MUNICIPAL PROFILE
Cabangan is a coastal town that was originally located in Barrio San Isidro. Its strategic
location near the South China Sea was very compelling that a group of few families whose
principal source of livelihood was fishing decided to settle in that area.
There was a time when this town was frequently visited by Moro pirates who were
notoriously known for their skill in using spears. They came by means of their swift vintas and
murdered some of the inhabitants and looted their properties. Because of this the early settlers
decided to go further from the sea and left San Isidro.
On their journey of finding a new settlement area, they passed through a hill were many
palm trees were growing. These trees bear fruits in the shape of large pots, locally known as the
“banga”.The luxuriant palm trees were abundant in the locality that they called the place
“Kabangaan". When the Americans came, they could hardly pronounce the word Kabangaaan,
instead they pronounced it ‘Cabangan’. Since then, the people who settled permanently in that
area adopted the name Cabangan.
Cabangan was formally established in 1680. Justo Alinea (1898) was the first “Capitan
Municipal,” which is equivalent to the position of the mayor at present time. The first
“Presidente” Municipal was Mr. Benito Rivera, from years 1901 to 1902. He was succeeded by
Mr. Antero Mora (1903-1904). In 1905, during the term of Mr. Andres Dumaplin, Botolan and
Cabangan were governed by the same Presidente. The usage of the term “Presidente Municipal”
ended in 1906 and Mr. Raymundo Dacoroon was elected to succeed Mr. Dumaplin. Mr.
Dacoroon’s term ended in 1908. After this year, the people of Cabangan elected their officials in
their town.
The Municipality of Cabangan lies on the western part of the Province of Zambales. It
has a total land area of 23,980 hectares and approximately lies within 15°9’32”N latitude and
120°3’20”E longitude. The Municipality of Botolan bounds it on the north, on the east by the
Zambales Mountain Ranges, the Municipality of San Felipe on the south, and on the west by the
South China Sea.
The economy of Cabangan can be described to be operating mainly on subsistence. It is
further characterized to be primarily an agricultural economy, with twenty of its twenty two
barangays predominantly agricultural communities.
This municipality’s main source of income is fishing, followed closely by farming and
self-employment as the secondary and tertiary source of livelihood. Trade activities are done
usually within barangays, as well as outside or with adjacent barangays.
Agricultural activities in the municipality, composed primarily of rice farming, are done
within the months of June to August. The other crops that are produced by the town’s
agricultural sector are corn, root crops, legumes, leafy vegetables, fruit vegetables, and various
spices. Livestock marketing is composed of pigs – hog fattening, poultry farming of broiler and
native chicken, as well as carabao and cattle farming. Cabangan micro industry are characterized
by basket weaving, production of bamboo products such as furniture, furniture from rattan,
ashware, broom making, and nipa frond weaving for roof thatches and as local hats or salakot.
Commercial activities in the municipality are mainly those which aim only to support
local economy. Existing commercial establishments are mainly located along the major roads of
Cabangan. There is only one public market, located in Barangay Dolores and is about 500 meters
away from the Municipal Hall. All other crop and catch sales are done either along the coasts,
and there is only one bank – The Rural Bank of Cabangan, to support banking requirements of its
locals.
The municipality is accessible via the provinces of Bulacan-Pampanga and Bataan along
the major highway network (Figure 1). It is 186 kilometers away from Manila equivalent to 3 ½
hours ride. It is also accessible via the Province of Pangasinan. Road condition is good along the
coastline, however, going inland, along the mountainside, roads are narrow, unpaved, and badly
maintained.
The municipality has a varied topography characterized by high mountains to narrow
coastal plains (Figure 2). The most outstanding feature observable in the municipality is the
Zambales Range. It is about 180 kilometers (km) long and 35 km. wide and trends slightly west
to north. The narrow strip of land along the coast and adjoining the North-South road comprises
the limited plains of the municipality.
The main drainage systems in Cabangan are the Tanguay, Yabel, Kileng, Anonang
Rivers, all draining westward towards the China Sea. The rivers are wide with heavy floodplain
deposits. Numerous small tributaries abound the area.
Vegetation reflects the underlying rock types especially in the Central and Northern
portions of the range. Gabbro supports dense forest at low altitudes while periodite is generally
barren. Lowlands are planted with rice, root crops, and other seasonal crops. The rolling and
moderately sloping areas are covered with fruit bearing trees.
Figure 1. Map showing the relative location of Cabangan, Zambales
Figure 2. Map showing the topography of Cabangan, Zambales
Cabangan exhibits two (2) distinct wet and dry seasons and fairly uniform temperature.
The months of November to later part of May are generally dry while the rest of the year are wet
and experience excessive precipitation.
Cabangan has 22 barangays of which eight (8) are coastal (Table 1) namely Arew,
Camiing, Felmida-Diaz, Laoag, Lomboy, Mabanglit, Sto. Niño and San Isidro. Among the
barangays in the municipality, New San Juan is the largest with 441 hectares while Barangay
Banuanbayo is the smallest with a land area of only 24 hectares. The total population of
Cabangan is 23, 293 with 4,644 number of households.
Table 1. Estimated Population per Barangay of Cabangan, Zambales
No.
Barangay
Area (ha)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
Anonang
Apo-Apo
Arew
Banuanbayo
Cadmang
Camiing
Casabaan
Del Carmen
Dolores
Felmida-Diaz
Laoag
Lomboy
Longos
Mabanglit
New San Juan
San Isidro
San Antonio
San Juan
San Rafael
Sta. Rita
Sto. Nino
Tondo
1,846
215
338
24
4,117
359
144
24
2,443
663
362
407
1,438
867
4,436
333
1,144
1,146
1,050
1,286
1,002
336
Total
Source: LGU Cabangan
23,980
Classification
Population
Percentage
Non-coastal
Non-coastal
Coastal
Non-coastal
Non-coastal
Coastal
Non-coastal
Non-coastal
Non-coastal
Coastal
Coastal
Coastal
Non-coastal
Non-coastal
Coastal
Coastal
Non-coastal
Non-coastal
Non-coastal
Non-coastal
Coastal
Non-coastal
1,082
683
1,104
261
1,536
1,597
631
381
970
419
855
579
1,099
1,723
1,131
2,083
882
1,759
815
1,786
857
1,060
4.65
2.93
4.74
1.12
6.59
6.86
2.71
1.64
4.16
1.80
3.67
2.48
4.72
7.40
4.86
8.94
3.79
7.55
3.50
7.67
3.68
4.55
23,293
100
Barangay
Land Area
(hectares)
Land Classification
Anonang
1836
Apo-apo
Land Area
(hectares)
Alienable and Disposable
4,227.75
72
Public Forest
4,543.49
Arew
96
Watershed Forest Reserve
Banuanbayo (Pob)
24
Timber Land
Cadmang - Reserva
9634
Camiling
92
Casabaan
34
Dolores (Pob)
357
Del Carmen
81
Felmida - Diaz
84
Laoag
73
Lomboy
78
Longos
Mabanglit
New San Juan
San Antonio
1507
345
7504
39
San Isidro
444
San Juan (Pob)
993
San Rafael
228
Santa Rita
210
Santo Niño
162
Tondo
TOTAL
47
23,940
Total
517.20
14,651.56
23,940.00
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