Also known as: Lalawigan ng Bataan
Bataan is a province in Region III (Central Luzon). Population 891K (PSA 2024 census), 1 city + 11 municipalities, 237 barangays total, land area 1,372.98 km². Provincial capital: Balanga City.
Bataan is a province in Region III (Central Luzon). Its capital is Balanga City.
No. Bataan is a province in Region III (Central Luzon), outside Metro Manila (the National Capital Region).
Bataan had 891,440 residents in the 2024 census (PSA 2024 Census of Population (POPCEN 2024), reference date July 1, 2024). That is the most recent official count. There is no 2026 census result, so any 2026 population figure is an estimate.
Bataan covers 1,372.98 km², per the PSA Philippine Statistical Yearbook figure used on this page.
Bataan has 1 component city and 11 municipalities (12 LGUs under the province), per PSA's Philippine Standard Geographic Code (2Q 2026), and 237 barangays.
Bataan's 1 component city is Balanga City. Its 11 municipalities are Abucay, Bagac, Dinalupihan, Hermosa, Limay, Mariveles, Morong, Orani, Orion, Pilar and Samal.
Bataan's economy runs on two heavyweight industrial anchors: the Freeport Area of Bataan (Mariveles), which traces back to the Bataan Export Processing Zone (1972) — the Philippines' first economic zone, predating PEZA itself by over two decades — and the Petron Bataan Refinery in Limay, the only crude-oil refinery still operating anywhere in the country. The province's economy grew 9.3% in 2024, the fastest in Central Luzon, driven mostly by manufacturing.
Key industries: Freeport Area of Bataan (special economic zone, Mariveles), Petroleum refining (Petron Bataan Refinery, Limay), Fishing, Tourism (WWII history)
Bataan's most consequential current land-use question, though, is not industrial zoning but a live legal and political fight over its mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant: completed in 1984 but never operated, it has functioned as a tourist site since 2009, and in 2025 South Korea's KHNP began a feasibility study on reviving it. In September 2025, President Marcos signed Republic Act No. 12305, creating the Philippines' first independent nuclear regulator — a prerequisite for any revival — but in June 2026, Morong, the very municipality hosting the plant, passed its own Non-Nuclear Zone Ordinance banning nuclear facilities and radioactive-material storage, a direct clash between municipal zoning authority and national energy policy.
Key industries: Freeport Area of Bataan (special economic zone, Mariveles), Petroleum refining (Petron Bataan Refinery, Limay -- the only operating oil refinery in the Philippines), Fishing, Tourism (WWII history)
More on the regulatory framework: CLUP explainer · RA 7160 explainer · SGLG explainer · full glossary. Working a CLUP review cycle? Run the CLUP readiness self-check or see CLUP compliance monitoring.
Bataan's PPDO has to reconcile the Freeport's industrial zoning, the Petron refinery's safety buffers, and now a live standoff between a municipal non-nuclear ordinance and national nuclear-revival policy — all inside 12 LGUs. That's exactly the kind of fast-moving, high-stakes coordination a live cross-LGU dashboard is built to keep current.
Between the Freeport's industrial zoning, the Petron refinery's buffers, and Morong's non-nuclear ordinance colliding with national policy, Bataan's PPDO has a lot of fast-moving pieces. A Nova Gov pilot keeps all 12 LGUs' status in one place.
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