Bataan Province Ecological Profile

 

 

 

1. GENERAL INFORMATION

Bataan province has a total land area of 137,296 ha (1,372.96 km2). Balanga City, being the capital of the province is about 124 km overland to Manila. There is a total of 237 barangays comprising the whole peninsula, 11 municipalities and 1 city which is Balanga City. The list of municipalities and its corresponding land area is presented in Table 1. Total population of the province reached 681,482 in 2010 and is consistently transforming into an eco-industrial hub of Central Luzon, the seat of heavy and light industries and a progressive province with adequate social services, stable food supply and empowered citizenry. The province is also known for its products like rice, corn, mango, coffee, vegetables, capiz shells for windows and other crafts, wooden bancas, dried and smoked fish, brooms and marine products.

Bagac is the largest municipality with an area of 231.2 km2 (17% of the TLA) followed by Morong with 219.2 km2 (16% of the TLA). The smallest municipality is Pilar with 37.6 km2 (3% of the TLA) and is classified as a 4th income class municipality (Figure 1).

2. GEOPHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

2.1. Geographic Location

Bataan province lies in the southwestern part of Central Luzon, wedged between Manila Bay in the east, and West Philippine Sea in the south and west. It is bounded inland by Zambales and Pampanga in the North and in the northeast, respectively. It is approximately 14 15’ and 60’ N latitude and 20 45’ and 120 10’ E longitude (Figure 2 and 3).

2.2. Slope and Topography

The province is a mountainous land mass, dominated largely by uplands, hills and mountains covering 80.9% of its whole land area. There are two groups of extinct volcano stocks: The northern group which is composed of Mt. Sta. Rosa (902 m.), Mt. Natib (1,253 m.) and Mt. Silanganan (910 m.); and the southern group which includes Mt. Mariveles (1,388 m.), Mt. Bataan (1,362 m.) and Mt. Tarac (1,260 m.).

Mt. Mariveles includes several peaks; among them are Pantingan Peak (1,388 m.) and Vintana Peak (1,245 m.). Other mountains in the province are Mt. Samat (553 m.), Mt. Limay or Cuyapo (946 m.) and Mt. Sta. Rita (485 m.).

The lowlands and plains which comprised 19.1 percent of the land area of the province are generally flat and gently rising towards the hills. These areas comprising most of the agricultural portion of Bataan are found along the Northern and Easter coasts facing Manila Bay.

A slope of 0-8% dominates the different municipalities and city in the province. Steep hills and mountains with 30% to 50% slope are found in Limay, Mariveles, Morong and Bagac area (Table 2 and Figure 4).

2.3. Geology

2.3.1. Rock Formation

Bataan is tectonically sitting directly on top of an active subduction zone, which centers along the Manila trench. This zone was responsible for the early Pliocene to early Holocene period of volcanic activities giving rise to varied depositions of volcanic rocks in the whole peninsula.

There are three (3) rock strategic units exposed in the area, namely: quarternary pyroclastics (QP), quarternary plug (Qp) and quarternary alluvium (Aal) (Figure 5).

Quarternary pyroclastics occupy the rolling to hilly ground with infrequent deep incision in several sections of creeks and rivers. It is composed of volcanic breccias, tuff and tuff breccias and lahars. Quarternary plug is made wholly of alticandesites rock. Quarternary alluviums occupy the low lying areas which include the beaches and plains. These deposits are derived from weathering and erosion of older volcanic rocks that were later transported and deposited along stream channels.

A rock type found in Mt. Mariveles is predominantly biotite, hornblende and andesite withdacite flows and dacitic tuffs similar to neary Mt. Natib. Mount Mariveles is on the western Bataan lineament volcanic belt of Luzon, which includes Mt. Pinatubo, site of the second largest eruption of the last 20th century.

2.3.2. Soil Type

There are ten (10) types of soils found in different areas of Bataan namely; Hydrosol with 3, 638 ha, Antipolo Clas (73,239 ha), Antipolo (37,710 ha), La-paz (3, 225 ha), La-Paz Silt Loam (6, 024 ha), San Manuel Fine Sandy Loam (234 ha), Pilar Fine Sandy Loam, (2, 196 ha) Beach Sand (120 ha), Pilar Slit (6, 848 ha), and Cult Loam (4, 062 ha) (Table 3).

2.4. Land Resources

2.4.1. Land Classification

Bataan province has two major classifications of land, Forest and Alienable and Disposable Lands. A & D Land of the province has a total of 80,207.49 ha or 58% of the TLA, on the other hand Forest Land is 57,088.51 ha, comprising 42% of the TLA (Figure 6 and 7).

2.4.2. Forest Cover

The total forested area in Bataan is 20,607 ha whereby the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) recommended to include among the protected areas in the Heritage Parks list of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The Bataan Natural Park has a total of 19,821 ha, while the Roosevelt Protected Landscape has 786 ha of forested areas that are being protected by the DENR and the provincial government to prevent poaching and illegal logging.

2.4.3. Protected Area

There are four (4) protected areas in the province under the National Integrated Protection Areas System which are identified as: Bataan Natural Park under Executive Proclamation No. 45, amended by Executive Proclamation No. 1956, covering portions of the following municipalities: Hermosa, Samal, Orani, Abucay, Bagac and Morong with a total area of 236.88 km2; Roosevelt National Park is within the territorial jurisdiction of the municipalities of Hermosa and Dinalupihan covering a total area of 13.34 km2. It was established and proclaimed in memory of ex-US Governor General to the Philippines, Theodore Roosevelt under Proclamation No. 567 dated March 30, 1933 amended by Proclamation No. 15 dated April 8, 1966; Mt. Samat National Shrine under Proclamation No. 25 with a total area of 15.25 km2 located at Pilar, Bataan; and the Mariveles watershed covering a total area of 12.20 km2 located at Mariveles, Bataan (Table 4 and Figure 8).

2.5. Coastal Resources

The coastline of Bataan has an approximately 177 km or 110 miles covering all municipalities and city except Dinalupihan. Coral reefs with an estimated area of 999 ha are found in Morong, Bagac and Mariveles. Mangrove areas are located in the eastern portion while industrial areas are found in Mariveles, Limay, Hermosa and Morong. Tourism areas are located in Morong, Bagac, Mariveles and Pilar.

2.5.1. Mangrove Areas

Mangroves can be found in patches from Orani to Orion and certain parts of Limay and Morong. There are less than 120 ha of mangroves left in the province and the healthiest strands can be found in Samal and Abucay. The mudflat areas can be found from Orani to parts of Orion, with Samal having the most extensive mudflats where mussels, oysters, mudcrabs and other shellfishes abound. The coastal waters of Bagac and Morong abound with numerous fish species associated with coral reef species, seagrass patches and are breeding areas of marine turtles, olive ridleys and green turtles commonly known as “pawikan.” A turtle sanctuary is established in Brgy. Nagbalayong in Morong. Seaweeds abound in the coastal areas of Balanga to Orion, while sea grass patches can be found in Limay, Mariveles up to the SBMA area.

2.6. Freshwater Resources

2.6.1. Riverine System

Bataan has abundant water resources in the form of rivers, streams, creeks, waterfalls and springs. There are more than 100 rivers in the province radiating from the northern and the southern mountain groups. These are important not only for irrigation but also for navigation and fishing. Talisay and Almacen Rivers are the two major rivers in Bataan. Talisay has its headwaters in the Mariveles mountain group extending up to Pilar and Balanga City into Manila Bay, while Almacen River has its headwaters in the Natib Mountains extending down to Hermosa and exits through the Orani Channel to Manila Bay.

Bataan had six (6) water or drainage ways namely; Abo-abo river, Batalan river, Lamao river, Saysayin river, Aglaloma river and Mamala river with a total area of 97,179 ha and total eroded area of 38,054 ha (Table 5).

The whole province can be considered as a catchment area because, Bataan has three watershed groups namely: Subic watershed from Morong including half of Bagac, the Mt. Natib watershed from Dinalupihan down to Balanga and the Mariveles watershed from Mariveles to Limay, Orion, Pilar and the other half of Bagac. Smaller watershed areas constitute these three watershed groups. The province’s water supply comes from these fresh water sources and an extensive groundwater reserve, extracted through numerous deep wells and free flow areas in all municipalities.

Moreover, Bataan has an extensive estuarine. The towns of Hermosa and Orani are the best examples of estuarine areas in Bataan as the waters of Manila Bay enter through the Orani Channel up to Almacen and Orani rivers.

2.7. Mineral Resources

2.7.1. Metallic Minerals

The Province has mineral deposits categorized as metallic and non-metallic. For metallic deposits, there is a prospect for gold in the upland portion of Samal and Abucay. Magnetic sand can be mined in Morong and Bagac

For the non- metallic, red clay can be found in portions of Dinalupihan and Mariveles. Rock aggregates and sand and gravel are sourced from Mariveles and Pilar. The municipality of Bagac has more prospects for rock aggregates on its upland areas (Figure 9).

2.8. List of Threatened Species

2.8.1. Mammals and reptiles

Table 6 shows the different species of mammal and reptiles including several threatened and endangered species sighted and found living in the province caused by destruction of habitat, pollution, hunting of wildlife for food and exotic species which sometimes it introduce diseases that the native species can’t fight.

2.8.2. Birds

There are 46 threatened species of birds found in Bataan, twenty five (25) of this species is near-threatened, fifteen (15) vulnerable, four (4) endangered and two (2) critically endangered (Table 7).

2.9. Land Uses

2.9.1. Existing Land use

Land use in the province was categorized as Alienable and Disposable, with a total land area of 80,207.49 ha or 58% of the total area of Bataan and the Forest Lands with a total area of 57,088.51 ha or 42% of the TLA. Figure 10 illustrates the different land uses and major coastal habitat in the province of Bataan.

Alienable and Disposable Land is further categorized into built-up/settlement areas, production lands under A and D and the protected areas.

Agricultural purposes areas are found mainly in the eleven (11) municipalities and in the lone city of the province. Lands which are devoted to forestry and pastures are found in Orion, Limay, Mariveles, Bagac and portion in Samal, Abucay, Morong and Balanga. Protected lands are located at Mariveles, Pilar, Morong, Bagac and Orani (Figure 11).

The Provincial Physical Framework Plan 1993-2002 of the province had presented the seven suitability classes of the Land Management Units as: irrigated rice/freshwater fishpond, cultivated annual crops, perennial tree and vine crops, forestry plantations (exotic species), production forest (native species), and pastures.

Bataan’s sustainable land use covers a total area of 704.51 km2 within the 11 municipalities and the City of Balanga. In this category, different government programs/projects are implemented such as Integrated Social Forestry and planting of agricultural crops to maintain the sustainability of the land. Reforestation projects with an approximate area of 7,002 ha are introduced and implemented by DENR thru contract involving POs, NGOs and LGUs.

2.10. Environmental Hazards

2.10.1. Seismic Hazard

An analysis of seismic tectonic elements proximate to Bataan indicates that the East Zambales Fault, a recently active tectonic lineament closely related to Mt. Pinatubo is about 60 km. east of the municipalities of Samal and Dinalupihan; the Manila Trench, an active subduction zone, is 120 km. west of Luzon in the West Phil. Sea; the seismically active Lubang Island-Mindoro fault is about 100 km. to the south; the Digdig Fault (100 km. to the north east) is the epicenter of the 7.8 magnitude North Luzon earthquake in July 1990 and the rest of the Philippine Fault is extended to the eastern side of Luzon.

These tectonic elements are probable earthquake generators that would trigger ground shaking and ground displacement. According to the study conducted by Bautista, et. al in 1992, Bataan area has an estimated ground acceleration value of 0.1 g (1 times the force of gravity) within a 50-year return period. The risk of tsunami along the coastal areas of Bataan cannot be discounted since tectonic features around Bataan are capable of generating tsunamegenic earthquakes. The tsunami prone areas in the Province are the coastal municipalities of Morong, Bagac and Mariveles.

2.10.2. Hydrologic Hazard

In terms of flood hazard susceptibility, generated data after GIS processing turned out that an aggregate land area of 17,555.83 has are prone to high flood susceptibility. Hermosa had the largest land area (5,330.30 has) which is prone to flooding followed by Dinalupihan (2,594 has). On the average, around 15% exposure to flooding was computed for all the municipalities and city in the province. Based on the past years occurrence, flooding was annually experienced in the municipalities of Dinalupihan, Hermosa, Orani and Samal.

The flood susceptibility levels depicted in Figure 12 were based on criteria described as High susceptibility to flooding (colored violet): areas with greater 1 meter flood height. These areas are usually flooded for several hours during heavy rains’ include landforms of topographic lows such as active river channels, abandoned river channels and areas along river banks; also prone to flashfloods. Low to moderate susceptibility to flooding (colored light yellow/beige): areas with less than 1 meter flood height. These are usually inundated during prolonged and extensive heavy rainfall or extreme weather condition. Land area exposure on affected Municipalities/City have been generated and summarized based on the GIS-computed table summary which are described and characterized on the succeeding pages.

Flood management is done thru prevention, protection, rehabilitation and mitigation. Flood control and drainage projects such as construction of open canals, dikes and sea walls, de-silting of river channels and clogged drainage, reforestation of mangrove and forest areas, anti-illegal logging programs as well as acquisition of rescue equipment and conduct of simulation trainings for water search and rescue have been carried out. Evacuation and relief centers have been established in different municipalities and city.

The Province had 2,541 has of land area (notably on the eastern portion) which can be affected by storm surge occurrence, although with only 13% exposure. Municipality of Hermosa will have the most affected area, with 790 ha and 6% exposure but, second only to Orani in terms of percent exposure to storm surge computed at 8.53%. The municipality of Limay will have the least effects given the parameters used in the simulation.

2.10.3. Mass Movement Hazard

Rain-induced land slide (RIL) susceptibility is high in the municipalities of Morong, Bagac and Mariveles with 41.59%, 38.12% and 30.61% exposure of the municipal total land areas, respectively. Moreover, sixty-nine (69) barangays of the province are prone to high susceptibility category on RIL, with 31,406 has of land projected to be greatly affected. At risk are lowland settlers who might experience abrupt water run-off from unexpected landslides on occasions of prolonged and continuous rains.

Figure 13 shows the map for mass movement hazard in Bataan. High susceptibility to landslide (colored red): areas with high landslide susceptibility rating have active/recent landslides and tension cracks that would directly affect the community. Those with steep slopes and drainages that are prone to landslide damming are also highly susceptible to landslides. Moderate susceptibility to landslide (colored green): areas with moderate landslide susceptibility rating have inactive/old landslides and tension cracks which are located away from the community. These areas usually have moderate slopes. Susceptibility to landslide (colored yellow): areas with low to gentle slopes and lacking tension cracks have low landslide susceptibility rating.

2.10.4. Volcanic Hazard

The presence of a chain of volcanoes in the Zambales-Bataan region, including Mt. Pinatubo, may put the province under threat of volcanic eruption. Mt. Sta. Rita and Mt. Malasimbo are smaller dormant volcanoes. In the eastern flank of the Bataan Peninsula lie two large volcanic edifices, Mt. Natib on the north and Mt. Mariveles on the south.

2.11. Climate

2.11.1. Climatic Type and Precipitation

The climate of Bataan is greatly influenced by the presence of mountains and its proximity to large bodies of water. It belongs to Type I having two distinct seasons which is dry during the months of November to April and wet season during the rest of the year (Figure 14). During rainy and typhoon season, the municipalities of Morong and Bagac receive the heaviest rainfall besides, these areas are facing West Philippine Sea.

Based on PAGASA Report on Climate Change Projections in the Philippines, average monthly rainfall for 1971 to 2000 was recorded at 659.8 mm for the whole province.

It was projected that the amount of rainfall will increase by an average of 1.6% in 29-year period, and by 3.57% for the succeeding 29 years.

2.11.2. Temperature

According to DOST-PAGASA, the observed baseline data on seasonal temperature in the province for the period 1971-2000 was computed at an average of 27.50°C. It will increase by an average of 0.3°C in 2020 and 1.92°C in 2050.

3. POPULATION AND SOCIAL SECTOR PROFILE

3.1. Social Composition and Characteristics

3.1.1. Total population

Bataan is ranked fifth among the provinces in Central Luzon with big population, with a population of 557,659 in 2000 and grew to 687,482 in 2010 at an annual rate of 2.11% which was slightly bigger than the region’s 1.82 Annual Projected Growth Rate.

The population of Mariveles was 16% of the total population of Bataan and remained the largest municipality in terms of population size. Dinalupihan the second largest was 14% and Balanga City, the third largest was 13%. Morong, the smallest municipality accounts for 4% of the province’s population ranked second to the smallest which was the municipality of Bagac according to NSO 2010 census report. There was a difference of 0.09% from the provincial population shares of each (Figure 15).

3.1.2. Total household population

According to the 2010 Census Bataan province has a total household population of 660,164. Out of the total household population male and female has 332,824 and 327,340 individuals, respectively (Figure 16).

3.1.3. Total household population

Provincial population density in 2010 was recorded at 501 persons per square kilometer which was 18.96% higher than the 2000 figure (406 pp km2). Pilar was the most densely populated municipality having 861 ppkm2 in 2000 and rose to 1,051 ppkm2 in 2010. Second highest was Dinalupihan having 998 ppkm². Orani ranked third with 941 ppkm², Balanga City, 788 ppkm², Orion 1,051 787 ppkm2, and Mariveles 732 ppkm² (Table 8).

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The least densely populated municipality was Bagac with 111 ppkm2. Table 8 shows municipal and city densities in years 2000 and 2010. Figure 17 illustrates population densities of different municipalities and city from 0-500 ppkm² to 500-50,000 ppkm².

3.1.4. Age-sex distribution

In 2010, the median age of the population of the province was 24.4 years, which means that half of the population was younger than 24.4 years. This is higher than the median age of 22.2 years that was recorded in 2000 (NSO, 2013).

Moreover, three in every 10 persons (31.9%) were under 15 years old. Children aged 0 to 4 years (10.8%) comprised the largest age group, followed by those in the age groups 5 to 9 years (10.6%) and 10 to 14 years (10.5%). Males outnumbered females in the age groups 0 to 44 years. On the other hand, there were more females than males in the older age groups, because during the puberty period men are more likely to die than women due to reckless behavior or violence, motor vehicle accidents, homicide, suicide, cancer and drowning. The same in 55- to 64-year-old age group, behavior-related fatalities are still among the most common causes of death for men and are still much higher in men than in women. Men of this age are more than twice as likely as women to die in car accidents and almost four times as likely to take their own lives (Figure 18).

3.1.5. Sex ratio

According to the 2010 census of population, the total household population is 685,167. It shows that out of total population of Bataan it has 345,537 male and 339,630 female with sex ratio of 101.7 male per 100 female (Table 9).

3.1.6. Age dependency ratio

In 2010, the young dependents (0 to 14 years) comprised 31.9% of the household population while the old dependents (65 years and over) posted a share of 3.8%. The working-age population (15 to 64 years) accounted for the remaining 64.3% (Figure 19).

The overall dependency ratio was 56, which indicates that for every 100 working-age population, there were about 56 dependents (50 young dependents and six old dependents). This ratio is lower than the dependency ratio in 2000, which was recorded at 63 dependents per 100 working-age population (57 young dependents and 6 old dependents).

3.1.7. School-age Population

According to the 2007 Census of Population and Housing from 1995 to 2007, most of the populations in Bataan were able to attend high school. In 2007, there were 25,402 academic degree holders while 12,556 were not able to complete any grade (NSO, 2013) due to some problems like financial, family, health and academic problem.

3.1.8. Urban to rural distribution and tempo of urbanization

Bataan province is partially urban. All municipalities and the City of Balanga in the 2nd Congressional District except Bagac are urban areas including the municipalities of Dinalupihan, Orani and Samal in District I. On the other hand, the municipalities of Hermosa, Abucay, Bagac and Morong are partially urban.

Compared to 2000 population, the municipalities of Samal, Limay and Hermosa had lower densities and were partially urban. Bagac and Morong are rural municipalities.

However, the development of Orani influenced the adjoining municipality of Samal. In 2010, this municipality increased its density to 596 ppkm2. This could be attributed to the establishment of cottage industries and the operation of Bataan 2020, a paper industry which generated employment and income as well as attracted migrants to settle in that area.

Limay is another municipality that has been urbanized as shown in 2010 population density (552 ppkm2) because of the influx of migrant workers from Petro Chem Industries, Petron Bataan Refinery, DND Arsenal, other oil and gas companies, Orica, National Power Corporation as well as the expansion of other industries which requires more jobs.

Having low densities are Bagac, Abucay, Hermosa and Morong and considered as rural municipalities. Bagac and Morong are distant municipalities and mountainous land mass of which large portions belong to protected areas that is why only a small percent is devoted to residential, commercial and industrial purposes. Hermosa is a flood prone municipality because of its low lying areas particularly the coastal barangays. On the other hand, Abucay has fewer economic opportunities that will attract more settlers.

3.1.9. Education

Elementary, secondary and tertiary education is provided by 231 public and 107 private schools with a total of 338 schools in Bataan. Elementary education had 185 public and 62 private schools. Secondary and tertiary had 71 and 21 total school, respectively (Table 10).

The 21 tertiary schools are Bataan Peninsula State University (formerly BSC-Abucay), Colegio de San Juan de Letran, Bataan Peninsula State University, Bagac Campus, Bataan Peninsula State University formerly BPSU Main Campus, Bataan Peninsula State University formerly BPSU Balanga Campus, Bataan Heroes Memorial College, Tomas del Rosario College, AMA Computer Learning Center, Asia Pacific College of Advance Studies, Philippine Women’s University, Microcity Computer College, Bataan Peninsula State University formerly BSC, Dinalupihan, Eastwood Professional College of Science and Technology, Dinalupihan, Limay Polytechnic College, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific, Bataan Peninsula State University formerly BNSFC and Bataan School of Fisheries (Table 11). Figure 20 shows that all municipalities and city in the Province has an educational institution which indicates that access to education in almost all levels particularly primary and secondary are adequate.

The literacy rate in Bataan for CY 1990, 1994 and 2010 was shown in Figure 21. The graph shows an increasing and decreasing trend over time from 96.62% in 1990, the literacy rate increase to 98.54 but in 2010, the literacy rate dropped to 94.54%. The economic cause is the one affecting the literacy rate, some families don’t have enough resources to fill their appetite and their income is very meager and often not enough to support all the children for primary education that’s why many of the children not knowing how to read and write.

3.1.10 Health

The Province of Bataan focused on increasing investments for public health programs, ensuring quality, accessibility and safety of health care facilities and services and expanding the coverage of “Phil Health Para sa Masa” Program.

At present, the Province has thirteen (13) hospitals, six (6) of which are public and seven (7) are private. These are supported by 18 Rural Health Units in 11 municipalities, 194 Barangay Health Stations, 95 medical clinics, 122 dental clinics and 30 optical clinics. Table 12 shows the existing hospitals and bed capacity of each in the province.

Moreover, Figure 22 shows the existing health facilities in the province. A district hospital is proposed to be established at Mariveles within the FAB area.

Based on the Province’s 2013 projected population of 732,288, the following major indicators were determined: Doctor to population ratio is 1:27,122 (per 20,000 populations); Nurse to population ratio is 1:19,271 (per 20,000 populations); Midwife to population ratio is 1:3,555 (per 5,000 population); and the Barangay health worker to household ratio is 1:169 (per household).

The leading cause of mortality in Bataan province for the past three years (2008-2010) is cancer with the rate of almost 50% per 100,000 populations. This was followed by pneumonia and heart disease. Maternal mortality rate in the province for 2010 is 0.27/1,000 live births which increased by 59% compared to 2009 figure of 0.17% /1,000 live birth.

Moreover, leading cause of morbidity in the province is respiratory infection. Almost 60% per 1,000 populations was infected with the disease during the two year period 2008 and 2009 and 38% in 2010. This was followed by other infectious diseases such as diarrhea, bronchitis, acute nasopharyngitis, urinary tract infection, pneumonia and skin problems. Non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, asthma and anemia were also identified to be the leading causes of morbidity.

4. LOCAL ECONOMY

4.1. Primary Sector (Extractive)

4.1.1. Agriculture, Hunting, Forestry

4.1.1.1. Agricultural production

The grain production of Bataan shows that the total service area of the province in terms of rice production is 16,002.91 ha with a total production of 79,930.19 metric tons of paddy rice. Dinalupihan and Hermosa are the two largest rice producing municipalities in Bataan with a total production of 14,312.5 ha and 13,872.0 ha, respectively. The total area devoted for corn is 709.50 ha with a total production of 3,791.78 metric tons. Almost 55% (387.0 ha) of the corn production is coming from the Municipality of Morong (Table 13).

Mango is the most planted high value crop with a total area of 5,570.17 ha aside from Rice. Onion is the least high value crop planted in the province with a total area of 0.76 ha (Table 14).

Sweet potato is the most planted root crops in the province with a total area of 739.40 ha while Garlic is the least root crop planted with an area of 5.0 ha (Table 15).

Table 16 shows the number of farm machineries in Bataan province as of 2014. The province has a total of 781 units of 2-wheel tractors, 207 units of water pumps, 22 units of 3-wheel tractors and 4 units power sprayers.

Bataan has a total of 142 units of rice threshers, 101 unit of warehouses, 79 unit of rice mills wherein 73 units are single pass and 6 are multi-pass, also there are 68 units of rice reapers, 20 units of mini-cono, 7 units of electric grain dryer, 6 units of cono, 5 units of multipurpose drying pavement, 2 units of corn harvester and flatbed dryer that came from the Department of Agriculture (DA), and 1 unit of electric-powered grain dryer, farmer-level grain center, gas-powered grain dryer, and peanut sheller (Table 17).

4.1.2. Fishing

Being a peninsula, marine products are naturally abundant in all coastal municipalities and the city of Bataan. The province had been leading all provinces of Region 3 in marine municipal fish production until 2008 when fish catch fell from 11,767 MT in 2008 to 10,369 MT in 2009, causing it to lag behind Zambales. Bataan’s share during the period slid to 25% from 28% in 2008. The province’s share of the region’s marine fish catch fell, but that the province’s harvest has been on the decline after peaking in 2008 (Table 18).

In aquaculture, the province is third among the provinces in region 3 - following Pampanga and Bulacan - in contribution to the regional production with a share of 6%, Aurora - 0.18%; Bataan - 5.97%; Bulacan - 19.04%; Nueva Ecija - 2.20%; Pampanga - 67.39%; Tarlac - 3.11% and Zambales - 2.12%. Bataan produced as much as 13,400 MT in 2009 (from an area of 9,330 ha), 4% short of its harvest the previous year.

Declining fish catch was due to uncontrolled human and economic activities in the coastal and marine ecosystem particularly the Manila Bay area.

Pollution, sedimentation and destructive fishing practices were some of the major causes of damage to marine life.

The towns of Orani, Hermosa, Pilar, Samal and Abucay produce crabs, prawns, tilapia and milk fish both for local consumption and shipment to other provinces including NCR. At present, there are potential areas for aquaculture but there are no expansions undertaken. Expansion depends upon the availability of potential sites and its conformity to the zoning plan of the locality. Moreover, the development priorities of the administration are given considerations.

4.1.3. Livestock and poultry

Livestock and poultry population was recorded at 4,087,311 MT in 2010. Livestock - carabao (dominant) concentrated in Dinalupihan and Hermosa; swine; cattle; and goat. Poultry - (broiler) chicken (dominant) concentrated in Orani and Balanga City; ducks.

The trend in production is increasing, in 2008 there were 2,410,552 MT and 2009 it increased to 2,439,159 MT and 2010 it almost doubled with 4,087,311 MT. There is a little potential in expansion for the production but the areas are limited and there is insufficiency of pure-bred animals and uncontrolled poultry or livestock diseases due to weather changes.

The needs of the sector are post production support, price control measures for swine and poultry and additional budgetary requirements.

4.2. Secondary sector (manufacturing and industry)

4.2.1 Mining and Quarrying

Sand, gravel and rock aggregates are the most common types of quarry materials in the province. Sand and gravel are abundant in Pilar; magnetic sand is found along the coastal areas of Bagac and Morong; rock aggregates are sourced in Mariveles and prospects for gold are said to be evident in Abucay. Figure 9 shows the mining and quarrying areas in the province.

Extracts of filling materials are estimated at 500,000 cubic meters per annum. Sand and gravel drawn from the province are exclusively consumed locally.

At present, quarrying of aggregates in Mariveles and other municipalities were suspended for regulatory reasons. On the other hand, although permits had been granted for the mining of magnetite sand in Morong, the same has yet to commence operation. The provincial government still holds mining operation to preserve the rich natural resources of Morong, a major tourism area in Bataan for its pristine white beaches and coves.

Gold prospects have been established by experts near Mt. Natib; however, the site is not yet accessible being a mountainous area.

4.2.2. Business and Industry

Bataan is one of the provinces of Central Luzon forming the core of the region’s industrial activities. Medium and heavy industries constitute the economic structure of the province together with micro-cottage enterprises and small businesses. Bataan has several economic zones and industrial estates that host several locators and could still accommodate various industries from light to heavy. Said economic zones and industrial parks are mainly located in the towns of Limay and Mariveles, while a few are in Morong, Hermosa and a pulp and paper mill in Samal town. The petroleum refinery in the province is the biggest in the country. Aside from petro-chemicals, the other products manufactured from the industrial parks/ecozones include the following: plastics, milled grains, shoes, garments and textiles, tennis balls, optical lenses, electronics, leather goods, sports bags and accessories, fashion accessories and fiber glass products.

Among the industrial firms operating in Bataan are: Petron Bataan Refinery, TOTAL Petroleum, Liquigaz, UniOil, ORICA Explosives, Bataan 2020 (a paper manufacturing company), ATI Grains Terminal, Diversified Plastic Film Systems, Inc., Philippine Resins Industries, Inc., PNC Alliance Corporation (formerly Bataan Polyethylene Corporation), Phoenix Polypropylene Plant. Said industrial establishments are mostly situated in Limay and Mariveles, while others are in special economic zones in Hermosa and Morong.

4.2.3. Roads and Networks/Transportation

Bataan existing road network has a total aggregate length of 1,564.92 km and out of this total about 283.46 km are classified as national roads. The national road has 115 bridges with a total length of 2,528 length measurement out of this, 78 are in dire need of rehabilitation or must be replaced due to antiquated condition. The province has 41 bridges comprising 892 length measurements and from this total, 32 bridges need to be rehabilitated or improved.

The road parallel to the old road from Hermosa leading to Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan is the Bataan expressway with a total length of 57.255 km. It is constructed in support to the economic zone and the province as a whole.

Gov. J.J. Linao road is another important transport link in the province that leads to tourist destinations in Bagac and Morong as well as to the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. The total road length is 54.631 km.

Mabayo Road at the municipality of Morong is a part of circumferential road on the Western portion of the province which leads to the backdoor of Subic Bay Freeport Zone, and serves as access to Anvaya Cove which is one of the prime tourist destinations in the province. The total length of road is 12.764 km.

Bagac-Mariveles Road is part of the province’s loop road in the western part. This section consists of 34 kilometer abandoned gravel road without vehicular traffic at present. If this road will be completed, it will provide a much shorter route between the two municipalities and will enhance the development of mining, agricultural and tourism industries in the province however, since the road passes through the National Park and Watershed, there is a risk of exploitation of the area through illegal logging and squatting.

The province has no airport facilities. Helipad facilities are owned by private enterprises. The government helipad at Camp Tolentino is used for military and civilian choppers.

Port of Orion, a national port in the province, is a roll-on-roll-off port for ferry services between Manila and Bataan and vice versa. At present, the port facilities include a passenger terminal which is a world class facility.

Private ports also exist in the province owned by private firms and companies.

Integrated minibus and public utility jeepney terminal (Bataan Transport Mall) was established to solve problem of congestion and traffic in Balanga City. Moreover, this facility enhances the economy of the province by creating more investment opportunities within the terminal and its environs.

All public utility vehicles are accommodated under one roof for safety and comfort of the riding public.

At present, it is being upgraded to be the province’s Grand Terminal Complex adding structures such as convention centers, hotel, and commercial stalls to maximize its use.

4.2.4. Communication

The good communication in Bataan is provided by different services of company. There is eight (8) telecommunication service, three (3) cable service, two (2) radio or advertising service, ten (10) courier service and thirty (30) money transfer service in the province with a total of fifty three (53) services (Table 19).

Western Union dominates the market for money transfer services covering the Balanga City, Mariveles, Dinalupihan, Orani, Limay, and Orion while PLDT, DIGITEL, Smart Communication-Balanga, Battlex, Inc. and Globe Telecom are the telephone company operators. Other communication facilities include telegraphic transfer offices, postal offices and postal stations, Local TV Stations, Radio stations, and Internet Service Providers. Radio communication is also presently used by both the government and private sectors.

4.2.5. Power Supply

Bataan is advantageous for being one of the centers of electric power operation in the region. Located in the province are Independent Power Producers (IPPs) who handle power generation in the province, also there are three (3) power plant in the province namely; Pan Asian Energy Inc. in Limay, Bataan with 620 megawatt capacity, GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant (Coal Fired Power Plant) in Alas-asin, Mariveles with 600 megawatt capacity and Refinery Solid Fuel Fired power Plant in Limay, Bataan with 140 megawatt capacity (Table 20 and Figure 23).

Power distribution to different households is handled by Peninsula Electric Cooperative (PENELCO) purchased from the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) located in Balsik, Hermosa. At present, 237 barangays have been energized. With the total potential coverage of 162,253 households, 91.0% or 147,670 were served by PENELCO (Table 21).

Future demand for power will be further augmented by another IPP Company which plans to establish a 2,400 megawatt plant in Mariveles, Bataan. Phase I with a total output of 1,200 mW will start commissioning in 2016 and the second one in 2018 with a total output of 1,200 mW.

Prevailing power rate for residential use is P 8.44 per kilowatt hour, for low voltage (commercial) use at P 7.11/kwhr and higher voltage (industrial) at P 5.8/kwhr. These rates vary depending upon the cost of generation and other charges.

5. Gap Analysis

The latest available data for the socio-economic profile was a result of census conducted in year 2010. It is very imperative that the concerned agency provide us an updated data. This will make our study more accurate and reliable.

6. Literature Cited

  • Bureau of Agricultural Extension, 2010
  • Department of Environment and Natural Resources, 2013
  • Functional Literacy and Mass Media Survey, 2013
  • Land Management Bureau– Department of Environment of Natural Resources, 2013
  • Municipal Agricultural office of Bataan, 2013
  • National Statistic Office, 2013
  • Peninsula Electric Cooperative, 2013
  • Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PHILMECH), 2013
  • Provincial Planning Development Office of Bataan, 2013