Rizal, Nueva Ecija

Rizal, officially the Municipality of Rizal (Ilocano: Ili ti Rizal; Tagalog: Bayan ng Rizal) is a municipality in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 70,196 people.^[5]

Rizal
Municipality
Municipality of Rizal
Downtown
Seal
Map of Nueva Ecija with Rizal highlighted
OpenStreetMap
Rizal Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 15°42′36″N 121°06′17″E
Country	Philippines
Region	Central Luzon
Province	Nueva Ecija
District	2nd district
Founded	1913
Named after	Dr. José Rizal
Barangays	26 (see Barangays)
Government  [1]
• Type	Sangguniang Bayan
• Mayor	Hanna Katrina L. Andres
• Vice Mayor	Rafaelito V. Andres
• Representative	Mario O. Salvador
• Municipal Council	Members Dennis R. Soliven Cindy F. Abesamis Eric Jason D. Sulfelix Mark Jay R. Miranda Rosalinda M. De Guzman Sherwin B. Inocente Louie G. Acosta Christian V. Mangapis
• Electorate	37,002 voters (2025)
Area [2]
• Total	120.55 km2 (46.54 sq mi)
Elevation	103 m (338 ft)
Highest elevation	327 m (1,073 ft)
Lowest elevation	71 m (233 ft)
Population  (2024 census)[3]
• Total	71,749
• Density	600/km2 (1,500/sq mi)
• Households	17,402
Economy
• Income class	2nd municipal income class
• Poverty incidence	13.98 % (2021)[4]
• Revenue	₱ 299.6 million (2022)
• Assets	₱ 771.8 million (2022)
• Expenditure	₱ 245.2 million (2022)
• Liabilities	₱ 238.9 million (2022)
Service provider
• Electricity	Nueva Ecija 2 Area 2 Electric Cooperative (NEECO 2 A2)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	3127
PSGC	0304923000
IDD : area code	+63 (0)44
Native languages	Ilocano Tagalog

Rizal is 35 kilometers (22 mi) from Cabanatuan, 49 kilometers (30 mi) from Palayan, 151 kilometers (94 mi) from Manila, and 123 kilometers (76 mi) from Bayombong.

History

Historically, two groups were known to have settled in the area. The main group consisted entirely of the pioneer-settlers who were Ilocanos, while others, who arrived later, were of different tribes with different dialects. They merged and formed a new neighborhood, originally called Bunobon after the bunobon seedlings that thrived in the soil. It became a sitio of Cabucbucan under the jurisdiction of Bongabon municipality.

In 1904, sitio Bunobon became a barrio called Nazareth. Because of the steady arrival of new settlers, a council of elders was formed. Selected as head was Apo Juliano Paraiso, one of the eldest within the group, who took the lead in requesting that government convert Nazareth into an independent town. Through the help of Governor Manuel Tinio and Assemblyman Isauro Gabaldon, the request of the elders was approved in 1908.

On December 26, 1912, Vice Governor Newton W. Gilbert signed the act and simultaneously issued a proclamation creating the town of Rizal, after Dr. José Rizal. On January 1, 1913, Don Julian Paraiso was inaugurated as the first alcalde of the Municipality. In 1917 and 1918, the Bureau of Land surveyed the municipality for homestead and residential lots. In 1930, Barangay Paco Roman became a barrio, separating it from Barangay Estrella. In 1954, Villa Paraiso was created as a barrio out of barangay Canaan and was named in honor of late Mayor Gaudencio V. Paraiso. In 1959, General Luna officially became a barrio out of barangay Canaan.^[6]

In 1954, Rizal lost some of its territory when the barrios of San Felipe and San Alfonso were separated to form the town of Llanera along with some territory from Talavera and San Jose.^[7]

In 1963, Villa Pascua was renamed Barangay Pag-asa which is a part of Barangay Agbanawag. In January 1968, Barangay Casilagan became a barrio through Resolution Number 2 of the Provincial Board on January 3, 1968, which was formerly a sitio of Canaan, which was bisected by the Bulalakay Creek, and it was divided into two barrios known as Canaan Este and Canaan Weste. On July 20, 1970, Sanggunian Panlalawigan passed Resolution No. 220 approving the creation of Barangay Maligaya in accordance with Republic Act No. 3590, the area to be taken from the Barangay Bicos and on July 12, 1971, then the Provincial Board Resolution No. 231, Villa Labrador became a Barrio separating it to Villa Paraiso.

Rizal was close to the epicenter of the 1990 Luzon earthquake on July 16.^[8]

Geography

Barangays

Rizal is politically subdivided into 26 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

• Agbannawag
• Aglipay
• Bicos
• Cabucbucan
• Calaocan District
• Canaan East
• Canaan West
• Casilagan
• Del Pilar
• Estrella
• General Luna
• Macapsing
• Maligaya
• Paco Roman
• Pag-asa
• Poblacion Central
• Poblacion East
• Poblacion Norte
• Poblacion Sur
• Poblacion West
• Portal
• San Esteban
• San Gregorio
• Santa Monica
• Villa Labrador
• Villa Paraiso

Climate

Climate data for Rizal, 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)	31 (88)	33 (91)	33 (91)	31 (88)	30 (86)	29 (84)	29 (84)	30 (86)	30 (86)	29 (84)	30 (87)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	19 (66)	19 (66)	20 (68)	22 (72)	23 (73)	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[9]

Demographics

Municipal hall

Population census of Rizal

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1918 6,687 —     1939 15,936 +4.22% 1948 16,754 +0.56% 1960 19,447 +1.25% 1970 25,919 +2.91% 1975 28,517 +1.93% 1980 31,407 +1.95% 1990 38,970 +2.18%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1995 45,834 +3.09% 2000 48,166 +1.07% 2007 52,465 +1.19% 2010 57,145 +3.16% 2015 64,087 +2.21% 2020 70,196 +1.93% 2024 71,749 +0.53%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[10][11][12][13][14]

Economy

Casecnan Dam (The Casecnan Irrigation and Power Generation Project)

Poverty incidence of Rizal

10 20 30 40 2000 35.22 2003 19.78 2006 30.20 2009 19.34 2012 18.21 2015 15.21 2018 7.35 2021 13.98 Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]