Talugtug

Oldest settlements

The oldest settlement in the town was found on a hilltop near the present-day Cuyapo-Munos trail, where a sacred balete tree stood and travelers and farmers came to rest. The area later became known as Talugtug-Balete, which became a barrio of the Municipality of Cuyapo in 1917. A part of the barrio was later absorbed into the Municipality of Guimba and became the barrio of San Isidro. During this time, Mariano Mendoza, Pablo Dacayo, Andres Dumandan and Severino Cachuela became the tenientes del barrio of old Talugtug.

Establishment as a municipality

After World War II, members of the town held a meeting on November 3, 1946, to launch the proposed creation of a separate municipality. The meeting was chaired by Romualdo Estillore, with aid from officers Aniceto Feliciano, Simeon Ramos, and Fermin Ancheta, while the campaign for the town's creation was heavily supported by the locals. The proposal was presented to the provincial board on December 6, 1946, and approved on February 12, 1947. On January 10, 1948, President Manuel Roxas signed Executive Order No. 113, officially creating Talutug as the 26th municipality of Nueva Ecija.

Talugtug massacre

In 1982, the Talugtug massacre occurred, where the Marcos-controlled military roused seven commonfolk Ilocanos Talugtug residents from their sleep, accused them of being part the anti-dictatorship resistance, and killed five - Gavino Cenese, David Vergel, Jaime Besis, Fernando Sardan, and Dominador Ramos while another two, Severino Bela and Gaudencio Dulay, were never seen again. "

The municipality is situated in the northern part of Nueva Ecija, about 71 kilometres (44 mi) from the seat of the provincial government in Palayan City; 169 kilometres (105 mi) from Manila; and 29 kilometres (18 mi) from the nearby City of San Jose. It is bounded on the South by the Municipality of Guimba; on the southeast by the Science City of Muñoz; on the west by Cuyapo, on the east by Lupao, all of which are in the province of Nueva Ecija. On the northernmost side of Talugtug is the boundary of Pangasinan with the municipality of Umingan. Talugtug has a total land area of 10,122.2324 hectares (25,012.581 acres).

Talugtug is characterized by hilly and rolling land in the north-eastern and north-western section of the municipality covering almost 7 barangays. The foot of two mountain ranges, namely Mt. Baloy (with peak in Cuyapo) and Mt. Amorong (with peak in Umingan, Pangasinan) occupies its hilly and rolling areas.

About 70% of the land is flat and constitutes the agricultural area of the municipality, where almost 75% of its total rice production comes from.

Climate

Barangays

Talugtug is politically subdivided into 28 barangays, as shown below. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

• Alula
• Baybayabas
• Buted
• Cabiangan
• Calisitan
• Cinense
• Culiat
• Maasin
• Magsaysay (Poblacion)
• Mayamot I
• Mayamot II
• Nangabulan
• Osmeña (Poblacion)
• Villa Fronda
• Patola
• Quezon (Poblacion)
• Quirino (Poblacion)
• Roxas (Poblacion)
• Saguing
• Sampaloc
• Santa Catalina
• Santo Domingo
• Saverona
• Tandoc
• Tibag
• Villa Rosario
• Villa Rosenda (formerly Saringaya)
• Villa Boado

Poverty incidence of Talugtug (%)

10 20 30 40 50 2000
48.55 2003
38.31 2006
42.20 2009
36.03 2012
28.50 2015
23.86 2018
5.28 2021
12.87 2023
10.20

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority

The municipality's status is currently fourth class. Majority of the inhabitants rely mainly on farming from their small farm holdings while the rest depend on pasturing animals.

The Talugtug 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.

Primary and elementary schools

• Alberto G. Bautista Elementary School
• Alula Elementary School
• Baybayabas Elementary School
• Buted Primary School
• Calisitan Elementary School
• Culiat Elementary School
• Fronda Elementary School (Pangit)
• Funshine Science School
• Liceo De Christ the King
• Maasin Elementary School
• Mayamot I Elementary School
• Nangabulan Elementary School
• Patola Elementary School
• Sampaloc Elementary School
• Sta. Catalina Primary School
• Sto. Domingo Elementary School
• Talugtug Amazing Grace Learning Center
• Talugtug East Central School
• Talugtug West Central School
• Tandoc Elementary School
• Tibag Elementary School
• Villa Boado Elementary School
• Villa Rosario Elementary School
• Villa Rosenda Elementary School

Secondary schools

• Cinense Integrated School
• Talugtug National High School
• Talugtug National High School (Annex Saverona)