Nueva Ecija Provincial Development and Physical Framework Plan 2015-2026

Chapter 1 - INTRODUCTION
1. Historical Background
Nueva Ecija was created as a military commandancia in 1777 by Governor
General Claveria, with the capital, Josean at Baler (now part of Aurora). It was
formerly part of the province of Pampanga. From its humble beginning, its land
area grew to cover almost the entire island of Luzon. Spanish records in the
Philippines recognize two Spanish countries in the Pacific – Las Islas Filipinas
and Nueva Ecija. Poverty was the only reason why Nueva Ecija was not given
recognition as a separate country from the Philippines by King of Spain in 1840s.

From 1777 to 1917, Nueva Ecija’s territory was however subdivided to give way
to the creation of other provinces. The Province of Tayabas (now Aurora and
Quezon) including Polillo Islands, the provinces of Palanan (now Isabela),
Cagayan, the province of Nueva Vizcaya, the territory which became part of the
Province of Quirino, and the province of Manila north of the province of Tondo in
1867, and the District of Morong (now Rizal) were among those created out of
Nueva Ecija.

During World War II, the Imperial Japanese Army entered the province and
Nueva Ecija was taken in 1942. On March 29, 1942, under the leadership of Luis
Taruc the Hukbalahap (Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa Hapon – People’s Army
Against the Japanese) was organized in Sitio Bawit, Barrio San Julian in the town
of Cabiao.

It was perceived that the military arm of the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas
(Communist Party of the Philippines) brought about the beginning of the early
organized resistance of the Filipino people.

During World War II under the Japanese occupation, the Philippine

Commonwealth Army had the re-establishment of the Military General
Headquarters, Military Bases and Camps in the province of Nueva Ecija in 1942
to 1946 before the engagements of the Anti-Japanese Imperial Military
Operations in Central Luzon, which included Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac,
Zambales, Bulacan and North Tayabas (now Aurora) from 1942 to 1945, and
aided the locally recognized guerillas and the Hukbalahap Communist guerillas
against the Japanese Imperial forces until the Japanese Counter-Insurgencies
(1942-1944) and the Allied Liberation (1944-1945).

In January to August 1945, combined American and Filipino soldiers liberated

Nueva Ecija with the recognized guerillas continuing to harass the Japanese at
every opportunity. When Filipino soldiers of the 2nd, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 25th and
26th Infantry Division of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and the 2nd Infantry

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Regiment of the Philippine Constabulary were re-invading, launches to entering

liberated Nueva Ecija and helped recognized guerilla resistance fighter units.

The Hukbalahap Communist guerillas and the American troops against the
Japanese Imperial Forces during the Invasion of Nueva Ecija. On January 30,
1945 American Army Rangers, Alamo Scouts and Filipino guerilla conducted a
raid to liberate Allied civilians and Prisoners of War (POWs) in Cabanatuan, this
was successful with over 516 rescued. By January 31, 1945, the liberated
civilians and POWs reached Talavera, the rescue is commemorated in Talavera.

The province was named after the old city of Ecija in Seville, Spain. In 1896,
Nueva Ecija became one of the first provinces to revolt against Spanish rule, and
one of the provinces which declared its independence in 1898.

2. Plan Objectives and Context

The Disaster Risk Reduction-Climate Change Adaptation (DRR-CCA) Enhanced

Provincial Development and Physical Framework Plan (PDPFP) for 2015-2024
provides the physical and spatial development directions of the province for the
next twelve years. It is intended to serve as a vertical link between the Central
Luzon Regional Development Plan (2011-2016) and the municipal and city
comprehensive development plans.

It provides the framework for the various Comprehensive Land Use Plans of the
municipalities and cities. It also serves as the main source document of the
province’s Executive-Legislative Agenda, and as a source document for higher
level sectoral plans by national government agencies.

2.1 Objectives of the Plan

The DRR-CCA enhanced PDPFP is the primary technical guide to the

development of the province. Its specific objectives are to:

a. Derive the overall vision for the province;

b. Provide the analytical basis for understanding existing conditions and
identifying key development issues, problems, opportunities, goals,
objectives and targets of the province;
c. Translate the vision into implementable strategies towards the
attainment of goals, objectives and targets; and,
d. Guided by the vision, identify programs, projects and activities
consistent with the proposed strategies.
e. provide the analytical basis for understanding of the planning
environment or existing conditions through knowledge on natural
hazards and the vulnerabilities of exposed communities, their social

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and economic fragilities and their lack of resilience or ability to cope

with or recover during times of disaster;
f. increase awareness among policy/decision makers in setting
development goals and targets on loss of life and property from
natural hazards and disasters;
g. provide a more realistic projections of demand and supply of land for
settlements, production, protection and infrastructure;
h. provide framework for the inclusion of appropriate risk reduction
measures in priority programs and projects in the Provincial
Development Investment Program (PDPIP).

2.2 Context of the Plan

The formulation of DRR-CCA enhanced PDPFP was based on the national

policy set forth by President Benigno S. Aquino III, through Administrative
Order No. 1 which directs all Local Government Units, particularly provinces,
to adopt and use in their planning activities the Guidelines on Mainstreaming
Disaster Risk Reduction in Sub-national Development and Physical/Land Use
Planning.

The President’s issuance of AO 1 recognizes the need for practical solutions

to minimize the potential damage of natural hazards. Specifically, it
acknowledges local plans prepared by the LGUs as potent tool to effectively
carry out disaster mitigation measures.

The DRR-CCA enhanced PDPFP is a key link in the network of plans

covering the national, regional, provincial and city/municipal levels.

Plans and investment programs at the provincial level must have vertical
connections to corresponding plans at the regional and city/municipal levels.
In turn, regional plans and programs must relate to corresponding plans at the
national level. The resulting DRR-CCA enhanced PDPFP, therefore, serves
as a vertical link between local development objectives and regional and
national priorities.

At the provincial level, the PPAs derived from the PDPFPs are the bases for a
multi-year investment program (PDIP – a prioritized list of PPAs with cost
estimates) and an annual investment program (AIP or the current year “slice”
of the PDIP). In turn, the AIP serves as the basis for budgetary allocations for
PPAs.

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3. Coverage of the Plan

3.1 Historical Coverage

The DRR-CCA enhanced PDPFP is a six-year medium-term development

plan, guided by a long term vision. It is intended to coincide with two three-
year political terms of the Governor, and can be aligned with a full term of the
national leadership. Planning analyses, however, extend beyond the medium-
term to consider longer-term trends. These are necessary inputs to the
identification of strategies and PPAs for the six-year plan period.

3.2 Geographical Coverage

The political boundaries of the province define the primary level of

geographical analysis. Other provinces in the region as well as the region
itself, and the country as a whole, are also included as benchmarks in some
of the analyses.

Municipalities within the province serve as the major level of analytical

disaggregation, although barangay-level data are recommended for selected
population analysis. Groups or clusters of municipalities as well as
geographically delineated areas may also be utilized as required.

Reference to land and land use will include water and water use, unless
otherwise specified.

3.3 Sectoral Coverage

The planning environment of the DRR-CCA enhanced PDPFP includes all

major sectors relevant to the development of the province. As much as
possible, and in order to establish comparability and context, sectoral data
should be consistent with regional/national and municipal data.

In terms of the traditional sectors that typically serve as templates for public
sector planning analysis and implementation, the core elements corresponds
as follows:

Core Element Sector

Population Population
Economic Activity Agriculture, fisheries, forestry, trade, industry,
services, tourism
Physical Resources Environment, natural resources, transport
Income/Access to Health, education, housing, social welfare,
Services public works, energy, security, other services
and facilities (for community groups such as
the elderly, children, indigenous peoples, etc.)

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4. Outline of the Plan

The rest of the DRR-CCA enhanced PDPFP is organized as follows:

Chapter I - Introduction: Contains the historical background of the province,

the bases of the PDPFP and mainstreaming of DRR-CCA and its general
goals and objectives.

Chapter II - Vision: The provincial community’s long-term vision for the

province, as expressed through its leadership in consultation with
stakeholders.

Chapter III - Planning Environment: Descriptions and analyses of the social,

economic and physical environment of the province that serve as basis for
identifying development challenges and issues and subsequent courses of
action (strategies, plans, programs and activities)

Chapter IV - Land Use and Physical Framework: Contains policies on the

existing and proposed land use plan accompanied by appropriate GIS-based
maps

Chapter V - Development Issues/Problems, Goals, Objectives and Targets:

Issues, challenges and opportunities facing and accompanying the task of
accomplishing the identified development goals, objectives and targets.

Chapter VI - Strategies, Plans, Programs and Activities: Specific strategies,

plans, programs and activities to address development issues and
accomplish objectives.

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