Subic, Zambales

Subic, officially the Municipality of Subic, is a Municipality in the Province of Zambales, Philippines. According to the, it has a population of people.

WWW subic.gov.ph

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 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 from Iba, from Olongapo, and 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
Asinan Proper
Baraca-Camachile
Batiawan
Calapacuan
Calapandayan
Cawag
Ilwas
Mangan-Vaca
Matain
Naugsol
Pamatawan
San Isidro
Santo Tomas
Wawandue

Climate

Subic has a tropical monsoon climate. 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 and the driest month is February with average monthly rainfall less than. The highest ever recorded temperature in the area is and the lowest is. The annual average temperature in the city is.

Government

Chief executives

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

Name	Term	Position
Placido dela Paz	1902 – 1904	Presidente Municipal
Salustiano Ponco	1905 – 1908	Presidente Municipal
Nicetas Lesaca	1908 – 1910	Presidente Municipal
Jorge Salang	1911 – 1913	Presidente Municipal
Jose Orozco Sr.	1914 – 1916	Presidente Municipal
Juan Juico	1917 – 1919	Presidente Municipal
Esteban Felicitas	1920 – 1922	Municipal Mayor
Pedro del Rosario	1920 – 1922	Municipal Mayor
Alfredo de Perio Sr.	1923 – 1931	Municipal Mayor
Numeriano Flores	1932 – 1940	Municipal Mayor
Cecilio Esteban	1941 – 1943	Municipal Mayor
Severino Salang	1944 – 1946	Municipal Mayor
Alfredo de Perio Jr.	1944 – 1946	Municipal Mayor
Leopoldo Lauzares	1947 – 1948	Municipal Mayor
Jose de Perio Sr.	1948 – 1951	Municipal Mayor
Alfredo Afable	1952 – 1955	Municipal Mayor
Cecilio Panaligan	1956 – November 1959	Municipal Mayor
Dangal Guevara	June 30, 1960 – 1986	Municipal Mayor
Manuel M. Molina Jr.	1986	Municipal Mayor
Segundino Sandoval	1986	Municipal Mayor
Manuel M. Molina Jr.	1986 – June 30, 1998	Municipal Mayor
Enrique F. Delgado	1998	Municipal Mayor
Leonardo 'Boy' Guevara	1998 – June 30, 2001	Municipal Mayor
Jeffrey D. Khonghun	June 30, 2001 – June 30, 2010	Municipal Mayor
Jefferson F. Khonghun	June 30, 2010 – June 30, 2019	Municipal Mayor
Jonathan John F. Khonghun	June 30, 2019 – present	Municipal Mayor

Demographics

In the 2024 census, the population of Subic was 116,788 people, with a density of.

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. 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. which covers an area from Subic all the way to Cabangan since 1972.

Water

Water services are provided by Subic Water District, not to be confused with Subic Water and Sewerage Company, 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
Aningway-Sacatihan Elementary School
Aningway-Sacatihan Elementary School
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
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
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
Metro Subic College