Nampicuan

Nampicuan, officially the Municipality of Nampicuan (Ilocano: Ili ti Nampicuan; Tagalog: Bayan ng Nampicuan), is a municipality in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 14,471 people, making it the least populated municipality in the province.^[5]

Nampicuan
Municipality
Municipality of Nampicuan
Downtown area
Flag Seal
Map of Nueva Ecija with Nampicuan highlighted
OpenStreetMap
Nampicuan Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 15°44′03″N 120°38′08″E
Country	Philippines
Region	Central Luzon
Province	Nueva Ecija
District	1st district
Barangays	21 (see Barangays)
Government  [1]
• Type	Sangguniang Bayan
• Mayor	Mario G. Lacurom
• Vice Mayor	Victor M. Badar
• Representative	Mikaela Angela B. Suansing
• Municipal Council	Members Reginaldo C. Pascual Bessie S. Tacas Jervy A. Cruz Jay S.Santos Roberto S. Marquez Kathlene M. Saclao Marlou P. Gamboa Marlon E. Celestino
• Electorate	11,606 voters (2025)
Area [2]
• Total	52.60 km2 (20.31 sq mi)
Elevation	22 m (72 ft)
Highest elevation	44 m (144 ft)
Lowest elevation	16 m (52 ft)
Population  (2024 census)[3]
• Total	15,297
• Density	290/km2 (750/sq mi)
• Households	3,522
Economy
• Income class	5th municipal income class
• Poverty incidence	10.73 % (2021)[4]
• Revenue	₱ 121.1 million (2022)
• Assets	₱ 360.2 million (2022)
• Expenditure	₱ 103.8 million (2022)
• Liabilities	₱ 114.4 million (2022)
Service provider
• Electricity	Tarlac 1 Electric Cooperative (TARELCO 1)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	3116
PSGC	0304918000
IDD : area code	+63 (0)44
Native languages	Ilocano Tagalog

History

The name Nampicuan stems from the word “Nagpicuan” which means a curve road. This refers to a trail called “curva”, as the inhabitants of Pangasinan used to call it. According to the first settlers, the site was a sitio named used “Surgue” or "Suli” situated in the eastern part of what eventually became the poblacion of Nampicuan. It was the point where the feeder road from Moncada, Tarlac turned abruptly north-east towards the town of Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija.

The first known settlers were Ilocanos from Paoay, Ilocos Region, Pangasinan and Zambales. In 1880, having found the soil productive for agricultural purposes, the early settlers cleared the place, cultivated the land and cut down the trees. The trees were sawed into lumber later used to construct their houses.

Before its formal creation and declaration as a municipality, Nampicuan was then a part and under the political jurisdiction of the town of Cuyapo. As time passed and as the population continued to grow, the demand for land and its resources grew such that, by the end of the 19th century, the barrio Nampicuan became a municipality and the first alcaldes mayores were Andres Tabilangan and Feliciano Cuaresma.

In 1903, while the Philippines was still under American rule, Nampicuan was reverted to the status of a barrio of Cuyapo. Upon proper presentation however of the prominent residents of this place, Nampicuan was again elevated to the status of municipality. In 1907, the first church was constructed led by Reverend Luis Corpuz and the establishment of Gabaldon Primary School under the first Principal/Teacher, Clodualdo Bringas. After a year, Nampicuan become a third class municipality of Nueva Ecija with the first leaders, President Laureano O. Gonzales and Vice – President Simeon Quiaoit.

Geography

Barangays

Nampicuan is politically subdivided into 21 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

• Alemania
• Ambassador Alzate Village
• Cabaducan East (Poblacion)
• Cabaducan West (Poblacion)
• Cabawangan
• East Central Poblacion
• Edy
• Maeling
• Mayantoc
• Medico
• Monic
• North poblacion
• Northwest Poblacion
• Estacion
• West Poblacion
• Recuerdo
• South Central Poblacion
• Southeast Poblacion
• Southwest Poblacion
• Tony
• West Central Poblacion.

Climate

Climate data for Nampicuan, Nueva Ecija
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	30 (86)	31 (88)	33 (91)	35 (95)	33 (91)	31 (88)	30 (86)	29 (84)	29 (84)	30 (86)	31 (88)	30 (86)	31 (88)
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)	3 (0.1)	2 (0.1)	5 (0.2)	10 (0.4)	80 (3.1)	107 (4.2)	138 (5.4)	147 (5.8)	119 (4.7)	70 (2.8)	26 (1.0)	8 (0.3)	715 (28.1)
Average rainy days	2.0	1.7	2.7	4.6	16.1	20.8	24.0	23.0	21.4	15.5	8.0	3.2	143
Source: Meteoblue [6]

Demographics

Population census of Nampicuan

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1903 4,180 —     1918 4,632 +0.69% 1939 5,023 +0.39% 1948 5,377 +0.76% 1960 6,084 +1.03% 1970 6,639 +0.88% 1975 7,350 +2.06% 1980 7,597 +0.66%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1990 8,426 +1.04% 1995 10,708 +4.59% 2000 11,033 +0.64% 2007 11,786 +0.91% 2010 13,303 +4.50% 2015 14,954 +2.25% 2020 14,471 −0.69% 2024 15,297 +1.34%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[7][8][9][10][11]

Nampicuan Town Hall

Economy

Poverty incidence of Nampicuan

10 20 30 40 2000 35.59 2003 31.22 2006 28.10 2009 25.79 2012 16.31 2015 19.09 2018 6.62 2021 10.73 Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]

Education

Nampicuan High School

• Nampicuan Central School
• Nampicuan Christian Academy
• Alzate Village Elementary School
• United Methodist Church Learning Central
• Cabawangan Elementary School
• Mayantoc Elementary School
• Recuerdo Elementary School
• Monic Elementary School
• Maeling Elementary School
• Nampicuan High School
• St. Pius X Institute of Nampicuan, Inc.
• Recuerdo National High School

In 2020, a bill was filed at the Congress of the Philippines to construct a regular NEUST campus in Nampicuan.^[20]