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Peñaranda, Nueva Ecija

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Peñaranda
Mapisong
Municipality
Municipality of Peñaranda
Downtown area
Downtown area
Flag of Peñaranda
Flag
Official seal of Peñaranda
Seal
Map of Nueva Ecija with Peñaranda highlighted
Map of Nueva Ecija with Peñaranda highlighted
Interactive map of Peñaranda
Peñaranda is located in Philippines
Peñaranda
Peñaranda
Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 15°21′11″N 121°00′06″E / 15.3531°N 121.0017°E / 15.3531; 121.0017
CountryPhilippines
RegionCentral Luzon
ProvinceNueva Ecija
District 4th district
Named afterJosé Maria Peñaranda
Barangays10 (see Barangays)
Government
 [1]
 • TypeSangguniang Bayan
 • MayorJoselito "Joey" A. Ramos
 • Vice MayorGenefer "Efer" Aves
 • RepresentativeEmerson D. Pascual
 • Municipal Council
Members
  • Rosano A. Corpuz
  • Sonny D. Reyes
  • Melchor A. Paderes
  • Herminia Gedo C. Castillo
  • Samuel P. Vallarta
  • Nerio M. Gonzales
  • Jenny Lynn A. Alarilla
  • Conrado M. Aberin
 • Electorate23,503 (2019)
Area
[2]
 • Total
95.00 km2 (36.68 sq mi)
Elevation
38 m (125 ft)
Highest elevation
79 m (259 ft)
Lowest elevation
20 m (66 ft)
Population
 (2024 census)[3]
 • Total
33,043
 • Density347.8/km2 (900.9/sq mi)
 • Households
7,635
Economy
 • Income class4th municipal income class
 • Poverty incidence
15.6
% (2021)[4]
 • Revenue₱ 218.8 million (2024)
 • Assets₱ 463.9 million (2024)
 • Expenditure₱ 206.5 million (2024)
 • Liabilities₱ 218 million (2024)
Service provider
 • ElectricityNueva Ecija 2 Area 2 Electric Cooperative (NEECO 2 A2)
Time zoneUTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code
3103
PSGC
0304921000
IDD : area code +63 (0)44
Native languagesTagalog
Ilocano

Peñaranda, officially the Municipality of Peñaranda (Tagalog: Bayan ng Peñaranda, Ilocano: Ili ti Peñaranda), is a municipality in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 33,043 people.[5]

In 2012, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the ICHCAP of UNESCO published Pinagmulan: Enumeration from the Philippine Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The first edition of the UNESCO-backed book included Nueva Ecija's Arakyo, signifying its great importance to Philippine intangible cultural heritage. The local government of Nueva Ecija, in cooperation with the NCCA, is given the right to nominate the Arakyo in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists.[6]

Etymology

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

Geography

Previous Peñaranda map on June 8, 2008

The municipality of Peñaranda is bounded by the municipalities of General Tinio and San Leonardo and the city of Gapan.

Barangays

Peñaranda is politically subdivided into 10 barangays, as shown below.[7] Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

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

Climate

Climate data for Peñaranda, 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)		 34
(93)		 33
(91)		 31
(88)		 30
(86)		 29
(84)		 29
(84)		 30
(86)		 30
(86)		 29
(84)		 30
(87)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 20
(68)		 20
(68)		 20
(68)		 22
(72)		 24
(75)		 24
(75)		 24
(75)		 24
(75)		 24
(75)		 23
(73)		 22
(72)		 21
(70)		 22
(72)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 4
(0.2)		 4
(0.2)		 5
(0.2)		 11
(0.4)		 66
(2.6)		 99
(3.9)		 127
(5.0)		 113
(4.4)		 99
(3.9)		 84
(3.3)		 35
(1.4)		 14
(0.6)		 661
(26.1)
Average rainy days 2.2 1.9 3.2 5.3 16.1 20.8 23.5 22.8 22.2 16.5 8.9 3.5 146.9
Source: Meteoblue[8]

Demographics

Population census of Peñaranda
YearPop.±% p.a.
1903 8,410—    
1918 9,250+0.64%
1939 9,423+0.09%
1948 9,623+0.23%
1960 10,768+0.94%
1970 14,226+2.82%
1975 15,142+1.26%
1980 16,753+2.04%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1990 20,500+2.04%
1995 22,661+1.90%
2000 24,749+1.91%
2007 26,725+1.07%
2010 27,410+0.93%
2015 29,882+1.66%
2020 32,269+1.63%
2024 33,043+0.57%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[9][10][11][12][13]

Religion

Majority of the people is Roman Catholic. Other religious groups have churches and places of worship in the municipality.

Economy

Poverty incidence of Peñaranda

10
20
30
40
2000
32.31
2003
23.76
2006
16.40
2009
11.31
2012
15.02
2015
13.66
2018
4.25
2021
15.60

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]

Primarily depends on rice & vegetable farming, poultry and piggery. 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.

Culture

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 sword fights between the Christians and Moros.

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

Araquio tradition

The Araquio or Arakyo is one of the best-known cultural traditions of Peñaranda, traditionally performed in May as part of the town's Santa Cruz de Mayo and Holy Cross devotional celebrations.[22]

A municipal profile of Peñaranda describes Araquio as a “musical drama” re-enacting the Christians’ quest led by Queen Helena and King Constantini for the Holy Cross, featuring colorful costumes and sword fights between Christians and Moros.[23]

Scholarly studies by researchers from Central Luzon State University and other institutions identify Peñaranda as a principal center of the Araquio tradition. The tradition combines Philippine komedya, Holy Cross devotion, brass band accompaniment, ritual dance, stylized verse delivery, sword-fight choreography, and communal apprenticeship.[24]

The Araquio tradition in Peñaranda has been associated with the verse play Sta. Cruz de Mayo, traditionally attributed to Leon Estanislao and believed by practitioners to have been written around 1880.[25]

Studies by Michael C. Delos Santos identified multiple surviving manuscript traditions or “orihinals” of Arakyo in Peñaranda, while later research by Delos Santos and Demeterio documented four extant manuscripts associated with the barangays of Las Piñas, San Josef, Santo Tomas, and Sinasahan.[26][27]

Ethnomusicological studies describe Araquio as an orally transmitted communal performance system in which music, dance, movement, and ritual are inseparable. Musical forms and cues include redoble, marcha, paso doble, and valse, performed by brass and percussion ensembles accompanying entrances, sword fights, ritual dances, and processional movements.[28]

The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) Talapamana ng Pilipinas cultural property database identifies the “Pista ng Araquio” as a shared intangible cultural heritage tradition of Peñaranda, General Tinio, Jaen, San Leonardo, and San Jose City.[29]

Education

The Peñaranda Schools District Office governs all educational institutions within the municipality. It oversees the management and operations of all private and public, from primary to secondary schools.[30]

Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology Peñaranda Off-Campus opened in 2005. This is a joint undertaking of the Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology and the Local Government Unit of Peñaranda. It is located at the vicinity of the Peñaranda National High School.

Primary and elementary schools

  • God's Family Christian Academy
  • Kapt. Pedro Villanueva Elementary School
  • Peñaranda Central School
  • Peñaranda North Central School
  • San Josef Elementary School
  • San Mariano Elementary School
  • St. Andrew Christian Academy
  • St. Francis Development Center
  • Sto. Tomas Elementary School
  • Westside Montessori Centrum

Secondary schools

  • Callos Integrated School
  • Las Piñas Integrated School
  • Peñaranda National High School

References

  1.  Municipality of Peñaranda | (DILG)
  2. "2015 Census of Population, Report No. 3 – Population, Land Area, and Population Density" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. Quezon City, Philippines. August 2016. ISSN 0117-1453. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 25, 2021. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  3. "2024 Census of Population (POPCEN) Population Counts Declared Official by the President". Philippine Statistics Authority. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
  4. "PSA Releases the 2021 City and Municipal Level Poverty Estimates". Philippine Statistics Authority. 2 April 2024. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  5. "2024 Census of Population (POPCEN) Population Counts Declared Official by the President". Philippine Statistics Authority. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
  6. "ICHCAP | e-Knowledge Center". Archived from the original on 2015-03-09.
  7. "Philippine Standard Geographic Code (PSGC) | Philippine Statistics Authority". psa.gov.ph. Retrieved 2019-05-27.
  8. "Peñaranda: Average Temperatures and Rainfall". Meteoblue. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  9. "2024 Census of Population (POPCEN) Population Counts Declared Official by the President". Philippine Statistics Authority. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
  10. Census of Population (2015). "Region III (Central Luzon)". Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  11. Census of Population and Housing (2010). "Region III (Central Luzon)" (PDF). Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. National Statistics Office. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  12. Censuses of Population (1903–2007). "Region III (Central Luzon)". Table 1. Population Enumerated in Various Censuses by Province/Highly Urbanized City: 1903 to 2007. National Statistics Office.
  13. "Province of". Municipality Population Data. Local Water Utilities Administration Research Division. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  14. "Poverty incidence (PI):". Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  15. "Estimation of Local Poverty in the Philippines" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. 29 November 2005.
  16. "2003 City and Municipal Level Poverty Estimates" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. 23 March 2009.
  17. "City and Municipal Level Poverty Estimates; 2006 and 2009" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. 3 August 2012.
  18. "2012 Municipal and City Level Poverty Estimates" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. 31 May 2016.
  19. "Municipal and City Level Small Area Poverty Estimates; 2009, 2012 and 2015". Philippine Statistics Authority. 10 July 2019.
  20. "PSA Releases the 2018 Municipal and City Level Poverty Estimates". Philippine Statistics Authority. 15 December 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  21. "PSA Releases the 2021 City and Municipal Level Poverty Estimates". Philippine Statistics Authority. 2 April 2024. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  22. "Municipality of Peñaranda Official Website". Municipality of Peñaranda. Retrieved 15 May 2026.
  23. Brief Profile of Peñaranda / Executive-Legislative Agenda 2020–2022 (Report). Municipality of Peñaranda. 2020. pp. 4–5.
  24. Ibarra, Florante P. (2017). "Transmission of Araquio Music, Songs, and Movement Conventions: Learning, Experience, and Meaning in Devotional Theatre". The Qualitative Report. 22 (4): 1031–1049. doi:10.46743/2160-3715/2017.2699.
  25. Delos Santos, Michael C. (2009). Ang Arakyo ng Sto. Tomas, Peñaranda: Isang Pag-aaral sa Texto ni Leon Estanislao (Thesis). Wesleyan University Philippines.
  26. Delos Santos, Michael C. (2019). "Paghanap at Pagbawi: Ang Tatlong Orihinal ng Arakyo sa Peñaranda, Nueva Ecija". Malay. 31 (2). Retrieved 15 May 2026.
  27. Delos Santos, Michael C.; Demeterio, Feorillo A. III (2020). "Telescopings and Moro-fications in the Four Arakyo Manuscripts of Peñaranda, Nueva Ecija: A Historical/Hagiographical Recontextualization towards a More Culturally-Sensitive Komedya". Humanities Diliman. 17 (1): 74–97.
  28. Ibarra, Florante P. (2017). "Voices from devotional ritual: Practitioners' unity of purpose to building community in araquio musical tradition". International Journal of Community Music. 10 (2): 171–192. doi:10.1386/ijcm.10.2.171_1.
  29. "Talapamana ng Pilipinas Cultural Property Database". National Commission for Culture and the Arts. Retrieved 15 May 2026.
  30. "Masterlist of Schools" (PDF). Department of Education. January 15, 2021. Retrieved August 29, 2025.