San Jose, Nueva Ecija

On March 19, 1894, San Jose became a full-fledged town, with an interim government headed by a Capitan Municipal. “Kabaritan” (now known as San Jose) was made an independent town from Lupao and was named after Saint Joseph, the patron saint of the place.[7]

During the Spanish Regime, the barrio of Kabaritan was a municipal district of Lupao, headed by a Teniente Absoluto. Later, when Kabaritan was declared a town in 1894, the head was changed to a Capitan Municipal. The first appointed Capitan Municipal was Canuto Ramos, who served from 1894 to 1898. One of his remarkable achievements was the construction of an irrigation system which was later taken over and enlarged by the government (now the Talavera River Irrigation System) which irrigates vast ricefields as far as the towns of Muñoz and Talavera.

Several years before the Philippine Revolution, the Ilocanos from Ilocos Region and some parts of Nueva Ecija, especially the towns of Santo Domingo, Muñoz and Lupao, as well as Pangasinenses of Pangasinan and northern Tarlac, settled into the forest of Kabaritan, and cleared its wilderness.[6] It was from this time then that the growth of the town really started.

When the revolution broke out and upon the surrender of the Spaniards in 1898, a revolutionary government was set up in San Jose. The town remained as such until the establishment of a civil government under the Americans in 1901.[6]

San Jose, under the American Regime,[8] became a progressive town. Its inhabitants enjoyed more rights and privileges- political, economic, intellectual and religious than before. This was due to the establishment of various schools, churches, public buildings and the construction of roads and bridges, which made possible the fast progress of the town.

From 1898 to 1900, a military government under the American Regime[8] was established. Jose Cardenas was appointed Capitan Municipal. During his term, the appointment of town officials, town planning, and the opening of new settlements was among his achievements.

The second appointed Capitan Municipal during the military government (1900–1901) was Celestino Javalde who continued the opening of new settlements and the construction of roads in the poblacion.

When the civil government under the American Regime was established, Cornelio Ramos was appointed Capitan Municipal. He continued the construction of roads in the poblacion and he also took a hand in the construction of irrigation canals leading to the different barrios of San Jose.

In 1904, the Filipinos were given more rights and freedom in choosing the right man to take the reins of the government. An election was held. The first elected Municipal President was Crisanto Sanchez (1904–1906). Among his achievements was the construction of roads, the naming of the streets in the poblacion and the appointments of municipal officials.

Again, (1906–1908) Celestino Javalde was elected Municipal President.[7] With the help of his vice-president and other municipal officials, he stressed land reforms, which paved the way for equal distribution of lands.

The President-elect of 1908–1910, Valerio Escobar concentrated on the construction of roads from Sibut to San Agustin. He also founded the barrios of Santa Barbara and Kapisungan (now Bagong Sikat).

Desiderio De Guzman was elected in 1910 and served up to 1912.[7] He had many achievements but among all these, he paid more attention to the improvements of records in the Poblacion.

During the incumbency of Municipal President Agapito Kurameng, (1912–1916), he initiated the construction of a concrete elementary school building (Gabaldon building) which now comprised one of the central school buildings of the San Jose West Elementary School. The improvement of roads, expropriation of lots for the Municipal Hall and the Public Market were among his other achievements.[7]

The construction of the Municipal building and the construction of more roads leading to the barrios were launched by Gregorio Cadhit (1916–1919). He was re-elected to office from 1919 to 1922. During his second term, he initiated the construction of one of the buildings of the public market.[7]

As years went by, the town developed such that there was a need for more public improvements and building constructions for the welfare of the populace. To meet these demands, the newly elected President Rafael Rueda and Vice-president Estanislao Arquero with the help of other municipal officials put up a Puericulture Center and a Municipal Nursery from 1922 to 1925. A second building for the public market was also constructed. Telephone lines connecting the poblacion with all the barrios were installed. A road to Kalbarito (now Palestina) was constructed and more improvement of roads was done.[7]

Raymundo Eugenio was elected Municipal President of San Jose for the period from 1925 to 1928. A third building for the public market was constructed and more construction of roads, especially those leading to Andres Bonifacio, were put underway.

In 1928–1931, Apolonio Pascual and Vice-president Victorino Villar were instrumental in putting up the fourth building for the public market and the municipal dispensary. More improvement of roads leading to the barrios was also done.

Raymundo Eugenio was re-elected to the office. He served from 1931 to 1934 with Vice-president Ladislao Bunag. Eugenio was called the road-building President of San Jose because of his efforts in the construction of many roads especially leading to the barrios of Bagong Bayan, Porais, Tondod, and Andres Bonifacio.

Apolonio Pascual was re-elected for the 1934–1937 term. Dimas Tomas was his Vice President. Due to a change in the set-up in 1935 upon the establishment of the Philippine Commonwealth, the heads of the municipal government came to be known and called Alcalde and Vice-Alcalde. Aside from the construction of more roads, the barrios of Patacla (now San Francisco) and A. Pascual were founded. The waterworks that provides the people of San Jose with drinking water was constructed and installed. The home economics building of San Jose Central School was also constructed.

Alcalde Pedro Del Pilar and Vice-Alcalde Severino Bautista, under the Commonwealth government, established NARIC (National Rice and Corn) buying stations in the town. This was during their term of office from 1937 to 1940. They were re-elected for the 1940–1942 term. As a continuation of their policies, the improvement of roads was continued.[7]

Upon the outbreak of World War II on December 8, 1941, San Jose became an evacuation center for refugees from neighboring provinces especially those from Manila and its suburbs. The town was bombed by two Japanese planes on December 23, 1941. The terror-stricken populace, who suffered heavy casualties, fled to the remotest barrios of San Jose. An emergency government was established in the barrio of Porais with Basilio Duran as Mayor, appointed by the military forces of the Commonwealth Government. The emergency government existed for a short time, due to the arrival of the Japanese Imperial Forces on January 26, 1942.

An emergency government, under the control of the Japanese Imperial Forces, was likewise established in Porais with Matias Bautista as Mayor. Due to the non-cooperation of Bautista, the Japanese army replaced him with Anastacio Bascos. Engr. Casimiro Panajon succeeded him, but was later murdered by the Japanese for his non-collaboration with them and his guerilla activities.

During the liberation, Anselmo Patacsil, Pedro Del Pilar and Basilio Duran were appointed in succession as Mayors by the PCAU (Philippine Civil Affairs Unit).[7] Each served for a short period of time in 1945–1946. They strived once more for the re-organization of the Municipal Government in cooperation with officials to coordinate the work of the PCAU. These persons helped in the establishment of emergency hospitals, the North Provincial High School and the re-opening of elementary schools.

After Philippine independence in 1946, Alfonso Villamar was elected Mayor with Paulino Margarejo as his Vice Mayor, (1947–1951).[7] Among their achievements were the maintenance of evacuees, pacification campaign, rehabilitation of devastated government building, the establishment of a fire department and a municipal library and the improvement of roads.

In 1954, the barrios of Bagumbayan (townsite), Andres Bonifacio, Caridad, San Mauricio (portion), Parang Manga (portion), Santa Barbara, Floridablanca, Gomez, San Francisco, and Victoria were separated to form the town of Llanera along with some territory from Talavera and Rizal.[9]

On August 4, 1969, by virtue of Republic Act 6051, San Jose was converted into a city, making it as the third city in Nueva Ecija after Cabanatuan and Palayan.

San Jose City Hall

San Jose City is politically subdivided into 38 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

The city has two pronounced seasons, rainy season from the months of May to November and the dry season in the remaining months.[11]

The current population of San Jose City is 129,424 people in 23,191 households as of May 2010. The majority language used is Tagalog, more than 72 percent of the population speak it as their native tongue, followed by Ilocano, Kapampangan, and Pangasinense.[18]

Cathedral of Saint Joseph the Worker

On February 16, 1984, the Diocese of San Jose was created by Pope John Paul II. The creation of the new diocese bisected the province horizontally into the Diocese of Cabanatuan in the south, and the Diocese of San Jose in the north, both the suffragans of the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan.[19] 80% of the city residents are Catholics and the patron saint is Saint Joseph. The feast is celebrated every March 19 annually. The diocese now has 17 parishes administered by 22 priests working under one bishop. Among its Catholic institutions are 9 high schools, 4 elementary schools, 6 kindergarten schools, 1 diocesan catechetical center, and the Don Bosco Training Center.

San Jose City is home to various renewable energy firms including the 24-megawatt San Jose City iPower Corporation. Considered the first of its kind in the country, the San Jose biomass project is using 100% rice husk. The biomass facility was put up by 21 rice millers of the city in a joint venture with the Union Energy Corp. owned by businessman Lucio Co, to set up a P1.2-billion rice husk-powered system that is now generating 12 megawatts of electricity, 10.8 MW of which feed the Luzon grid. Another 12 MW expansion was commissioned in 2017.

In 2017, the Board of Investments (BOI) has approved the P777-million biomass power plant project of VS Gripal Power Corp. which involved the development, construction and operation of another 6 MW biomass power plant. Similarly, the plant generates power using rice husk as feedstock. Commercial operations started on December 2019.

Meanwhile, several other solar energy projects was put up in the city including the 10 MW SJC SolarPower Corporation project and another 10 MW solar power project by V-Mars Solar Energy Corporation which was recently acquired by Yuchengco group's PetroGreen Energy Corp.

San Jose City serves as another shopping hub, besides Cabanatuan, in the province and other nearby localities and provinces like Pangasinan and Nueva Viscaya. Malls like Waltermart and Magic Mall have already established their presence in the city.

In terms of future developments, the Philippines' major mall chain SM has expressed plans to build a mall in the city and CityMall.[27]

Tanduyong Festival in 2013

• Tanduyong Festival: San Jose City prides itself as the "Onion Capital of the Philippines" and is a leading producer of onion, garlic, rice and vegetables. Tanduyong is a variety of onion grown in the area. Every year, on the fourth Sunday of April, the people of San Jose celebrate the Tanduyong Festival.[11] On festival day, the streets are filled with contingents of dancers outfitted in striking, multi-hued native costumes. Special activities included are a beauty contest, tourism, and trade fair, awarding ceremony and cultural shows.
• Pagibang Damara: Hundreds of years ago in Central Luzon, landlords in the haciendas made the farmers build the “damara”, just before planting time of palay. A “damara” is a makeshift shelter made from kawayan (bamboo) and nipa, built at the center of ricefields as a protection from the sun's heat or from rain. Over the years, it has been a tradition that after all the harvests were safely brought home, the “damaras” are demolished (“ginigiba”). People then start celebrating together for the bountiful harvest.

In 2008, with rice as its primary produce, San Jose City conducted its First Rice Festival, adopting the century – old festive tradition. However, unlike in older days, wherein people celebrate separately in their barangays, San Jose City now celebrates together. The after-harvest celebration has become a multi-sectoral effort, collectively prepared, funded out of contributions (from the public and private sector), and participated in by all sections of the city.

Since 2015, Pagibang Damara festival features the best Pancit Kanin contest. Pansit Kanin is one of the most common menus among carinderias in San Jose City.[32]

Ruins of the old PNR station in San Jose City

The Philippine National Railways (then Manila Railroad Company) used to have a branch line northwards from Tutuban, Manila and branches out from the mainline in Tarlac City going to San Jose City. The Tarlac-San Jose line, which served the towns of Guimba, Muñoz and San Jose, was initially constructed in the 1920s and was completed in 1939.[33] However, in 1988, the North Main Line was closed (see Philippine National Railways) and subsequently dismantled. The concrete ruins of the old MRR station of San Jose are located along San Roque Street in Barangay Abar 1st.