Esteban * San Gregorio * Santa Monica * Villa Labrador * Villa Paraiso

Climate

Demographics

Economy

References

External links

* Philippine Standard Geographic Codebr>Philippine Standard Geographic CodePhilippine Census InformationLocal Governance Performance Management System
{{Authority control Municipalities of Nueva Ecija Populated places on the Pampanga River 1912 establishments in the Philippines Populated places established in 1912