Morong, Bataan


', officially the ', is a of the Philippines| in the province of,. According to the, it has a population of people.
The municipality is home to the Subic Bay International Airport, the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, and the former Philippine Refugee Processing Center. Morong was formerly known as Moron. It is accessible via the Bataan Provincial Expressway, off Exit 65.

History

Morong, originally called Bayandati, was a small settlement located in Barrio Nagbalayong. Due to the scarcity of land available for cultivation, the early inhabitants migrated to adjacent areas where wider lands can be discovered. They found Poblacion, the present site where the Spaniards met the natives of Moron.
Folkloric tradition alludes the etymology of the name Moron to the Spaniards' mishearing of the phrase "mga Moro umurong" when they asked the local people the name of their village. The historical accuracy of this etymology is questionable, however, since early Filipinos could not have known or used the term Moro as it were the Spaniards who have started using the term to refer to Filipino Moslems, a Spanish term for the Moslem Moorish conquerors of 8th century Spain.
The most probable etymology comes from the Spanish word morón which refers to a hill which can be seen from the sea. Several towns are also named Morón namely Morón in Cuba; Morón de la Fronterra in Sevilla, Spain; and Morón in Buenos Aires, Argentina. These place all have hilly topographies and are nearby the ocean.
On June 10, 1955, Moron was renamed Morong by virtue of Republic Act No. 1249.
In 1754, it became part of Corrigimento de Mariveles together with Bagac and Maragondon, Cavite. But it was only in 1607 that Morong was officially founded as an ecclesiastical parish by the Augustinian Recollects as well as being founded by Fr. Rodrigo de San Miguel who placed it under the protection of the Our Lady of the Pillar. The Our Lady of the Pillar Parish of Morong, erected in 1607 and is now one of the oldest seats of Catholic faith in the Philippines; originally orchestrated from the elements of the Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque sources. It culminated its 400th Year foundation anniversary on October 12, 2007.

World War II

Conscription of Morong Residents

During the onset of the war, able-bodied men from Morong, Bataan were called to volunteer for the army. Many residents answered the call to serve. Later after the fall of Bataan up until the Liberation, boonie guerilla groups sought to fight and sabotage the Japanese occupying forces.

The Seven Day Battle of Mauban (Morong, Bataan)

For the defense of Bataan, the main and first battle position established by the USAFFE was the Mabatang-Mauban Line. General Wainwright was in command of the Mauban side of the defense.
On 16 January 1942, Imperial Japanese Army and an Allied coalition of Filipino-American forces both raced to capture Morong. Although both had arrived at approximately the same time, the allies were the first to notice the other party. To therefore commit a surprise attack, Lieutenant Edwin P. Ramsey of the 26th Cavalry Regiment ordered his troops to charge; the 27 heavily outnumbered Filipino and American cavalrymen charged and scattered the surprised Japanese. It was the last charge of American cavalry

Geography

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the has a land area of constituting of the total area of Bataan.
Morong is bounded by Dinalupihan to the northeast, Hermosa and Orani to the east, and province of the Zambales to the north. Olongapo City is located directly north of Morong, accessible via SBMA - Olongapo Access Road through Rizal Highway to Aguinado Road or Security Road to East 14th Street.

Climate

Barangays

Morong is politically subdivided into 5 barangays.

Environmental protection

The Pawikan Conservation Center is a community-based effort to protect turtles in Morong with a focus on protecting the Olive Ridley species.

Demographics

In the, had a population of. The population density was.

Economy

Existing industries in Morong include mango/cashew production as well as vinegar making from nipa palm nuts and the production of basketry using jungle vines.
There is some variety of developments intended for Morong. Industries targeted for development are the manufacturing of component parts or assembly operations. In addition, there are plans to establish convention centers, exhibit halls, golf course and clubs, entertainment and leisure and sports centers, hotels, beach resorts and meditation centers.

Mining

Morong has also had some activity in mining. In 1972 it had mining activity from Long Beach Mining Corporation producing magnetite concentrate from beach sands and in 2017 there was headway into opening 709.6 hectares of land to Gandara minerals and development corporation in order to mine basalt and other associated minerals.

Economic Zone Developments

The Bataan Technology Park is the main zone of the Morong Special Economic Zone, established in March 1997 after a previous ecozone which was established under the 1992 Bases Conversion and Development Act. The park's investors can claim the following benefits: