Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija

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Pantabangan

Municipality

Seal

Map of Nueva Ecija showing the location of Pantabangan

Pantabangan

Location within the Philippines

Coordinates:

1549N 12109ECoordinates:

Country

Philippines

Region

Central Luzon (Region III)

Province

Nueva Ecija

District

2nd District

Founded

1701

Barangays

14

1549N 12109E

Government[1]
Mayor

Lucio Barcelo Uera

Area[2]
Total

392.56 km2 (151.57 sq mi)

Population (2010)[3]
Total

27,353

Density

70/km2 (180/sq mi)

Time zone

PST (UTC+8)

ZIP code

3124

Dialing code

44

Income class

1st class

Pantabangan is a first class municipality in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. According to
the 2010 census, it has a population of 27,353 people. This is the site of the Pantabangan Dam and
Lake.
[3]

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 and Caraballo Mountain ranges.
Contents
[hide]

1 Barangays
2 History
3 Demographics
4 Arts and Culture
5 Images
6 References
7 External links

Barangays[edit]
Pantabangan is politically subdivided into 14 barangays.

[2]

Cadaclan
Cambitala
Conversion
Ganduz
Liberty
Malbang
Marikit
Napon-Napon
Poblacion East
Poblacion West
Sampaloc
San Juan
Villarica
Fatima

History[edit]
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 Madreand Caraballo Mountains. Based on Mr. Elito V. Circa, a folk
visual artist and a writer who wrote most of the Pantabangan-Egongot arts and culture and
interviewed some of the Egongot chieftains from Aurora province. He discovered that Pantabangan
(Pantabanganan in early 18th century) 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), Kabaritan
(Now San Jose City) and others.
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 Project Act (Republic
Act 5499) authorizing the construction of the Pantabangan Dam 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 Pantabangeos.
About 8,100 hectares (20,000 acres) of productive farmland and the town center (East and
West Poblacion) 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 77,000 hectares (190,000 acres) of agricultural lands in Central Luzon. Its
power station generates 112 megawatts of hydroelectric power.
In February 1996, former President Fidel V. Ramos led the ground-breaking ceremony of the
Casecnan Transbasin Project, a 27 kilometres (17 mi) 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 50,000 hectares
(120,000 acres) 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 41,735,314
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.

Demographics[edit]

Pantabangan Town Hall

Population census of Pantabangan

Year

Pop.

% p.a.

1990

18,341

1995

22,183

+3.63%

2000

23,868

+1.58%

2007

25,520

+0.93%

2010

27,353

+2.56%

Source: National Statistics Office[3]

Arts and Culture[edit]

The Pandawan Festival made its debut in April 2008, showcasing many local talents as well as other
entertainments. Tourists like to visit especially the water sport enthusiasts for jetskiing, boat riding
and even bass fishing.
The memories and legends of the old town are depicted by Pantabangan's child folk painter, Elito V.
Circa on his Alamat ni Minggan (Legend of Minggan), using his blood and hair on his painting.
Jason Abalos is also known showbiz artist, a member of ABS-CBN's circle of homegrown talents
named Star Magic. He was discovered after joining Star Circle Quest, a reality show in search of
new actors also hails from Pantabangan.
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".

Images[edit]

Pantabangan Dam

Forests and mountains (Cadaclan)

Pantabangan N.E. Transport and Public Market (East Poblacion)

Hills and forests (Marikit)