Mariveles, officially the Municipality of Mariveles (), is a municipality in the province of Bataan, Philippines. According to the , it has a population of people, making it the most populous in the province.
Incorporated to the Kingdom of the Spains and the Indies by a Franciscan friar in 1578, Mariveles was called the town of Camaya and was part of the Corregimiento of Mariveles, including Bagac and Morong, Corregidor and Maragondon, Cavite. The name Mariveles comes from "Maria Velez", a Mexican nun who eloped with a monk back in the 1600s. With its natural cove, the port was used by ships from China and Spain to resupply.
The Superior Decree of July 1754 declared Mariveles' independence from Pampanga.
In the 19th century, the Americans established the first quarantine station in the old Spanish Leprosarium Hospital (now known as the Mariveles Mental Wellness and General Hospital). The 1818 Spanish census showed there to be 1,522 native families and 3 Spanish-Filipino families.
Mariveles Bay was the site of Mariveles Naval Section Base, completed for the United States Asiatic Fleet on 22 July 1941, and was surrendered to the Imperial Japanese Army on 9 April 1942. The Mariveles Airfield, a dirt runway at the Section Base, was the starting point of the Bataan Death March.
Just as the Philippines faced economic and political instability during the runup to the 1969 Philippine presidential election and the subsequent second term of the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos, it was revealed that two communities - Barrio NASSCO and Barrio Camaya - where the workers of the National Shipyard and Steel Corporation lived would be torn down for conversion into the new Mariveles Free Trade Zone in 1969 (also establishing the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), compelling the relocation of the residents who in turn launched protests until the MFTZ became BEPZ in 1972. BEPZ has made the port a trading zone, and brought industry to the municipality. Agriculture is a large part of the port export.
With only a year left in his last constitutionally allowed term as president, Ferdinand Marcos placed the Philippines under Martial Law in September 1972 and thus retained the position for fourteen more years. This martial law era became known for human rights abuses, particularly targeting political opponents, student activists, journalists, religious workers, farmers, and others who fought against the Marcos dictatorship. This included activists who fought the relocation of the communities in Barrio NASSCO and Barrio Camaya. One of the most prominent of these activists was Evelyn Pacheco-Mangulabnan, a Mariveles native who would later be honored at the Philippines' Bantayog ng mga Bayani for her role in resisting Marcos' authoritarian regime.
In July 2010, the Freeport Area of Bataan Act (Republic Act 9728, approved on October 23, 2009) became effective, turning the Bataan Export Processing Zone or Bataan Economic Zone (BEPZ/BEZ) under PEZA into Freeport Area of Bataan (FAB) of Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB).
During the first term of Mayor Ace Jello Concepcion in 2017, the municipality's coat of arms was updated to the current one featuring a Philippine flag star and sun, fish, grain, Bataan Death March marker, mountain, and gear, and with the founding year 1757. It changed its color from green to pink as the second version from 2019 to 2022 under Jo Castañeda. With Concepcion's start of second term as mayor on June 30, 2022, the seal reverted to its original green color.
On February 12, 2024, with the approval of the Office of the President of the Philippines through Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, the current third version of the 2017 seal began to be used where the seal now resembles the Great Seal of the Philippines and dropped the establishment year. However, the first version still continued to be used nowadays.
Mariveles is located around the Mariveles Bay, a large cove at the southern tip of the Bataan Peninsula. It is adjacent to Manila Bay to the east, and the South China Sea to the west.
Mariveles is from Balanga and from Manila via the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), Jose Abad Santos Avenue, and Roman Highway. It borders Bagac to the west and northwest, Limay to the north and northeast, and Manila Bay to the east.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the municipality has a land area of constituting of the total area of Bataan. Of this, about 69% consist of the pastureland, 19% of forestland, 6% agricultural lands and the remaining 6% for residential and industrial use.
Mariveles is politically subdivided into 18 barangays, with two are located within the jurisdiction of Freeport Area of Bataan (FAB). Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.
In the 2024 census, Mariveles had a population of 156,200 people. The population density was .
Mariveles is home to an Aeta community speaking a Sambalic language called Mariveleño.
The Freeport Area of Bataan (formerly known as Mariveles Free Trade Zone from June 21, 1969, to November 20, 1972, and Bataan Export Processing Zone (BEPZ) and Bataan Economic Zone (BEZ) from November 20, 1972, to July 2010 under Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA)) is a industrial complex in Mariveles town that enjoys business advantages, including tax incentives, natural endowments, and leadership under Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB) Chairman and Administrator Mohammed Hussein Pangandaman. It is the only freeport in the country with a 10.9 million cubic meter-capacity dam that delivers 14 million gallons of water every day. It is complemented by water treatment and sewerage treatment plants which employ a sustainable waste water solution.
Pursuant to the Local government in the Philippines", the political seat of the municipal government is located at the Municipal Hall. In the History of the Philippines (1521âÂÂ1898), the Gobernadorcillo is the Chief Executive who held office in the Presidencia. During the American rule (1898âÂÂ1946) (History of the Philippines (1898-1946)), the elected Mayor and local officials, including the appointed ones held office at the Municipal Hall. The legislative and executive departments perform their functions in the Sangguniang Bayan (Session Hall) and Municipal Trial Court, respectively, and are located in the second floor of the Town Hall and in the adjacent building.
The Municipal Mayor as of the 2022 national and local elections, serving his second term in office, is Ace Jello "AJ" C. Concepcion.
Members of the Mariveles Municipal Council (2022âÂÂ2025):
District Representative (3rd Legislative District, Bataan): Maria Angela Garcia
Mariveles' attractions, events and historical landmarks include:
Mariveles can be reached by a ferry plying the Mariveles to Manila route that has an approximate travel time of 40 minutes.
The Bataan Provincial Expressway, also called Roman Super-Highway, is a limited-access toll expressway that connects Bataan to the provinces of the Central Luzon region in the Philippines. Mariveles is off Exit 55.
Utilities:
The Mariveles Schools District Office governs all educational institutions within the municipality. It oversees the management and operations of all private and public, from primary to secondary schools.
Tertiary educational institutions include: