Iba, Zambales

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Iba

Municipality

Nickname(s): Seat of Provincial Government; Beach Capital of Zambales

Motto: Bangon Iba, Asenso Tungo sa pagiging Lungsod!

Map of Zambales showing the location of Iba

Iba

Location within the Philippines

Coordinates:

1520N 11959ECoordinates:

Country

Philippines

Region

Central Luzon (Region III)

Province

Zambales

District

2nd district of Zambales

Founded

1611

Barangays

14

Government[1]
Mayor

Rundy Ebdane

Area[2]
Total

153.38 km2 (59.22 sq mi)

Population (2010)[3]
Total

46,761

Density

300/km2 (790/sq mi)

Demonym

Ibanian

Time zone

PST (UTC+8)

ZIP code[4]

2201

Dialing code[4]

47

Income class

2nd class[2]

1520N 11959E

Iba is the capital municipality of the province of Zambales Philippines. According to the
2010 Philippine census, it has a population of 46,761 people with an income classification of second
class. Iba is the second largest provincial capital in terms of land area in Central Luzon Region
after Tarlac. Iba is the birthplace of former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay.
[2][3]

Contents
[hide]

1 History
2 Geography

o
o

2.1 Barangays
2.2 Climate

3 Demographics

3.1 Religion

4 Economy

5 Tourism

o
o

3.1.2 Diocese of Iba

4.1 Conversion to Cityhood

5.1 Festivals

6 Transportation
7 Media
8 Health centers
9 Education

o
o
o

3.1.1 Ecclesiastical District

9.1 Tertiary education

9.2 Secondary education
9.3 Primary education

10 Popular culture
11 Local Government
12 References
13 External links

History[edit]
Iba was founded by the order of Augustinian Recollect priest in 1611 as the village of
Paynauen. The early inhabitants of the town are called Zambales. They were later joined by the
Ilocanos who migrated to the town which resulted in intermingling of customs and traditions.
The Aeta people settled in the hinterlands and the majority of them dwelled in the Mount
Pinatubo area. In 1860, the administration of the town was turned over to the Dominican priests until
the civil government came to power. There are no available records as to when Paynauen was
renamed to Iba.
[5]

[5]

The municipality was named after the sour fruit "Iba", commonly known as kamias (Averrhoa bilimbi),
which is abundant in the place. Local folklore talks about the Spaniards who came to the town
asking the name of the place, the natives shouted "Iba, Iba" thinking that the man was asking what
they were eating. From then on, the place was called Iba.
[5]

The permanent capital of Zambales was moved from Masinloc to Iba because of its strategic
location being on the central part of Zambales. On August 28, 1901, American Civil Governor
William Howard Taft held the historic session of the second Philippine Commission establishing the
Province of Zambales under the American rule held at Roman Catholic Church of Iba.

Geography[edit]

The municipality of Iba is bounded by the municipalities of Botolan to the south, Palauig to the north,
the province of Tarlac to the east, and the South China Sea to the west. Like most of the
municipalities in the province, Iba is geographically bound by the coast in the west with
the Zambales Mountains in the eastern portion of the municipality. Iba is about 200 kilometres
(120 mi) northwest of Manila.

Barangays[edit]
Iba is politically subdivided into 14 barangays.

[2]

Amungan (partly urban)

Bangantalinga (rural)
Dirita-Baloguen (partly urban)
Lipay-Dingin-Panibuatan (rural)
Palanginan (highly urban)
San Agustin (rural)
Santa Barbara (rural)
Santo Rosario (rural)
Zone 1 Pob. (highly urban)
Zone 2 Pob. (urban)
Zone 3 Pob. (urban)
Zone 4 Pob. (urban)
Zone 5 Pob. (urban)
Zone 6 Pob. (urban)

Climate[edit]
Iba has a tropical monsoon climate (Kppen climate classification Am). Iba's climate is no different
from the other towns where rainy season begins from June and ends in September, while the dry
season is from October to May. An average of 43.15 centimetres (16.99 in) of annual rainfall with a
temperature of 22 C (72 F) is observed during rainy season. The highest temperature recorded is
34 C (93 F) while the lowest is 19.18 C (66.52 F).
[hide]Climate data for Iba, Zambales
Month

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Year

31

31

32

33

33

31

30

30

30

31

31

31

31

(88)

(88)

(90)

(91)

(91)

(88)

(86)

(86)

(86)

(88)

(88)

(88)

(88)

Average high C (F)

25

26

27

28

28

27

27

26

27

27

27

26

26

(77)

(79)

(81)

(82)

(82)

(81)

(81)

(79)

(81)

(81)

(81)

(79)

(79)

Daily mean C (F)

20

20

21

23

24

23

23

23

23

23

22

21

23

(68)

(68)

(70)

(73)

(75)

(73)

(73)

(73)

(73)

(73)

(72)

(70)

(73)

Average low C (F)

11

36

252

595

853

993

605

230

96

33

3,712

(0.16)

(0.2)

(0.43)

(1.42)

(9.92)

(23.43)

(33.58)

(39.09)

(23.82)

(9.06)

(3.78)

(1.3)

(146.14)

Average rainfall mm (inches)

Source: Weatherbase[6]

Demographics[edit]
Population census of Iba

Year

Pop.

% p.a.

1990

29,221

1995

31,503

+1.42%

2000

34,678

+2.08%

2007

44,344

+3.45%

2010

46,761

+1.95%

Source: National Statistics Office[7][8][9]

The population of Iba has become a mixture of different people over the last twenty years as
opportunities in employment and business attracted people from Pangasinan, Bataan and Batangas.
Originally, the population was composed of the Sambal and Ilocano speaking people. While Sambal
and Ilocano are spoken by many of the population, Tagalog or Pilipino has become the common
dialect spoken in Iba.

Religion[edit]
The majority of the people in Iba, Zambales are Roman Catholics. The largest minority religion
is Iglesia Ni Cristo followed by variousProtestant denominations.
Ecclesiastical District

[edit]

The seat of the Ecclesiastical District of Zambales North of the Iglesia Ni Cristo is located in Iba. The
INC district administration and district office oversees several locales and extensions from different
municipalities in the northern part of Zambales province.

[edit]

Diocese of Iba

The Cathedral of Iba, also known as the Cathedral of Saint Augustine, is the seat of the Roman
Catholic Diocese of Iba. The church of the diocese is a 17th-century Baroquechurch built by
the Augustinian Recollects. It is located adjacent to the Provincial Capitol Building. The
current bishop of the diocese is Most Reverend Florentino G. Lavarias, D.D..

Economy[edit]

Savemore market

Iba Town Center

Being a center of employment and commerce as well being the host of major educational
institutions, the population of Iba increase during day time because of traders, market buyers,
students, government and private employees flocking in the town. Some of the newest
establishments in Iba are Puregold and the Iba Town Center - the first and only community mall in
the heart of Zambales.

Conversion to Cityhood[edit]
The League of Cities of the Philippines has the expanding disagreement in opinion against the
conversion of sixteen municipalities into constituent cities. The LCP had tried to influence President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to certify as call for immediate attention a draft of a law imposing a
suspension on the conversion of additional towns into cities.
Local Government Code states that before a town could be classified as a city, it must have an
annual income of at least Php100 million and a land area of at minimum 100 square kilometres (39
square miles) or a population of 150,000.
Senator Angara advocates House Bill 24 filed by Zamboanga Sibugay Representative ANN Hofer
giving automatic cityhood to capitals of provinces without cities by freeing the capital towns of
provinces from the income needs of the cityhood.

Tourism[edit]
Tourism is one of the major economic activity in Iba during the summer period. It has become a
popular destination for summer vacationists and tourists due to the pristine and beautiful beaches
that line the shorelines of Iba, and adventure trekking to the unique 3-series of Iba waterfalls. Its
pollution-free beaches due to the absence of industrial-polluting activities in the locality, make it one
of the best places in the Philippines.
In response to the growing number of both local and foreign visitors, investments in beach resorts
have increased in the last fifteen years. Today there are about 50 beach resorts in Iba.

Festivals[edit]

Mango Fest

Zambales Mango Festival

The festival is a celebration of a bountiful harvest of mangoes and other agricultural products
which the province is known for. It is also aimed to highlight the attractions and places of
interest in all of its towns. As a way of promoting and giving thanks for a good harvest, the
people of Zambales annually celebrate the six-day Mango Festival in March or April in Iba.
Paynauen Festival
A summer festival in Iba featuring local traditional arts and culture first celebrated in the
1980s, Paynauen Festival (also spelled asPaynawen) has become a yearly tradition and a
tourist attraction lasting for about seven days. Paynauen's festivities include street
dancing, singing competition, boxing events, sports events, sand
castle building, carabao race, kite flying contests, Miss Paynauen competition, cooking
contest, barangay booth displays, products display and sales, ballroom dancing, traditional
parade, concerts and many others.
The festival is held late April, during the summer season where thousands of visitors flock to
Iba for beach activities. Led by the Iba Tourism Council, Paynauen is supported by the local
government, different civic organizations, volunteers and the private business sector.
[10]

Transportation[edit]

Iba Field now Iba Airport in 1941

By land
Iba is easily reached from Manila and Pangasinan by land transportation. It is about 207
kilometres (129 mi) or a 3-hour drive fromRizal Park in Manila via North Luzon Expressway
exiting in San Fernando, Pampanga to Olongapo. From Olongapo, Iba is about an hour
away.
By air
The town can be also reached by small aircraft using the Iba Airport, a small feeder airport
with a 900-metre (3,000 ft) runway located along the coast of Iba.
[11]

Media[edit]

Radyo Natin-FM Iba - Manila Broadcasting Company

Lokal 106.9 FM - Unified Airwaves Group
Flash-FM 95.9 - Central Plains Radio, Inc.
Sikat 92.7 - Rural Media Communications

Health centers[edit]
The provincial government administers the President Ramon Magsaysay
Memorial Hospital in Bargy. Palanginan to provide convenient medical services
at a lower costs to the people of the Zambales. The hospital received a 50million equipment upgrade in 2011 to better serve its patients.
[12][13]

The Sta. Cecilia Medical Center is a private institution offering one of most
complete and advance medical facilities in the province. Other institutions that
provide health care in Iba are:
[14]

ABG Clinic
Marcia Polyclinic and Diagnostics
Iba Primary Health Care Clinic
Family Vaccines Clinic
Zambales Doctor's Clinic
Sta. Cecilia Medical Center

Education[edit]
Tertiary education[edit]
The Ramon Magsaysay Technological University (RMTU), formerly Ramon
Magsaysay Polytechnic College (RMPC), is a government-funded higher
education institution founded in 1910. The school was merged with two other
colleges in the province in 1998 to become the present multicampus university system. Its main campus is located in the center of Iba with
satellite campuses located all over the province.
[15]

The provincial office of the Technical Education and Skills Development

Authority (TESDA) in Zambales is located on Magsaysay Avenue. TESDA was
established by the Philippine government to manage and supervise the
vocational education and skills development of the country's human resources
through training and scholarships.
[16]

Hopeful Beginnings Institute

Micro Asia College of Science and Technology
Subic Bay Colleges Inc.
Virgin de los Remedios College of Criminology
Sand Valley Institute of Arts and Trades Inc.

Saint Augustine's School

Secondary education[edit]
and their Curricula offerings

Amungan National High School

K+12 Curriculum
Challenger Montessori School

Ramon Magsaysay Technological University (RMTU)- Laboratory High

School
Saint Augustine's School (run by the Sisters of Saint Paul of Chartres)
Zambales National High School
Special Science Curriculum
Special Program in the Arts
Special Program in Sports
Special Program in Journalism
Special Program in Foreign Language
Special Education
Open High School
K+12 curriculum
Brightleaves Highschool
Jesus F. Magsaysay High School (ZNHS Annex)
K+12 Curriculum

Primary education[edit]
There are 7 public elementary schools in the Division of Iba South and there are
8 public elementary schools in the Division of Iba North.
Iba South District

Iba North District

Iba South Central E/S

Libaba E/S
Dirita-Baloguen E/S
Tambac E/S
Pasmes
Sta. Barbara E/S
Lipay-Dingin E/S

Bangantalinga E/S
Amungan E/S
Dampay E/S
Sto. Rosario E/S
Little Baguio E/S
Lawak E/S
San Agustin E/S
Lupang Pangako E/S