City Government of Cabanatuan City

Cabanatuan, officially the City of Cabanatuan (Filipino: Lungsod ng Cabanatuan; Ilocano: Siudad ti Cabanatuan; Kapampangan: Lakanbalen/Ciudad ning Cabanatuan), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 327,325 people, making it the most populous city in Nueva Ecija and the fifth-most populous in Central Luzon.

The city is popular for being home to more than 30,000 motorized tricycles, making it the “Tricycle Capital of the Philippines.” Its strategic location along the Cagayan Valley Road has made the city a major economic, educational, medical, entertainment, shopping, and transportation center in Nueva Ecija and nearby provinces in the region such as Tarlac, Aurora, and Bulacan. It has also earned the moniker “Gateway to the North.”

Cabanatuan remained Nueva Ecija’s capital until 1965 when the government created nearby Palayan City as the new provincial capital. Nueva Ecija’s old capitol and other government offices are still used and maintained by the provincial administration. Cabanatuan also became the capital of the Philippines during the First Philippine Republic while President Emilio Aguinaldo was moving north to avoid being captured by American forces.

After the campaign for the city’s designation as a highly urbanized city failed, a motion was made to convert the city into a lone district instead.