Aliaga

The name Aliaga was originally known as
“Pulong Bibit” during the early Spanish regime, a term
locals associated with a dumping place for human skeletons. Upon its
official establishment as a town on February 8, 1849, it was renamed
Aliaga after the hometown in Spain of its very first
gobernadorcillo, Don Aniceto Ferry. It was
originally part of the Pampanga province before it was officially
transferred to the province of Nueva Ecija, once encompassing vast
territories that now make up the neighboring municipalities of
Zaragoza, Quezon, and Licab.

Aliaga is situated in the central section of Nueva Ecija and forms
part of the province’s third congressional district. According to the
latest 2024 Philippine Statistics Authority census data, the
municipality has a growing population of 72,134 residents, driven by
its steady local economic development. It is widely famous for
hosting the annual Taong Putik Festival (officially
celebrated in Barangay Bibiclat every June 24), a unique
religious-cultural event where devotees coat themselves in mud and
wrap their bodies in dried banana leaves to honor their patron saint,
Saint John the Baptist.

The town serves as a crucial agricultural hub, producing massive
yields of palay and corn that historically earned it a reputation as
a major granary of the province. While its commercial sector has
expanded significantly to elevate it to a first-class municipality,
farming and agricultural cultivation remain the primary sources of
livelihood and economic stability for the local community.