Morong, officially the Municipality of Morong, is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Bataan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 35,394 people. The municipality is home to Subic Bay International Airport, Subic Bay Freeport Zone (SBFZ; along with Hermosa also in the province of Bataan, and Olongapo and Subic in Zambales), 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

In 1607, 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. Its founding priest was Fr. Rodrigo de San Miguel who placed Morong under the protection of the Our Lady of the Pillar. On June 10, 1955, with the understanding of the Spanish language waning in most of the Philippines and with Moron having an unfortunate meaning in English, the town was renamed Morong by virtue of Republic Act No. 1249.

Geography

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the municipality has a land area of 219.20 km2 constituting NaN% of the 1,372.98 km2 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. It is 51 km from Balanga and 175 km from Manila.

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.

Climate

Morong has a tropical monsoon climate (Af) with little to no rainfall from December to April and heavy to extremely heavy rainfall from May to November.

Barangays

Morong is politically subdivided into 5 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

Demographics

According to the Spanish Census of the country in 1896, Morong was reported to have 2,797 inhabitants. In the 2020 census, Morong had a population of 35,394. The population density was undefined PD/km2.

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 (informally called the "Technopark") is the main zone of the Morong Special Economic Zone (MSEZ), established in March 1997 after a previous ecozone which was established under the 1992 Bases Conversion and Development Act.

Government

Local government

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