Bataan

Not to be confused with Batan.

Bataan
—  Province  —
Flag Seal
Motto: Forward Bataan
Map of the Philippines with Bataan highlighted
Coordinates: 14°40′N 120°25′E
Country	Philippines
Region	Central Luzon (Region III)
Founded	1754
Capital	Balanga City
Government
• Type	Province of the Philippines
• Governor	Enrique T. Garcia, Jr. (National Unity)
• Vice Governor	Efren Dominic E. Pascual, Jr. (Nacionalista)
Area
• Total	1,372.98 km2 (530.11 sq mi)
Area rank	72nd out of 80
Population (2007)
• Total	662,153
• Rank	40th out of 80
• Density	482.2743/km2 (1,249.085/sq mi)
• Density rank	8th out of 80
Divisions
• Independent cities	0
• Component cities	1
• Municipalities	11
• Barangays	237
• Districts	1st and 2nd districts of Bataan
Time zone	PHT (UTC+8)
ZIP Code	2100
Spoken languages	Tagalog, Kapampangan, English
Website	Bataan Official Website

Bataan as seen from Manila Bay.

Bataan (/bəˈtæn/; Tagalog: [bɐtɐˈʔɐˑn]) is a province of the Philippines occupying the whole of the Bataan Peninsula on Luzon. The province is part of the Central Luzon region. The capital of Bataan is Balanga City and it is bordered by the provinces of Zambales and Pampanga to the north. The peninsula faces the South China Sea to the west and Subic Bay to the north-west, and encloses Manila Bay to the east.

The Battle of Bataan is famous in history as one of the last stands of American and Filipino soldiers before they were overwhelmed by the Japanese forces in World War II. The Bataan Death March was named for this province, where the infamous march started. This is also a location of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant located in the Municipality of Morong.

Geography

Political

Bataan is politically subdivided into 11 municipalities and 1 component city.

City

• Balanga

Municipalities

• Abucay
• Bagac
• Dinalupihan
• Hermosa
• Limay
• Mariveles
• Morong
• Orani
• Orion
• Pilar
• Samal

Physical

The Bataan Peninsula is a rocky extension of the Zambales Mountains, on Luzon in the Philippines. It separates the Manila Bay from the South China Sea. The peninsula features Mount Natib 1,253 m in the north and the Mariveles Mountains in the south, which includes Mount Samat, the location of the historical marker for the Bataan Death March.

Mariveles, at the southern tip, can be reached via jet ferry plying the Mariveles-to-Manila route that has an approximate travel time of 40 minutes.

In 1647, Dutch naval forces landed in country in an attempt to seize the islands from Spain. The Dutch massacred the people of Abucay in Bataan.

The province of Bataan was established in 1754 by Governor-General Pedro Manuel Arandia out of territories belonging to Pampanga and the corregimiento of Mariveles which, at the time, included Maragondon, Cavite across the Manila Bay.

World War II

Main article: Battle of Bataan

Bataan featured prominently during World War II. Prior to the 1941 Japanese invasion, the US Army stored nearly 1,000,000 US gallons (3,800 m³) of gasoline here.

March 1942: General view showing houses burning as the result of Japanese bombing raid in Bataan, the Philippine Islands.

Shortly after the Japanese Army invaded the country in December 1941, the combined US and Filipino forces were being gradually overrun and General Douglas MacArthur moved his troops to the Bataan Peninsula in an attempt to hold out until a relief force could be sent from the US. Japanese forces started a siege of the peninsula on January 7, 1942, and launched an all-out assault on April 3, a few months after the Battle of the Points. The majority of the American and Filipino forces surrendered on April 9 and were forced to march more than a 100 kilometres (62 mi) from Bataan to Tarlac, which became known as the Bataan Death March.

Education

• AMA Computer Learning Center – Balanga
• Asia Pacific College of Advanced Studies
• Bataan Heroes Memorial College
• Bataan Peninsula State University
• Colegio de San Juan de Letran - Abucay
• EastWoods Professional College of Science and Technology (formerly SOFTNET College of Science and Technology)
• Microcity Computer College
• Philippine Women's University - CDCEC Bataan
• Polytechnic University of the Philippines - Mariveles
• St. Joseph College's of Balanga
• Tomas del Rosario College

Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific

Tourist attractions

Historical places

• First Abucay Catholic Church (The 411-year old Church)
• Mount Samat - Shrine of Valor (Pilar, Bataan)
• Zero Kilometre Death March Marker (Mariveles)

Natural-made places of interest

• Dunsulan Falls
• Pasukulan Falls (Abucay, Bataan)
• Sibul Spring (Abucay, Bataan)
• Balong Anito (Mariveles, Bataan)
• San Miguel Mountain Peak (Mariveles, Bataan)
• Mariveles Volcano
• Tarak Ridge (Mariveles, Bataan)

Beaches and Resorts

• Camaya Coast (Mariveles, Bataan) - Camaya Coast
• Montemar (Bagac, Bataan) - Montemar Beach
• Villa Imperial Resort (Mariveles, Bataan)
• Baptist Camp Resort (Limay, Bataan)
• Anvaya Cove (Morong, Bataan)
• Morong Star Beach Resort (Morong, Bataan)

People and culture

Famous people in Bataan

• Pedro Tuazon (Balanga) - Solicitor General of the Philippines- 1921
• Kerby Raymundo (Orion) - PBA multi-awarded player, power forward, member of the Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants and the Philippines national basketball team.
• Romi Garduce (Balanga) - mountain climber who reached Mount Everest.
• Mel Tiangco (Pilar) - popular television newscaster and television host; head of GMA Kapuso foundation.
• Rafael de Leon (Pilar) - The first Filipino who won the 100 meter dash, in the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin.
• Cayetano Arellano (Orion) - The first Supreme Court Chief Justice of the Republic of the Philippines.
• Pocholo Gonzales (Mariveles) - popular youth advocate, broadcaster, motivational speaker, radio announcer, Events Organizer, Personal Branding Guru, TV producer, Voice Director and Voice Over Artist.
• Chad Peralta from Pinoy Dream Academy
• Jackie Rice (Dinalupihan) - Filipina actress who won the title of Ultimate Female Survivor on the third season of Startstruck.
• Tomas Pinpin (Abucay) - A printer, writer and publisher, was also the first Filipino printer and is sometimes referred as the "Patriarch of Filipino Printing."
• Luz Banson (Balanga) - Was the wife of Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay and was the seventh First Lady of the Philippines, she was also remembered as one of the most admired First Ladies and distinguished herself for her warmth and simplicity
• Felicito Payumo (Dinalupihan) - Chairman of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority from 1998-2004.
• Janine Marie Tugonon - Binibining Pilipinas 2011 1st Runner-Up
• Monique Teruelle Manuel - Miss Philippines Earth 2009 semifinalist

See also

• Bataan Death March
• Bataan Nuclear Power Plant
• Bataan Peninsula
• Battle of Bataan
• Geography of the Philippines
• Provinces of the Philippines
• Bataan Provincial Expressway
• Petron Corporation (formerly known as Bataan Refining Corporation)

External links

• Bataan Official Website
• 2007 Philippine Census Information