Zambales, officially the Province of Zambales (; ; ; ; ), is a

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

in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

located in the

Central Luzon Central Luzon (; ; ; ; ), designated as Region III, is an administrative region in the Philippines. The region comprises seven provinces: Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga (with its capital, San Fernando City serving as the re ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

. Its capital is Iba, which is located in the middle of the province.

Olongapo Olongapo (), officially the City of Olongapo (; ; ; Kapampangan: ''Lakanbalen/Ciudad ning Olongapo''), is a highly urbanized city in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 260,317 peo ...

is the largest city of the province wherein it is geographically located but politically independent. Zambales borders

Pangasinan Pangasinan, officially the Province of Pangasinan (, ; ; ), is a coastal Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region of Luzon. Its capital is Lingayen, Pangasinan, Lingayen while San Carlos, Pangasi ...

to the north and northeast,

Tarlac Tarlac, officially the Province of Tarlac (; ; ; ; ), is a landlocked Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Regions of the Philippines, region. It had a population of 1,503,456 people according to ...

to the east,

Pampanga Pampanga, officially the Province of Pampanga (; ; ), is a province in Central Luzon in the Philippines. Lying on the northern shore of Manila Bay, Pampanga is bordered by Tarlac to the north, Nueva Ecija to the northeast, Bulacan to the east, ...

to the southeast,

Bataan Bataan (, , , ; ) , officially the Province of Bataan, is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga while Mariveles is the largest town in the province. Occupying the entire Bataan Peninsula ...

to the south and the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...

to the west. With a total land area of (including the independent city of

), Zambales is the second largest among the seven provinces of Central Luzon after

Nueva Ecija Nueva Ecija, officially the Province of Nueva Ecija ( ; ; ; ), is a landlocked province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the city of Palayan, while Cabanatuan, its former capital, is the largest Local gove ...

. The province is noted for its mangoes, which are abundant from January to April. Zambales does not have a functional airport; the closest functional airport is

Clark International Airport Clark International Airport , known as Diosdado Macapagal International Airport from 2003 to 2014, is an international airport covering portions of the cities of Angeles and Mabalacat within the Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone in ...

Angeles City Angeles (), officially the City of Angeles (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 462,928 people. A ...

in the neighbouring province of Pampanga. Subic Bay International Airport, which is located in Cubi Point (geographically and politically located inside Morong,

) in the

Subic Bay Freeport Zone The Subic Special Economic and Freeport Zone, often shortened as Subic Bay or Subic, is a special economic zone and List of free ports, freeport area covering portions of the city of Olongapo and the town of Subic, Zambales, Subic in Zambales, ...

is no longer functional for domestic and international flights. The Freeport Zone ( SBFZ) is host to many tourist attractions which include casinos, parks, malls, beach-side huts, cottages and resorts, as well as historical sites.

Etymology

The name of the province is derived from "Zambales", the Hispanized name of the

Sambal people The Sambal people are a Filipino ethnolinguistic group living primarily in the province of Zambales and the Pangasinense municipalities of Bolinao, Anda, and Infanta. The term may also refer to the general inhabitants of Zambales. They were ...

. The Sambal were the original dominant

ethnic group An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...

of the region.

History

Spanish colonial era

The Spanish first explored the area in 1572, led by

Juan de Salcedo Juan de Salcedo (; 1549 – 11 March 1576) was a Spanish conquistador. He was the grandson of Spanish general Miguel López de Legazpi. Salcedo was one of the soldiers who accompanied the Spanish conquest to the Philippines in 1565. He joined th ...

. Off Cape Bolinao (now part of Pangasinan), he and his men liberated a Zambal chieftain and his followers from a Chinese pirate ship. This act gained the natives' goodwill. Shortly thereafter, the province was organized. Among the earliest towns founded were Subic (1572),

Botolan Botolan, officially the Municipality of Botolan, is a municipality in the province of Zambales, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 66,739 people. The municipality was founded by Spanish Governor-General Juan de S ...

(1572), Masinloc (1607), Iba (1611), and Santa Cruz (1612). Zambales was originally derived from 2 parts: the southern area from

and the northern area from

. During the Spanish period, a 1774 map was made, which clearly named Scarborough Shoals as ''Panacot Shoal'', a feature under complete sovereignty of Spanish Philippines, specifically of Zambales. The shoal's current name was chosen by Captain Philip D'Auvergne, whose

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

East Indiaman East Indiamen were merchant ships that operated under charter or licence for European trading companies which traded with the East Indies between the 17th and 19th centuries. The term was commonly used to refer to vessels belonging to the Bri ...

''Scarborough'' briefly grounded on one of the rocks on September 12, 1784, before sailing on to China. When the Philippines was granted independence in the 19th century and 20th century, Scarborough Shoal was passed by the colonial governments to the sovereign Republic of the Philippines.W. Gilbert (1804) ''A New Nautical Directory for the East-India and China Navigation ..'', pp.480=482. By the end of the 1700s, Zambales had 1,136 native families and 73 Spanish Filipino families.ESTADISMO DE LAS ISLAS FILIPINAS TOMO PRIMERO By Joaquín Martínez de Zúñiga (Original Spanish)
/ref>ESTADISMO DE LAS ISLAS FILIPINAS TOMO SEGUNDO By Joaquín Martínez de Zúñiga (Original Spanish)
/ref>

American invasion era

Masinloc became the province's first capital. However, the capital was moved among the last three towns above during its history before finally settling in Iba, due to its strategic location. Seven of the province's original northern towns, which included Bolinao,

Infanta Infante (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as "infant" or translated as "prince", is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to the ...

, San Isidro, now

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populous municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of th ...

, Anda, Bani, Agno and Alaminos were later transferred under the jurisdiction of

because of their distance from the capital. The first civil governor of Zambales during the colonial American era was Potenciano Lesaca from 1901 to 1903.

Postwar Era

Under a 1947 Military Bases Agreement, the Philippines granted the United States a 99-year lease on several U.S. bases, including U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay. A later amendment in 1966 reduced the original 99-year term of the agreement to 25 years. A renewal of the agreement in 1979 allowed the U.S. to continue operating the bases until November 1991, when the Philippine Senate rejected a bill for the renewal of U.S. bases in the Philippines.

During the Marcos dictatorship

The beginning months of the 1970s marked a period of turmoil and change in the Philippines, as well as in Zambales. During his bid to be the first Philippine president to be re-elected for a second term, Ferdinand Marcos launched an unprecedented number of foreign debt-funded public works projects. This caused the Philippine economy took a sudden downwards turn known as the

1969 Philippine balance of payments crisis The 1969 Philippine balance of payments crisis was a currency crisis experienced by the Philippine economy as a result of heavy government spending linked to Ferdinand Marcos' campaign for his second presidential term in 1969. It was notable f ...

, which in turn led to a period of economic difficulty and a significant rise of social unrest. With only a year left in his last constitutionally allowed term as president Ferdinand Marcos placed the Philippines under

Martial Law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

in September 1972 and thus retained the position for fourteen more years. This period in Philippine history is remembered for the Marcos administration's record of

human rights abuses Human rights are universally recognized moral principles or norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both national and international laws. These rights are considered inherent and inalienable, meaning t ...

, particularly targeting political opponents, student activists, journalists, religious workers, farmers, and others who fought against the Marcos dictatorship. During the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos, Zambales was one of the most militarized areas. Among the Zambales activists who were killed by the Marcos regime during this time were Ellecer Cortes, Dennis Deveraturda, and Butch Landrito - all of whom were later recognized at the Philippines'

Bantayog ng mga Bayani The Bantayog ng mga Bayani (), sometimes simply referred to as the Bantayog, is a monument, museum, and historical research center in Quezon City, Philippines, which honors the martyrs and heroes of the struggle against the Martial law under F ...

memorial for resisting the Marcos regime's assault on democracy. In Olongapo, the continuation of the Vietnam war through this period meant the arrival of a constantly growing number of U.S. Sailors to Subic Naval Base, and along with it, the rapid growth of prostitution.Paz, J. C. Pipe Dream for the Ladies: Constructs of Rights of Prostituted Women among Social Actors in the Sex Industry of Olongapo City, Zambales The policies of the Marcos administration encouraged the growth of the sex-industryThanh-Dam Truong, Sex, Money, and Morality: Prostitution and Tourism in South-east Asia (London: Zed Books, 1990) because it increased the flow of higher value currency into the Philippine economy.Santos, P. (2015). Sexuality, Gender, and US Imperialism after Philippine Independence: An Examination of Gender and Sexual Stereotypes of Pilipina Entertainment Workers and US Servicemen. The economy of this part of Zambales evolved from a largely agricultural orientation at the end of the 1960s towards one built around sex industry related businesses such as bars by the mid-1970s. In 1986, the province was one of the main supporters of the

People Power Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, were a series of popular Demonstration (people), demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a ...

in Manila, which topped the 21-year dictatorship and installed

Corazon Aquino María Corazón "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipino politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines and the first woman president in the country, from Presidency of Corazon ...

as president, bringing back democracy to the country.

Later 20th Century

The province was heavily affected by the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo. Due to this, the economy of the province weakened for some time, but regained vitality a few years after the government ordered the revitalization of the province and established growth in its southern towns, which later became a significant economic zone in the country by 1995.

Contemporary

The 2012 Scarborough Shoal standoff led to a situation where access to the shoal was restricted by the People's Republic of China. However, in 2016, following meetings between the Philippine president Duterte and his PRC counterparts, the PRC allowed Filipino fishermen to access the shoals for fishing. In 2018, it was revealed that for every 3,000 peso worth of fish catch by Sambal fisherfolks, China siphoned them in exchange for 'two bottles of mineral water' worth 20 pesos. The revelations led to public unrest against China and the Duterte-administered Philippine government. Filipino president

Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the first Philippine president from Mindanao, and is the oldest person to assum ...

fired back against his fellow Filipinos, including those from Zambales, saying that China's acts were 'fine' as they were 'only barter'. On June 14, 2018, China's destruction of Scarborough Shoal's reefs surged to an extent which they became visible via Google Earth and Philippine satellites, as confirmed by the

University of the Philippines Diliman The University of the Philippines Diliman (also called UPD; ), also referred to as UP Diliman, is a State university and college (Philippines), public, coeducational, Research university, research university located in Diliman, Quezon City, Ph ...

Geography

Zambales lies on the western shores of

Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...

island along the

. Its shoreline is rugged and features many coves and inlets. The

Zambales Mountains The Zambales Mountains is a mountain range in western Luzon. The mountains spread along a north-south axis, separating Luzon's central plain from the South China Sea. The range extends into five Provinces of the Philippines, provinces: Zambales, ...

in the eastern length of the province occupies about 60% of the total land area of Zambales.

Subic Bay Subic Bay is a bay on the west coast of the island of Luzon in the Philippines, about northwest of Manila Bay. An extension of the South China Sea, its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility, U.S. Naval Base Subi ...

, at the southern end of the province, provides a natural harbor, and was the location of the U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay until its closure in 1992. The summit and crater lake of

Mount Pinatubo Mount Pinatubo is an active stratovolcano in the Zambales Mountains in Luzon in the Philippines. Located on the tripoint of Zambales, Tarlac and Pampanga provinces, most people were unaware of its eruptive history before the pre-eruption volc ...

lies within

municipality in Zambales, near the

tripoint A triple border, tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geography, geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or Administrative division, subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints ...

of Zambales,

and

provinces. This volcano, once considered dormant, erupted violently in June 1991. The former summit of the volcano was obliterated by the massive eruption and replaced by a wide

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcanic eruption. An eruption that ejects large volumes of magma over a short period of time can cause significant detriment to the str ...

, within which Lake Pinatubo is situated. With an average depth of , Lake Pinatubo is the deepest lake in the Philippines. The highest point of the caldera rim is above sea level, some lower than the pre-eruption summit. A vast portion of the Zambales province acquired desert-like features in 1991, after being buried by more than of

lahar A lahar (, from ) is a violent type of mudflow or debris flow composed of a slurry of Pyroclastic rock, pyroclastic material, rocky debris and water. The material flows down from a volcano, typically along a valley, river valley. Lahars are o ...

Climate

Zambales has two pronounced seasons: dry from October to June, and wet from July to September.

Administrative divisions

Zambales comprises 13

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

and one highly urbanized city, which are divided into two legislative districts. Olongapo City is a highly urbanized city and administers itself autonomously from the province. Panatag Shoal ( Scarborough Shoal) a Philippine-claimed territory, is a designated part of the province. The northern half of the province typically comprises the municipalities of Santa Cruz, Candelaria, Masinloc, and Palauig. The central half of the province consists of the municipalities of Iba (the capital), Botolan, Cabangan, and San Felipe. The southern half of the province is composed of the municipalities of San Narciso, San Marcelino, San Antonio, Castillejos, Subic, and the highly urbanized city of Olongapo.

Barangays

The 13 municipalities and 1 city of the province comprise 247

barangay The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...

s, with ''Santa Rita'' in Olongapo City as the most populous in 2010, and ''Owaog-Nibloc'' in

as the least. If cities are excluded, ''Calapacuan'' in Subic has the highest population as of 2010.

Demographics

The population of Zambales in the 2020 census was 649,615 people, with a density of . When Olongapo City is included for geographical purposes, the province's population is 909,932 people, with a density of .

Inhabitants

The Aetas of

were the earliest inhabitants of what is now the province of Zambales. They were later displaced by the Sambal, an

Austronesian people The Austronesian people, sometimes referred to as Austronesian-speaking peoples, are a large group of peoples who have settled in Taiwan, maritime Southeast Asia, parts of mainland Southeast Asia, Micronesia, coastal New Guinea, Island Melanesi ...

after whom the province is named. Many Sambal still believe in superstitions and mysteries that have been handed down through the generations. The

Tagalogs The Tagalog people are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the Philippines, particularly the Metro Manila and Calabarzon regions and Marinduque province of southern Luzon, and comprise the majority in the provinces of Bulacan, Bataan, N ...

, the Ilocanos, the Sambal, the Kapampangans, and the Pangasinans today constitute the five largest

ethnic groups An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, rel ...

in Zambales; these identities may and do, however, overlap with one another due to intermarriage and other factors. The less-populated valley of the province was settled by settlers from the Ilocos and the Tagalog regions, leading to the assimilation of Sambals to Ilocano & Tagalog settlers & modern decline in the Sambal cultural identity and language.Who We Are: Zambales
/ref> Most of the people of southern Zambales are migrants from different parts of the country, owing the influx of job opportunities brought on by the U.S Subic Naval Base (

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

and Subic) during the American regime of the country. Many people found jobs and permanently settled there. The presence of the Americans greatly influenced the culture and way of life of the inhabitants.

Religion

The people of Zambales are predominantly

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

(78.22%) under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Iba. A sizeable portion of the population also belongs to the Aglipayan Church (6.12%) under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Zambales and

Iglesia ni Cristo The (INC; ; ) is an independent Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, church founded in 1913 and registered by Felix Manalo, Félix Manalo in 1914 as a corporation sole, sole religious corporation ...

(6%) the province has subdivided into 2 Ecclesiastical Districts of the Church has numerous locales dominates in cities and municipalities even in remote barrios . The remaining are divided with other

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

groups such as Born-again Christians,

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was ...

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co-fou ...

Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbat ...

, United Church of Christ in the Philippines as well as Non Christians which is usually represented by

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

. Town fiestas honoring

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

s are practiced in each

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

Languages

Sambal, Tagalog, and Ilocano are the three main languages of Zambales. Ilocano has 115,337

native speakers A first language (L1), native language, native tongue, or mother tongue is the first language a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongue'' refers ...

, Sambal has 114,637, and Tagalog has 250,637 (plus 24,995 non-native speakers). Sambal residents in Iba have switched their language from Sambal to Ilocano & Tagalog, while Castillejos has shifted from Ilocano to Tagalog, and Cabangan from Ilocano and Sambal to Tagalog. Sambal & Sambalic languages as a whole are most closely related to Kapampangan. More than 119,126 spoke other languages as their parent tongue, such as Kapampangan and

(also spoken by Sambals on the Zambales-Pangasinan boundary), including non-

Philippine languages The Philippine languages or Philippinic are a proposed group by R. David Paul Zorc (1986) and Robert Blust (1991; 2005; 2019) that include all the languages of the Philippines and northern Sulawesi, Indonesia—except Sama–Bajaw (language ...

such as English and Hokkien Chinese. Other Sambalic languages spoken in Zambales are

Ambala Ambala () is a city and a municipal corporation in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India, located on the border with the Indian state of Punjab (India), Punjab and in proximity to both states capital Chandigarh. Politically, Ambala ...

, and Mag-antsi. About 75 percent of the population speaks and understands English to varying degrees of fluency, and

road sign Traffic signs or road signs are signs erected at the side of or above roads to give instructions or provide information to road users. The earliest signs were simple wooden or stone milestones. Later, signs with directional arms were introduc ...

s are mostly written in that language.

Economy

Zambales is considered first-class when it achieved its annual revenue growth of P2.09 billion from 2020 to 2022 with economy grew by 5% in 2023, which was slower than the 11.2% growth in 2022. Tourism plays a large role in the economy of Zambales. Local and foreign tourist flock its many beaches creating many job opportunities and contributing to the economy. Most of the province is still agricultural but there are considerable industrial & commercial zones that provide jobs not just for residents of Zambales but also for neighboring provinces. Mining has recently been booming in Zambales where there is an abundant deposit of Nickel and other minerals. Zambales is basically an agricultural province. The chief products are

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

, mangoes,

corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...

vegetable Vegetables are edible parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. This original meaning is still commonly used, and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including edible flower, flo ...

s, and root crops. Major industries include

farming Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

, and

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

Festivals and events

* Feast Day of Ina Poon Bato — January24. The Ina Poón Bató is a purportedly miraculous, syncretised image of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Legend has it that before the arrival of the Spanish in the area sometime in the 17th century, local Aeta peoples had discovered a carved wooden statue on a large rock that they called Apo Apang ("Little Queen") and began worshipping the image. On the arrival of Recollect missionaries in 1607, the natives associated the statue with the Roman Catholic depictions of the Virgin Mary, and the image was subsequently Christianised as Ina Poón Bato ("Mother of the Lord Rock"). * Singkamas Festival and Town Fiesta — 3rd Week of February * Town Fiesta — * Pundakit Festival of the Arts — FebruaryJuly * Zambales Multi Sports Festival Senakulo — 3rd Week of March * Panagkakadua-an Festival - 1st Week of April * Good Friday — April * Foundation Day Celebration — April10 * Grand Fiesta — * The Dinamulag Festival "Zambales Mango Festival" — 3rd Tuesday of April The Dinamulag Festival also known as the Zambales Mango Festival is an annual festival held in the province of Zambales in the Philippines to celebrate or encourage bountiful harvest of the province's mangoes. The festival was first held in 1999. * Paynawen Festival — 3rd Week of April Paynauen ‘Duyan’ Festival is held every April 25 – May 1 in Iba, Zambales. It commemorates the provincial capital's founding anniversary (founded in 1611) traces its origin from a Zambal word which means rest or pahingahan – the ancient name of Iba before the Spanish conquistadores founded the village on the shore of the Bancal River in 1611. The festival features photo competition and exhibit, sand sculpture competition, skate boarding, 2-cock derby, carabao race, beauty pageant, kite flying, banca race, boxing tournament, street dancing / Duyan Parade, among other activities. * Marunggay Festival and Town Fiesta — Last Week of April * Domorokdok Festival — May4 * Laruk Laruk Festival — Last Week of October * Binabayani Festival and Town Fiesta — November30 The Binabayani Festival occurs every November in the city of Masinloc in Zambales. A dance/play depicting the clash between the Spanish and the Natives of Masinloc or the triumph of Christianity over Paganism. The war dance starts with a procession in the afternoon of November 29 and opens in a mass on November 30. This annual religious festival is celebrated with day long activities in honor of San Andres, the patron saint of Masinloc. Binabayani is a war dance that portrays the battle between the Christian and the Aetas in the town of Masinloc. It is a word that means “bravery”. It is usually featured at the town plaza on the 30th day of November for the public to witness. * Kaligawan Ha Mayanan — * Olongapo Mardigras — Last Week of October

Education

There are a number of higher educational institutions in the province. The President Ramon Magsaysay State University (PRMSU), the first state university in the province can be found in Iba. It has also

satellite campuses A satellite campus, branch campus or regional campus is a campus of a university or college that is physically at a distance from the original university or college area. This branch campus may be located in a different city, state, or country, ...

in the municipalities of Santa Cruz, Candelaria, Masinloc, Botolan, San Marcelino, and Castillejos. St. Joseph College-Olongapo, a college run by the Roman Catholic Church can be found in Olongapo City. The Columban College, run by the Catholic Church can be found also in Olongapo. The Magsaysay Memorial College is also run by the Roman Catholic Church and can be found in San Narciso.

Colleges and universities

* AIE College International ''( Olongapo City)'' * AMA Computer College ''( Olongapo City)'' * AMA Computer Learning Center ''( Olongapo City)'' * Asian Institute of Computer Studies ''( Olongapo City)'' * Best Freeport Colleges Inc. ''(

)'' * Polytechnic College of Botolan ''(

)'' * Capstone Institute of Business and Arts ''( Olongapo City)'' * Central Luzon College of Science and Technology ''( Olongapo City)'' * College of Subic Montessori Subic Bay ''(

)'' * Collegio de Castillejos ''( Castillejos)'' * Columban College - Barreto Campus ''( Olongapo City)'' * Columban College - Santa Cruz Campus ''( Santa Cruz)'' * Columban College - Main Campus ''( Olongapo City)'' * Comteq Computer and Business College ''(

)'' * Don Bosco College of Zambales ''( Castillejos)'' * Don Luis Orin Junior College of Criminology, Inc. ''( Iba)'' * First EDT Learning Center, Inc. ''(

)'' * Freeport SBLC Inc. ''(

)'' * GIS Institute of Technology Phils Inc. ''(

San Marcelino San Marcelino, officially the Municipality of San Marcelino (; ), is a municipality in the province of Zambales, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 37,719 people. Etymology The town got its name after the first ' ...

)'' * Global City Innovative College Subic ''( Olongapo City)'' * Gordon College ''( Olongapo City)'' * Holy Infant Jesus College''( Olongapo City)'' * Hopeful Beginnings Institute ''( Iba)'' * Keystone Subic International Language Center ''(

)'' * Kolehiyo ng Subic ''( Subic)'' * Lorraine Technical School ''( Olongapo City)'' * Lyceum of Subic Bay ''(

)'' * Magsaysay Memorial College ''( San Narciso)'' * Metro Subic Colleges ''( Olongapo City)'' * Micro Asia College of Science and Technology ''( Santa Cruz)'' * Micro Asia College of Science and Technology ''( Iba)'' * Mondrian Aura College ''(

)'' * Network Computer and Business Colleges ''( Olongapo City)'' * Northern Zambales College ''( Masinloc)'' * Philippine Merchants Marine Academy ''( San Narciso)'' * President Ramon Magsaysay State University - Candelaria ''( Candelaria)'' * President Ramon Magsaysay State University - Castillejos ''( Castillejos)'' * President Ramon Magsaysay State University - Main Campus ''( Iba)'' * President Ramon Magsaysay State University - Masinloc ''( Masinloc)'' * President Ramon Magsaysay State University - Western Luzon Agricultural College ''(

)'' * San Antonio Institute of Commerce and Technology ''(

)'' * Sand Valley Institute of Arts and Trades ''( Iba)'' * St. Benilde Center for Global Competence ''( Olongapo City)'' * St. Joseph College ''( Olongapo City)'' * St. Nicolas Systeq College ''( Palauig)'' * St. Theresa's College - ''(

)'' * STI College ''( Olongapo City)'' * Subic Bay Foreign Language Center ''(

)'' * Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Law Enforcement Academy ''(

)'' * Subic Bay Colleges Inc. - ''( Olongapo City)'' * Subic Institute of International Studies ''(

)'' * Technological College of San Felipe ''( San Felipe)'' * The Thomasites Center for International Studies ''(

)'' * University of the Philippines - Extension Program in Olongapo ''(

)'' * Virgen de los Remedios College ''( Olongapo City)'' * Virgin de los Remedios College of Criminology ''( Iba)'' * Zambales Academy ''( San Narciso)'' * Zambales Lifesaving Inc. PCG Accredited Lifeguard training organization ''(

)'' ;President Ramon Magsaysay State University (PRMSU): The President Ramon Magsaysay State University, commonly referred to as PRMSU, is a state university/government-funded higher education institution in Iba, established in 1910. The university is named after former President

Ramon Magsaysay Ramon del Fierro Magsaysay Sr. (August 31, 1907 – March 17, 1957) was a Filipino statesman who served as the seventh President of the Philippines, from December 30, 1953, until his death in an 1957 Cebu Douglas C-47 crash, aircraft disast ...

, a native of the province. Its main campus is situated in the capital town of Iba, while satellite campuses are located in Santa Cruz, Candelaria, Masinloc, Botolan, San Marcelino, and Castillejos. The university also offers nursing courses at the Mondriaan Aura College in Subic Bay Freeport Zone, Business Administration at the Wesleyan College of Manila under a consortium program. ; Columban College, Olongapo: The Columban College, is a private-catholic educational institution in Zambales that was established in 1961. the college was founded by the missionaries from

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

under the Missionary Society of St. Columban until they turn over the institution to the Diocese of Iba. the institution's main campus is situated at the heart of Olongapo City, other campuses situated at Bo. Barretto, Olongapo which focuses on the southern part of Zambales, and Santa Cruz, Zambales which focuses on the northern part of Zambales. they value Christian Character like any other Catholic Schools as a Christ-centered but competing institution. they offer academic programs within their reach.

Notable people

* Gerald Anderson * Republic Brass Band * Norman Balbuena a.k.a. Boobay * Megan Young * Elmer Borlongan * Eric Cray * Rafael Corpus * Hermogenes Ebdane *

Loi Ejercito Luisa Pimentel Ejército–Estrada (; born June 2, 1930), commonly known as Loi Ejército, is a Filipina politician and physician who last served as a Senator of the Philippines from 2001 to 2007. She is married to former Philippines, Philippine ...

* Richard J. Gordon * Luz Magsaysay * Mitos Magsaysay *

* Ramon Magsaysay Jr. * Lou Diamond Phillips * Isabel Rivas * Dennis Roldan * Ruben Torres * Teodoro R. Yangco * Freddie Aguilar * K Brosas * Gladys Guevarra * Wowie de Guzman * Kristofer Martin * Blakdyak * Willie Miller * Samuel Morrison * Topex Robinson * Arnel Pineda * Angelee delos Reyes * Lauren Young * Tom Rodriguez * Angelu de Leon * Raikko Mateo * Ruby Rodriguez * Jay Washington *

Rico Barrera Rico Barrera (born Frederick Barrera on December 29, 1984) is a Filipino actor, the first housemate evicted from the 12 housemates of '' Pinoy Big Brother'' on 2005. Prior to entering the house, Barrera was a singer in Japan. He was the first ...

Bea Alonzo Phylbert Angelli Ranollo Fagestrom (born October 17, 1987), known professionally as Bea Alonzo, is a Filipino actress, singer and Youtuber. She is best known for playing dramatic roles in romantic drama films. Her notable films include '' The M ...

* Gigi de Lana *

Moira Dela Torre Moira Rachelle Bustamante Dela Torre (born November 4, 1993) is a Filipino singer, songwriter and actress. Born in Olongapo, Philippines, she began as a voice artist for corporate jingles and theme songs. In 2013, she competed in ''The Voice ...

* Christine Juliane Opiaza * Jacob Rica

References

External links

*
Baluate Ng Sambal

Olongapo city news archive {{Authority control Zambales, Provinces of the Philippines Provinces of Central Luzon States and territories established in 1578 1578 establishments in the Philippines