Thought to be named after a flower called “rosal” or rose as it was once abundant in the area, Spanish historical records show that the town of Rosales was actually named in honor of Don Antonio Rosales Liberal, the Consejero de Filipinas en el Ministro de Ultramar or the Foreign Affairs Minister of the country at the time. Rosales was established as a municipality through a Royal Decree on March 16, 1852.
Rosales is a junction town bordering the towns and provinces of Villasis to the north, the Province of Nueva Ecija to the south, Balungao to the east, and Santo Tomas and Tarlac Province to the west. It is part of the sixth congressional district. Rosales has a total land area of 6,639 hectares and a population of 66,711 people according to the 2020 census.
Rosales is the birthplace of the National Artist and world-renowned novelist Francisco Sionil José. He was given the National Artist of the Philippines for Literature award in 2001. José used Rosales as the setting for several of his work which includes the 5 – novels Series Rosales Saga.
Tinapa (smoked fish) is a prime product of Rosales town. In fact, the “tinapa industry” has been a source of livelihood for most families in Carmen West village for over 50 years ago. To commemorate the tinapa-making industry of the town, a festival was launched in 2015 and celebrated in time for Independence Day every month of June. Over the years, the celebration evolved and was highlighted with curtain-raiser events like ‘tinapa prepared in kawa’ or tinapa cooked for boodle fight.
Officials
Mayor
William Cezar
Vice Mayor
Susan Casareno
Councilors
Anafeil Marie Lauraya
Joselito Carino
Christopher Conrad Coloma
Emwil Monje
Alvin Bince
Harry Bernabe
Enrique Cosue
Edita Quiambao
