Candelaria, Province of Zambales, Central Luzon Region, Philippines

🇵🇭 Candelaria, officially the Municipality of Candelaria (Babali nin Candelaria; Bayan ng Candelaria), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Zambales, Philippines.

History During the pre-Spanish era, the area of Candelaria was unsettled forest. The Spanish East Indies government made it a sitio of Masinloc, one of the oldest towns of Zambales. Sambal settlers from other parts of Masinloc, who found Candelaria an ideal location to live, played an important role in creating Candelaria as a separate town in 1870.

The name of the town could have come from the name of the wife of the first Alcalde Mayor, who named the town after her as a birthday gift. Candelaria is also the Spanish word for Candlemas, and that the Virgin of Candelaria is a Marian title popular in the Hispanic world.

Geography Candelaria is 118 km (73 mi) from Olongapo, 40 km (25 mi) from the capital town of Iba, 244 km (152 mi) from Manila. It is nestled at the foot of the Zambales Mountains in the east and lies along coastline of the South China Sea in the west, with a total land area of 33,359 hectares (82,430 acres), making it the third-largest town in terms of land area in Zambales.  This municipality is known for Uacon Lake, the cleanest lake in Central Luzon, and for its numerous beach resorts.

Geography: Barangays Candelaria is politically subdivided into 16 barangays.  Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios. • Babancal • Binabalian • Catol • Dampay • Lauis • Libertador • Malabon (San Roque) • Malimanga • Pamibian • Panayonan • Pinagrealan • Poblacion • Sinabacan • Taposo • Uacon • Yamot.