San Narciso, Zambales

San Narciso, officially the Municipality of San Narciso (Ili ti San Narciso; Bayan ng San Narciso; Sambal: Babali nin San Narciso), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Zambales, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 30,759 people.

History
The Municipality of San Narciso was founded in the early part of 18th century. The migrants from the Ilocandia arrived in the area and established their settlement in Alusiis which was the first name of the pueblo that later became San Narciso.

San Narciso became the official name of the town by a Royal Decree issued by the Spanish Governor General Narciso Claveria and Archbishop Jose Soque on February 12, 1846.

The people of San Narciso participated in the Philippine Revolution against Spain. When the Katipunan was organized by Andres Bonifacio and sent his representatives in San Narciso, many prominent men of the town became members. Pantaleon Dumlao became the head of the local organization.

Geography
San Narciso is located in a relatively flat plain. West of the town is the South China Sea and to the east is bordered by the Sto. Tomas river are the Zambales Mountain Ranges. Average elevation is 3.6 m above sea level and the highest elevation is 800 m above sea level.

It is 41 km from Iba, 37 km from Olongapo, and 163 km from Manila.

Barangays
San Narciso is subdivided into 17 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.


 * Alusiis
 * Beddeng
 * Candelaria (Poblacion)
 * Dallipawen
 * Grullo
 * La Paz
 * Libertad (Poblacion)
 * Namatacan
 * Natividad (Poblacion)
 * Omaya
 * Paite
 * Patrocinio (Poblacion)
 * San Jose (Poblacion)
 * San Juan (Poblacion)
 * San Pascual (Poblacion)
 * San Rafael (Poblacion)
 * Siminublan

Climate
San Narciso has a tropical monsoon climate (Am) with little to no rainfall from November to April and heavy to extremely heavy rainfall from May to October.

Demographics
In the 2020 census, the population of San Narciso, Zambales, was 30,759 people, with a density of undefined PD/km2.

Economy
The town is mostly agricultural with most families owning farmland to plant rice and other crops such as string beans, onions and other vegetables. Commerce is centered in the town center and the public market. There are also a number of poultry and pig farms in the municipality mostly located in the outskirts. In recent years, tourism has increased in the municipality. Due to its close proximity to Manila which is just a 3-hour drive away, many residents of the capital visit its beaches specially around summertime. This in effect has increased the economic activity in the municipality and have provided jobs and opportunities to its residents.

Culture
The first settlers of San Narciso came from Paoay, Ilocos Norte and Agno, Pangasinan which was then a part of Zambales. They brought forth with them customs and traditions such as honoring their dead thru prayers and novenas. Family members and relatives come together to offer prayers and recite names of deceased relatives. One unique part about these practices is the serving of food, usually pancit, puto and ginataang bilo-bilo or what locals call tambo-tambong. It is a local delicacy made from glutinous rice balls, cassava, banana, jackfruit, coconut milk and tapioca pearls.

Municipal executives

 * Spanish regime:


 * 1884			       Tomas Bernabe		Gobernadorcillo
 * 1886				Mariano Apolinario	Gobernadorcillo
 * 1887 				Paulo Fogata		Gobernadorcillo
 * 1888				Esteban Foton		Gobernadorcillo
 * 1889				Mariano Marañon		Gobernadorcillo
 * 1890				Francisco Fajarito	Gobernadorcillo
 * 1891				Gregorio Farañal	Gobernadorcillo
 * 1892				Leocadio Firme		Gobernadorcillo
 * 1893				Juan Flordeliza Dumlao	Gobernadorcillo
 * 1894				Quirico Amon Sr.	Gobernadorcillo
 * 1895				Luis Fogata		Gobernadorcillo
 * 1895				Cipriano Fogata		Gobernadorcillo


 * Revolutionary government:
 * 1897			       Cipriano Fernandez	Capitan Municipal
 * 1898				Casamiro Amon		Capitan Municipal 1
 * 1900				Vicente Posadas		Capitan Municipal


 * American regime:
 * 1903–1904			Simeon Marañon		Presidente Municipal
 * 1905–1906			Angel Dumlao		Presidente Municipal
 * June 1906-Jan. 8, 1908	       Simeon Villanueva	Presidente Municipal
 * June 9, 1908-Dec. 1909	       Angle Dumlao		Presidente Municipal
 * 1910–1912			Victor Amos		Presidente Municipal
 * 1912–1916			Mariano Villanueva	Presidente Municipal
 * 1916–1919			Marcos Fuerte		Presidente Municipal
 * 1919–1922			Severino Fuertes	Presidente Municipal
 * 1922–1925			Paulino Delos Santos	Presidente Municipal
 * 1926–1931			Esteban Florita		Presidente Municipal
 * 1932–1934			Donato Amon		Presidente Municipal


 * Commonwealth:
 * 1934–1940			Ireneo Delos Reyes	Municipal Mayor
 * 1941-Oct. 1942		       Pacifico Fuerte		Municipal Mayor


 * Japanese Occupation:
 * Oct. 1942–1944		       Sebastian Fogata	Municipal Mayor


 * Liberation Military Government:
 * February 1945			Gerardo Evangelista	Municipal Mayor
 * May 1945 – July 1946		Pacifico Fuerte		Municipal Mayor
 * 1947–1948			Severino Fuertes	Municipal Mayor


 * Republic of the Philippines:
 * Aug. 1948–1955		Sebastian Fogata		Municipal Mayor
 * Jan. 1956–1960		Jose Delos Santos		Municipal Mayor
 * Jan. 1960–1963		Sebastian Fogata		Municipal Mayor
 * Jan. 1963–1986		Francisco A. Galvez, Jr.	Municipal Mayor
 * 1986–1989		Quirico F. Abrajano, Jr.	Municipal Mayor
 * 1989–1992		Francisco A. Galvez, Jr.	       Municipal Mayor
 * 1992–2001		Quirico F. Abrajano, Jr.	Municipal Mayor
 * 2001 – 2010		William T. Lim		       Municipal Mayor
 * 2010 - 2016 Peter T. Lim Municipal Mayor
 * 2016 to 2019 La Rainne Abad-Sarmiento Municipal Mayor
 * 2019 to 2022 William T. Lim Municipal Mayor
 * 2022 to present La Rainne Abad-Sarmiento Municipal Mayor

Tourism
San Narciso is famous for its beaches along the South China Sea that are suited for surfing.

Education
The Philippine Merchant Marine Academy or PMMA is located here. San Narciso also houses the Magsaysay Memorial College of Zambales,Inc, which offers elementary and secondary education,bachelors courses and other 2-year courses. Also located in San Narciso is the Zambales Academy, one of the oldest secondary education institution in the province, it is where former president Ramon Magsaysay took his secondary education.