San Narciso, officially the Municipality of San Narciso (; ;

Sambal Sambal is an Indonesian chili sauce or paste, typically made from a mixture of chillis with secondary ingredients such as shrimp paste (terasi), garlic, ginger, shallot, scallion, palm sugar, and lime juice. ''Sambal'' is an Indonesia ...

: ''Babali nin San Narciso''), 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 ...

Zambales Zambales, officially the Province of Zambales (; ; ; ; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Regions of the Philippines, region. Its capital is Iba, Zambales, Iba, which is located in t ...

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 ...

. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 30,759 people.

History

The Municipality of San Narciso was founded in the early part of 18th century. The migrants from the Ilocandia arrived in the area and established their settlement in Alusiis which was the first name of the pueblo that later became San Narciso. San Narciso became the official name of the town by a Royal Decree issued by the Spanish Governor General Narciso Claveria and Archbishop Jose Soque on February 12, 1846. The people of San Narciso participated in the Philippine Revolution against Spain. When the

Katipunan The Katipunan (), officially known as the (; ) and abbreviated as the KKK, was a revolutionary organization founded in 1892 by a group of Filipino nationalists Deodato Arellano, Andrés Bonifacio, Valentin Diaz, Ladislao Diwa, José Dizon, an ...

was organized by Andres Bonifacio and sent his representatives to San Narciso, many prominent men of the town became members. Pantaleon Dumlao became the head of the local organization.

Geography

San Narciso is located in a relatively flat plain. West of the town is 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 ...

and to the east is bordered by the Sto. Tomas river are the Zambales Mountain Ranges. Average elevation is above sea level and the highest elevation is above sea level. It is from Iba, from

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 ...

, 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 ...

Barangays

San Narciso is subdivided into 17

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, as indicated below. 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 ...

. * Alusiis * Beddeng * Candelaria (

Poblacion ''Poblacion'' (from Spanish '' población'', meaning "population"), sometimes abbreviated as Pob., is a term used in the Philippines to refer to the administrative center, downtown, old town, or commercial area of a city or municipality. It ...

) * Dallipawen * Grullo * La Paz * Libertad (

) * Namatacan * Natividad (

) * Omaya * Paite * Patrocinio (

) * San Jose (

) * San Juan (

) * San Pascual (

) * San Rafael (

) * Siminublan

Climate

San Narciso has a

tropical monsoon climate An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate subtype that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ' ...

(Am) with little to no rainfall from November to April and heavy to extremely heavy rainfall from May to October.

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of San Narciso, Zambales, was 30,759 people, with a density of .

Economy

The town is mostly agricultural with most families owning farmland to plant

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 ...

and other crops such as string beans,

onions An onion (''Allium cepa'' , from Latin ), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion which was classified ...

and other vegetables. Commerce is centered in the town center and the

public market A marketplace, market place, or just market, is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a '' souk'' (from ...

. There are also a number of

poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of harvesting animal products such as meat, Eggs as food, eggs or feathers. The practice of animal husbandry, raising poultry is known as poultry farming. These birds are most typ ...

and

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...

farms in the municipality mostly located in the outskirts. In recent years, tourism has increased in the municipality. Due to its close proximity to

which is just a 3-hour drive away, many residents of the capital visit its beaches specially around summertime. This in effect has increased the economic activity in the municipality and have provided jobs and opportunities to its residents.

Culture

The first settlers of San Narciso came from

Paoay, Ilocos Norte Paoay, officially the Municipality of Paoay (; ), is a municipality in the province of Ilocos Norte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 25,001 people. History In 1701, Paoay was established as a municipality by vi ...

and Agno, Pangasinan which was then a part of Zambales. They brought forth with them customs and traditions such as honoring their dead thru prayers and

novenas The Nicolinas () are a series of festivities to honor Saint Nicholas that occur in the Portugal, Portuguese city of Guimarães. Held between 29 November and 7 December, they celebrate the old traditions and camaraderie of the inhabitants of Guim ...

. Family members and relatives come together to offer prayers and recite names of deceased relatives. One unique part about these practices is the serving of food, usually

pancit Pancit ( ), also spelled pansit, is a general term referring to various traditional noodle dishes in Filipino cuisine. There are numerous types of pancit, often named based on the noodles used, method of cooking, place of origin or the ingredi ...

, puto and ''ginataang bilo-bilo'' or what locals call ''tambo-tambon''g. It is a local delicacy made from glutinous

balls,

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although ...

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus '' Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called plantains, distinguishing the ...

jackfruit The jackfruit or ''nangka'' (''Artocarpus heterophyllus'') is a species of tree in the Common fig, fig, mulberry, and breadfruit family (Moraceae). The jackfruit is the largest tree fruit, reaching as much as in weight, in length, and in d ...

coconut milk Coconut milk is a plant milk extracted from the grated pulp of mature coconuts. The opacity and rich taste of the milky-white liquid are due to its high oil content, most of which is saturated fat. Coconut milk is a traditional food ingred ...

and tapioca pearls.

Government

Municipal executives

;Spanish regime: * 1884 Tomas Bernabe Gobernadorcillo * 1886 Mariano Apolinario Gobernadorcillo * 1887 Paulo Fogata Gobernadorcillo * 1888 Esteban Foton Gobernadorcillo * 1889 Mariano Marañon Gobernadorcillo * 1890 Francisco Fajarito Gobernadorcillo * 1891 Gregorio Farañal Gobernadorcillo * 1892 Leocadio Firme Gobernadorcillo * 1893 Juan Flordeliza Dumlao Gobernadorcillo * 1894 Quirico Amon Sr. Gobernadorcillo * 1895 Luis Fogata Gobernadorcillo * 1895 Cipriano Fogata Gobernadorcillo ;Revolutionary government: * 1897 Cipriano Fernandez Capitan Municipal * 1898 Casamiro Amon Capitan Municipal 1 * 1900 Vicente Posadas Capitan Municipal ;American regime: * 1903–1904 Simeon Marañon Presidente Municipal * 1905–1906 Angel Dumlao Presidente Municipal * June 1906-Jan. 8, 1908 Simeon Villanueva Presidente Municipal * June 9, 1908-Dec. 1909 Angle Dumlao Presidente Municipal * 1910–1912 Victor Amos Presidente Municipal * 1912–1916 Mariano Villanueva Presidente Municipal * 1916–1919 Marcos Fuerte Presidente Municipal * 1919–1922 Severino Fuertes Presidente Municipal * 1922–1925 Paulino Delos Santos Presidente Municipal * 1926–1931 Esteban Florita Presidente Municipal * 1932–1934 Donato Amon Presidente Municipal ;Commonwealth: * 1934–1940 Ireneo Delos Reyes Municipal Mayor * 1941-Oct. 1942 Pacifico Fuerte Municipal Mayor ;Japanese Occupation: * Oct. 1942–1944 Sebastian Fogata Municipal Mayor ;Liberation Military Government: * February 1945 Gerardo Evangelista Municipal Mayor * May 1945 – July 1946 Pacifico Fuerte Municipal Mayor * 1947–1948 Severino Fuertes Municipal Mayor ;Republic of the Philippines: * Aug. 1948–1955 Sebastian Fogata Municipal Mayor * Jan. 1956–1960 Jose Delos Santos Municipal Mayor * Jan. 1960–1963 Sebastian Fogata Municipal Mayor * Jan. 1963–1986 Francisco A. Galvez, Jr. Municipal Mayor * 1986–1989 Quirico F. Abrajano, Jr. Municipal Mayor * 1989–1992 Francisco A. Galvez, Jr. Municipal Mayor * 1992–2001 Quirico F. Abrajano, Jr. Municipal Mayor * 2001 – 2010 William T. Lim Municipal Mayor * 2010 - 2016 Peter T. Lim Municipal Mayor * 2016 to 2019 La Rainne Abad-Sarmiento Municipal Mayor * 2019 to 2022 William T. Lim Municipal Mayor * 2022 to present La Rainne Abad-Sarmiento Municipal Mayor

Tourism

San Narciso is famous for its beaches along the

that are suited for surfing.

Education

The Philippine Merchant Marine Academy or PMMA is located here. San Narciso also houses the Magsaysay Memorial College of Zambales,Inc, which offers elementary and secondary education, bachelors courses and other 2-year courses. Also located in San Narciso is the Zambales Academy, one of the oldest secondary education institutions in the province. It is where 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 ...

took his secondary education.

References

7. https://pia.gov.ph/provinces/zambales

External links

San Narciso Profile at PhilAtlas.com
* Philippine Standard Geographic Code {{Authority control Municipalities of Zambales Surfing locations in the Philippines