The native Zambales inhabitants called the area Hubek, which means "head of a plough"; Spanish missionary priests mispronounced the name as Subiq.[5] 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.[5] 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.[6]
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. 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. 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[7]
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 declared 283.27 km2 (109.37 sq mi) 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 the World War II and was repurposed by the Imperial Japanese Army as their own base during the Japanese occupation.[8]
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.[8]
Subic is 66 kilometres (41 mi) from Iba, 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) from Olongapo, and 138 kilometres (86 mi) from Manila.
Barangays
Subic is politically subdivided into 16 barangays.[9] Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.
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 (Köppen climate classificationAm). Subic's climate is no different from the other towns in eastern part of Luzon 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 755 millimetres (29.7 in) and the driest month is February with average monthly rainfall less than 5 millimetres (0.20 in). The highest ever recorded temperature in the area is 38.8 °C (101.8 °F) and the lowest is 17.9 °C (64.2 °F). The annual average temperature in the city is 27.9 °C (82.2 °F).
In the 2020 census, the population of Subic was 111,912 people,[3] with a density of 390 inhabitants per square kilometre or 1,000 inhabitants per square mile.
Part of the town of Subic are 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.[25]
Infrastructure
Transportation
Roads
Calapandayan Bridge
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.[citation needed]
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).[citation needed] The Govic Highway Extension runs from Castillejos down to Hanjin Shipyard and is exclusively used by its workers.[citation needed]
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.[26]
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.
^ ab"Municipalities"[usurped]. 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.
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