Current Time in Angeles City, Philippines

Angeles City lies in the province of Pampanga in Central Luzon, about eighty kilometres north of Manila, on a plain between the Zambales mountains to the west and the Sierra Madre far to the east. Mount Arayat rises alone on the flat landscape nearby, and the volcano Pinatubo lies to the west. The tropical climate is hot and humid, with a heavy rainy season from June to October and a dry, warm period early in the year.

Around four hundred and sixty thousand people live in the city, which forms the core of the Metro Clark area, one of the fastest growing urban regions in the Philippines. Its economy is driven by the adjoining Clark Freeport Zone, a vast former airbase now filled with factories, business process outsourcing offices, hotels, casinos and an international airport intended to relieve pressure on Manila.

The town was founded in 1796 by a Kapampangan couple who cleared forest at the edge of the settled plain, and it was named for the guardian angels and for its founder. It grew as a farming and trading centre until the Americans established Fort Stotsenburg and then Clark Field in the early twentieth century. For decades Clark was one of the largest overseas military installations of the United States, and the presence of tens of thousands of American personnel shaped the city profoundly, creating an entertainment district, a mixed population and a strong English speaking culture. Everything changed in June 1991, when Mount Pinatubo erupted in one of the most powerful volcanic events of the century, burying the region in ash, damaging the base beyond repair and hastening the American withdrawal. Lahars of volcanic mud continued to devastate parts of Pampanga for years afterward.

The recovery has been striking. Clark was converted into a freeport, and its wide avenues, golf courses and aviation facilities have attracted investment from across Asia. The city hosts a hot air balloon festival each year on the old runways, and Pinatubo itself has become a destination, its crater filled by a turquoise lake reached on a rough jeep ride and a hike across ash canyons.

Angeles is proud of its Kapampangan heritage, and the province is widely regarded as the culinary capital of the Philippines. Sisig, the sizzling dish of chopped pork served on a hot plate that is now popular worldwide, was created here, and local restaurants also serve tocino, longganisa and elaborate stews rooted in Spanish and indigenous traditions. The Holy Rosary Parish Church, an imposing brick church built by parishioners in the nineteenth century, and the Pamintuan Mansion, which once served as headquarters for the first Philippine republic and now houses a museum, anchor the historic centre. Street festivals fill the calendar, particularly in October and during Holy Week.

The airport, expressways to Manila and Subic, and a planned railway link give the city excellent connections, and several universities serve a large student population.

Angeles City is significant as a place transformed twice over, by an air base and by a volcano, and now thriving as a regional hub.