Subic, officially the Municipality of Subic (; ,
Kapampangan: ''Balen ning Subic''), 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 ...
of
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 111,912 people.
Etymology
The native
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 ...
inhabitants called the area ''Hubek'', which means "head of a
plough
A plough or ( US) plow (both pronounced ) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses but modern ploughs are drawn by tractors. A plough may have a wooden ...
"; 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.
[. Zambales Now, Official Website of Zambales. Retrieved on 2012-05.24.]
** The year of 1542 in the founding of Subic is a misprint and should be the year 1572 like in Botolan, for Salcedo was born in 1549. 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
The Philippine Republic (), now officially remembered as the First Philippine Republic and also referred to by historians as the Malolos Republic, was a state established in Malolos, Bulacan, during the Philippine Revolution against the Spanish ...
. 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
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 ...
. 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
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...
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
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 ...
. Portions of the town also form part of the Subic Special Economic and Freeport Zone.
Subic is from Iba, from Olongapo, 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
Subic is politically subdivided into 16 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 shown below. Each barangay consists of puroks 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 ...
.
* 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
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 ' ...
(Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
''Am''). Subic's climate is no different from the other towns in the western part 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 ...
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
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
and Presidente Municipal since it became a municipality in 1902.
Demographics
In the 2020 census, the population of Subic was 111,912 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 (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
High school
;Private
*Smart Achievers Academy Subic Incorporated
* College of Subic Montessori
* St. James School
* St. Anthony's School
;Public
* Subic National High School
*Batiawan Integrated School-Main
*Batiawan Intergrated School Annex
*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
* Calapandayan Integrated School SNHS Annex VII
College
* College of Subic Montessori
* Best Freeport College
* Metro Subic College
* Kolehiyo ng Subic (Public College
A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...
)
Most of Private schools are operated by Catholic Institution except for colleges.
See also
*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, ...
* Port of Subic
References
External links
Subic Profile at PhilAtlas.com
*
* Philippine Standard Geographic Code
{{Authority control
Municipalities of Zambales
Port cities and towns in the Philippines
Beaches of the Philippines