Talavera, officially the Municipality of Talavera, is a 1st class municipality in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 132,338. Talavera is part of Cabanatuan conurbation as adjacent urban center in the heart of Nueva Ecija. It is dubbed as the "Milk Capital" and "Food basket in Inland Luzon".

History

Historical records of Talavera's development are limited, with its origins traced to 1846. Comprehensive documentation was initiated only in 1965 under Mayor Romeo F. Maliwat, who tasked public librarian Tomas I. Pagaduan with compiling its history, published in 1967. Earlier accounts, when Talavera was called Catuguian, describe it as flat land near a river, as noted by Spanish scribe Joaquin Rajal. "It lacks a church, parish house, court, and schools, and their spiritual administration is equally shared with Cabanatuan, as it has not been appointed since it was formed, […] The neighborhood, made up of Tagalogs, is composed of 5,567 souls, who are dedicated to agriculture in irrigated and rainfed land. […] its forests are rich with all kinds of wood and its extensive lands are suited for cattle grazing […]." The history of Talavera is generally linked to the early Augustinian missions in lowland Nueva Ecija, particularly in Gapan, which began in 1595. The Gapan mission laid the foundation for subsequent religious missions in Cabanatuan in the 1700s and later in Catuguian, then a component barrio.

As Catuguian (1846–1851)

The earliest accounts of Catuguian trace back to the Augustinian missions in lowland Nueva Ecija, where it served as a component barrio of Cabanatuan. The establishment of a chapel, or visita, for religious celebrations played a pivotal role in shaping its subsequent history. Its population began to grow significantly after Nueva Ecija was designated a regular province in 1848, having transitioned from a corregimiento in 1801. In 1852, the residents of Catuguian petitioned the Alcalde-Mayor of Nueva Ecija to establish an independent town. They proposed consolidating the barrios of La Torre, Concepcion, Pulong Buli (now Santo Domingo), Valle, and Baloc, with Catuguian as the town's capital. This petition was forwarded to the governor-general in Manila for approval. 1852 – 1872: From Catuguian to Talavera 1873 - 1899: The Making of Talavera 1900 – 1940: The rise of landlordism 1941 – 1945: Talavera sheds blood 1946 – 1972: Recovery & Rehabilitation 1972 – 1986: The Narrow Road to Freedom 1987 – 2013: Laying the Foundations 2013 – present: The Way Forward

Geography

Talavera is relatively flat, with a slope ranging from 0 to 3%. Its elevation, which ranges from 31m to 61m above sea level, with an average elevation of 42m, is importantly suitable for agricultural, commercial and industrial developments. Its aggregate arable land amounts to 12, 6981 ha or 89.075% of its total land area, of which less than 70% is irrigated or cultivated. Its land form consists generally of a broad expanse of low-lying level plains, with flattened terrains covered usually with greens or grasslands. The land profile is completely leveled, with relatively smooth-rolling surface and with little or no change at all in elevation. It is bordered by Cabanatuan, Llanera, Muñoz, Aliaga, General Mamerto Natividad, Santo Domingo and San Jose. Talavera is 14 km from Cabanatuan, 28 km from Palayan, and 130 km from Manila.

Barangays

Talavera is politically subdivided into 53 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios. Barangays in italicized are truly exclaved within Muñoz.

Dispute with Science City of Muñoz

While Talavera was undergoing significant fiscal deepening from 1996 to 1999, it entered into a seemingly intractable territorial conflict with the newly chartered special city of Muñoz, then, under the leadership of Mayor Efren L. Alvarez, over claims involving the Barangays of Bakal I, Bakal II, Bakal III and Matingkis. The latter claimed that these barangays were “replete with facts” that they once belonged to the Science City of Muñoz and as such must be annexed as its component barangays. The latter further characterized that these barangays were like “uncommon arrows”, being part of the territorial boundary of Talavera, piercing the “belly of development” of the Science City of Muñoz. Owing to this territorial dispute, the Local Government of Talavera was compelled to act to protect its territorial integrity and its sovereignty over these disputed areas. It passed several resolutions, affirming firmly, its sovereignty over these barangays, thereby outrightly invalidating the former’s claims over them as said barangays were annexed to Talavera as early as 1910 through Executive Order No. 39, series of 1909. In October 1998 for example, the local government of Talavera, through its Sangguniang Bayan, issued a resolution blatantly disapproving the former’s claim over the disputed barangays. At the same time, Barangay Resolutions from these disputed areas were issued in October 1998 as well, expressing generally, the residents’ disapproval to the annexation claims. By February 1999, the LGU of Talavera created the “Task Force Bacal District” to address this highly tenacious concern, elevating it, in fact, to Congress for possible arbitration. In March 1999, the LGU Talavera submitted to some members of Congress pertinent documents relevant to address, if not totally resolve, the problem. By the end of March 1999, because of the interventions of some members of both Houses, and through the collective efforts of the residents of Talavera and its officials, under the leadership of then Mayor Manolito V. Fausto, the “annexation claims” were nullified vindicating, as a result, Talavera’s territorial jurisdiction and integrity. In a significant way, it was a triumphant moment for Talavera. At the same time, it was a meritorious and legitimate exercise of its sovereign powers to protect its territorial integrity as a local government unit against then rising Science City of Muñoz.

Climate

Demographics

Religion

8 out 10 individuals in Talavera are catholic. Roman Catholicism remains one of the most dominant religious affiliations in Talavera, embracing an outstanding 85.59% of its total household population. The religious group Iglesia Ni Cristo comes in second, with a little less than 6 percent of its total household population. Other religious affiliations, roughly around seventy-nine (79) accounted for 8.44% of the total population, with IEMELIEF, as its leading religious affiliation, at 1.12%. Interestingly, although Talavera is home to a number of religious organizations, 0.2% of its households possess no religion or consider themselves atheists.

Cultural Community and Language

9 out of 10 individuals in Talavera were Tagalog. A significantly huge majority of Talavera’s households identified themselves as belonging to the Tagalog Cultural Community, accounted at 96.29% of its total population. Other cultural communities and language in Talavera included Ilocano(2.28%), Bisaya (0.63%) and many others.

Economy

Talavera is one of the fastest growing municipalities in the province and proposals have been planned for cityhood. Given its robust economic growth, Talavera enjoys annual progress and wealth. The town's revenue-generated income as of 2017 is ₱298,361,401.93 and with over 124,829 inhabitants, the town meets the requirements for cityhood. In July 2019, Congresswoman Estrellita B. Suansing has filed House Bill No. 184, regarding the cityhood of Talavera. It was later filed in the Senate in February 2021. Both bills are currently pending. According to the National Competitiveness Council in Cities/Municipalities Competitiveness Index, during the past years, Talavera maintained their rankings as one of the most competitive municipalities in the Philippines. THE LOCAL ECONOMY Talavera’s local economic activities are highly associated with the secondary sector. In other words, its primary economic base is dominated by personnel services. Its primary and tertiary economic sectors, although importantly thriving, still require further boost in investment. Economic productions in these areas, though, are more than sufficient to fuel Talavera’s local economic growth. In fact, its contributions to Talavera’s gross domestic products keep Talavera afloat. Similarly, the mobility of its combined labor force constitutes a solid employment structure for Talavera, despite some rare cases of unemployment. The Primary Sector: Agricultural Crops and Croplands For Talavera, agriculture is generally viewed as an engine of development. Some studies for example report that it is an “important material base for all economies” as it produces “indispensable necessities of human life and important industrial material”. This includes, inter alia, contributions like “release of labor from non-farm employment”, “increased supply of food and fiber”, “production of export surplus” as well as “generation of savings for both rural and urban areas”. Talavera's inbred rice production from 2015 to 2021 preserves an average rice production of 42,048.14 metric tons in wet seasons, while it averages 26,580.37 metric tons in dry seasons. Its lowest production has been estimated at 31,894.40 metric tons in 2015 and it highest production has been posted in 2020, with an annual production of 54,292.99 metric tons. On the whole, inbred rice production shows moderately increasing trend. Hybrid rice production, meanwhile, has been observed to gain currency among farmers in Talavera. In Fact, from 2015 to 2022, its average production has been estimated at 46,617.79 metric tons during the dry season. Its low productions average though has been observed in the wet seasons, estimated at 4,037.63 metric tons per harvest from 2015 - 2022. Nevertheless, in both wet and dry seasons, hybrid rice production post significantly increasing trends. Vegetable Crop Production Vegetable production in Talavera is relatively abundant. It produces a variety of vegetables yearly. Common productions include vegetable crops like tomatoes, loofah, gourd and okra. Other produced vegetable crops are squash, eggplant, cucumber, onion and corn. In 2022 for example, there has been an ample production of onion, estimated at 3,919.00 metric tons and some 3,234.76 metric tons of squash. Some families of legumes are also produced like winged bean, string beans and chilli Taiwan. Livestock and Poultry Productions There are five (5) distinct kinds of livestock raised in holdings or in backyard farms in Talavera. Included here are carabao, swine or hog, goat, cattle and sheep. Carabao and goat however are the most dominant heads. Poultry raising production is also evident in Talavera. The most dominant heads are chicken and duck. THE SECONDARY SECTOR The Secondary Economic Sector is composed generally of the manufacturing industry, Electricity, Gas and Water Services, and Construction Services. To date, Talavera has a total of 179 registered firms under the secondary economic sector. While relatively stable, the sector lacks the pertinent competitive advantage. For one thing, most of its establishments are light industries. For another thing, its access to financial assistance or grant-in aids is relatively limited. Finally, Talavera’s secondary sector is yet to fully develop a highly competitive product that can be comparatively advantageous. Nonetheless, the sector remains stable. THE TERTIARY SECTOR Talavera’s tertiary sector rose by 20.72% in 2022. Registered business firms under the tertiary sector in 2022 are accounted at 1,375. It rose by 20.72%, from 1,139 to 1,375. More than half of these firms, 58.76%, are wholesale and retail industries.

Tourism

Unlike other municipalities in the country, Talavera is not generally endowed with naturally picturesque spots to support its local tourism development, except its low-lying and completely levelled agricultural spaces that are essentially covered with greens. Nonetheless, Talavera has a number of importantly recognized cultural landmarks. They are as follows:

Festival

Talavera, similarly, has a good number of culturally significant religious and social Festivities, aside from the aforementioned cultural properties. Included here are as follows: Linggo ng Magsasaka The Linggo ng Magsasaka is a week-long celebration held in honor of Talaverano Farmers. It culminates on the 15th day of May - the Town Fiesta. Highlights of the celebration generally include Cultural Dance Competition, Harana, Gandang Kalabaw, Float Parade, Street Dance and Kesong Puti Festival. Gatas ng Kalabaw Gatas ng Kalabaw Festival is celebrated annually from May 12 to 15. It culminates in the celebration of the Town Fiesta, whose patron saint is Saint Isidore the Worker. The festival aims to actively encourage, promote and enhance carabao's milk as a nutrition and livelihood industry. Highlights of the festival are street dancing, followed by float parade, parade of carabaos, carabao race, agri-trade fair, milk drinking contest and ice cream making competition among others. Semana Santa During Holy Week, the members of the church (San Isidro Labrador Parish Church) commemorate Jesus' Paschal mystery. The church even has a community where each member owns a religious image called the Cofradia de la Sagrada Pasion del Nuestro Señor. Every Holy Wednesdays and Good Fridays, the members of the Cofradia place the images of their saints in carozzas or karo and exhibits it for the townspeople to witness thru a procession.

Transportation

There are 24.77 km of national roads, including the 16.93 km section of Maharlika Highway (Asian Highway 26) that passes through the municipality. Due to its central location, Talavera is one of the pivotal transport points in Central Luzon. Talavera is accessible by all means of land transportation. Regular jeepney trips are from 5:00 am to 9:00 pm. Tricycles are available 24 hours a day. Several bus companies also use the Talavera route from Cagayan Valley and Aurora to Manila, Cabanatuan, San Jose City, Baguio and other destinations.

Healthcare

Talavera's populace is served by Talavera General Hospital, a national government-funded hospital formerly known as Dr. Paulino J. Garcia Memorial Hospital - Talavera Extension Program. Medical and dental clinics also serve the municipality.

Education

Talavera is served by both public and Department of Education-accredited private schools. The largest elementary school is Talavera Central School, also known as Central, which is situated at the town proper. The largest secondary educational institution is Talavera National High School, colloquially knows as TNHS. University and colleges:

Gallery