About Bongabon
BONGABON, is an old town of Nueva Ecija and was the Second Capital of Nueva Ecija, after Baler, (which is now the capital of Aurora Province). Looking back at History, before the creation of the province of Nueva Ecija in1705, Bongabon was part of the province of Pampanga. During the seventeenth century, 1637 to 1700, the Augustinian missionaries were given the task of establishing missions to bring the Catholic Faith to the people ofCentral and Northern Luzon from Manila to the Pacific coasts. They followed the routesto these part of Luzon along the Pampanga and Santor Rivers. (Santor is at present a barrio of Bongabon). The Missionaries followed the route along the river banks from Bacolor, to Sexmoan, Macabebe, Arayat, Gapan and Santor In 1638. Fray Gaspar Lopez an eminent orator, was brought to a mission of the Augustinian in Santor and Gapang in 1641. Finding Santor to be an ideal site for the headquarters of the missions, they constructed a church and convent in the place. From this base, the missionaries worked for the conversion of the people of Gapang (now Gapan), Pantabangan and Baler. In 1700, the missions were quite successful and they established the village of Bongabon which was three kilometers from Santor.
BONGABON was quite populous and it was not long after that it became municipality making Santor one of its barrios. In 1760 and the Parish Patron become Saint Francis of Assisi became the Parish Patron since then. Years Later, Bongabon became the Capital of Nueva Ecija. Obviously, Bongabon got its name from the botel nut palms (bunga) that abound in the place. Up to this time, botel nuts are plentiful in the Poblacion and in the barrios, most especially in Santor. At this age of pre-stressed concrete structures and the pre-fabricated buildings, still some brick houses and brick wall yards are a common sight in Bongabon. They are the mute testimonies of the glorious past. Basic information, Bongabon is chiefly an Agricultural town. Its soil is fertile and mostly sandy loam. It is very much suited to rice, corn, onions, cabbage, pechay and other vegetables. Asides from rice and corn, vegetables like onions, cabbage and pechay are raised in large commercial scale and sold in Manila and neighboring provinces. Bongabon onions are well known in the markets of Metro Manila. The GMTFM (Greater Manila Trade and Food Market) has station in Bongabon wich helps the farmers sell their products at good price. Many residents of the municipality, are also engaged in Poultry and Swine Raising, in which are the potential markets of livestock production sold in Cabanatuan City and Manila. BONGABON, a typical municipality of 28,352.90 hectares may delight tourists for its plenty of scenic views. It is primarily an agricultural town with vast fertile soil suited to almost all kinds of Crops, Onions, Palay and other crops. have reached the public markets as far as Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Bongabon is a 2nd class municipality with a population of 64,173 based on 2015 Census of Population. It has an Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) of P 176,397,056.54 for the fiscal year 2017.
The Municipality has twenty six(26) public elementary schools and three (3) National High School, with total enrolment of 9649 and 4911, respectively as of 2017.
NUEVA ECIJA has five emergency hospitals stationed in five towns and one of this Hospitals is in Bongabon, the Bongabon District Hospital. It has fifty bed capacities with staff of twenty four. Ordinary ailments and minor surgery are attended to in the hospital.
TAGALOG is generally the language spoken by many residents. One third of the population speaks Ilocano, and a minor portion speaks Kapampangan and Pangasinense. With exception of the few very old people, English is understood by many Local residents. Majority of the people of the municipality are Catholics. An imposing Catholic church is located in the heart of the Poblacion. The edifice is the remnant of the old church constructed during the Spanish times, as evidenced by its brick walls and two huge bells. The church had been renovated and remodeled many times since the pre-war days, and finally, five years ago, it was completed with a touch of both ancient and modern concepts. Members of the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) are growing in number as well, and are second to the Catholic in members. Some Religious Sects also boast big imposing churches with the characteristic style and architecture of their respective churches. Other sects in the municipality include the Methodist, Iglesia Ng Dios, Seventh Day Adventists, the Adarnistas, and the Samahan ng Amang Kaama Amahan at Inang Kaina Inahan, the last two being subjects of studies. Obviously, Bongabon got its name from the botel nut palms (bunga) that abound in the place. Up to this time, botel nuts are plentiful in the poblacion and in the barrios, most especially in Santor. Bongabon, officially the Municipality of Bongabon (Ilocano: Ili ti Bongabon; Tagalog: Bayan ng Bongabon), is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 66,839 people. It has an area of 28,352.90 hectares (70,061.5 acres), and is the leading producer of onion in the Philippines and in Southeast Asia.
Each barangay in Bongabon has its own fiesta. The town fiesta, celebrated annually on the 1st to 2nd week of April, is known as the Sibuyas Festival.
Topography and Land Area
Bongabon is one of the twenty-seven municipalities in Nueva Ecija and lies at the eastern portion of the province. It is twenty-seven kilometers from Cabanatuan City and 145 kilometers from Manila. It is bounded in the east by the Municipality of Gabaldon and Aurora province; Palayan City and Laur in the South, General Natividad in the west and Rizal and Pantabangan in the north, and the other way Bongabon is accessible through Various National Roads.
A Brief History of Bongabon Nueva Ecija’s Sibuyas Festival
The first seeds of Sibuyas were introduced and planted onto Bongabon soil in the year 1935, in a homestead in Brgy. Calaanan, by Engineer Lorenzo Ylarde and his wife Maria Cruz. In succeeding years, Ylarde passed away and Maria remarried Dr. Antonio Aves, and together, they continued farming and trading Sibuyas (Gamilla, 2018). This marked the beginning of the town’s onion trade, and soon after, other Bongabon families followed their lead in cultivating and selling Sibuyas in local and international markets (Giron, 2018). Bongabon became the largest supplier of onions in the Philippines, earning the town its titles as the Onion Capital of the Philippines and the Onion Basket of Asia.
With this, the Sibuyas Festival of Bongabon, Nueva Ecija was created in 2004, through the collaboration of local culture and arts advocate Armando C. Giron, and then mayor of Bongabon, Hon. Amelia “Beth” A. Gamilla. Gamilla, the daughter of Dr. Antonio and Maria Aves, and Giron, the son of Faustino Giron and Eufrocina Cunanan, also onion traders, believed in the need to create a celebration that paid homage to their ancestors and to the industry that continues to serve as the lifeblood of their beloved town.
Giron is an active contributor to Bongabon’s religious and cultural events. Having been fiesta hermano mayor in 1987, president of the Full Moon Club (Bongabon’s social club) in 1998, and recipient of both Natatanging Anak ng Nueva Ecija (1993)and Natatanging Anak ng Bongabon (1987) awards, he is no stranger to public service despite his lack of interest in politics itself. A fashion designer by profession and an artist by nature, he believed more could be done to enrich his hometown’s cultural heritage.
Fuelled by his travels and experiences, he proposed to the local government, a kind of celebration that he hoped would give his kababayans an innovative venue to express gratitude for a bountiful harvest. Inspired by the sights and sounds of the Ati-Atihan festival of Kalibo, Giron envisioned something grand — a festival that would awaken the senses of every Bongabonian and inculcate in their minds their identity as the Onion Capital of the Philippines. He also felt that the Ati-Atihan was the most ideal inspiration for Bongabon, as the town is also home to atis or aetas, the tribe of indigenous people where the said festival originated from.
With close ties to the Abernanos, one of the groups that pioneered the yearly street dancing festivities in Kalibo, Giron sought guidance from the group’s founders, Editha Ang and Violeta Fernandez. More importantly, because the Abernanos are known to have produced great festival musicians over the last 40 years, Editha Ang extended her support and assistance by volunteering to send their own drummers and lyrists to help Bongabon establish a festive sound fit for an enticing and exciting cultural celebration.
Initially called Sibuyasan Festival, the festivities did not start out as the grand celebration known today. Two months before the festival’s maiden run on April 2004, a 7-man team from Kalibo arrived and stayed at the Giron residence, where they were tasked to teach and train selected Bongabon youth on the basics of festival music, and drum and lyre melodies (Ang, 2018). Through the supervision of local high school teachers Ma’am Tess Vilar and Ma’am Laarni Saguiguit, a creative interaction between the youth of Bongabon and Kalibo commenced. This coming-together of minds and talents initiated a culture of sadsad or street dancing, as the delegation paraded the streets and filled the air with energetic rhythms every afternoon within the period of those two months.
Through the support of the Gamilla administration, the foundations of a new cultural Novo Ecijano celebration was born. Through Mayor Beth’s leadership, the festival was launched and mobilized, marking the start of what was then known as the Sibuyasan Festival — a fiesta that hoped to glorify the Sibuyas as the town’s main product.
In 2013, Sibuyasan Festival was changed to its current name, the Sibuyas Festival, because the previous name did not resonate with the vision of celebrating the onion as the town’s One Town One Product. Year 2004 marked changes in how Bongabon celebrated their fiestas. April 9 and 10, focused on celebrating the town, its cultural heritage and its onion industry, while October 4 celebrated the parish and the feast day of the town’s patron saint, St. Francis of Assisi.
Through the years, Giron continuously worked with the municipal mayors of Bongabon to ensure the steady growth of his festival brainchild. Beth Gamilla’s term as mayor was succeeded by her son Alan Xystus A. Gamilla, where the festival continued to gain traction. During these years, the management and funding of the Sibuyas festival remained under the local government unit (LGU) of Bongabon.
However, the Sibuyas Festival entered a new era after 13 years, when a new administration assumed office, under the leadership of Gen. Ricardo I. Padilla. Being the son of onion farmers and an onion businessman himself, he too, wanted his constituents to experience fun and enjoyment that they have not experienced before.
Under his tutelage, the 2-day Sibuyas Festival turned into a grand 10-day celebration from April 1-10, where a variety of activities and events were held simultaneously, serving the interests of all sectors of Bongabon. More than a decade after its first run, the Sibuyas Festival has transformed into an inclusive and multisectoral celebration highlighting the talents, creativity and ingenuity of Bongabon’s people, with a grand street dancing parade and competition as the focal point.
Under Padilla’s leadership, the festival established a structure that effectively and efficiently utilized the different sectors of Bongabon. Bongabon LGU partnered with members of the business and private sectors, and the academe to ensure that the best interests of the whole town were addressed and met. The municipal mayor served as the honorary chairman of the festival’s executive committee, while a private sector counterpart served as the overall chairman or festival president.
Past festival presidents since 2017 are as follows:
Atty. Julius Montubig (2017)
Melody G. Dela Cruz /(2018)
Javier B. Alvarez (2018)
This management structure also paved the way for local leaders and personalities to showcase their capabilities and serve their hometown. Apart from the festival executive committee, a festival core group was created, chaired by local educator and leader, Maynard B. Reguyal. The said core group served as an overseeing entity that ensured the efficiency and solid support of all stakeholders involved.
In 2017, the Padilla administration recognized and awarded Giron as “Perpetual Festival Consultant” and “Father of the Sibuyas Festival”. This recognition fuelled Giron to further market the festival on both regional and national levels, and to assist Bongabon Tourism in their cultural projects.
In the same year, journalist and TV personality Chino Trinidad visited Bongabon to do a story on the Sibuyas Festival. A short documentary called “Storya Ng Bayan”showcased the town, the onion industry and the real intentions behind the festival’s creation. To date, the groundbreaking video has gone viral, gaining more than 20,000 views since its posting in 2018.
The festival’s rising popularity within Region 3 also paved the way for the famed Sibuyas Festival dancers to perform during the arrival of foreign dignitaries in Clark, Pampanga, during the 31st ASEAN Summit. They have also been invited in the recently held first ever Harvest Festival, organized by SM City Cabanatuan and the Provincial Government of Nueva Ecija.
Throughout the years, great progress has been achieved. Sibuyas Festival has already been featured by a number of media outlets including Unang Hirit (GMA 7 ) and Umagang Kay Ganda (ABS-CBN). In 2018, the town received exclusive live coverage from the Unang Hirit team, with Love Anover and Juancho Trivino as correspondents.
But despite the many milestones reached, the festival founders believe there is still so much room for improvement. And with the recommendations of various festival, and arts and culture experts, the next step is the crucial and challenging task of unlearning everything, in pursuit of originality, creativity and excellence. The Sibuyas Festival founders are in the process of researching and developing festival dance, music, costume and presentation most befitting of Bongabon culture and identity.