Cabanatuan city

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Cabanatuan, officially the City of Cabanatuan is a city in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. It is the first class and largest city in Nueva Ecija, and 5th in Central Luzon with a population of 272,676 in 2010.

The city is popular for being home to more than 30,000 tricycles and prides itself as the "Tricycle Capital of the Philippines" and its strategic location along the Cagayan Valley Road has made the city a major economic, educational, medical, entertainment shopping and transportation center in Nueva Ecija and nearby provinces in the region such as Aurora and Bulacan. It has earned the moniker "Gateway to the North".

Cabanatuan remained as Nueva Ecija's capital until 1965 when the government created 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.

History

Cabanatuan was founded as Barrio of Gapan in 1750 and became a Municipality and capital of La Provincia de Nueva Ecija in 1780. 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. However, in 1965, Congress created Palayan City, which has been the capital ever since.

During World War II, the occupying Japanese built 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 marched 30 miles (48 km) 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 and American troops of the U.S. Army 6th Ranger Battalion celebrated having obtained the freedom of 500 American POWs. 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 Infantry Regiment, and the United States Army in Cabanatuan from February 1945 to June 1946 during the Allied Liberation. 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.

Cabanatuan was the epicenter of a very large earthquake at roughly 3 P.M. on July 16, 1990. It leveled some buildings, including the Christian College of the Philippines (Liwag Colleges) in the midst of class time. At 7.8 on the surface wave magnitude scale, it killed 1,653 people.

Conversion from town, component city to highly urbanized city
Cabanatuan became a city by virtue of Republic Act No. 526, approved on June 16, 1950.[6] In 1998, Cabanatuan was declared by then-president Fidel V. Ramos as a highly urbanized city however it failed ratification after the majority of votes in the plebiscite was negative.

Cabanatuan was declared as highly urbanized city by President Benigno S. Aquino III under Presidential Proclamation No. 418 on July 14, 2012. A plebiscite scheduled on 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 couldn't provide the funds needed for the plebiscite. No new date has been set until city government certifies that P101 million is available for the holding of the plebiscite.

Religion

Roman Catholicism has been the predominant religion in the city, being host to a major cathedral - the St. Nicholas of Tolentine Cathedral which serves as the seat of the bishop of the Diocese of Cabanatuan. There are three major Catholic structures located within the city, these are the Mother of Perpetual Help Parish, the Carmelite Sisters Convent and the Maria Assumpta Seminary. Local chapels/parishes are also present in most barangays. Iglesia ni Cristo also maintains a remarkable presence in Cabanatuan with its large house of worship in Brgy. Zulueta with a 5,000 persons seating inside. Jesus Miracle Crusade and The United Methodist Church also have a large number of congregation within the city. Other Christian denominations also exist. The Islamic faith also has a remarkable presence in Cabanatuan, specifically within the districts of Imelda and Isla. Two large mosques exist in the city, with the largest located at Imelda District.

Geograph

Cabanatuan City is located in the rolling central plains of Luzon drained by the Pampanga River. The city is seated about 13 km west-southwest of the provincial capital Palayan City and 117 km north of Manila. The geographic coordinates of Cabanatuan City are 15° 29' 22 N, 120° 58' 14 E.

Climate

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 53 °C RealFeel on the city which is the hottest yet recorded.

Economy

Cabanatuan City is the economic heart of Nueva Ecija and is the core of a metropolitan area of about 580,000 people. It is a vital financial center home to 59 banks, 135 non-bank financial institutions, headquarters of some of the largest rural banks in Central Luzon, and a branch of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). Its banks reportedly hold more than 29 billion pesos, 16th among cities outside Metro Manila. It also ranks as one of the most livable cities in the Philippines together with Makati City in terms of banking convenience. The city is the distribution center of goods and commodities for Nueva Ecija. Distribution warehouses and sales offices are found throughout the city. Although Cabanatuan does not have significant manufacturing industries, its dynamic service sector together with the thriving agriculture drives the economy forward.

Indicators reflect Cabanatuan economic achievements in the past few years. The growth of new business registrations in the city reached 26% last year while locally sourced taxes grew 12.23% annually in the ten years to 2015. Residential buildings and subdivisions, already exceeding 100, are taking up lands on the fringes of the downtown. The presence of big land developers such as Sta. Lucia Realty, Vista Land and Ayala Land ensures competition and quality in the new suburban homes. Commercial buildings are filling the CBD and Maharlika Highway on the average of 75 per year. Many car dealerships set up shop in the past five years, counting Cabanatuan among the cities with the most number of car dealerships in the country. Existing dealerships include Toyota (Toyota Cabanatuan Inc. being the 709th largest Philippine corporation), Kia, Isuzu, Mazda, Ford, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Peugeot, Hyundai, Suzuki,and Mahindra.

Telecommunications infrastructure is highly developed thanks to major players Globe, Smart, Sun Cellular, PLDT and Digitel that maintain business offices in the city. A number of TV and radio stations are also present. The city's electricity is provided by Cabanatuan Electric Corporation (CELCOR), the 879th largest Philippine corporation. CELCOR owns a 26.5-MW diesel power plant that provides the city's needed load when the supply in Luzon grid is thin.

To further explore its vibrant economic potentials, Cabanatuan is seeking to have a share of the IT-BPO boom. The first call center in Nueva Ecija was successfully established in the city in 2008. The city government is equally keen on attracting big-ticket projects by providing prospective investors fast business applications processing, low business taxes, income tax holidays and other similar incentives.

Cabanatuan nowadays is fast-becoming a major investment hub and is considered as one of the most competitive cities for doing business in the country. Investors in banking, real estate, retail and other business and industrial enterprises are similarly drawn to the city because of its adequate infrastructure and support services. Its continuing urbanization has been luring investors not only into the city but also to its suburban municipalities as well.

The city's total income reached PHP 1.063 billion in 2014, and its total assets amounted to PHP 2.826 billion (2014).