Olongapo

British period

Britain ruled the Philippines for a short time, from 1762 to 1764. The British invasion of the Philippines was the first challenge to Spain's control of the archipelago after 191 years of rule. The Royal Navy and British Army joined with the East India Company in Madras to capture Spain's Asian colony. In conjunction with the attack against Spain's key possession in the Americas, Havana, both settlements were successfully seized. However, in the Philippines, whilst the expedition was launched as part of a plan to harass the Spaniards in their possessions, as well as for commercial gain and new territories, the military campaign led by General William Draper and Admiral Samuel Cornish, may have been launched under the guise of an invasion in order to gain prize money. The publication "When Britain Ruled the Philippines 1762–1764" describes the events as they unfolded at the Admiralty in London and at the East India Company in Madras, leading to the invasion and occupation of the capital city of Manila and the port city of Cavite. The capital was looted, a galleon was seized, and the British commanders imposed a ransom of four million dollars upon the Spaniards. The enormous sums in prize money and valuables seized mainly benefited the commanders.

Spanish period

In 1868, a Spanish military expedition was dispatched to study the possibility of relocating the Cavite Naval Station in Subic Bay due to its unhealthy condition.

Spanish King Alfonso XII through a Royal Decree made Subic Bay (then called Subig) as Spain’s stronghold in the Far East in 1884. Vice Admiral Juan Bautista de Antiquiera made Olongapo a settlement for the Spanish Navy.

On March 8, 1885, the Spanish Naval commission authorized construction of the Arsenal in Olongapo. The Spanish planned to make their naval station, and the village of Olongapo an island, protected against attack by rebels. 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. From higher naval commands, the order was sent to fortify Grande Island at the mouth of Subic Bay with mines and cannons. But this project was hardly begun before it was overtaken by the rout of the Spanish Navy in Manila Bay by US Admiral George Dewey.^{[8][9][10][11]}

American period

Aerial view of the Olongapo Naval Station in 1928

On May 1, 1898, the construction of the Spanish Administration Building was hardly completed when Admiral Dewey's flagship, USS Olympia, led 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 Spanish 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; 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 which 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.

Olongapo impressed its visitors as being one of the finest communities in the country. People passing through the town never failed to comment on its cleanliness and orderliness.^[8][9]

World War II

When the war broke out in 1941, the old town was obliterated. Olongapo had to suffer the brunt of destruction twice.

On December 14, 1941, Japanese bombers attacked the Olongapo/Subic Bay area. Ten days later, the order was given to burn Subic Bay Naval Station and withdraw. Olongapo was set aflame by the local Filipinos in anticipation of Japanese troop arrival. The USS New York was scuttled in Subic Bay.^[12] 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. Joint American and Philippine Commonwealth ground troops aided the recognized guerrilla fighters in liberating Olongapo from the Japanese forces. With the exceptions of the Station Chapel (it was the Olongapo Parish Church before the war) and the Spanish Gate, none of its former landmarks withstood the sweep of the war's fury. The general headquarters between the United States Army, Philippine Commonwealth Army & Philippine Constabulary was stationed in Olongapo during and aftermath in World War II and active on 1945 to 1946 were operated against the Japanese for the liberation in Central Luzon.

Reconstruction and rehabilitation

Shortly after the war was over, the Philippines was granted independence. Olongapo was one of the principal navy bases retained by the US. The Navy started to rebuild the town after the hostilities ceased. Olongapo was built on a new undeveloped site a couple of miles north of its former location. The prewar town site became a part of the Naval Station.

The first few years after the war were difficult for the new town, as 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, and streets were unpaved.^[9] Gradually, Olongapo evolved into a better community: new businesses were established; housing projects were planned, civic facilities were restored.

Due to the Korean War, the US 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 US 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 American practice where streets are constructed along straight lines. The magnitude of facilities construction in the Olongapo and Subic Bay area brought growth and prosperity to Olongapo. By 1956, migrants from nearby towns and provinces had swelled the population to 39,180.^[13]

Independence and Cityhood

Olongapo and the bridge leading to NS Subic Bay, 1981.

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. The Subic Bay Naval Base commanding officer was chairman of the Olongapo town council, school board, and hospital board. Olongapo's 60,000 Filipino residents paid taxes to the United States Navy and those accused of crimes involving American servicemen were tried in US Navy courts. In July 1955, Manila mayor Arsenio Lacson announced that US service personnel accused of crimes in Manila would be tried in Philippine courts because of US Navy abuses of Filipinos in Olongapo. On October 23, 1959, Olongapo was placed under martial law when Robert Grant, the American owner of an Olongapo auto parts store was killed and the US Navy declined to identify or try the Naval Supply Depot sentry who shot him.^[14]

Olongapo City was the last piece of Philippine territory surrendered by the US to the country in the 1950s.^[9][15] On December 7, 1959, 56,000 acres of land with electrical, telephone and water utilities was relinquished to Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Felixberto Serrano.^[14] The first mayor appointed was civic leader Ruben Geronimo and he was later succeeded by business entrepreneur Ildefonso Arriola.

Six years later under Mayor James Leonard T. Gordon, Olongapo was reconverted to a chartered city on June 1, 1966.^[1] The adjacent U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay headed by Manuel Ardonia was the largest United States Navy installation in the Pacific at the time, and employed 15,000 Filipino civilians. The base was visited by 215 ships per month as Vietnam War activity peaked in 1967. The wild nightclubs along Ramon Magsaysay Drive between the naval base main gate and Rizal Avenue were notoriously popular among the 4,225,000 servicemen visiting the base that year.^[16] Sailors of the war remember talented Filipino musicians and singers, inexpensive San Miguel beer, attractive teen-age prostitutes, erotic floor shows, Jeepney rides back to the naval base and children diving for coins tossed from the bridge over the estuarine drainage channel in front of the naval base main gate.^[17][18][19] Olongapo was then upgraded as a highly-urbanized city on December 07, 1983.

Mount Pinatubo eruption

Ash from Mount Pinatubo covers Naval Station Subic Bay.

June 15, 1991 was a memorable date in Olongapo. Mount Pinatubo, 20 mi (32 km) from the city, violently erupted with a force 8 times greater than the May 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. Volcanic clouds blocked out the sun. Volcanic earthquakes and heavy muddy rain, as well as thunderstorms from a typhoon passing over Central Luzon made Black Saturday a 36-hour nightmare.^[20] This caused widespread damage to the US facility and Olongapo City.

On September 16, 1991, the Senate leaders of the Philippines did not grant an extension of the existing RP-US Military Bases Agreement between the Republic of the Philippines and the US, thus terminating the stay of US military in the Philippines.

Present-day Olongapo

The U.S. flag is lowered and Philippine flag is raised during turnover of Naval Station Subic Bay.

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 in 1992.

To date, the renowned volunteerism strategy and overturning an ailing economy to prosperity after double disasters – Mt. Pinatubo's eruption and withdrawal of US Bases – 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 poachers. 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).^[20]

As the first chartered city and highly urbanized city in its province, it rose from being "sin city" in the 1960s and 1970s into a "model city" in the 1980s and 2000s.^[15]

The city is known for its innovative methods of urban management in the 1980s when it comes to addressing crime and sanitation 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 U.S. Base turnover.

Climate

Olongapo has a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen climate classification: Am).^[22] Temperatures are relatively cooler during the months of December, January and February, and increase slightly from March to May, which are the warmest months of the year in this part of the Philippines.

The months of December to April are extremely dry but the wet season persists for the remaining period in a year. In August, the monthly rainfall total even reaches 40.87 inches (1,038 mm).

The city receives an average of 3,375 millimetres (132.9 in) rainfall every year. Temperatures range from an average of around 26.3 °C (79.3 °F) degrees in January to around 29.4 °C (84.9 °F) in April.

Barangays

The city is politically subdivided into 17 barangays. ^[3]

Barangay	Population (2010)[24]	Population (2015)	Captain
Asinan	3,341	3,445	Conrado Viray Jr.
Banicain	6,588	6,851	Ivan P. Tanega
Barretto	18,840	19,340	Angelito "Gie" Baloy
East Bajac-bajac	17,334	17,165	Filipina E. Tablan
East Tapinac	9,373	9,253	Remegio Buenafe
Gordon Heights	26,086	27,874	Jose Tomas C. Madria
Kalaklan	12,934	13,137	William Umali
Mabayuan	10,323	10,622	Edwin Esposo
New Cabalan	25,428	27,714	Rafael Lim
New Ilalim	1,423	1,518	Gilbert P. Durago
New Kababae	2,261	2,404	Raul M. Varela
New Kalalake	9,219	9,808	Randy C. Sionzon
Old Cabalan	18,259	19,274	Basilio D. Palo
Pag-asa	5,672	6,070	Rodolfo Catalogan
Santa Rita	39,793	43,632
West Bajac-bajac	7,548	8,007	Noli Capistrano
West Tapinac	6,756	6,926	Donald Elad Aquino

Language

The city's population speaks a wide array of the nation's main languages, specifically: Tagalog, Sambal, Kapampangan, Pangasinan and Ilocano. The phenomenon of mixing native languages with English (e.g. Taglish, a mixture of Tagalog and English) is also common, especially amongst the youth. Many more languages are also spoken from other denominations of people.

Religion

Majority of the people of Olongapo are Roman Catholics, followed by members of the Iglesia Ni Cristo. Protestants, Evangelicals, Born Again, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Members Church of God International, Nichiren Buddhism (Sokka Gakkai International), United Methodist Church, and Islam are also present.

Mayors

The following is the list of all Mayors that ruled Olongapo after World War II:

Name	Term	Position
Ruben Dela Cruz Geronimo	November 1959 – 1962	Municipal Mayor
Ildefonso O. Arriola	1962–1964	Municipal Mayor
James Leonard T. Gordon	January 1, 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 (née Juico) Gordon	January 1, 1968 – June 30, 1972	City Mayor
Geronimo "Momoy" Lipumano[28]	July 1972 – May 1980	City Mayor
Richard "Dick" Gordon	June 30, 1980 – April 23, 1986	City Mayor (1st term)
Loreto S. Cerezo	March 1986 – November 1987	OIC Mayor
Loreto S. Cerezo	November 1987 – January 1988	OIC Mayor
Richard "Dick" Gordon	February 2, 1988 – July 23, 1993	City Mayor (2nd term)
Katherine "Kate" Gordon	June 30, 1995 – June 30, 2004	City Mayor
James "Bong" Gordon, Jr.	June 30, 2004 – June 30, 2013	City Mayor
Rolen Calixto Paulino, Sr.	June 30, 2013 ~ September 3, 2018	City Mayor
Lugie Lipumano-Garcia	September 3, 2018 ~ present	OIC Mayor

Disaster Risk Reduction and Management

The City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (known as Olongapo City DRRMO0 are government agency which umbrella to the City Government and National Government such as National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), Department of National Defense (DND) and Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG). This Agency have its well trained Rescue Service, have its own Fire and Rescue equipment and Emergency Response Service for any kind of disasters. it has a capability that they adopt from the American servicemen from the Former US Naval Base. the DRRMO are separated from Olongapo City Fire Station (OCFS) under the Bureau of Fire Protection (DILG-BFP) with its same capability usual to other Fire Services. the City have its Barangay Fire Services from some Barangay's in Olongapo City that control by the Barangay Government. usually, Barangay Fire Service was use as first responder in their respective territory and nearby areas. another Fire and Rescue Service was from the nearest Subic Bay Freeport Zone under its own Fire Department controlled by Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority with finest trained personnel and Rescue Equipment abandoned by the Americans similar to DRRMO. the Philippines Oldest Fire Truck was there and they also respond to the major notable disaster such as Mount Pinatubo Eruption in 1991, Fukushima disaster cleanup in 2011 and Typhoon Haiyan Search and Rescue operations in 2013.

Law Enforcement and Public Safety

The City have its 6 different Police Stations under Control by Olongapo City Police Office (OCPO) and was umbrella to Philippine National Police (PNP). the city police main garrison was on Camp Cabal (also known in locals as "164") at Barangay Barretto. another was the Law Enforcement Department controlled by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority which securing the coastal waters of Subic Bay and its nearby Freeport Zone under Republic Act 7227 (it is known as "SBMA Police").

Transportation

Public Utilities

Elementary

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High Schools

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Colleges