Lupao, officially the Municipality of Lupao (Ilocano: Ili ti Lupao; Tagalog: Bayan ng Lupao), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 45,917 people.

The town is derived from the Ilocano word lupa, the name of an itchy plant found in great abundance within the town and its outskirts at the time of the town's foundation in 1913.

Lupao is 58 kilometres (36 mi) from Cabanatuan, 72 kilometres (45 mi) from Palayan, and 174 kilometres (108 mi) from Manila.

During Spanish rule, the territorial jurisdiction of the province of Nueva Ecija extended to as far south at Cabiao and the towns of San Quintin, Rosales, Balungao and (H)umingan in the north, which later on formed part of the province of Pangasinan. Lupao was a component barrio of Umingan. It remained so until 1871 when some residents led by a Señor Calderon petitioned the Governor General for the segregation of Lupao as a barrio of Umingan and the eventual creation of Lupao as “Tenencia Absoluta” to be headed by a Teniente Absoluto. On September 28, 1871, the Govierno Superior Civil de Filipinas decreed the creation of Lupao as Tenencia Absoluta. It signified the formal segregation as barrio and the eventual creation as “pueblo” of the province of Nueva Ecija. Under the Spanish rule, a pueblo is created through the Laws of the Indies and represented a local government unit. The pueblo was an agency of the Central Government.

Salvacion was the first barrio of Lupao. Its initial territory also included Barrio Cabaritan now known as San Jose City. Barangay San Roque was known as Odiao and San Isidro as Macaniaoed. Among the first leaders of the municipality during the final years of Spanish Rule were Benito Romualdo as “Capitan Municipal” and Celestino Jabalde as ‘Juez de Paz”.

In 1898, soon after the Treaty of Paris (1898) was signed and the payment of 20 million pesetas for the possession of the Philippines, the United States Military Government (USMG) issued General Order No. 43 proclaiming the establishment of municipal governments. The Second Philippine Commission (the Taft Commission) acting as the upper house of a bicameral legislature then issued Act No.82 in 1901, “The 1901 municipal code” provided for popularly elected presidents (mayor), vice presidents (vice mayor), and councilors to serve on municipal boards.

It was only in 1913 that Lupao became a town mainly through the concerted efforts of Gen. Manuel Tinio and Assemblyman Isauro Gabaldon of the Philippine Assembly. Its founding fathers were Victoriano Joanino, Calixto Laureta, Felix Carpio, Juan Briones, Anacleto Ganareal, Luis Mamaligsa, Gregorio Babagay, Sicto Baclig, Remigio Blas Caoile and Candido Mata.

During the Second World War, Japanese Imperial forces occupied the town in 1942.

In 1945, the combined U.S. and Philippine Commonwealth military ground troops liberated Lupao and defeated the Japanese Imperial forces during the Battle of Lupao. The main headquarters of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and United States Army was established in Lupao.

During a military operation against the New People's Army on February 10, 1987, seventeen civilians, including an elderly couple and six children, were murdered by the Alpha Company, 14th Infantry (Avengers) Battalion, of the Philippine Army. The murders were carried out by the 14th Infantry after they failed to capture the NPA who had killed platoon leader Second Lieutenant Edgar Dizon, in an ambush the night before. In an act of frustration and anger, the 14th Infantry gathered up unarmed civilians hiding in the rice paddies and murdered them with gunfire and bayonets, leaving 17 dead and 8 wounded, claiming that the dead were rebels. All 24 soldiers of the 14th Infantry Battalion were eventually tried before court-martial but were all acquitted, despite first-hand testimonies of the survivors. This became known as the "Lupao Massacre."

On September 25, 2005, three NPA members were killed by soldiers of the 71st Infantry Battalion during a hot pursuit operation against the rebels in Barangay Cordero, Lupao.

Lupao is subdivided into 24 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

Lupao belongs to the first type of climate in the Philippines. This type of climate has two (2) pronounced seasons: dry from the month of November to April and Wet during the rest of the year. This type of climate is typically hot, humid and tropical and is generally affected by the neighboring topography and the prevalent wind direction that varies within the year.

Population census of Lupao

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1903 541 —     1918 5,801 +17.14% 1939 11,783 +3.43% 1948 13,410 +1.45% 1960 15,482 +1.20% 1970 20,005 +2.59% 1975 22,106 +2.02% 1980 23,050 +0.84%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1990 27,481 +1.77% 1995 29,996 +1.65% 2000 34,190 +2.85% 2007 36,832 +1.03% 2010 40,931 +3.91% 2015 43,788 +1.29% 2020 45,917 +0.94%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority

Residents in Lupao are called "Lupaoenian". Ilocano is widely spoken especially in the barrios. Population is predominantly Ilocano in origin, according to the 2007 census, Lupao had a population of 36,832 people, 80% Ilocano and 20% Tagalogs, Kapampangans and Pangasinans.

Poverty incidence of Lupao

10 20 30 40 2006 34.60 2009 26.43 2012 18.90 2015 20.36 2018 5.78 2021 16.30 Source: Philippine Statistics Authority

This article is written like a travel guide. Please help improve the article by introducing an encyclopedic style or move the content to Wikivoyage. (May 2024)

Due to its history and cultural background, Lupaoenian cuisine is greatly influenced by the Ilocanos and Pangasinenses. Rice is a staple food. Bangus, bagoong and alamang from Dagupan. Tinapa or smoked fish is also a famous dish which was commonly made locally in Ubbog. Locals also love their vegetables such as diningdeng- a concoction of vegetables & fish sauce; and boiled kamote tops. Goat "kalding" is a common treat for all occasions. It is a common ingredient on dishes such as pinapaitan, kilawin & adobo.

The locals are also fond of sweets like tinudok, espasol, puto, tambutambong, tupig, kalamay, ginataang bayabas and ingkiwar. Exotic food such as "Tapang usa" or venison, "Baboy-ramo" or wild hog meat, Abu-os "ant egg" were predominantly catered from Namulandayan until the late 1980s, which eventually led to the probable extinction of local deer and hogs in the mountainside.

• Santo Domingo Dam
• Macanae Dam
• Macarina Resort
• Pinsal Falls

• Municipality of Lupao Official Website
• Philippine Standard Geographic Code
• Philippine Census Information
• Local Governance Performance Management System