Palayan turns 49, Malacañang declares Dec. 5 special non-working day in NE capital

PALAYAN CITY, Nueva Ecija–All roads lead to this provincial capital today as local officials, led by neophyte lady Mayor Adrianne Mae J. Cuevas observe this city’s 49^th anniversary celebrations.

          President Aquino, through Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., issued last November 14 Presidential Proclamation 916 declaring December 5, 2014 a special non-working day throughout the city to enable the people to celebrate and participate in the event.

          The executive committee for this year’s anniversary rites launched the kick-off ceremony last December 1 with an ecumenical service followed by the launch of a service caravan involving medical and dental mission, birth registration and other social services and the barangay and awards night at the Nueva Ecija Convention Center.

          Last year, the anniversary was held in simple rites as the city was one of those hardest hit by “Santi” in October, damaging P300 million worth of crops.

This year’s anniversary rites come on the heels of a major facelift undertaken by the fledgling Cuevas administration which implemented drastic political and administrative reforms, starting with the renovation of the city hall.

        Cuevas said the city, apart from being the seat of the provincial government, also would like to claim for it a rightful place as an agro-industrial center in the province. Presently, Cuevas has been inviting a number of investors to set up businesses in the city in line with her administration’s vision to turn it into an investors’ haven.

          This city was created as the new capital of Nueva Ecija on June 19,1965 by virtue of Republic Act 4475 signed by then-President Diosdado Macapagal. It first rose to prominence when it hosted the National Jamboree of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines in 1969 at its campsite, attended by thousands of scouts from Asia-Pacific countries. 

          The campsite is considered the BSP’s largest regional campsite where the Josefa Llanes Escoda national training center is also housed.

          The city also hosts the headquarters of the Army’s 7^th Infantry Division at the Fort Magsaysay Military Reservation, considered one of the largest military training camps not only in the country but also in southeast Asia. (Manny Galvez)