Laur, Nueva Ecija

Laur, officially the Municipality of Laur (Tagalog: Bayan ng Laur, Ilocano: Ili ti Laur), is a municipality in the province of Nueva Ecija in Central Luzon region of Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 38,263 people.^[3] The town was named after the wife of General Manuel Tino, Laureana.

Laur
Municipality
Municipality of Laur
Laur Public Market
Flag Seal
Map of Nueva Ecija with Laur highlighted
OpenStreetMap
Laur Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 15°34′47″N 121°11′11″E
Country	Philippines
Region	Central Luzon
Province	Nueva Ecija
District	3rd district
Founded	January 13, 1917
Named after	Laureana Quijano Tinio, wife of General Manuel Tinio
Barangays	17 (see Barangays)
Government  [1]
• Type	Sangguniang Bayan
• Mayor	Atty. Christopher Daus
• Vice Mayor	Benjie Padilla
• Representative	Rosanna V. Vergara
• Municipal Council	Members Benjamin A. Padilla Elmer N. Rivera Jesusa D. Samano Marina M. Padilla Bernardo G. Ordanza Jr. Romeo A. Desamito Raymundo D. Lulunan Divina A. dela Cruz
• Electorate	27,339 voters (2025)
Area [2]
• Total	295.88 km2 (114.24 sq mi)
Elevation	100 m (300 ft)
Highest elevation	1,750 m (5,740 ft)
Lowest elevation	58 m (190 ft)
Population  (2020 census)[3]
• Total	38,263
• Density	130/km2 (330/sq mi)
• Households	9,510
Economy
• Income class	3rd municipal income class
• Poverty incidence	15.79 % (2021)[4]
• Revenue	₱ 249.5 million (2022)
• Assets	₱ 656.7 million (2022)
• Expenditure	₱ 156.6 million (2022)
• Liabilities	₱ 108.2 million (2022)
Service provider
• Electricity	Nueva Ecija 2 Area 2 Electric Cooperative (NEECO 2 A2)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	3129
PSGC	0304913000
IDD : area code	+63 (0)44
Native languages	Tagalog Ilocano

History

Originally, the town was a barrio of the municipality of Bongabon, named San Esteban, after its patron saint, Stephen I of Hungary. Migrant settlers of the community were mostly Tagalog and Ilocanos from the provinces of Ilocos Region and Pangasinan, with some Kapampangans from the provinces of Pampanga and Tarlac.^[5]

On January 13, 1917, by virtue of Executive Order No. 98 of then Governor-General Francis Burton Harrison, Laur was separated as its own town from Bongabon, and named from the wife of General Manuel Tinio, Laureana. General Tinio himself will have the town of Papaya named after him, as "General Tinio" in 1957. Laur borders General Tinio to the south.

Senators Benigno Aquino, Jr. and Jose W. Diokno were kept in solitary confinement for exactly thirty days in 1973 within Fort Magsaysay in Laur. It is now a museum and houses the AFP Center for Human Rights Dialogue.^[6]

Geography

Laur is located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Mountains. It is 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from Palayan, 145 kilometres (90 mi) from Manila, and 117 kilometres (73 mi) from Baler.

Barangays

Laur is politically subdivided into 17 barangays, as shown below. Each barangay consist of puroks and some have sitios.

• Barangay I (Poblacion)
• Barangay II (Poblacion)
• Barangay III (Poblacion)
• Barangay IV (Poblacion)
• Betania
• Canantong
• Nauzon
• Pangarulong
• Pinagbayanan
• Sagana
• San Fernando
• San Isidro
• San Josep
• San Juan
• San Vicente
• Siclong
• San Felipe

Climate

Climate data for Laur, Nueva Ecija
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	27 (81)	28 (82)	29 (84)	31 (88)	31 (88)	30 (86)	30 (86)	30 (86)	29 (84)	29 (84)	29 (84)	27 (81)	29 (85)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	20 (68)	20 (68)	21 (70)	22 (72)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	23 (73)	22 (72)	21 (70)	22 (72)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	25 (1.0)	26 (1.0)	18 (0.7)	24 (0.9)	91 (3.6)	145 (5.7)	149 (5.9)	122 (4.8)	120 (4.7)	128 (5.0)	61 (2.4)	52 (2.0)	961 (37.7)
Average rainy days	7.7	5.7	6.8	8.0	18.2	22.1	24.3	23.4	22.7	17.5	10.0	9.4	175.8
Source: Meteoblue[7]

Demographics

Aerial view of Laur with Dingalan Bay in the distant background

Population census of Laur

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1918 3,207 —     1939 13,634 +7.13% 1948 16,964 +2.46% 1960 11,165 −3.43% 1970 14,085 +2.35% 1975 16,896 +3.72% 1980 17,729 +0.97%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1990 21,464 +1.93% 1995 25,143 +3.01% 2000 26,902 +1.46% 2007 30,997 +1.97% 2010 32,205 +1.40% 2015 35,656 +1.96% 2020 38,263 +1.40%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[8][9][10][11]

Economy

Poverty incidence of Laur

10 20 30 40 50 2000 45.32 2003 33.11 2006 30.50 2009 31.18 2012 25.38 2015 20.99 2018 5.69 2021 15.79 Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]

Government

Local government

Main article: Sangguniang Bayan

Past Mayors of Laur are as follows:

• 1. Pedro Panginen (1917-1919)
• 2. Nemesio Peralta (1919-1922)
• 3. Teodoro Manglicmot (1922-1925
• 4. Timoteo De Guzman (1925-1928)
• 5. Pedro Aquino (1928-1931)
• 6. Florentino Pascua (1931-1934)
• 7. Timoteo De Guzman (1934-1937)
• 8. Tomas Arenas (1938-1940)
• 9. Ladisslao Aquino (Nov. 20-Dec. 21, 1940)
• 10. Felix Petines (1940-1941)
• 11. Jose Villavisa (1946-1951)
• 12. Jorge Padilla (1952-1955)
• 13. Manuel Mesina (1956-1963)
• 14. Gabriel Daus (1964-1971)
• 15. Nicolas Abad (1972-1979)
• 16. Gabriel Daus (1979-1986)
• 17. Antonio Tolentino (1986-1998)
• 18. Blas Canlas (1998-2007)
• 19. Alvaro Daus (2007-2016)
• 20. Alexander Daus (2016-2022)
• 21. Christopher Daus (2022-Incumbent)

See also

• Philippine Carabao Center