List of people from Nueva Ecija
The following is a list of notable people who were either born in, lived in, are current residents of, or are closely associated with the province of Nueva Ecija.
National heroes and patriots
- Antonio Bautista – air force pilot and Medal of Valor awardee
- Mariano Llanera – vice commander of the Philippine Revolutionary Army[1]
- Benito Natividad – brigadier general of the Philippine Revolutionary Army[2]
- Mamerto Natividad – commanding general of the Philippine Revolutionary Arm in Central Luzon[3]
- Juan Pajota – World War II guerrilla officer who played a key role in the Raid at Cabanatuan[4]
- Manuel Tinio – youngest general of the Philippine Revolutionary Army and later governor of Nueva Ecija[5]
- Pantaleon Valmonte – general of the Philippine Revolutionary Army[6]
Entertainment
- Jason Abalos – actor and politician
- JC Alcantara – actor[7][8]
- Jose Balagtas – film director and politician[9]
- Paolo Ballesteros – actor, comedian and drag queen
- Heber Bartolome – folk singer
- Ruel S. Bayani – film and television director
- Kathryn Bernardo – actress and singer; highest-grossing Filipino actress of all time
- Bea Binene – actress[10]
- Nida Blanca – actress
- Gavin "Ser Geybin" Capinpin – vlogger[11]
- Anthony Castelo – singer
- Val Castelo – singer and actor[12]
- Ryza Cenon – actress
- Manuel Chua – actor and model
- Nestor de Villa – actor
- Cristy Fermin – talk show host
- BB Gandanghari – actress and model
- JaMill – content creators
- Diana Mackey – actress and beauty queen[13]
- Rose Marielle Mamaclay – singer
- Jayzam Manabat – vlogger
- Kaori Oinuma – actress; former PBB housemate
- Erika Padilla – actress, TV host and model
- Rommel Padilla – actor and politician[14]
- Fred Panopio – singer and actor
- Coleen Perez – actress
- Kurt Perez – former child actor; StarStruck Kids Ultimate Male Survivor
- Lito Pimentel – actor
- Anita Ramos Camba – television producer and director
- Willie Revillame – actor, businessman and longtime host of major Philippine noontime variety shows
- Nikki Samonte – actress
- Vilma Santos – actress and politician; FAMAS Hall of Fame inductee[15]
- Yen Santos – actress; Gawad Urian Best Actress
- Romnick Sarmenta – actor; dubbed as the "Teenage King" in the 1980s[16]
- Vic Silayan – actor
- Val Sotto – actor, singer and politician
- Vic Sotto – actor, television host, and comedian; multi-awarded Box Office King[17][18]
- Eula Valdez – actress
- Xilhouete – drag performer
Journalism
- Philip Agustin – journalist and newspaper editor
- Louie Beltran – broadcast journalist, first editor-in-chief of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
- Frankie Evangelista – broadcast journalist and newspaper columnist
- Athena Imperial – GMA News reporter and Miss Earth - Water 2011
- Anthony Taberna – news anchor and radio broadcaster
- Joe Taruc – DZRH radio broadcaster[19]
Education, literature and the arts
- Lamberto Antonio – poet and writer; Palanca awardee
- Jose Balagtas – film director and writer
- Lino Brocka – director and National Artist for Film
- Behn Cervantes – artist, activist and film director
- Elito "Amangpintor" Circa – indigenous painter
- Emmanuel de Guzman – 12th president of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.
- Felipe Padilla de Leon – composer and National Artist for Music
- Rony V. Diaz – writer and Palanca awardee
- Damiana Eugenio – writer known as the "Mother of Philippine Folklore."[20]
- Doreen Fernandez – food writer and cultural historian
- Lázaro Francisco – novelist and National Artist for Literature.
- Ramon H. Lopez – painter
- E. Arsenio Manuel – academic, historian and anthropologist
- Mario Parial – painter and sculptor
- Rogelio R. Sikat – novelist, playwright and Palanca awardee
Politics and government
- Richard Albano – retired PNP General
- Jaime Bautista – businessman and former Secretary of Transportation[21]
- Ponciano Bernardo – former mayor of Quezon City[22]
- Alice Bulos – Filipino American civil rights leader and Democratic Party delegate
- Oscar Calderon – former chief of the Philippine National Police[23]
- Oscar Castelo – former secretary of national defense and secretary of justice
- Delfin Castro – AFP major general
- Perci Cendaña – representative, Akbayan Party-list
- Hermogenes Concepcion – former senator[24]
- Hermogenes Concepcion Jr. – former solicitor general and associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines
- Epifanio de los Santos – historian and writer who served as Nueva Ecija representative to the Malolos Congress and later governor of Nueva Ecija
- Jaime de los Santos – former chief of staff and commanding general of the Philippine Army, former commander of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor
- Eduardo del Rosario – first Secretary of Human Settlements and Urban Development
- Faustino Dy – former Governor of Isabela
- Randy Escolango – undersecretary at the Department of Health
- Juan Feleo – peasant leader
- Josie Fitial – former First Lady of the Northern Mariana Islands
- Isauro Gabaldón – former resident commissioner of the Philippines to the United States House of Representatives[25]
- Dr. Paulino J. García – former Secretary of Health
- Rafael Ileto – AFP General and former Secretary of National Defense
- Eduardo Joson – WWII guerrilla leader and former governor of Nueva Ecija
- Juan Liwag – former senator[26]
- Cielo Magno – economist; former Undersecretary of the Department of Finance
- Rafael V. Mariano – former partylist representative for Anakpawis and former Secretary of Agrarian Reform
- Ameurfina Melencio-Herrera – lawyer and second woman to be appointed as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines
- Sedfrey Ordoñez – lawyer and former Secretary of Justice
- Robin Padilla – actor and politician; ran for Vice Governor of Nueva Ecija in 1995.[27]
- Bernardo Pardo – Supreme Court Associate Justice
- Emerson Pascual – representative, Nueva Ecija's 4th district
- Kokoy Salvador – representative, Nueva Ecija's 2nd district
- Vicente "Tito" Sotto III – senate president, actor, and musician[28]
- Mika Suansing – representative, Nueva Ecija's 1st district
- Jay Vergara – representative, Nueva Ecija's 3rd district
- Reynaldo Wycoco – former director of the national Bureau of Investigation
Religion
- Emma de Guzman – Marian visionary and co-founder of La Pietà International Prayer Group
- Frederick Kriekenbeek – Catholic priest and pioneering exorcist in the Archdiocese of Cebu
- Jose Elmer Mangalinao – Roman Catholic bishop
- Alberto Ramento – ninth supreme bishop and former chairperson of the Supreme Council of Bishops of the Philippine Independent Church
- Oscar Solis – bishop of Salt Lake City in Utah since 2017, first Filipino-American Catholic bishop[29]
Sports
- Carlo Biado – pool player and world champion
- Hernando Castelo – sports shooter
- Samboy de Leon – basketball player
- Japoy Lizardo – taekwondo athlete and commercial model; Asian Games bronze medalist
- Frances Molina – Premier Volleyball League MVP
- Ferdinand Pascual – international basketball referee
Others
- Alexis Belonio – inventor
- Alice Eduardo – businesswoman; founder and CEO of Sta. Elena Construction and Development Corporation
- Rosario and Silvino Encarnacion – Ramon Magsaysay Award recipients
- Julian Marcelino – mass murderer
- Aniceto Sobrepeña – businessman; former president of Metrobank Foundation
- Mary Jane Veloso – Filipino migrant worker who was sentenced to death in Indonesia for drug trafficking in 2010. Her case drew international attention and widespread advocacy efforts, leading to a stay of execution in 2015.
References
- ^ Roque, Anselmo (June 9, 2016). "Sacrifice of elite in Ecija revolution offers history lesson". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
- ^ Roque, Anselmo (June 9, 2016). "Sacrifice of elite in Ecija revolution offers history lesson". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
- ^ Roque, Elmo (September 2, 2014). "Nueva Ecija Day honors '96 Ecijano revolutionists". Punto! Central Luzon. San Fernando, Pampanga: LLL Trimedia Coordinators. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
- ^ "The Heroism of Juan Pajota". HistoryNet. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
- ^ "Manuel S. Tineo" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 18, 2009. Retrieved June 6, 2009.
- ^ Roque, Anselmo (June 9, 2016). "Sacrifice of elite in Ecija revolution offers history lesson". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
- ^ "JC Alcantara recalls his life before showbiz". ABS-CBN.
- ^ "Get to know Kapamilya actor JC Alcantara". GMA Network.
- ^ Santos, Reynaldo Jr. (June 24, 2013). "Star-studded gov't: More celebs win in 2013 polls". Rappler. Retrieved March 21, 2025.
- ^ Salterio, Leah C. (October 1, 2022). "Bea Binene returns to school this pandemic". The Philippine Star. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
- ^ Basina, Carby (2024-01-07). "Capinpin Brothers give their mom 3 new houses in Cabanatuan City". GMA News Online. Retrieved 2025-09-27.
- ^ Valle, Mario Bautista (February 10, 2022). "Moviegoer: Remembering Val Castelo". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
- ^ "Ex-PBB housemate Diana Mackey, target masungkit ang korona ng Binibining Pilipinas 2022". Balita. February 18, 2022. Retrieved July 20, 2025.
- ^ Santos, Reynaldo Jr. (June 24, 2013). "Star-studded gov't: More celebs win in 2013 polls". Rappler. Retrieved March 21, 2025.
- ^ "Nueva Ecijana Vilma Santos wows Thomasians in talkback session". May 3, 2024.
- ^ "PIA Nueva Ecija – Romnick Sarmenta supports TOFARM in Cabanatuan". Facebook. August 2016. Retrieved July 25, 2025."Anim na pelikula tungkol sa buhay ng mga magsasaka ipinalalabas sa Cabanatuan". Eagle News. August 30, 2016. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
- ^ Galvez, Manny (February 16, 2017). "Bossing Vic named Outstanding Cabanatueño". The Philippine Star. Retrieved July 11, 2025.
- ^ "Dabarkads Vic Sotto and Paolo Ballesteros receive award from the City of Cabanatuan". www.gmanetwork.com. February 3, 2017. Retrieved 2024-12-23.
- ^ Roque, Anselmo (September 7, 2009). "Seven outstanding Ecijanos honored". Punto! Central Luzon. San Fernando, Pampanga: LLL Trimedia Coordinators. Retrieved March 21, 2025.
- ^ Sicat, Gerardo P. "Damiana Eugenio, master compiler of Philippine folkloric myths, legends, riddles, and proverbs". Philstar.com. Retrieved 2025-09-27.
- ^ "Kalihim ng DOTr, kinilala bilang Natatanging Anak ng Cabanatuan". PIA. February 7, 2023. Retrieved July 20, 2025."Profile of Chairperson‑Secretary Jaime J. Bautista" (PDF). Clark Int’l Airport Corp. Retrieved July 20, 2025."JAIME J. BAUTISTA – Tourism Promotions Board CV" (PDF). Tourism Promotions Board. Retrieved July 20, 2025.
- ^ Gwekoh, Sol (1950). Aurora A. Quezon: Her Life and Deeds. Manila: Fortune Publishers. Retrieved March 22, 2025 – via Google Books.
- ^ Roque, Anselmo (September 7, 2009). "Seven outstanding Ecijanos honored". Punto! Central Luzon. San Fernando, Pampanga: LLL Trimedia Coordinators. Retrieved March 21, 2025.
- ^ "List of Previous Senators". Senate of the Philippines. Government of the Philippines. n.d. Retrieved March 22, 2025.
- ^ Galang, Zoilo (1932). Leaders of the Philippines: Inspiring Biographies of Successful Men and Women of the Philippines. Manila: National Publishing Company. pp. 276–278. Retrieved March 22, 2025 – via Google Books.
- ^ "List of Previous Senators". Senate of the Philippines. Government of the Philippines. n.d. Retrieved March 22, 2025.
- ^ "Reel people for the ballot". South China Morning Post. May 7, 1995.
- ^ "Sotto: Imported agri products flood market, farmers hit hard". Journal News. March 7, 2022. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
- ^ "Louisiana Pastor Named Auxiliary Bishop Of Los Angeles". United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
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