Mariveles, officially the Municipality of Mariveles (), is a

municipality 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' ...

in the

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 ...

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 ...

, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 149,879 people making it the most populous in the province.

History

Founded as a ''pueblo'' by a

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

Friar in 1578, Mariveles, the "Village of Camaya" was part of the Corregimiento of Mariveles, including Bagac and Morong,

Corregidor Corregidor (, , ) is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Philippines, and is considered part of Cavite City and thus the province of Cavite. It is located west of Manila, the nation's capi ...

and

Maragondon, Cavite Maragondon, officially the Municipality of Maragondon (), is a municipality in the province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 40,687 people. The town is famous for its bamboo crafts, Mounts Palay-Palay ...

. The name Mariveles comes from "Maria Velez", a Mexican nun who eloped with a monk back in the 1600s. With its natural cove, the port was used by ships from China and Spain to resupply. The Superior Decree of July 1754 declared Mariveles' independence from

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, ...

. In the 19th century, the Americans established the first quarantine station in the old Spanish

Leprosarium A leper colony, also known by #Names, many other names, is an isolated community for the quarantining and treatment of lepers, people suffering from leprosy. ''Mycobacterium leprae, M. leprae'', the bacterium responsible for leprosy, is believ ...

Hospital (now known as the Mariveles Mental Wellness and General Hospital). Mariveles Bay was the site of Mariveles Naval Section Base, completed for the

United States Asiatic Fleet The United States Asiatic Fleet was a fleet of the United States Navy during much of the first half of the 20th century. Before World War II, the fleet patrolled the Philippine Islands. Much of the fleet was destroyed by the Japanese by Februar ...

on 22 July 1941, and was surrendered to the

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

on 9 April 1942. The Mariveles Airfield, a dirt runway at the Section Base, was the starting point of the

Bataan Death March The Bataan Death March was the Death march, forcible transfer by the Imperial Japanese Army of around 72,000 to 78,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war (POWs) from the municipalities of Bagac and Mariveles on the Bataan Peninsula to Camp ...

. Today the

Freeport Area of Bataan The Freeport Area of Bataan (FAB), formerly known as Mariveles Free Trade Zone from June 21, 1969 to November 20, 1972, and primarily as Bataan Export Processing Zone (BEPZ) and Bataan Economic Zone (BEZ) from November 20, 1972 to October 23, 200 ...

(FAB), has made the port of trading zone, and industry to the municipality. Agriculture is also a large part of the port export.

Geography

Mariveles is located around the Mariveles Bay, a large

cove A cove is a small bay or coastal inlet. They usually have narrow, restricted entrances, are often circular or oval, and are often situated within a larger bay. Small, narrow, sheltered bays, inlets, creek (tidal), creeks, or recesses in a coast ...

at the southern tip of the

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

. It is adjacent to

Manila Bay Manila Bay (; ) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the Manila, capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between the Philippines and ...

to the east, 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. Mariveles is from Balanga and from

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

via the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), Jose Abad Santos Avenue, and Roman Highway. It borders Bagac to the west and northwest, Limay to the north and northeast, and

to the east. According to the

Philippine Statistics Authority The Philippine Statistics Authority (; PSA) is the central statistical authority of the Philippine government that collects, compiles, analyzes, and publishes statistical information on economic, social, demographic, political affairs, and gene ...

, the municipality has a land area of constituting of the total area of Bataan. Of this, about 69% consist of the pastureland, 19% of forestland, 6% agricultural lands and the remaining 6% for residential and industrial use.

Climate

Barangays

Mariveles is politically subdivided into 18

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 two are located within the jurisdiction of

(FAB). Each barangay consists of

purok A ''purok'' () is an informal division within a barangay in the Philippines. While not officially considered a local government unit (LGU), a ''purok'' often serves as a unit for delivering services and administration within a barangay. ''Pur ...

s and some have

sitios A ''sitio'' (Spanish language, Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own bar ...

Demographics

In the 2020 census, Mariveles had a population of 149,879. The population density was . Mariveles is home to an

Aeta Aeta (Ayta ), Agta and Dumagat, are collective terms for several indigenous peoples who live in various parts of Luzon islands in the Philippines. They are included in the wider Negrito grouping of the Philippines and the rest of Southeast A ...

community speaking a Sambalic language called Mariveleño.

Economy

The

(formerly known as Mariveles Free Trade Zone from June 21, 1969 to November 20, 1972, and primarily as Bataan Export Processing Zone (BEPZ) and Bataan Economic Zone (BEZ) from November 20, 1972 to October 23, 2009 before the conversion from BEZ to FAB due to Republic Act (RA) 9728 and secondarily from October 23, 2009 to June 30, 2010 during the eight-month transition period for the turnover of zone's operations and management from

Philippine Economic Zone Authority The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), formerly known as the Foreign Trade Zone Authority (FTZA) and Export Processing Zone Authority (EPZA), is a Philippine government agency attached to the Department of Trade and Industry. It was ...

(PEZA) to Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB) and subsequent abolishment of BEPZ/BEZ) is a industrial complex in Mariveles town that enjoys business advantages, including tax incentives, natural endowments, and leadership under AFAB Chairman and Administrator Mohammed Hussein Pangandaman. It is the only freeport in the country with a 10.9 million cubic meter-capacity dam that delivers 14 million gallons of water every day. It is complemented by water treatment and sewerage treatment plants which employ a sustainable waste water solution.

Government

Local government

Pursuant to the

Local government in the Philippines In the Philippines, local government is divided into three levels: provinces and independent cities, component cities and municipalities, and barangays, all of which are collectively known as local government units (LGUs). In some areas, abo ...

", the political seat of the municipal government is located at the Municipal Hall. In the

History of the Philippines (1521–1898) The history of the Philippines dates from the earliest Hominini, hominin activity in the archipelago at least by 709,000 years ago. ''Homo luzonensis'', a species of archaic humans, was present on the island of Luzon at least by 134,000 years ...

, the ''Gobernadorcillo'' is the Chief Executive who held office in the ''Presidencia''. During the American rule (1898–1946) ( History of the Philippines (1898-1946)), the elected Mayor and local officials, including the appointed ones held office at the Municipal Hall. The legislative and executive departments perform their functions in the Sangguniang Bayan (Session Hall) and Municipal Trial Court, respectively, and are located in the second floor of the Town Hall and in the adjacent building. The Municipal Mayor as of the 2022 national and local elections, serving his second term in office, is Ace Jello "AJ" C. Concepcion.

Elected officials

Members of the Mariveles Municipal Council (2022-2025): * Municipal Mayor: Ace Jello Concepcion * Municipal Vice Mayor: Angelito S. Rubia * Municipal Councilors: ** Ronald R. Arcenal ** Susan M. Murillo ** Jester Ivan O. Ricafrente ** Jose M. Carandang ** Danilo T. Banal ** Omar B. Cornejo ** Vonnel A. Isip ** Jeff B. Peñaloza * Municipal ABC President: Marcialito L. Balan District Representative (3rd Legislative District, Bataan): Maria Angela Garcia

Tourism

Mariveles' attractions, events and historical landmarks include: * Mariveles Five Fingers: A series of coves that looks like five human fingers when viewed from the air. * Mount Mariveles * Km 0 marker of the

* ''Lazareto de Mariveles'': A Quarantine station established by the Spanish government in the 1850s to check and sanitize cargoes and passengers entering Manila. The Americans, upon their conquest of the Philippines, used the same system in their ports. The ruins of the old facility can be found inside the Mariveles Mental Hospital compound in downtown Mariveles. * Mariveles Church

Infrastructure

Transportation

Mariveles can be reached by a ferry plying the Mariveles to Manila route that has an approximate travel time of 40 minutes.

Expressway

The Bataan Provincial Expressway, also called Roman Super-Highway, is a limited-access toll expressway that connects Bataan to the provinces of 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 the Philippines. Mariveles is off Exit 55.

Energy sources

Utilities: * Mariveles geothermal area in Bataan: a geothermal area situated along the West Luzon Volcanic Arc. * GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant (GMCP), Alas-asin: 600-megawatt coal-fired power plant ($155 million was purchased by Conglomerate Ayala Corp. in December 2012). * National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) Mariveles Substation which hosts three 500 kV transmission lines which are Balsik–Mariveles, MPGC Mariveles–NGCP Mariveles, and GNPower Dinginin–NGCP Mariveles lines. The first is operated and maintained by NGCP, while the last two are by power generation companies (Mariveles Power Generation Corporation (MPGC) and GN Power Dinginin Ltd. Co. (GNPD) while having ownership on both respective lines).

Education

Tertiary educational institutions include: * Polytechnic University of the Philippines Bataan (PUP), a state university that offers baccalaureate (college) degrees where students are scholars of the government (after passing an entrance exam). Opened in 1976, the campus is located at Barangay Malaya,

(FAB). * Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific (MAAP) located at Kamaya Point, Barangay Alas-asin, offering courses in the maritime industry. Students are accepted after passing stringent academic and physical examinations. * TESDA Mariveles Bataan Branch, located at Barangay Camaya and near the Public Market, Mariveles Municipal Hall, and Freeport Area of Bataan, offering technical and vocational courses. * Softnet Information Technology Center (SITC) located at second floor SFB #8, FAB, offering associate degrees in computer studies. * Llamas Memorial Institute Inc. * St. Nicholas Catholic School of Mariveles Inc. (SNCSM) located at Padre Zamora st., near St. Nicolas of Tolentine Parish

Gallery

File:Mariveles,_Bataanjf4229_02.JPG, Bay Walk, People's Park File:Bataan Mariveles 2.JPG, Remote view of Mariveles File:Marivelesbataanjf4224.JPG, Zero Kilometer Death March Marker Bataan-Peninsula24Jan1945.jpg, Bataan Peninsula on 24 January 1945, with Mariveles Seaplane base, port and Airfield. Japan is bombing the runway. Mariveles surrendered on April 10, 1942 the start of

. Mariveles was retaken in February 1945 File:Mariveles District Hospital (Roman Superhighway, FAB, Mariveles, Bataan; 05-20-2023).jpg, Mariveles District Hospital

References

External links

Mariveles Official Website
* Philippine Standard Geographic Code {{Authority control Municipalities of Bataan Populated places on Manila Bay