Bongabon

Bongabon, officially the Municipality of Bongabon (Ilocano: Ili ti Bongabon; Tagalog: Bayan ng Bongabon), is a municipality in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 69,376 people. Bongabon is the leading producer of onion in the Philippines and in Southeast Asia.^[1]

Spanish colonial era

Bongabon was the capital of Nueva Ecija after Baler. The Augustinian missionaries who preached Catholicism in Pampanga extended their outposts into what is now the province of Nueva Ecija by following the Rio Grande de Pampanga. Thus, Santol (present day Barangay Santor) was part of Pantabangan and established in 1659.^[1]

American occupation

With the outbreak of the Philippine–American War on 1899 to 1902, the town saw the arrival of American troops which fought the Filipino revolutionary troops and Katipuneros in the Battle of Bongabon on 1899. In the ensuing battle, the town was captured by the American troops.^[1]

Philippine independence

On April 28, 1949, Aurora Quezon, her daughter Maria Aurora "Baby" Quezon, then a law student at the University of Santo Tomas, her son-in-law Felipe "Philip" Buencamino (husband of "Nini" and brother-in-law of "Baby") and Quezon City Mayor Ponciano Bernardo were assassinated by Hukbalahap rebels in this town while traveling in Aurora's Buick sedan along the Baler–Bongabon Road connecting Baler with Nueva Ecija, which Aurora Quezon herself inaugurated in 1940, to open the Quezon Memorial Hospital in Baler, Aurora, hometown of Aurora and her husband Manuel Quezon, then a town of Nueva Ecija before 1902 and a town of Quezon Province since 1902 and in 1949.^[1]

Barangays

barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.^[1]

Religion

The majority of the people of the municipality are Roman Catholic. The members of the Iglesia ni Cristo are growing in number and are second to the Catholics in membership. Other sects in the municipality are the Methodists, Iglesia ng Dios, Seventh-day Adventists, etc.^[1]

Tourism

Sibuyas Festival is celebrated as a form of thanksgiving every 10 April, and a way to promote and show their town as one of the largest producers of onion in Asia.^[1]

Healthcare

Bongabon District Hospital, a government hospital located at Barangay Curva, Bongabon, Nueva Ecija^[1]

Education

The Bongabon Schools District Office governs all educational institutions within the municipality. It oversees the management and operations of all private and public, from primary to secondary schools.^[1]

Location

Bongabon is based in Central Luzon, Nueva Ecija, Bongabon.^[2]

Online presence

Bongabon works in local government and places. Its website is bongabon.ph.^[2]