# San Narciso, Zambales

San Narciso, officially the Municipality of San Narciso (Ilocano: Ili ti San Narciso; Tagalog: Bayan ng San Narciso; Sambal: Babali nin San Narciso), is a 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 metres (12 ft) above sea level and the highest elevation is 800 metres (2,600 ft) above sea level.
It is 41 kilometres (25 mi) from Iba, 37 kilometres (23 mi) from Olongapo, and 163 kilometres (101 mi) 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

Climate data for San Narciso :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 30.9 (87.6) | 31.7 (89.1) | 32.9 (91.2) | 34.0 (93.2) | 33.5 (92.3) | 31.7 (89.1) | 30.9 (87.6) | 30.1 (86.2) | 30.7 (87.3) | 31.5 (88.7) | 31.5 (88.7) | 31.1 (88.0) | 31.7 (89.1) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 26.1 (79.0) | 26.6 (79.9) | 27.7 (81.9) | 29.0 (84.2) | 29.1 (84.4) | 27.9 (82.2) | 27.4 (81.3) | 26.9 (80.4) | 27.2 (81.0) | 27.5 (81.5) | 27.2 (81.0) | 26.6 (79.9) | 27.4 (81.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 21.4 (70.5) | 21.5 (70.7) | 22.6 (72.7) | 24.1 (75.4) | 24.7 (76.5) | 24.2 (75.6) | 23.9 (75.0) | 23.8 (74.8) | 23.7 (74.7) | 23.6 (74.5) | 23.0 (73.4) | 22.1 (71.8) | 23.2 (73.8) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 3 (0.1) | 3 (0.1) | 7 (0.3) | 25 (1.0) | 212 (8.3) | 555 (21.9) | 701 (27.6) | 1,041 (41.0) | 563 (22.2) | 234 (9.2) | 74 (2.9) | 20 (0.8) | 3,438 (135.4) |
| Source: Climate-Data.org ||||||||||||||
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 430 inhabitants per square kilometre or 1,100 inhabitants per square mile.

## Economy

Poverty incidence of San Narciso
* 5
* 10
* 15
* 20
* 2006 9.00
* 2009 10.66
* 2012 11.45
* 2015 13.47
* 2018 5.00
* 2021 17.30
* Source: Philippine Statistics Authority
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.

## Government
### 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.