Morong is a town in Bataan, Central Luzon, the Philippines. It is a satellite town of Olongapo in neighboring Zambales, but is better known for its extensive beaches and the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant.
Understand
[edit]Situated at the rugged northwestern coast of the Bataan peninsula, Morong was founded as a Spanish military outpost guarding the approaches to Subic Bay. During the Battle of Bataan in World War II, it formed the western sector of the primary Allied defensive line against approaching Japanese forces.
During the Cold War, it hosted a processing center for Vietnamese and other Indochinese refugees fleeing communism and the Vietnam War from the 1970s to the 1990s, pending decisions by international agencies on whether to accept their asylum applications to Western countries. In the 1980s, the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant was built in town amid protests by residents, but was never put into operation amid concerns over seismic hazards, revelations of anomalies involving the Marcos regime, and a scare caused by nuclear disasters in Three Mile Island and Chernobyl.
Since the 1960s, Morong has become a satellite town of Olongapo in neighboring Zambales province, providing commuter workers employed at the Subic Bay Naval Base and later, the Subic Bay Freeport. Despite this, Morong retains a rural feel, and is filled with secluded beach resorts.
Get in
[edit]From the rest of Bataan, Governor J.J. Linao Highway leads north from Bagac and involves a passage through rugged terrain and jungle. An alternate route is from Olongapo via SBMA-Morong Road, but also involves going through a secluded, two-lane road passing through rugged terrain and jungle and is mostly unlit at night.
Morong is connected by buses to Olongapo and to Balanga in Bataan by minibuses.
- 1 Morong Bus Station, Zamora Extension, Binaritan.
Get around
[edit]Tricycles are the main form of transportation between barangays.
See
[edit]- 1 Bataan National Park. A 23,000 hectares (57,000 acres) protected forest area covering Mount Natib, a dormant volcano with a wide caldera encompassing most of northern and central Bataan.
- 2 Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, Governor J.J. Linao National Highway, Barangay Nagbalayong (Head for the forested uplands and find a clearing with a shed beside the tarpaulin bearing the plant's name.). The Philippines first and only nuclear power plant, which never operated (though plans to reactivate it remain). Can be visited by pre-arranged guided tour.
- 3 Pawikan Conservation Center, Barangay Nagbalayong (Turn left at the junction leading from Governor J.J. Linao National Highway into a small rotunda where there are watchmen who will lead you to the area in exchange for an environmental fee. At the end of the road past the rotunda, turn right into a narrow road and drive for a kilometer. The complex, which has low blue-colored walls is at the left side shortly before the road ends at another junction.). Closed outside the sea turtle breeding season. Unlike eastern Bataan, west Bataan's coastline has not been industrialized, enabling sea turtles (pawikan) to lay eggs and hatch on Morong's shores with minimal disturbance. The center secures the eggs from laying until hatching and release, with visitors allowed to explore and participate in the activities. There is no on-site accommodation, but the complex is surrounded by resort-hotels.
- 4 Morong Church (Our Lady of the Pillar Parish), Juan Luna corner Burgos Streets, Poblacion. Morong's main Roman Catholic church, built during the Spanish period using coral stones to double as a fortress.
- 5 Morong Public Beach, Poblacion. A stretch of beach along the South China Sea in downtown Morong.
Do
[edit]- Pawikan Festival. late November. A municipal festival celebrating the presence of sea turtles and the thriving biodiversity in town. The highlight of the event is the release of captive sea turtle hatchlings (pawikan) into the South China Sea.
Buy
[edit]- 1 Morong Divimart, Binaritan.
- 2 Morong Public Market, Binaritan (at the back of Morong Police Station).
Eat
[edit]A legacy of the Vietnamese presence in Morong from the 1970s and 1990s is the abundance of restaurants (Hu Tieu-an) serving Vietnamese cuisine such as hu tieu, pho, spring rolls and banh mi. Many restaurant owners were former employees of the refugee camp who sought to find alternate livelihoods after the camp closed in the 1990s.
- 1 Loleng's Hu Tieu-an, Mayor Street, Binaritan. A Vietnamese restaurant run by a Filipino who previously worked at the processing camp for Vietnamese refugees. ₱100–500.
Drink
[edit]Sleep
[edit]A large proportion of hotels and resorts are located along Nagbalayong Beach, an extensive stretch of gray sand south of downtown Morong.
- 1 Acqua Morong, Poblacion, ☏ +63 945 746 8503, [email protected].
- 2 Bataan White Corals Beach Resort, Sitio Panibatuhan, Poblacion, ☏ +63 917 840 2648, [email protected].
- 3 Brisa Marina Beach Resort, Nagbalayong, ☏ +63 998 867 2018.
- 4 CoralView Beach Resort, Nagbalayong, ☏ +63 912 823 4779, [email protected].
- 5 Playa La Caleta, Matikis, ☏ +63 906 433 5177, [email protected]. A secluded resort on a cove near the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant.
- 6 Puesta Del Sol Villas, The Strand Subdivision, Nagbalayong, ☏ +63 956 790 8130, [email protected].
- 7 Reverie Beach Resort, The Strand Subdivision, Nagbalayong, ☏ +63 969 298 9683, [email protected].
- 8 The Waterfront Beach Resort, Nagbalayong, ☏ +63 917 137 9848, [email protected].
- 9 Verde Azul Leisure Resort, Nagbalayong, ☏ +63 945 324 0467, [email protected].
- 10 Westwind Beach Resort, Nagbalayong, ☏ +63 917 707 4342, westwindbeachresortphMail with wrong format.
- 11 Morongstar Hotel and Resort, Sitio Panibatuhan, Nagbalayong, ☏ +63 977 770 7456, [email protected].
Connect
[edit]Go next
[edit]| Routes through Morong |
| Olongapo ← | W  E
|
→ Bagac → Pilar |