Peñaranda, Nueva Ecija

Peñaranda is a 4th class municipality in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. It is bordered by municipalities of General Tinio and San Leonardo and the city of Gapan. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 24,749 people in 4,940 households.

The area was originally called Mapisong, and it was a part of the municipality of Gapan. The area was organized into a municipality by José Maria Peñaranda, a Spanish engineer, and subsequently named after him.

Peñaranda was once known for its high quality crop called "ikmo", a plant used by older Filipinos as a chewing substance. Recently however, the crop is on the brink of extinction. Rice remains a flourishing farm produce.

Every May, Peñaranda residents stage a musical drama called "Araquio", a re-enactment of Christians' quest led by Queen Helena and King Constantine for the Holy Cross where Jesus Christ was nailed. Actors and actresses garbed in colorful and cute costumes dramatize this century old tradition which features swordfights between the Christians and Moors.

Peñaranda is also known for its mouth-watering, native rice cakes such as espasol, putong puti and sapin-sapin.

History

In 1942, the Japanese Occupation forces entered in Peñaranda, Nueva Ecija.

In 1945, entering to the Philippine Commonwealth troops taked in Peñaranda, Nueva Ecija together with the local guerrilla units we fronted the battles against the Japanese troops by defeated from successful to the Philippine troops and guerrillas beginning the Siege of Peñaranda during World War 2.

Barangays

Peñaranda is politically subdivided into 10 barangays.

* Callos
* Las Piñas
* Poblacion I
* Poblacion II
* Poblacion III
* Poblacion IV
* Santo Tomas
* Sinasajan
* San Josef
* San Mariano (Maugat)

External links

* [http://www.pasyalan.net/nueva_ecija/ Pasyalan Nueva Ecija]
* [http://www.nscb.gov.ph/activestats/psgc/default.asp Philippine Standard Geographic Code]
* [http://www.t-macs.com/kiso/local/ 2000 Philippine Census Information]