Subic, Zambales

Etymology

The native Zambales inhabitants called the area Hubek, which means "head of a plough"; Spanish missionary priests mispronounced the name as Subiq. By the time of the American occupation, "Subiq" was mispronounced as Subig. Eventually, the name reverted to "Subiq", but the letter 'q' was replaced with 'c'.

History

Spanish colonial era

In 1572, Juan de Salcedo, the Mexico-born Spanish conquistador and grandson of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, founded Zambales during his exploration of northern Luzon. Subic was founded in late 1607 by Augustinian friars headed by Rev. Fr. Rodrigo de San Miguel, and the natives in Subic were Christianized under Spanish rule.

In 1884 that declared Subic as "a naval port and the property appertaining there to set aside for naval purposes." Construction of an arsenal and ship repair yard ensued March 8 the following year, as ordered by the new settlers' Naval Commission. During the Philippine Revolution, a fleet led by the Cuban-Filipino Admiral Vicente Catalan seized the naval base at Subic from the Spanish for the First Philippine Republic. Subic Bay's potential as naval station was realized by the Americans. Commodore George Dewey and his men engaged in a battle that destroyed the Spanish Army in 1898, and the Americans took over Subic Bay on December 10, 1899.

British invasion era

In September 1762, the British invaded the Philippines and took over the Spanish main naval base in Manila Bay. This prompted the Spanish military to scout for the next promising naval station. The expedition returned with the good news for the naval command - a natural bounty and deep waters at Subic Bay. King Alfonso XII issued a decree

American invasion era

The Americans designated the Subic Bay area as a repair and supply naval base site in 1901. Two years later, US President Theodore Roosevelt declared 283.27 sqkm of land in Subic as a military reservation area; or more than half of Subic's land area at the time.

Japanese occupation era

Subic, along with the Olongapo area suffered significant damage during World War II and was repurposed by the Imperial Japanese Army as their own base during the Japanese occupation.

Philippine independence

After World War II, Olongapo, a barrio of Subic that forms part of the US Military Reservations in the Subic area, was turned over to the Philippine government. Olongapo was converted to a municipality independent from Subic town through Executive Order No. 366 issued by President Carlos P. Garcia on December 7, 1959.

Geography

Subic is located along the northern coast of Subic Bay. Portions of the town also form part of the Subic Special Economic and Freeport Zone.

Subic is 66 km from Iba, 12 km from Olongapo, and 138 km from Manila.

Barangays

Subic is politically subdivided into 16 barangays, as shown below. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

• Aningway-Sacatihan
• Asinan (Poblacion)
• Asinan Proper
• Baraca-Camachile (Poblacion)
• Batiawan
• Calapacuan
• Calapandayan (Poblacion)
• Cawag
• Ilwas (Poblacion)
• Mangan-Vaca
• Matain
• Naugsol
• Pamatawan
• San Isidro
• Santo Tomas
• Wawandue (Poblacion)

Climate

Subic has a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen Am). Subic's climate is no different from the other towns in the western part of Luzon where rainy season runs from May to October, while the dry season is from November to April. The wettest month of the year is July with average monthly rainfall more than 755 mm and the driest month is February with average monthly rainfall less than 5 mm. The highest ever recorded temperature in the area is 38.8 C and the lowest is 17.9 C. The annual average temperature in the city is 27.9 C.

| Jan record high C = 35.2 | Feb record high C = 38.0 | Mar record high C = 36.5 | Apr record high C = 38.2 | May record high C = 38.8 | Jun record high C = 37.7 | Jul record high C = 36.2 | Aug record high C = 35.0 | Sep record high C = 35.7 | Oct record high C = 35.3 | Nov record high C = 34.7 | Dec record high C = 34.4 |year record high C = 38.8 | Jan record low C = 17.9 | Feb record low C = 18.7 | Mar record low C = 19.8 | Apr record low C = 21.5 | May record low C = 21.5 | Jun record low C = 19.0 | Jul record low C = 20.0 | Aug record low C = 21.4 | Sep record low C = 21.0 | Oct record low C = 20.6 | Nov record low C = 20.6 | Dec record low C = 18.5 |year record low C = 17.9 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181018193408/https://data.gov.ph/sites/default/files/pagasaclimavsubic1992-2010.csv | archive-date = October 18, 2018 | access-date = October 18, 2018}} | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181018193454/https://data.gov.ph/sites/default/files/pagasaclimextrcubicptsubicol.csv | archive-date = October 18, 2018 | access-date = October 18, 2018}}

Government

Main article: Sangguniang Bayan

Chief executives

This is the complete list of municipal leaders such as Mayor and Presidente Municipal since it became a municipality in 1902.

Demographics

In the 2024 census, the population of Subic was 116,788 people, with a density of {{sigfig|116,788/287.16|2}} PD/km2.

Economy

A part of the town of Subic is within the jurisdiction of the Subic Freeport Zone, which is managed by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority. The revenue earned by the special economic zone is shared by seven municipalities, including Subic town, and the City of Olongapo.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Roads

The primary road that connects Subic to the other parts of the town is the Olongapo-Bugallon Road. Most of the names of Subic's streets are based on the surnames of prominent residents or names of plants. Most of the roads in Subic are made of concrete and asphalt while others are still made of dirt.

Bypass roads such as the Govic Highway are also commonly used by motorists to travel from Barangay Matain to Barangay Manggahan. The roads are meant to reduce traffic in the town proper and are used by trucks going north of Castillejos and vice versa.

Another main road is the Philseco Road that ends from Barangay Asinan proper down to Seatrium Subic Shipyard (formerly Keppel Subic Shipyard and Philippine Shipyard and Engineering Corporation). The Govic Highway Extension runs from Castillejos down to Hanjin Shipyard and is exclusively used by its workers.

Public Utilities

Electricity

Electricity services are provided by the cooperative-run Zambales II Electric Cooperative, Inc. (ZAMECO II) which covers an area from Subic all the way to Cabangan since 1972.

Water

Water services are provided by Subic Water District (SWD), not to be confused with Subic Water and Sewerage Company (Subic Water), which is a different water distribution company serving the neighboring city of Olongapo.

Education

The Subic Schools District Office governs all educational institutions within the municipality. It oversees the management and operations of all private and public, from primary to secondary schools.

Most of private schools are operated by Catholic except for colleges.

Primary and elementary schools

• Agusuhin Elementary School
• Agusuhin Elementary School (Annex)
• Aningway-Sacatihan Elementary School
• Aningway-Sacatihan Elementary School (Annex)
• Batiawan Elementary School Annex
• Calapacuan Elementary School
• Cawag Elementary School
• Cawag Resettlement Elementary School
• Ilwas Elementary School
• Josephine F. Khonghun Special Education Center
• Kingsway Kiddie Learning Center
• Manggahan Elementary School
• Mangan-Vaca Elementary School
• Mapanao Elementary School
• Matain Elementary School
• Nagyantok Elementary School
• Pag-asa New Light Christian School
• P. O. C. Christian Academy
• Saint Francis Learning Center Foundation
• Saint Francis Learning Center Foundation (Annex)
• Saint Therese Academy
• San Isidro Elementary School
• Smart Achievers Academy
• St. Anne School
• St. Anthony's School of Matain
• St. James School of Subic
• Sta. Monica Educational Center for Excellence
• Sto. Tomas Elementary School
• Subic Central School
• Subic Ecumenical Learning Center
• Tibag Elementary School

Secondary schools

• Batiawan Integrated School-Main
• Batiawan Integrated School Annex
• Calapandayan Integrated School SNHS Annex VII
• College of Subic Montessori
• Kinabuksan Integrated School Resettlement School Annex III
• Agusuhin Cawag High School- Annex -I
• Cawag High School- Main (Resettlement School)
• Aningway- Sacatihan Integrated School SNHS Annex- VI
• Cabitaugan Integrated School
• Ilwas Integrated School SNHS Annex-V
• Josephine F. Khonghun Special Education Center
• Naugsol Integrated School SNHS Annex- III
• Nagyantok National High School
• Pamatawan Integrated School SNHS Annex- VIII
• Santo Tomas National High School SNHS Annex-I
• San Isidro Integrated School SNHS - Annex IV
• Smart Achievers Academy Subic
• St. James School
• St. Anthony's School
• Subic National High School

Higher educational institutions

• Best Freeport College
• College of Subic Montessori
• Kolehiyo ng Subic (Public College)
• Metro Subic College

References

References

1. {{DILG detail
2. {{usurped
3. "Official Website of Municipality of Subic, Province of Zambales » History of Subic".
4. an official order issued by a legal authority.
5. "History of Subic". Subic Municipal Government.
6. (1998). "Subic : Through the Years".
7. (January 28, 2021). "LGU shares from SBMA earnings drop to almost 30% due to COVID-19". Rappler.
8. ""To provide efficient, reliable, safe and affordable power towards utmost customer satisfaction."".
9. (January 15, 2021). "Masterlist of Schools".