Santa Cruz, officially the Municipality of Santa Cruz, is a 1st class

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Zambales Zambales, officially the Province of Zambales ( fil, Lalawigan ng Zambales; ilo, Probinsia ti Zambales; Pangasinan: ''Luyag/Probinsia na Zambales''; xsb, Probinsya nin Zambales), is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon re ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 63,839 people.

Geography

Barangays

Santa Cruz is politically subdivided into 25

barangay A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolita ...

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Santa Cruz, Zambales, was 63,839 people, with a density of .

Economy

Banking and Financial sector is well developed in this town. Several banks such as

Philippine National Bank The Philippine National Bank (PNB, Filipino/ tl, Bangko Nasyonal ng Pilipinas, lit=; es, Banco Nacional Filipino; Hokkien ) is one of the largest banks in the Philippines. It was established by the Philippine government on July 22, 1916, duri ...

- Norther Zambales branch,

Bank of Commerce Bank of Commerce, commonly known as BankCom, is a universal bank in the Philippines and is licensed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). Bank of Commerce is an affiliate of San Miguel Corporation (SMC). Bank of Commerce has a network of 1 ...

, BDO Network Bank, and some rural banks are in place as well as remittance centers like Palawan Pawnshop, Cebuana Luillher,

Western Union The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services company, headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1851 as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York, the company cha ...

and

LBC Express LBC Express, Inc. (previously known as Luzon Brokerage Company) () is a courier company based in the Philippines. It operates scheduled commercial vehicle cargo services in currently and planned cargo airline services begin on May 31, 2014. As ...

including other local pawnshops. There is also a vibrant merchandising and trade in town. 7/11 convenient store is now serving likewisd a local department store, the Magic Mall and known pharmaceutical shops like

Mercury Drug The Mercury Drug Corporation, better known as Mercury Drug, is a Filipino pharmacy chain. A subsidiary of the Mercury Group of Companies, it is headquartered in Bagumbayan, Quezon City. The chain was founded in Santa Cruz, Manila in 1945, making ...

, Watson Pharmacy and St. Joseph Pharmacy. Two cinema houses were previously serving the locals but due to high availability of recording media and online movies can now readily watched, the cinema houses eventually closed. Cable Television service, Telephone network and recently the Converge IT joined the internetworking services for the local aside from the vast network signal of the mobile services.

Education

The town has both public and private schools, including those run by religious organizations, foundations and individuals. The President Ramon Magsaysay State University (PRMSU), formerly Ramon Magsaysay Technological University (RMTU) - Santa Cruz Campus is part of the PRMSU System operating in the whole Zambales Province, offering undergraduate and graduate degrees in Educational Teaching and other courses. Columban College - Santa Cruz campus is part of the Columban College System controlled by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Iba, headed by the Bishop of Diocese of Iba. Micro Asia College of Science and Technology - Santa Cruz campus. Santa Cruz Academy is a parochial secondary school operated and controlled by St. Michael the Archangel Parish of Santa Cruz. The Santa Cruz High School is operated by the local government and there are Lipay High School, Santa Cruz South High School, Don Marcelo Marty High School, San Fernando High School, Acoje Mines High School, Mena Memorial Higj School and Guisguis National High School. St. Michael School is a private school that caters Preparatory, Elementary, and High School Education. Children of Zion Montessori School inc. is a private school that caters preparatory up to elementary. Santa Cruz has profound primary education where in every baranggay has its own elementary schools and some with high school departments established.

References

External links

* Philippine Standard Geographic Codebr>Philippine Census Information
{{Authority control Municipalities of Zambales 1612 establishments in New Spain