Candelaria, Zambales

For another municipality in the Philippines, see Candelaria, Quezon.

Candelaria
—  Municipality  —
Map of Zambales showing the location of Candelaria.
Candelaria Location in the Philippines
Coordinates: 15°38′N 119°56′E
Country	Philippines
Region	Central Luzon (Region III)
Province	Zambales
District	2nd district
Founded
Barangays	16
Government
• Mayor	Jean Moraña
Area
• Total	333.59 km2 (128.8 sq mi)
Population (2007)
• Total	24,243
• Density	72.7/km2 (188.2/sq mi)
Time zone	PST (UTC+8)
ZIP code	2212
Income class	3rd class

Population Census of Candelaria
Census	Pop.		Rate
1995	20,201		—
2000	23,399		3.20%
2007	24,243		0.49%

Candelaria is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Zambales, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 24,243 people in 4,321 households.

Candelaria is approximately 42 km (26 mi) from the capital town of Iba. It is nestled at the foot of Zambales Range in the east and lies along coastline of the South China Sea in the west, with a total land area of 437.6 km² (169.0 sq mi). Candelaria is the third-largest town in terms of land area in Zambales. This municipality is known for its Uacon Lake, the cleanest lake in Central Luzon, and for its numerous beach resorts.

History

During the pre-Spanish era, Candelaria was unsettled forest land. It was then a sitio of Masinloc, one of the oldest towns of Zambales. Settlement by Sambal from other parts of Masinloc, who found Candelaria an ideal location to live, played an important role in how this sitio became a town separate from Masinloc in 1870.

The name of the town could have come from the name of the wife of the first Alcalde Mayor, who named the town after her as a birthday gift. There was also a story that the Spanish first saw many candles in this place and called it Candle-Area, a place of many candles; this story is anachronistic, however, as "Candle-Area" would have been an English rather than a Spanish name. It should also be noted that candelaria is also the Spanish word for Candlemas. As the years passed, it was customarily called Candelaria.

Barangays

Candelaria is politically subdivided into 16 barangays.

Babancal Binabalian Catol Dampay Lauis Libertador Malabon (San Roque) Malimanga

Pamibian Panayonan Pinagrealan Poblacion Sinabacan Taposo Uacon Yamot

External links

• Philippine Standard Geographic Code
• 1995 Philippine Census Information
• 2000 Philippine Census Information
• 2007 Philippine Census Information