According to popular legend, there once was a group of warring tribes who lived in the area in and around what is now the modern city. A wise old man (known as apo), seeing the perils of disunity, exerted great effort toward uniting the warring tribes. There were, however, some who bitterly opposed his idea, and one day the old man just disappeared without a trace. After a long search, the old man
's body was found, but with the head missing. It is said that the tribesmen launched search parties to locate the severed head of the man; to the Sambal, decapitation was the only permissible form of assassination. These efforts proved to be futile, and the search was eventually called off. A young boy, however, vowed to himself that he would not stop searching until he found the elder's head. Then, one day, he chanced upon what appeared to be the old man's head, resting on top of a bamboo pole. The boy ran back to his people crying, "Olo nin apo! Olo nin apo!" ("head of the elder" in Sambal; translates as "ulo ng apo"[7] in Tagalog), running hysterically from house to house and village to village. The phrase stuck, and that, according to legend, is how the area got its name, Olongapo. To this day, the old man's head acts as a symbol of the people's unity in what is now a modern city. Olongapo City, is a highly urbanized city in the Philippines. Located in the province of Zambales.The city is politically subdivided into 17 barangays like Asinan,Banicain,Barreto,East-Bajac-bajac,East Tapinac,Gordon Heights,Kalaklan,Mabayuan,New Cabalan,New Ilalim,New Kababae,New Kalalake,Old Cabalan,Pag-asa,Santa Rita,West Bajac-bajac,West Tapinac.The city's population speaks a wide variety of the country's main languages, specifically: Tagalog, Ilocano, Kapampangan, Zambal, and the modernized language called Taglish.Majority of the people of Olongapo are Roman Catholics, followed by members of the Iglesia Ni Cristo. Protestants, Evangelicals, Born Again, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Members Church of God International and Islam are also present.