Gapan City
Encyclopedia
Gapan City is a 4th class city in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

. Gapan is nicknamed the "Footwear Capital of the North", and it is an inseparable part of the Rice Granary of the Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 98,795 people in 18,200 households. It has a land area of 164.44 km².

Gapan City is located in the southern part of the province. It is bounded to the north by Peñaranda
Peñaranda, Nueva Ecija
Peñaranda is a 4th class municipality in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 26,725 people in 4,940 households....

 and San Leonardo
San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija
San Leonardo is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 54,596 people in 10,068 households....

, to the east by the Gen. Tinio
General Tinio, Nueva Ecija
General Tinio is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 38,640 people in 6,878 households....

, to the south by San Miguel
San Miguel, Bulacan
San Miguel de Mayumo is a 1st class, partially urban municipality located in the 3rd district of the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 138,839 people.-History:...

 in neighboring Bulacan
Bulacan
Bulacan , officially called the Province of Bulacan or simply Bulacan Province, is a first class province of the Republic of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Region in the island of Luzon, north of Manila , and part of the Metro...

 province, and to the west by San Isidro
San Isidro, Nueva Ecija
San Isidro is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. According to the latest Philippine census, it has a population of 44,687 people in 8,340 households....

.

History

Old records called the town Ibon. How it came to be known as Gapan is an interesting legend: When the place was still wilderness, Spanish soldiers came there on a mission when they saw natives crawling through the thick bushes. The soldier stopped them and, not knowing the local dialect, asked in Spanish for the name of the place. The natives knew nothing on the Spanish language and, thinking that the Spanish were asking what they were doing, answered in Tagalog
Tagalog language
Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...

, a local dialect "Gumagapang gapang kami". The Spanish took it as a name and henceforth called The Pueblo Gapang. In time, the letter "g" was dropped and the name Gapan sticks to this day. Another legend stated the name came from the climbing and crawling plants that were so numerous in the locality.

Gapan was founded by the Spanish curates and officials who, in their early occupation, exercised great influence over the people and the things they were doing. History places Gapan as one of the first towns of Pampanga
Pampanga
Pampanga is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the City of San Fernando, Pampanga. Pampanga is bordered by the provinces of Bataan and Zambales to the west, Tarlac and Nueva Ecija to the north, and Bulacan to the southeast...

 founded sometime in the middle part of the sixteenth century. Records of the first Catholic mission to the far east indicated that in 1595, Fathers Contres Tendilla, Caballo and Salazar were responsible for clearing the forest which later became a pueblo. In this pueblo, a church, presedencia and residential houses made of bricks and lime were constructed, now the age-old landmarks of the city.

Its foundation in 1595 makes Gapan the oldest town in Nueva Ecija and one of the oldest in the Philippines. It was likewise a big pueblo embracing an area as far as Cabanatuan City
Cabanatuan City
The City of Cabanatuan is a first class, urban city in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. It is considered the commercial, industrial and educational hub of the province. According to the latest census, it has a population of 259,267 people in 45,424 households which makes it the largest...

 in the north, which was its barrio with the name Cabanatuan before it separated in 1750: the Sierra Madres in the East, San Miguel
San Miguel, Bulacan
San Miguel de Mayumo is a 1st class, partially urban municipality located in the 3rd district of the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 138,839 people.-History:...

, Bulacan
Bulacan
Bulacan , officially called the Province of Bulacan or simply Bulacan Province, is a first class province of the Republic of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Region in the island of Luzon, north of Manila , and part of the Metro...

 in the south and Candaba, Pampanga
Pampanga
Pampanga is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the City of San Fernando, Pampanga. Pampanga is bordered by the provinces of Bataan and Zambales to the west, Tarlac and Nueva Ecija to the north, and Bulacan to the southeast...

 in the West. Gradually as the Spanish power waned and economic progress caught up in the area, the pueblo disintegrated into many pueblos until it remained to comprise only the towns of Peñaranda, General Tinio and San Leonardo
San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija
San Leonardo is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 54,596 people in 10,068 households....

 (formerly called Manikling) all of Nueva Ecija province. In fact the Patron Saint Divina Pastora had its origin or residence in Barrio Callos, Peñaranda.

In 1942, the occupation by the Japanese forces in Gapan, Nueva Ecija, In 1945, entering by the Filipino troops of the 2nd, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 25th & 26th Infantry Division of the Philippine Commonwealth Army took Gapan together with the Novo Ecijano guerrilla resistance, Hukbalahap Communist rebel forces and the American liberation military forces of the United States Army at the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

By virtue of Republic Act No. 9022 and its ratification in a plebiscite subsequently held on August 25, 2001, Gapan was converted into a component city of Nueva Ecija
Nueva Ecija
Nueva Ecija is a landlocked province of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is Palayan City...

. Ernesto L. Natividad became the first city mayor of Gapan.

Liberation and the Battle of Gapan

After the Japanese air raid bombing and fighter planes invaded the town of Gapan on December 1941 during the Japanese Invasion through the occupation by the Imperial Japanese Army forces entered in Gapan on 1942 during the Japanese Occupation. When the aftermath of the retreated by all the local Novo Ecijaño guerrilla resistance and the Hukbalahap Communist guerrilla groups was the main invading commands was around side by side in the municipality of Gapan and attacking by all Imperial Japanese Army forces from the couple of few months and four years after the Counter-Insurgencies during the Japanese Occupation from 1942 to 1945 and before the main battle commands of all joint Filipino troops under the Philippine Commonwealth Army units and the American troops under the United States Army units was liberated in Gapan on 1945 during the fighting of main battle stages.

Beginning the Battle of Gapan on January to August 1945 during the Allied Liberation, the liberators of all combined military force of the Filipino troops under the Philippine Commonwealth Army 2nd, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 25th & 26th Infantry Division and the American liberating soldiers of the United States Army was recaptured and invading to around the municipality of Gapan on January 1945 to aiding the local Novo Ecijaño guerrilla resistance and the Hukbalahap Communist guerrilla groups and attacked and defeating Japanese Imperial Army forces and Makapili rebel fighters.

From January to August 1945, the many stronghold of all combined military forces of the Filipino soldiers, military officers, tank commanders, military IFV's, military trucks and jeeps, artillery and mortars and many other military equipments under the 2nd, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 25th & 26th Infantry Division of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and the American soldiers, military officers, tank commanders, military IFV's, military trucks and jeeps, artillery and mortars and many other military equipments under the United States Army was captured and invading the military battles, sieges and invading commands are bombed and destroyed around the plains, green fields, rice fields, rivers, forests and many others are burned and they captured and invading the battle, local military raids and invading commands are bombed and destroyed around the streets, old buildings and houses, villages, roman catholic churches, municipal town halls, town plazas and many others through aiding the local Novo Ecijaño guerrilla resistance and the Hukbalahap Communist guerrilla groups was side by side by attacked and defeating Japanese Imperial Army forces and Makapili militias from the couple of seven months and one year during the liberating battles, sieges, local military raids and invading the municipal town of Gapan during the liberation.

Start the joint and combined Allied military and guerrilla main sieges and invasions of the military field camps and garrisons of the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces and the Makapili headquarters in the municipal town of Gapan. The stronghold of all combined Filipino soldiers and officers under the Philippine Commonwealth Army units, the American soldiers of the United States Army units and local Novo Ecijano resistance groups was invaded and attacking sieges of the military field camps and garrisons of the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces and the headquarters of the Makapili was entering the camps and they inside to main attack and fought against the Japanese Imperial Army soldiers and Makapili rebels. The aftermath of the Allied Filipino and American sieges and invasions of the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces and Makapili militia groups in Gapan, the decisive successfully victories of all the stronghold the joint Filipino troops and officers of the Philippine Commonwealth Army units, the American soldiers of the United States Army units and local Novo Ecijano resistance fighters are saluted and captured and retaking the Japanese field camps and garrisons and the Makapili headquarters at the town municipalities after the fighting commands and surrendered and retreating Japanese troops and Makapili rebel forces.

Meanwhile, the re-taken and capturing of the Japanese military field camps and garrisons and the headquarters of the Makapili in Gapan was there inside by the joint military forces of the Filipino soldiers and officers under the Philippine Commonwealth Army units and the American soldiers of the United States Army units including the local Novo Ecijano guerrilla resistance was pole flag raising of down of the Japanese flag for the Imperial Japanese military through the capturing and taken the up of the joint United States flag and the Philippine war flag for the joint United States and Philippine Commonwealth military after the fighting of the siege and invading commands for the victorious of the stronghold combined Filipinos and Americans.

The Aftermath of the Battle of Gapan on August 1945, the local Philippine Commonwealth military and Novo Ecijano guerrilla resistance casualties during the fighting and succeeding battles, invasions and sieges includes of all Filipino troops and officers of the Philippine Commonwealth Army 2nd, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 25th & 26th Infantry Division was over 4,470 killed in action and over 15,300 wounded in action, the American troops and officers of the United States Army was over 2,400 killed in action and over 6,000 wounded in action, while the local Novo Ecijano guerrilla resistance groups was suffered over 400 killed in action and over 1,140 wounded in action, the Hukbalahap Communist groups over 720 killed in action and over 1,350 wounded in action. From the part of Japanese Imperial Army forces over 25,000 killed in action, 58,000 wounded in action and over 14,000 captured in action, the Makapili militia groups over 400 killed in action, 670 wounded in action and over 1,260 captured in action. The joint Filipino soldiers and officers under the Philippine Commonwealth Army units and the American soldiers and officers of the United States Army units include with the local Novo Ecijano and Hukbalahap Communist resistance fighters to saluted on their decisive successfully victories after the invasions, sieges and battle main commands as they captured the municipal town of Gapan after the war.
And the new mayor of gapan City is Bojie Jimenez and vice mayor is Aldous Ronquillo..hahaha
cool

Economy

Current major sources of income include farming, slipper making, fishponds, poultry and piggery, and commercial establishments.

The city of Gapan held tremendous promise not only in its natural resources but also in its potentials in agri base industries and in footwear industries which help sustain its virtual role in agricultural and industrial production. Commercial and trade activities in the city are further accelerated by the influx of financing lending institution and new businesses.

Schools in Gapan City

  • Balante Elementary School
  • San Nicolas National High School
  • San Nicolas Central School
  • Divina Pastora College
  • Juan R. Liwag Memorial High School
  • Gapan North Elementary School
  • Gapan South Elementary School
  • Gapan East Central School
  • Mangino Elementary School
  • Village Montessori School
  • Sheperdess Montessori
  • The Great Sheperd Montessori
  • San Roque Elementary School
  • San Roque High School
  • Pambuan Elementary School
  • Gapan Computer Technical Institute
  • ACLC College (Gapan Campus)
  • Allen Institute of Technology
  • College for Research and Technology
  • Ladder of Success Montessori School
  • Mabuga Elementary School
  • Sta.Cruz Elementary School
  • Sta.Cruz National High School
  • Velcar Elementary School
  • United Methodist Learning School
  • Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology - Gapan Academic Extension Campus
  • Gapan City Technical School

Barangays

Gapan City is politically subdivided into 25 barangay
Barangay
A barangay is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district or ward...

s.

  • Balante
  • Bayanihan
  • Bulak
  • Bungo
  • Kapalangan
  • Mabuga
  • Maburak
  • Macabaklay
  • Mahipon
  • Baluarte
  • Punot
  • Malimba
  • Mangino
  • Marelo

  • Pambuan
  • Parcutela
  • Puting Tubig
  • San Lorenzo
  • San Nicolas
  • San Roque/Baluarte
  • San Vicente
  • Sta Cruz
  • Sto. Cristo Norte
  • Sto. Cristo Sur
  • Sto. Niño


External links

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