Coordinates: 14°50′N 120°17′E / 14.833, 120.283

City of Olongapo

Location
Map of Zambales showing the location of Olongapo.
Government
Region	Central Luzon (Region III)
Province	Zambales
District	First District of Zambales
Barangays	17
Income class:	1st class city; highly urbanized
Mayor	James J. Gordon, Jr. (Lakas-CMD)
Cityhood	June 1, 1966[1]
Physical characteristics
Area	170.30 km²
Population
Total (2007)	{{{pop2007}}}

The City of Olongapo (Tagalog: Lungsod ng Olongapo; Sambal: Syodad nin Olongapo) is an urbanized city located in the province of Zambales, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 194,260 people in 43,107 households.

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. After lobbying efforts of James Leonard T. Gordon, the area was relinquished to the Philippine government and converted into a municipality on December 7, 1959. 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. Like his father before him, Mayor Richard Gordon lobbied for the turnover of the facility and its conversion into a freeport after the Senate of the Philippines rejected an extension of a treaty with the United States government. The city is known for it's innovative methods of urban management in the 1980s in addressing crime and cleanliness that has been copied by local governments nationwide. These include the public utility color-code, traffic management system, waste management system earning Olongapo City national and international award 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 it's successful urban redevelopment and city development strategy after the US Base turnover.

[edit] Name

Ulo ng Apo or Chief's head.

According to popular legend, there once were 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.^[2]) 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” [1] 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.

[edit] Barangays

Downtown Olongapo

Olongapo City is politically subdivided into 17 barangays:

[edit] Telecommunications

[edit] Television Networks

• GMA Network Channel 7/Channel 10
• ABS-CBN Channel 2/Channel 12
• Subic Broadcasting Corporation Channel 6

[edit] Telecommunications Carriers

[edit] Fixed Line

1. ATT
2. GLOBE INNOVE

[edit] Cellular

THERE ARE MORE THAN 40 CELSITES IN THE CITY

1. GLOBE
2. SMART
3. SUN

[edit] INTERNET Service PROVIDERS

1. PLDT DSL
2. GLOBE DSL
3. SMART
4. VISIBILITY
5. CLICK DIAL-UP
6. CATV CLICK BROADBAND

[edit] AM RADIO

1. DWGO 1156
2. DWHL
3. RADYO NG BAYAN
4. DZRH
5. DZMM
6. DZBB

• Most Manila based stations can be recvd in the city

[edit] FM RADIO

1. DWOK 97.5
2. DWSL K-LITE

• Most Manila based stations can be recvd in the city

[edit] CABLE TV

1. Colorview CATV

[edit] RADIO GROUPS

1. DX3UNA Ulo Ng Apo Amateur Radio Club 145.48
2. Kabalikat Maharlika
3. CTA
4. Olongapo Telecom Board

[edit] EMERGENCY RADIO CHANNELS

1. Olongapo Fire & Rescue
2. Phil Nat'l Red Cross
3. PNP
4. BFP
5. LGUs including brgys

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official Web site of Olongapo City
• Olongapo Museum
• Olongapo Subic Latest Information
• Olongapo and Subic Bay Area Tourism and Visitor Information
• Greater Subic Bay Tourism Bureau
• Olongapo and Subic Bay Area Tour Information
• Sangguniang Panlungsod ng Olongapo
• Olongapo Chat Community Website
• http://www.subic.com