History
Early accounts on the history of Catuguian, now Talavera, may be traced from the history of the early Augustinian religious missions in lowland Nueva Ecija, particularly from the mission in Gapan in 1595. [8] Such missions laid the basis for the succeeding religious missions in Cabanatuan, as a visita of Gapan in 1750. When Cabanatuan was made a capital city (cabecera) in 1780, the Augustinian missionaries assigned to Cabanatuan carried out small religious missions, or visitas, within its jurisdiction. Catuguian became a visita (a subsidiary mission) of the ensuing Augustinian religious mission of Cabanatuan in 1846.
The establishment of the visita facilitated the consolidation of its dispersed settlements. It ushered in a period of growth and expansion of its community, mainly comprising the skilled Tagalog farmers. Similarly, the visita laid a foundation for its spiritual governance and religious administration. This caused the growth of the population of Catuguian, especially when Nueva Ecija became an independent province in 1848 from being a district (corregimiento) in 1801. [9] [10]
In 1852, the inhabitants of Catuguian submitted a petition to the mayor (alcalde) of Nueva Ecija requesting the creation of a pueblo. The proposal sought to consolidate the barrios of La Torre, Concepcion, Pulong Buli (later Santo Domingo), Valle, and Baloc, with Catuguian designated as the seat of the new town. The petition was subsequently forwarded to the Governor-General in Manila for approval.
On 11 December 1852, the petition was granted, and a new pueblo was created, with Catuguian serving as its cabecera, or the headquarters. The consolidated barrios of La Torre, Santo Domingo, Baloc, Concepcion, and Valle formed the earliest component settlements of the town.
A subsequent petition was filed on February 4, 1853, to the governor-general in Manila, requesting that the town be renamed "Talavera", after Talavera de la Reina in Spain. The petition was approved on February 14, 1853, and Catuguian officially came to be known as Talavera.
Following a royal decree of 20 December 1863, a system of separate primary education for boys and girls was established in each pueblo, including in Talavera. By 1866, the population had risen to 4,421 inhabitants. On 20 November 1872, a Royal Decree issued by King Amadeo I formally recognized the Parroquia de Talavera as an independent parish. [11]
Talavera became one of the primary suppliers of cattle to the Manila Market, owing to its rich grasslands. [12] .
During the Philippine-American War, Talavera was occupied by General Henry Lawton. [13] In 1910, the Sitio of Bacal, formerly Buenavista (part of San Juan de Guimba), was annexed to Talavera in 1910 upon the recommendation of Isauro Gabaldon. [14] In 1912, the Sitios of Kabisukulan, Rangayan, Rizal, Siniguelas, Pukoc, Agricultura, Pulong-Maragol, and Mataas-na-Lupa were separated from Talavera and were organized into an independent municipality under Muñoz in 1912. [15] In 1914, the barrio of Lomboy was annexed to Talavera. [16] In 1937, the barrio of San Francisco was separated from Talavera and was annexed to Sto. Domingo in 1937. [17]
During the American occupation, a wave of migration to Talavera occurred because of the rising demand for agriculture and livestock grazing, as haciendas grew in size. [18] Peasant struggles became evident in San Ricardo, Bantug, Casili, and Morcon, because of landlordism and shared tenancy, including unfair farm practices on rations and tenant pays. [19] : 11 Land tenure became a problem owing to the government's failure to effect genuine land transfer of land ownership to peasant farmers. [20]
In December 1941, shortly after Christmas, the Imperial Japanese Army occupied Talavera. [19] : 62 Squadron 8 of the Hukbalahap was formed in Talavera, with more than 100 members. [19] : 70 In 1945, Talavera became a strategic line of defense, especially San Pascual and Pinagpanaan, against the retreating Imperial Japanese Army. [21] Barangay Sibul became a rendezvous point for 510 rescued prisoners of war at Camp Pangatian. [22]
After the war, Talavera experienced the expansion of the Huk forces in Nueva Ecija, where Nueva Ecija became part of what is known as Huklandia. [23] Some barrios of Talavera, namely General Luna, Morcon, Mabini, Ricarte, Casili, and Picon, along with Plaridel and Bosque, were annexed to Llanera in 1955. [24]
Geography
Talavera is relatively flat, with a slope ranging from 0 to 3%. Its elevation, which ranges from 31m to 61m above sea level, with an average elevation of 42m, is importantly suitable for agricultural, commercial, and industrial developments. Its aggregate arable land amounts to 12,698.1 ha or 89.075% of its total land area, of which less than 70% is irrigated or cultivated. Its land form consists generally of a broad expanse of low-lying level plains, with leveled terrains covered usually with greens or grasslands.
Talavera is part of the Cabanatuan conurbation as an adjacent urban center in the heart of Nueva Ecija. It is bordered by Cabanatuan, Llanera, Muñoz, Aliaga, General Mamerto Natividad, Santo Domingo and San Jose.
Talavera is 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) from Cabanatuan, 28 kilometres (17 mi) from Palayan, and 130 kilometres (81 mi) from Manila.
Barangays
Talavera is politically subdivided into 53 barangays, as shown below. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.
Barangays in italics are exclaves of Talavera and are surrounded by Science City of Muñoz, while barangays emboldened are disputed with neighboring Santo Domingo.
- Andal Aliño (Poblacion)
- Bagong Sikat
- Bagong Silang
- Bakal I
- Bakal II
- Bakal III
- Baluga
- Bantug
- Bantug Hacienda
- Basang Hamog
- Bugtong na Buli
- Bulac
- Burnay
- Calipahan
- Campos
- Casulucan Este
- Collado
- Dimasalang Norte
- Dimasalang Sur
- Dinarayat
- Esguerra (Poblacion)
- Gulod
- Homestead I
- Homestead II
- Cabubulaunan
- Caaninaplahan
- Caputican
- Kinalanguyan
- La Torre (Poblacion)
- Lomboy
- Mabuhay
- Maestrang Kikay (Poblacion)
- Mamandil
- Marcos (Poblacion)
- Matias (Poblacion)
- Matingkis
- Minabuyoc
- Pag-asa (Poblacion)
- Paludpod
- Pantoc Bulac
- Pinagpanaan
- Poblacion Sur (Poblacion)
- Pula
- Pulong San Miguel (Poblacion)
- Sampaloc
- San Miguel na Munti
- San Pascual
- San Ricardo
- Sibul
- Sicsican Matanda
- Tabacao
- Tagaytay
- Valle
Dispute with Science City of Muñoz
While Talavera was undergoing significant fiscal deepening from 1996 to 1999, it entered into a seemingly intractable territorial conflict with the newly chartered Science City of Muñoz, then under Mayor Efren L. Alvarez, over claims involving the Barangays of Bakal I, Bakal II, Bakal III, and Matingkis. The latter claimed that these barangays were “replete with facts” that they once belonged to the Science City of Muñoz, and as such, must be annexed back as component barangays. [25] The latter further characterized that these barangays were like “uncommon arrows”, being part of the territorial boundary of Talavera, piercing the “belly of development” of the Science City of Muñoz.
Owing to this territorial dispute, the Local Government of Talavera was compelled to act to protect its territorial integrity over these disputed areas. [26] It passed several resolutions, affirming firmly, its sovereignty over these barangays, thereby outrightly invalidating the former's claims over them as said barangays were annexed to Talavera as early as 1910 through Executive Order No. 39, series of 1909. In October 1998, for example, the local government of Talavera, through its Sangguniang Bayan, issued a resolution blatantly disapproving of the former's claim over the disputed barangays. [27] At the same time, Barangay Resolutions from these disputed areas were issued in October 1998 as well, expressing generally the residents’ disapproval of the annexation claims. [28] [29] [30]
By February 1999, the LGU of Talavera created the “Task Force Bacal District” to address this highly tenacious concern, elevating it, in fact, to Congress for possible arbitration. [31] In March 1999, the LGU Talavera submitted to some members of Congress pertinent documents relevant to address, if not totally resolve, the problem. [32] By the end of March 1999, because of the interventions of some members of both Houses, and through the collective efforts of the residents of Talavera and its officials, the annexation claims were nullified, resulting in reaffirming Talavera's territorial jurisdiction and integrity. The outcome was a meritorious and legitimate exercise of Talavera's sovereign powers to protect its territorial integrity as a local government unit from the then hostile Science City of Muñoz.
Climate
| Climate data for Talavera, Nueva Ecija |
|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 29
(84) | 30
(86) | 32
(90) | 34
(93) | 33
(91) | 31
(88) | 30
(86) | 29
(84) | 29
(84) | 30
(86) | 30
(86) | 29
(84) | 31
(87) |
|---|
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 19
(66) | 19
(66) | 20
(68) | 22
(72) | 24
(75) | 24
(75) | 24
(75) | 24
(75) | 23
(73) | 22
(72) | 21
(70) | 20
(68) | 22
(71) |
|---|
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 4
(0.2) | 6
(0.2) | 7
(0.3) | 12
(0.5) | 61
(2.4) | 89
(3.5) | 96
(3.8) | 99
(3.9) | 81
(3.2) | 88
(3.5) | 37
(1.5) | 13
(0.5) | 593
(23.5) |
|---|
| Average rainy days | 2.5 | 3.0 | 4.1 | 6.3 | 15.8 | 19.4 | 22.5 | 21.6 | 20.1 | 17.5 | 9.6 | 4.0 | 146.4 |
|---|
| Source: Meteoblue [33] |
