Pantabangan, a 300-year-old settlement in Nueva Ecija recently saw the light of day, as the effects of the El Niño phenomenon caused the previously submerged area to surface. The town, placed underwater to pave the way for the construction of the Pantabangan Dam in 1973, recently recorded a water level of 173.40 meters—reportedly “3.6 meters below its low” standard.
While it is rare to witness Pantabangan, the centuries-old town has a history of resurfacing—the first recorded in 1983, followed by 2014, 2020, and 2024. According to the municipality’s website, the second largest dam in Asia and cleanest in the country “generates 112 megawatts of hydroelectric power and supplies the irrigation requirements of about 77,000 hectares of agricultural lands in Central Luzon.”
In May 1966, congress passed the Upper Pampanga River Project Act (Republic Act 5499), which authorized “the construction of the Pantabangan Dam and its appurtenant structures.” Its implementation came with great economic and social impacts on its previous inhabitants. The original residents of the outlying barangays (Malbang, Villarica, Liberty, Cadaclan, San Juan, Napon-Napon, Marikit and Conversion) were effectively displaced to nearby locations before the flooding of the new lake to form the new Patabangan town.
Currently, the developed town has 14 barangays, a total land area of about 41,735.314 hectares, and is the sole Philippine town that possesses three hydroelectric plants within its vicinity.
