Botolan

Botolan, officially the Municipality of Botolan, is a municipality in the province of Zambales, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 66,739 people.^[4]

Botolan
Municipality
Municipality of Botolan
Poblacion, Botolan
Flag Seal
Map of Zambales with Botolan highlighted
OpenStreetMap
Botolan Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 15°17′23″N 120°01′28″E
Country	Philippines
Region	Central Luzon
Province	Zambales
District	2nd district
Founded	1572[1]
Founded by	Governor-General Juan de Salcedo
Barangays	31 (see Barangays)
Government  [2]
• Type	Sangguniang Bayan
• Mayor	Jun Omar Ebdane
• Vice Mayor	Doris D. Ladines
• Representative	Doris E. Maniquiz
• Municipal Council	Members Edmund Dante D. Perez Angelito B. Diesta Amor B. Caasi Nick L. Manzo Fernando D. Igrobay Aris George D. Lingat Jesus D. Jaring Glenn C. Manangan
• Electorate	46,839 voters (2025)
Area [3]
• Total	735.28 km2 (283.89 sq mi)
Elevation	28 m (92 ft)
Highest elevation	1,486 m (4,875 ft)
Lowest elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population  (2020 census)[4]
• Total	66,739
• Density	91/km2 (240/sq mi)
• Households	17,547
Economy
• Income class	1st municipal income class
• Poverty incidence	30.74 % (2021)[5]
• Revenue	₱ 498.2 million (2022)
• Assets	₱ 1,388 million (2022)
• Expenditure	₱ 444.4 million (2022)
• Liabilities	₱ 520.4 million (2022)
Service provider
• Electricity	Zambales 1 Electric Cooperative (ZAMECO 1)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	2202
PSGC	0307101000
IDD : area code	+63 (0)47
Native languages	Botolan Sambal Ilocano Tagalog Abellen Mag-antsi
Major religions	Roman Catholicism Aglipayan Church Protestantism Islam
Feast date	January 24
Ecclesiastical dioceses	Diocese of Iba (Roman Catholic) Diocese of Zambales (Aglipayan Church)
Patron saint	Our Lady of Poon Bato

The municipality was founded by Spanish Governor-General Juan de Salcedo in 1572.^[1] It is known for its relatively sizeable Aeta population, wide gray sand beaches, and its proximity to Mount Pinatubo.

Etymology

The name Botolan came from the a native variety of banana common in the area called "Boto-an". The word "Boto-an" is a Sambal word which combines the word botol which means "seeds" and the locative prefix -an, referring to a place with many seeded bananas.^[6]

Geography

Located just south of the provincial capital of Iba, Botolan has the largest land area of the municipalities in Zambales.

Botolan is 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) from Iba, 71 kilometres (44 mi) from Olongapo, and 197 kilometres (122 mi) from Manila.

Barangays

Botolan is politically subdivided into 31 barangays, as indicated below.^[7] Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

• Bancal
• Bangan
• Batonlapoc
• Belbel
• Beneg
• Binuclutan
• Burgos
• Cabatuan
• Capayawan
• Carael
• Danacbunga
• Maguisguis
• Malomboy
• Mambog
• Moraza
• Nacolcol
• Owaog-Nibloc
• Paco (poblacion)
• Palis
• Panan
• Parel
• Paudpod
• Poonbato
• Porac
• San Isidro
• San Juan
• San Miguel
• Santiago
• Tampo (poblacion)
• Taugtog
• Villar

Climate

Climate data for Botolan, Zambales
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	31 (88)	32 (90)	33 (91)	34 (93)	32 (90)	31 (88)	29 (84)	29 (84)	29 (84)	30 (86)	31 (88)	31 (88)	31 (88)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	20 (68)	20 (68)	21 (70)	23 (73)	25 (77)	25 (77)	25 (77)	25 (77)	24 (75)	23 (73)	22 (72)	20 (68)	23 (73)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	16 (0.6)	18 (0.7)	28 (1.1)	51 (2.0)	200 (7.9)	253 (10.0)	301 (11.9)	293 (11.5)	246 (9.7)	171 (6.7)	70 (2.8)	28 (1.1)	1,675 (66)
Average rainy days	6.2	7.1	10.4	15.5	24.4	26.4	28.2	27.5	26.2	23.6	15.9	8.7	220.1
Source: Meteoblue (modeled/calculated data, not measured locally)[8]

Demographics

Population census of Botolan

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1903 5,174 —     1918 8,814 +3.62% 1939 11,817 +1.41% 1948 11,535 −0.27% 1960 16,417 +2.98%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1970 23,848 +3.80% 1975 27,307 +2.75% 1980 27,125 −0.13% 1990 35,604 +2.76% 1995 41,084 +2.72%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 2000 46,602 +2.74% 2007 51,675 +1.44% 2010 54,434 +1.91% 2015 57,707 +1.12% 2020 66,739 +2.90%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[9][10][11][12]

In the 2020 census, the population of Botolan was 66,739 people,^[4] with a density of 91 inhabitants per square kilometre or 240 inhabitants per square mile.

Economy

Poverty incidence of Botolan

10 20 30 40 2000 33.79 2003 13.95 2006 22.40 2009 17.40 2012 23.73 2015 22.65 2018 12.75 2021 30.74 Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]

Government

See also: Sangguniang Bayan

Town hall of Botolan

Elected officials

Municipal officials (2019-2022)

• Mayor: Omar Ebdane
• Vice Mayor: Doris Ladines

Tourism

The beach at Barangay Beneg, looking south towards the Bucao River

The barangay of Binoclutan is the "Beach Capital" of Botolan, featuring several first class resorts. The area is a habitat of sea turtles, as is all of the Zambales coastline. Olive Ridley, Green turtles and Hawksbill turtles nest along the beaches of Botolan every year between September and January. A turtle hatchery located is located in Binoklutan. The area also has many other attractions, beach resorts, waterfalls, hiking paths, views of the lahar fields left by the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo, and views of Mount Pinatubo itself.

The Fiesta Poon Bato, held January 23–24, is a religious festival that attracts up to 500,000 devotees. Features include cultural dancing from local Aeta tribes in the town plaza on the first night.

The Domorokdok Festival, held May 3–4, includes street parades, street dancing, a beauty pageant and displays of Botolan products and industries.

Ina Poon Bato

Left: Original Statue of Apo Apang (Aglipayan Church), Right: Replica Statue of Ina Poon Bato (Roman Catholic).

The Ina Poón Bató is a purportedly miraculous, syncretised image of the Blessed Virgin Mary.^[21] Legend has it that before the arrival of the Spanish in the area sometime in the 17th century, local Aeta peoples had discovered a carved wooden statue on a large rock and began worshipping the image. On the arrival of Recollect missionaries in 1607, the natives associated the statue with the Roman Catholic depictions of the Virgin Mary, and the image was subsequently Christianised as Ina Poonbato (Our Lady of Poonbato) .^[21] The original image was previously in the Recollect missionaries’ custody. During the Philippine Revolution, the Filipino revolutionaries took the image and enshrined it in an Aglipayan Church.

The Catholic image was canonically blessed by Pope John Paul II in 1985 at a ceremony in Vatican City.^[22] After the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo destroyed the original village of Poonbato, the patio image (which was found intact and buried chest-deep in lahar)^[23] and its shrine were moved to the nearby resettlement area of Loob-Bunga.^[24] The feast of Ina Poón Bató is celebrated every late January, with devotees flocking to the original image inside a chapel belonging to the Aglipayan Church, and the 1976 replica enshrined in the Catholic chapel.^[23]