Biñan, Laguna

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Biñán is a first class urban municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. Accessible from Metro Manila via the South Luzon Expressway, Biñan has become both a suburban residential community of Metro Manila and a location for some of the Philippines' largest industrial estates and export processing zones. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 201,186 people in 42,307 households.

Biñan is the second town of Laguna if you are coming south from Metro Manila. The town is one of three comprising the first district of Laguna.

Contents 1 Barangays 2 History 3 Economy 4 Education 5 External links

[edit] Barangays

Biñan is politically subdivided into 24 barangays.

Biñan (Poblacion) Bungahan Santo Tomas (Calabuso) Canlalay Casile De La Paz Ganado San Francisco (Halang) Langkiwa Loma Malaban Malamig

Mampalasan Platero Poblacion Santo Niño San Antonio San Jose San Vicente Soro-soro Santo Domingo Timbao Tubigan Zapote

[edit] History

The name of the town was believed to have originated as a contraction of the term "binyagan", which means "baptism".

Biñan was discovered by the Spaniards who founded it at the end of June 1571, a month after Miguel Lopez de Legaspi established Manila based on the old writings.

In 1769, when the provincial capital was transferred from Bay to Pagsanjan, Biñan was separated from Bay and became a portion of Santa Rosa. In 1771, during the time of Pablo Faustino, Biñan was separated from Santa Rosa and became a town.

Historically, Biñan is nationally recognized in the books related to the biography of José Rizal, the country's national hero. It was said that Jose Rizal took residence in the areas near the town proper during his childhood and was formally educated in one of its schools. To date the name of the school that Jose went to is not known. In honor of Jose Rizal, a plaque of recognition was bestowed on the house where he stayed at. A monument now stands at the center of Biñan's town plaza in recognition of Biñan's affiliation to Rizal.

[edit] Economy

Biñan has been popularly recognized as the trading center area immediately south of Metro Manila. Retailers from nearby towns often plow the town proper to purchase goods and merchandise intended to be sold elsewhere.

A common sight is the preparations and setting up of the wholesalers and the arrival of jeepneys and trucks carrying various items such as fruits, vegetables, dry goods, dairy products, meat, fish, etc. The market activity would be 24 hours with peak reaching the early hours (5:00-8:00am) as Filipinos are known to work in the early hours of the day trying to prevent exposure to the beating sun.

The town is also known for pancake made from rice wheat topped with cheese or butter (Puto Biñan). The best known makers of Puto in Biñan are located in the barangay of San Vicente.

[edit] Education

Biñan is also considered the educational center of the first congressional district of Laguna, having the most number of secondary and tertiary schools in the area. Famous schools include the Brent International School, Colegio San Agustin, Biñan, De La Salle-Canlubang, Saint Michael's College of Laguna, Sta. Catalina College, Colegio San Antonio, La Consolacion College, and University of Perpetual Help Laguna.

[edit] External links

• Philippine Standard Geographic Code
• 2000 Philippine Census Information

Coordinates: 14°20′N 121°05′E

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.