| City of Olongapo Lungsod ng Olongapo Syodad nin Olongapo |
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| — Highly Urbanized City — | |||
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| Motto: Fighting for Excellence! | |||
| Map of Zambales showing the location of Olongapo City. | |||
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City of Olongapo
Lungsod ng Olongapo Syodad nin Olongapo |
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| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Philippines | ||
| Region | Central Luzon (Region III) | ||
| District | 1st district | ||
| Founded | November 4, 1750 | ||
| Cityhood | June 1, 1966[1] | ||
| Barangays | 17 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | James L. Gordon, Jr. (Bagumbayan-VNP) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 185.00 km2 (71.4 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2007) | |||
| • Total | 227,270 | ||
| • Density | 1,228.5/km2 (3,181.8/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | PHT (UTC+8) | ||
| ZIP Code | 2200 | ||
| Income class | 1st class; highly urbanized | ||
| Website | http://www.olongapocity.gov.ph | ||
| Population Census of Olongapo City | |||
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| Census | Pop. | Rate | |
| 1995 | 179,754 |
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| 2000 | 194,260 | 1.68% | |
| 2007 | 227,270 | 2.19% | |
The City of Olongapo (Tagalog: Lungsod ng Olongapo; Sambal: Syodad nin Olongapo) is an independent highly urbanized city located in the province of Zambales, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 227,270 people in 50,300 households.[2]
Olongapo City along with the town of Subic are the two municipalities that comprises Metro Olongapo. It is one of the twelve Metropolitan Areas in the Philippines [3]
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According to popular legend, there once was a group of warring tribes who lived in the area in and around what is now the modern city. A wise old man, seeing the perils of disunity, exerted great effort toward uniting the warring tribes. There were, however, some who bitterly opposed his idea, and one day the old man just disappeared.
After a long search, the old man's body was found, but with the head missing. It is said that the tribesmen launched search parties to locate the severed head of the man. (To the Sambal, decapitation was the only permissible form of assassination.[4])
These efforts proved to be futile, and the search was eventually called off. A boy, however, vowed to himself that he would not stop searching until he found the elder’s head. He searched for weeks, but found nothing. Then, one day, he chanced upon what appeared to be the old man’s head, resting on top of a bamboo pole. The boy ran back to his people crying, “Olo nin apo! Olo nin apo!” (“head of the elder” in Sambal; translates as “ulo ng apo”[5] in Tagalog), running hysterically from village to village. The phrase stuck, and that, according to legend, is how the area got its name, Olongapo.
To this day, the old man’s head acts as a symbol of the unity of the people of what is now a modern city.
On March 8, 1885, the Spanish Naval commission authorized construction of the Arsenal at Olongapo. The Spanish planned to make their naval station and the village of Olongapo an Island, protected against attack by insurrectos.
The Spanish Navy Yard occupied the entire area east of the Spanish Gate. Employing Filipino labor, they did extensive dredging of the harbor and the inner basin and built a drainage canal. The canal served both to drain the swampy area around the yard and also to form a line of defense.
Within ten years, the Spaniards had erected walls and markers to fence off the arsenal. They had shops and buildings erected.
The Spanish government spent almost three decades developing the Naval Station. [6][7]
In 1898, the construction of the Spanish Administration Building was hardly completed. On May 1, 1898, Dewey's Flagship USS Olympia leads the Asiatic Fleet into Manila Bay. A detachment of Admiral Dewey's fleet bombarded the Navy Yard. Eventually, after the surrender, Spain relinquished all her rights in the Philippines to the United States. This marked the end of more than three hundred years of Castilian rule over the islands.
Realizing the tremendous importance of Olongapo as a naval facility, the U. S. Navy decided to keep the base in functioning order. So the President of the United States, then Theodore Roosevelt, on November 9, 1901 by executive order, reserved the waters of Subic and some of the adjacent lands for naval purposes.
The Naval Station was widened and with the establishment of the American rule in the Philippines, American defenses in the islands were facilities left by the Spanish Navy were taken over by the United States.
Olongapo grew in direct proportion to the growth of the Naval Station. More people came to live in Olongapo since the Navy offered employment. To most Filipinos during that time, it was a welcome change. The promise of a different kind of experience as shop workers and office help induced many young men to leave their farms and fishing boats to work in the Navy Yard. Others finding the lure of the sea irresistible joined the U. S. Navy and really saw the world.
Olongapo impressed its visitors as being one of the finest communities in the country. People passing though the town never failed to comment on its cleanliness and orderliness.[6][7]
When the war broke out in 1941, the old town was obliterated. Olongapo had to suffer the brunt of destruction twice. When the American forces made a last ditch stand on the Bataan peninsula, the Naval Station was abandoned and most of its facilities were burned before the Japanese came. In 1945, Olongapo was again bombed, shelled and burned. None of its former landmarks—with the exceptions of the Station Chapel (it was the Olongapo Parish Church before the war) and the Spanish Gate—with stood the sweep of the war's fury.
Shortly after the war was over, the Philippines was granted her independence. Olongapo was one of the principal navy bases retained by the United States.
The Navy started to rebuild the town right after the hostilities ceased. Olongapo however was built on a new completely undeveloped site a couple of miles north of its former site. The prewar town site became a part of the Naval Station.
The first few years after the war were extremely hard on the new town. Starting from scratch, everything in the new Olongapo was in a deplorable state. There was no electric power and no drainage system. The water supply and sanitation facilities were inadequate. Olongapo streets were unpaved—they were dusty during the dry season and were stretches of mud and slush when the rains came.[7]
Gradually Olongapo evolved into a better community: new business concerns were established; housing projects were planned, civic facilities were restored. The development of the Reservation has been particularly rapid during the past two years. The new building constructions recently undertaken by the Reservation include: a new ice plant, a high school, two elementary schools, two bridges, and a public library. Two housing projects at Kalaklan and Saluysoy areas are at present being developed. Within a couple of months, the Reservation plans to start laying down a new set of water main lines to replaced the obsolete lines set up in 1908.
Due to the Korean War, U.S. spent over $170 million to convert the base into the homeport of her Navy‘s Seventh Fleet, developing the Cubi Naval Air Station as the largest U.S installation of its kind in Asia. Naval authorities relocated the residence from the area of the former Public Works Center area to what is now the hub of Olongapo – along what is now known as Rizal Avenue and Ramon Magsaysay Drive, and in the Barangays New Asinan and New Kalalake areas. Zoning of Olongapo was patterned after the American setup where streets are constructed along straight lines, both hori-zontally and vertically. The very considerable program of construction of facilities in the Olongapo and Subic Bay area brought about growth and prosperity to Olongapo. By 1956, migrants from nearby towns and provinces had swelled the population to 39,180.[8]
Unlike the rest of the Philippines which gained independence from the United States after World War II in 1946, Olongapo was governed as a part of the United States naval reservation.
Olongapo City was the last piece of Philippine territory surrendered by the US to the country in the 1950s.[7][9]
After the efforts of James Leonard T. Gordon, the area was relinquished to the Philippine Government and converted into a municipality on December 7, 1959. The first mayor appointed was civic leader Mayor Ruben Geronimo and was later succeeded by business enterpreneur Ildefonso Arriola.
Six years later under Mayor James Leonard T. Gordon, Olongapo was reconverted to a chartered city on June 1, 1966.[1]
Olongapo City administers itself autonomously from Zambales province. Adjacent to the city is the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, which until 1992 was a United States naval base.
June 15, 1991 proved to be a memorable date to the people of Olongapo. Mount Pinatubo, just 20 miles away from Subic Bay erupted with a force 8 times greater than the Mt. St. Helen‘s eruption. Day turned to night as volcanic ash blotted out the sun. Volcanic earthquakes and heavy rain, lightning and thunder from a typhoon passing over northern Luzon made Black Saturday a 36-hour nightmare.[10] This caused widespread damage to the U. S. Facility and Olongapo City.
On September 16, 1991, the Senate leaders of the Philippines did not grant any extension on the existing RP-US Military Bases Agreement between the Republic of the Philippines and the United States of America thereby terminating the stay of U.S. Military Bases in the Philippines.
Like his father before him, Mayor Richard Gordon, who was against the departure of the US military forces, lobbied for the turnover of the facility and its conversion into a freeport.
To date, the renowned volunteerism strategy overturning an ailing economy to prosperity after twin disasters – withdrawal of US Bases and Mt. Pinatubo‘s eruption, is an unparalleled achievement. Mayor Richard "Dick" Gordon boldly led a strong corps of 8,000 City volunteers who protected and preserved the abandoned US Naval Base facilities from poach-ers. He complemented this with an aggressive advocacy to convert the area into a protected area and industrial zone. Later, he launched an aggressive international investment promotion which resulted in the acceleration of the development of a prime industrial and tourism zone in the country, the Subic Bay Freeport Zone (SBFZ).[10]
It was the first chartered city and highly urbanized city in its province.[9] It rose from a “sin city” in the 1960s and 1970’s to become a “Model city” in the 1980s and 1990’s.[9]
The city is known for its innovative methods of urban management in the 1980s in addressing crime and cleanliness that has been said to be copied by local governments nationwide. The city pioneered the Color-coded transport system, Integrated Solid Waste Management System, Volunteerism, Organized vendors, elderly, youth and women’s groups, use of slogans, People’s Law Enforcement Board, Emergency Response Team, and international awards such as the UNESCO Cities for Peace representing Asia and the Pacific in 1997 and the Konrad Adenauer Local Medal of Excellence in 1999.
Furthermore, the Asian Development Bank and World Bank have also recognized its successful urban redevelopment and city development strategy after the US Base turnover.
| Name | Term | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Ruben Dela Cruz Geronimo | November 1959 - 1962 | Municipal Mayor |
| Ildefonso O. Arriola | 1962–1964 | Municipal Mayor |
| James Leonard T. Gordon | November 1964 - June 1, 1966 | Municipal Mayor |
| James Leonard T. Gordon | June 1, 1966 - February 20, 1967 | City Mayor |
| Jaime Guevarra | February 20, 1967–1968 | City Mayor |
| Amelia Juico Gordon | 1968 - June 30, 1972 | City Mayor |
| Geronimo "Momoy" Lipumano | July 1972 - May 1980 | City Mayor |
| Richard "Dick" Gordon | June 30, 1980 - February 1986 | City Mayor (1st term) |
| Teodoro Macapagal | March 1986 - November 1987 | OIC Mayor |
| Ildefonso O. Arriola | November 1987 - January 1988 | OIC Mayor |
| Richard "Dick" Gordon | February 1988 - June 30, 1998 | City Mayor (2nd term) |
| Cynthia Cajudo | June 30, 1998 | Acting Capacity |
| Katherine "Kate" Gordon | June 30, 1998 - June 22, 2001 | City Mayor |
| James "Bong" Gordon, Jr. | June 30, 2001 – present | City Mayor |
Olongapo City is politically subdivided into 18 barangays:
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A towering and majestic marker located at the rotunda in Bajac-Bajac. A very visible and tangible tourist attraction to glorify the legend of the city.
The City Hall is located at Rizal Avenue, West Bajac-Bajac. On the east side contains the PUD (Public Utilities Department), in charge of providing electricity to the city. To the east is the Olongapo City PNP Police Station 1, and at the back of the city hall is the Health Building.
More conveniently known as OCCC or OCC, it has been the site of many events in Olongapo City history, not to mention numerous conferences, meetings, and school events.
Opened to the public on 2003, the museum contains dioramas, artifacts, and paintings about the history of the city. At the entrance, a rotating Ulo ng Apo statue meets you.
The original Library stood near the City Hall. However, to make way for the construction of the PUD office, it was relocated at Hospital Road, East Tapinac; near the Convention Center.
One of the most earliest parks of Olongapo, it has become famous in its time. Today, it is near Gordon College, the museum, the convention center and the library.
A panoramic view perfect for picture taking. This old lighthouse is located along the national highway going to the north. It overlooks the Subic Bay Freeport area.
A monument dedicated for peace volunteers of Olongapo City that welcomes travelers who will pass the first barangay of Olongapo City from province of Bataan
The only shopping mall that was formerly government-owned on May 1, 2004 as Olongapo City Mall. But, it was demolished in 2010 to become SM City Olongapo that was softly opened on December 15, 2011. As of now, it is still under construction and is expected to be grandly opened in February 2012.
Harbor Point is a large shopping mall under construction in Olongapo City, Philippines owned by property development firm Ayala Land, Inc., a real estate subsidiary of Ayala Corporation.It is the first Ayala Shopping Center located in the city of Olongapo and the second Mall to be opened in Central Luzon and outside Metro Manila. It is set to open on the first quarter of 2012.
Some Filipino celebrities that hailed from Olongapo City include:
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Central Luzon College of Science and Technology St. Benilde
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| Subic, Zambales | Subic, Zambales | Floridablanca, Pampanga | ||
| Subic Bay | Dinalupihan, Bataan | |||
| Olongapo City | ||||
| Subic Bay Morong, Bataan |
Dinalupihan, Bataan | Dinalupihan, Bataan |