SUBIC BAY HISTORY

Japanese forces maintained a shipbuilding facility in Subic Bay throughout WWII. The area became infamous for the war crimes committed against Allied prisoners of war, among which was Bataan March - where an estimated 66,000 Filipino and 10,000 American prisoners of war were forced by the Japanese military to endure a 106-kilometer forced march in April 1942 during the early stages of WWII.

On October 20, 1944, General Douglas McArthur landed his US forces at Palo, Leyte keeping his "I shall return" promise to the Philippines and officially beginning the liberation of the Philippines.

Independence was granted to the Philippines on July 4, 1946, but the town of Olongapo remained under the administration of the U.S. Navy. This was formalized on March 14, 1947, with the signing of the Military Bases Agreement, which granted the United States a 99-year lease for 16 bases or military reservations, including Subic Bay as well as the administration of the town of Olongapo.

Olongapo in the 1950s lay sprawled across a vast area of uneven low lands, surrounded by dense jungles and the towering Zambales mountain, which formed a green contrasting background for the town's gray, dusty streets and low, squat buildings.

Olongapo is a community of contrasts. Behind the modern lifestyle brought by the American military, its core remains predominantly provincial. Along its main highways new commercial establishments--strategically deployed to take in as much trade as possible--stand side by side with residential houses, which seem to ignore all the business and the town's traffic. In spite of the thriving bars and nightclubs, Olongapo remains, relatively, a quiet town.