Name and Establishment
CUYAPO comes from the Pangasinan word “kuyapo”, “kiapo” or “quiapo” in Tagalog; “lul-luan”, in Ilocano; (Pistia Stratiocis Linn), a water plant that looks like a flower. According to the Kulantong, or Cronologia written by the late Cirilo R. Sumangil, a native of Cuyapo, who, for over forty years, was the Parish Priest of the Philippine Independent Church of Cuyapo. Said aquatic plant was so abundant particularly in a place which is now owned by the Monteros, situated along Rizal Street near the Municipal Cemetery. It was at this place that lured cow tenders from Paniqui, Tarlac to pasture their herds or flocks.

Early Beginnings
Pangasinenses from Paniqui, Tarlac who used to pasture their cattle, foresters from Sta. Maria, Narvacan, Ilocos Sur; Paoay and Batac in Ilocos Norte; and Pangasinenses from Calasiao and San Carlos, Pangasinan, settled in great number in the town. It is said that the exodus, particularly from Ilocos Sur, was due to the forced labor enforced by the Spaniards in the construction of the Catholic Church in Sta. Maria, Ilocos Sur. Cuyapo was declared a Barrio of Rosales on September 25, 1849, with Senior Santiago Vergara as its first Teniente del Barrio. Rosales was then a part of Nueva Ecija. It was in 1901 during the American Civil Commission that Rosales, together with Balungao, Umingan, San Quintin , were segregated from Nueva Ecija and became parts of Pangasinan.

Creation of the Town
On October 29,1859, Cuyapo was separated from Rosales and made a full-fledged town with Don Juan Pangalilingan as the first Gobernadorcillo. It was during his term that the first Catholic Church and convent was constructed. The old road to Guimba, passing through what is now Barangay Maycaban was constructed. On October 29, 1959, Cuyapo celebrated the centennial of its creation as a town.

The Revolutionary Period
On July 1, 1898, Gen. Mariano Llanera, then Military Governor of Nueva Ecija, appointed Don Marcelo Garcia, last Capitan Municipal during the Spanish Regime, as Presidente Municipal with Don Mariano Flores, last Teniente Mayor, as Vise Presidente Municipal. Later, under the supervisonal government, election of municipal officials was held. This revolutionary period of government existed until the American forces came in November 1898. It was during this period when the people showed their patriotism and loyalty to the cause of the revolution. On June 19,1898, two to three hundred Cuyapenos, under Teniente Isabelo del Valle of Paniqui, Tarlac, answered the call of duty and ambushed a heavily armed contingent of Spanish Cazadores who came from Rosales enroute to Tarlac in Bessang (now part of Barangay Maycaban. The Cuyapenos then had only fifteen (15) Remington rifles and the rest armed with bolos.

The American Military Rule
The Americans arrived in Cuyapo in November 1899 and appointed Don Mariano B. Flores, then President of the Revolutionary Government as Municipal President. An accepted historical event during this period was the capture of Apolinario Mabini, the Sublime Paralytic, in the house of Zacarias B. Flores, brother of the Municipal President, on December 10, 1899. (To honor Apolinario Mabini on his 100th birthday, fitting ceremonies, upon approval of the Philippine Historical Commission (PHC) were held, headed by Mayor Democrito Jose on July 23, 1964. A marker was unveiled on the spot where the house in which Mabini was captured. Prof. Teodoro A. Agoncillo, a noted historian and Head of the Department of History of the University of the Philippines, was the guest speaker. Expenses for the construction of the marker were taken from the proceeds of the 1964 Cuyapo Town Fiesta).

The Capture of Apolinario Mabini
Apolinario Mabini, the Sublime Paralytic, was captured by the American soldiers on December 10, 1899 at about ten o’clock in the morning in the house of Don Zacarias B. Flores where he was then hiding, allegedly upon indication of a twelve-year old boy by the name of Damial Pascual ( son of the spouses Simon Pascual and Feliciana Domingo who are immediate neighbors of the Flores Family) (Note: During the celebration of the centennial of the birth of Mabini, Mr. Damian Pascual, already 77 years old, told that such imputation is false and baseless and tends to discredit him so that his townmates may hate him as a traitor. This was Mr. Damian Pascual’s version of the story) It was December 10, 1899, when a unnamed tall and robust American cavalryman, who knew beforehand where Mabini was hiding, approached the store of Damian’s mother who was then in the market making purchases. He asked Damian who was then tending the store by means of signs if he had eggs for sale. Realizing that the American needed eggs for food, Damian went to get eggs from a nest and gave this to the Cavalryman who took a bottle of wine on display at the “estante”, poured the wine in a glass mixed with the contents of one egg and later drank the potion. After this, the American, again by signs, inquired if he knew Mabini to which the boy Damian answered in the negative by shaking his head. After finishing the third egg, the American drew a bill of five dollars from his wallet and gave it to the boy who said he did not have enough to change it, but the American made him understand that it was not necessary for him to give the change, adding that the bill was worth ten pesos . The American spread all his fingers to make his point clear. Later, the American who appeared to be on an urgent business held him by the hand and said “ come on pequeno” and took Damian to the house of Don Zacarias B. Flores. Finding no one, the American led him to the door of the only room of the house, and slowly pushed the door and saw Apolinario Mabini seated in a ‘sillon’ (reclined armchair) resting. Upon seeing the man, he greeted him with a “good morning Mabini,” making signs that he should stand; but Mabini calmly responded: “I cannot stand”. Then noting the physical condition of the man, the American was convinced that he had found his quarry then said “ you are under arrest.” He proceeded to the window facing the street and called to his fellow soldiers who were then on their way to water their horses in the neighboring Salundipit Creek, by saying in a loud voice: “Mabini is here.” Scarcely had he uttered these words, the house was surrounded immediately by cavalry troops. Other soldiers later arrived coming from the barracks. While the sergeant was near the window speaking with his fellow soldiers, Mabini chided the boy Damian thus: “Bakit mo ako itinuro?” (Why did you show where I am?), to which the boy replied: “Hindi po, ang Amerikano po ang nagdala sa akin dito at hindi ko alam ang dahilan.” (No sir, the American took me here and I did not know the reason) After a while, various soldiers helped the paralytic stand from his chair. He was carried by four soldiers to the convent which then served as a soldiers’ barracks. Hours later, he was taken to Rosales, Pangasinan and from there to Bayambang, Pangasinan from where he was taken to Manila by train. On the day of the capture, no other person was in the house except Mabini and his brother Prudencio Mabini, who on seeing his brother captured by the Americans, jumped through the window to the kitchen and went to the municipal building to inform the Municipal President, Don Mariano B. Flores, about the capture. It was said that the commanding officer of the local military outpost has asked explanations from the Municipal President about the presence of Mabini in the locality without him (commanding officer) being informed about it. The latter replied that he absolutely know nothing about the matter. Should anyone told him about it, he would have reported it to the authorities.

Early Education System
The first primary school during the Spanish Period was established in 1893. Don Clodualdo Bringas, former Registrar of Deeds of Nueva Ecija, was the first Insular Teacher. During the early part of the American Regime, the need for a primary school was felt. In 1901, during the incumbency of Don Mariano B. Flores, the first primary school was established made of cogon and buri leaves situated at Bell St., (Now Quezon Avenue). In 1902, Mr. C.A. Belknap began instruction in English of a class composed among others of Tomas Tuazon, Ciriaco B. Pascual, Crispin Pascual, Damian Dagdag, Nicolas Sumalbag, some of whom served as teachers of the school Sometime in the early 1920s, a secondary school – the Cuyapo Institute, was founded with Dr. Eufronio Verzola as principal stockholder. This school existed till the outbreak of the last world war (World War II) and is the Alma Mater of many outstanding Cuyapenos. In 1946, the Cuyapo High School, with Atty. Jose Dacquel, Dr. Democrito Jose, Dr. Jose Baguisi and others as stockholders, was founded . In 1953, this school was sold to the Bishop of Lingayen, through Rev. Henry Zeguard, MSC Missionary and then Parish Priest of San Roque Parish Church. With Atty. Emilio Lozano and Rev. Cirilo Sumangil and others as principal stockholders, the Cuyapo Academy was founded in 1955. Both the St. Pius X Institute (formerly Cuyapo High School) and Cuyapo Academy offer secondary education.

Religion
In 1907, the first Philippine Independent Church parish was established. A chapel was constructed on the corner of Barth (now P. Joaquin)and McArthur (now Mabini) streets. The ideals and doctrines of Dr. Jose Rizal served as the tenets of a religious group called “La Religion Rizalina”” which has a large followers in Cuyapo during the early American regime. Some of those prominent followers were: Atty. Aromin, Marcelo Corpuz, Nicolas Sumalbag, Ciriaco B. Pascual, Antonio Lauyan, Aniceto Aromin, to name a few.

Officials during the Spanish Period (1859-1895)

Gobernadorcillos

Year	Name
1859-1861 1961-1862 1962-1863 1963-1864 1964-1865 1866-1869	Don Juan Pangalilingan Don Francisco Cuevas Don Juan Pangalilingan Don Tomas Pangalilingan Don Manuel Sacramento Don Juan Pangalilingan

Capitan Municipales

Year	Name
1870-1871 1982-1873 1874-1875 1876-1877 1898-1879 1880-1881 1882-1883 1884-1885 1886-1887 1888-1889 1890-1891 1892-1893 1894-1895	Don Roberto Pangalilingan Don Juan Velo Don Rufino Dallo Don Bernabe Beltran Don Roberto Pangalilingan Don Gregorio Dagdag Don Marcelo Dagdag Don Pedro Joaquin Don Jose Fernando Don Eugenio Martinez Don Faustino Gamboa Don Sinforoso Aromin Don Marcelo Garcia

Municipal Officials from 1898-1937

Year	Municipal Presidents	Municipal Vice Presidents
1898-1899 1899-1903 1904-1905 1906-1907 1908-1909 1910-1911 1912-1915 1916-1919 1920-1922 1923-1925 1926-1929 1929-1931 1932-1934 1935-1937	Don Marcelo Garcia Don Mariano Flores Don Laureano Gonzales Don Tiburcio Verzola Don Pedro Joaquin Don Jacinto Aguila Don Cristobal Mendoza Don Lorenzo Mendoza Don Pelagio Flores Don Ignacio Yango Don Juan Aromin Don Juan Aromin Don Marcelino Dallo Don Telesforo E.Domingo	Don Mariano B. Flores Don T. Mendoza Don Florentino Apuan Don Feliciano Cuaresma Don Juan Briones Don Juan Ysmael Don Nicolas Sambajon Don Nicolas Divina Don Tomas Corpus Don Marcelino Dallo Don Fernando Cachuela Don Juan Ysmael Don Teodoro Jose Don Eugenio Enrico

Municipal Officials from 1938-Present

Year	Municipal Mayor	Municipal Vice Mayor
1938-1940 1941-1942 1942-1944 1945 1946-1947 1947-1948 1949-1951 1952-1955 1956-1959 1959 August 1960-1963 1964-1971 1972-1979 1980-1986 1986-1988 1988-1995 1995-1998 1998-2001 2001-2004 2004-2007 2007-2010 2010-2013	Teodoro Jose Tomas Corpus Antonio de Guzman Teodoro Jose Tomas Corpus Teodoro M. Jose Juan T. Sumalbag Delfin R. Divina Sr. Benedicto Ramos Catalino Ocampo Delfin R. Divina Sr. Democrito M. Jose Dr. Ceneon E. Ancheta Engr. Delfin H. Divina Jr. Dr. Cenon E. Ancheta Florencio Florendo Sr. Amado R. Corpus, Jr. Amado R. Corpus, Jr. Amado R. Corpus, Jr. Grace Uy-Corpus, M.D. Amado R. Corpus, Jr. Amado R. Corpus, Jr.	No record No record No record (appointed after liberation) Eufemio Sumangil Casimiro Aguinaldo Casimiro Aguinaldo Gualberto Corpus Catalino Ocampo No record Emilio Gonzales Cesario Servando Nemesio Tejero Sr. Nemesio Tejero Florencio Florendo Sr. Nonito Erese Nonito Erese Jerry M. Marcos John D. Diego Celso G. Verzola John D. Diego Cinderella E. Ramos

Chief of Police

Year	Name
1900-1901 1902-1903 1904-1907 1908-1910 1911-1914 1915-1918 1919-1928 1929-1935 1936-1939 1940-1941 1942-1943 1944 1945-1946 1947-1949 1950	Agapito D. Ramirez Zacarias B. Flores Gregorio Nolasco Inocencio Zamora Eduardo Navarro Severo M. Nono Placido Guerzon Mariano Bumanlag Segismundo Flores Bruno S. Tejo Felino Aguila Arturo Ysmael Daniel R. Simos Bernardo de Luna Telesforo Divina

 

OLD STREET NAMES		NEW STREET NAMES
Barth Bell Casadores Mc Arthur Mercado Nueva Otis San Juan Taft		P. Joaquin Quzeon Avenue Mendoza Mabini Aguila Corpuz Quirino Dallo Gonzales