San Felipe 5.7

San Felipe, officially the '', is a of the Philippines in the province of,. According to the, it has a population of people.Much of the population are Ilocanos, descendants of migrants from Ilocos.The town was affected by the 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption, being buried in about a meter in volcanic ash but damage was comparatively light.HistorySan Felipe was one among the little villages along the coastal region of Zambales during the pre-Spanish period. The first inhabitants were the Malay Zambas who lived in lowland which they themselves called Hindol. There were also Negritoes but most of them lived in mountains.A few years after the discovery of the Philippines, all places in the country had been explored by the Spanish authorities and the exploration of Zambales began in 1572 by Juan de Salcedo, grandson of Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, first Spanish Governor General of the Philippines. Juan de Salcedo and Spanish followers made a survey of its coastal region and organize communities which were first called encomiendas but which were later called pueblos. As the population of the villages increased which was caused by the steady immigration of Ilocanos from the Ilocandia region before 1800 until 1860, more pueblos were organized.The first waves of Ilocanos found their way to Hindol, which was later called Sindol, and less than the kilometers south of Sindol was the place called Bobulon. Hindol was a Zambal Aeta name of a tree than abundant in the place. Bobulon was also a kind tree then abundant at the Public Plaza. However, there was another version why it was called Bobulon. It was said that the first voyage of Ilocano settlers had all the favorable wind ( bulon ) from Paoay, Ilocos Norte to this village. The other waves of Ilocano settlers, who were mostly merchants and fishermen, came from Vigan and San Vicente, Ilocos Sur.