AFP Southern Command

The Western Mindanao Command (abbrv. as WESTMINCOM) is the Armed Forces of the Philippines' unified command in charge of the Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, and the BARMM. It is responsible for the defense of these areas against external aggression, as well as combating terrorism and insurgency. It is also one of the government organizations advocating the "Culture of Peace" in Mindanao.

Camp General Basilio Navarro is the main operating base of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for the Southwest Philippines. It is located in Zamboanga City and serves as the headquarters of its Western Mindanao Command (WESTMINCOM).

Zamboanga International Airport (Chavacano: Aeropuerto Internacional de Zamboanga, Filipino: Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Zamboanga; IATA: ZAM, ICAO: RPMZ) is the main airport serving Zamboanga City in the Philippines. Located on a 270-hectare (670-acre) site in Barangay Canelar, Zamboanga City, the airport is Mindanao's third-busiest airport after Francisco Bangoy International Airport in Davao City and Laguindingan Airport in Laguindingan, Misamis Oriental.Despite being billed as an international airport, the airport is officially classified as a Class 1 principal domestic airport by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.

Edwin Andrews Air Base (ICAO: RPMZ) is located in Zamboanga, Philippines. The base operates through Runway 09/27, which has a length of 2,611 m (8,566 ft), along with the Zamboanga International Airport and conducts air operations against insurgents like the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

The Zamboanga City crisis (Filipino: Krisis sa Zamboanga; Chavacano: Crisis na Zamboanga) or Zamboanga Siege was an armed conflict in Zamboanga City, Philippines between the government forces of the Philippines and Moro rebels from the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) that began on September 9, 2013 and ended twenty days later on September 28. The conflict began when MNLF rebels, under the command of Nur Misuari, attempted to occupy several coastal communities in Zamboanga City in protest of the Philippine government's failure to implement the 1996 final peace agreement with the MNLF. The conflict resulted in the displacement of 120,000 civilians and the destruction of 10,000 homes. More than 200 people were killed, mostly MNLF rebels along with 20 soldiers, 5 policemen and 13 civilians. The fighting also damaged Zamboanga City's airport and seaport.

Little Santa Cruz Island is an island situated 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) south of downtown Zamboanga City, on the Basilan Strait.

The Ateneo de Zamboanga University (Filipino: Pamantasang Ateneo de Zamboanga), also referred to by its acronym AdZU, is a private Catholic coeducational basic and higher education institution run by the Philippine Province of the Society of Jesus in Zamboanga City, Philippines. It is the second oldest Jesuit school in the Philippines. It operates on three campuses.

The Archdiocese of Zamboanga (Latin name: Archidiocesis Zamboangensis) is a Catholic archdiocese in the Philippines. Its present jurisdiction includes Zamboanga City, with suffragans in Basilan (Territorial Prelature of Isabela), Zamboanga Sibugay (Diocese of Ipil), and the Apostolic Vicariate of Jolo. It became Mindanao's first diocese in 1910, and was established as the second archdiocese of Mindanao in 1958. Today, the archdiocese covers a land area of 1,648 square kilometers and has a population of 442,345, of which 81 percent are Catholics. The archdiocese includes 28 parishes and one quasi-parish, served by 57 diocesan and 18 religious priests. There are also 51 religious sisters working in the archdiocese.

Zamboanga City, officially the City of Zamboanga (Chavacano: Ciudad de Zamboanga, Tausug: Dāira sin Sambuangan, Filipino: Lungsod ng Zamboanga, Cebuano: Dakbayan sa Zamboanga), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Zamboanga Peninsula region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 977,234 people. It is the fifth-most populous and third-largest city by land area in the Philippines and also the second most populous in Mindanao after Davao City. It is the commercial and industrial center of the Zamboanga Peninsula Region.On October 12, 1936, Zamboanga became a chartered city under Commonwealth Act No. 39. It was inaugurated on February 26, 1937.Zamboanga City is an independent, chartered city and was designated highly urbanized on November 22, 1983.Although geographically separated, and an independent and chartered city, Zamboanga City is grouped with the province of Zamboanga del Sur for statistical purposes, yet governed independently from it.In 2028, the city's population is projected to hit the 1,200,000 population mark, which will make the city fall under the NEDA's classification of a Metropolitan City.

The Zamboanga City Hall (Filipino: Bahay Pamahalaan ng Lungsod ng Zamboanga) is the seat of the local government of Zamboanga City. The National Historical Commission of the Philippines considers the city hall building as a National Historical Site.The construction of the historic building was commenced in 1905 by the federal government of the United States and was completed in 1907. The building served as the official residence of the US military governor of the Moro Province. It later became the seat of government of the Department of Mindanao and Sulu and the defunct Zamboanga province. Since 1937, the building has been functioning as the city hall of Zamboanga City. The Zamboanga City Hall has a Filipino colonial architectural design.It is situated at one end of Plaza Rizal (Rizal Park).

The Camp Cawa-Cawa siege (Filipino: Pagkubkob sa Kampo Cawa-Cawa, Chavacano: Sitio de Campo Cawa-Cawa) was a siege of a Philippine Constabulary-Integrated National Police camp by security forces of the Philippines on January 3–5, 1989, after a rogue policeman took the camp's ranking officer hostage.

West Metro Medical Center is a secondary-level private hospital in Zamboanga City, Philippines. As of 2015, the hospital has a capacity of 110 beds. Ongoing construction of an annex will increase bed capacity to 190, making it the largest private hospital in the Zamboanga Peninsula and Archipelago.