Olongapo

Olongapo, officially the City of Olongapo (Ilocano: Ciudad ti Olongapo; Sambali: Syodad nin Olongapo; Filipino: Lungsod ng Olongapo) and often referred to as Olongapo City, is a highly urbanized city located in the province of Zambales, Philippines. It has a population of 221,178 people according to the 2010 census. Along with the town of Subic, it comprises Metro Olongapo, one of the twelve metropolitan areas in the Philippines.

Etymology

According to popular legend, there once was a group of warring tribes who lived in the area in and around what is now the modern city. A wise old man (known as apo), seeing the perils of disunity, exerted great effort toward uniting the warring tribes. There were, however, some who bitterly opposed his idea, and one day the old man just disappeared.

After a long search, the old man's body was found, but with the head missing. It is said that the tribesmen launched search parties to locate the severed head of the man; to the Sambal, decapitation was the only permissible form of assassination.