Botolan

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.^[7]

The municipality was founded by Spanish conquistador Juan de Salcedo in 1572.^[1]

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. It is between Cabangan and Iba on the Olongapo–Bugallon Road.

In the 2024 census, the population of Botolan was 70,340 people,^[16] with a density of 96 inhabitants per square kilometre or 250 inhabitants per square mile.

Poverty incidence of Botolan (%)

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority^{[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]}

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

The Ina Poón Bató is a purportedly miraculous, syncretised image of the Blessed Virgin Mary.^[26] 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) .^[26] 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.^[27] 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)^[28] and its shrine were moved to the nearby resettlement area of Loob-Bunga.^[29] 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.^[28]

There are two schools district offices which govern all educational institutions within the municipality. They oversee the management and operations of all private and public, from primary to secondary schools.^[30]