Calabarzon

Region IV-A Calabarzon Southern Tagalog Mainland
Region
Seal
Location in the Philippines
Coordinates: 14°00′N 121°30′E / 14°N 121.5°E / 14; 121.5Coordinates: 14°00′N 121°30′E / 14°N 121.5°E / 14; 121.5
Country	Philippines
Island group	Luzon
Regional center	Calamba City, Laguna
Area
• Total	16,368.12 km2 (6,319.77 sq mi)
Population (2010)[1]
• Total	12,609,803
• Density	770/km2 (2,000/sq mi)
Time zone	PST (UTC+8)
ISO 3166 code	PH-40
Provinces	5
Cities	20
Municipalities	127
Barangays	4,011
Cong. districts	19
Languages	Tagalog, English, Chavacano

Calabarzon (/ká-lɑ-bɑr-zon/) is one of the regions of the Philippines. It is designated as Region IV-A and its regional center is Calamba City in Laguna. The region is composed of five provinces, namely: Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon; whose names form the acronym CALABARZON. The region is also more formally known as Southern Tagalog Mainland.^[2]

The region is in southwestern Luzon, just south and east of Metro Manila and is the second most densely populated region. CALABARZON and MIMAROPA were previously together known as Southern Tagalog, until they were separated in 2002 by virtue of Executive Order No. 103. Executive Order No. 246, dated October 28, 2003, designated Calamba City as the regional center of CALABARZON. The largest city of the CALABARZON Region and the second most highly urbanized city is Antipolo City, with Lucena City being the first. CALABARZON is the most populated region in the Philippines, with a population of 12,609,803 inhabitants.^[3]

The region is also home to a host of important Philippine historical figures, most notable of which is the Philippines' national hero, Jose Rizal, who was born in Calamba.

History

Historical events occurring in the CALABARZON region date back as early as the year 900 with the appearance of the Laguna Copperplate Inscription, which referenced the cancellation of a debt as enforced by the Lakan of the Kingdom of Tondo. Natives in Batangas have populated the Pansipit River and have engaged in trade with China during the 13th century. The Southern Tagalog region was populated by independent villages composed of 50 to 100 families called barangays.

During the Spanish Era, the Philippines was divided into various provinces (alcadia governed by a provincial governor (alcalde mayor). By the time of the Philippine Revolution in 1898, the region that is now known as CALABARZON comprised the provinces of Cavite, Laguna (previously as La Laguna), Batangas, Morong (now named Rizal) and Tayabas (now named Quezon).

On June 5, 1901, a convention was called on whether or not the province of Manila should annex the province of Morong, which was found to be unable to be self-sufficient as a province. Eventually, on June 11, Act No. 137 of the First Philippine Commission abolished Morong and created a new province, named after the Philippines' national hero, Jose Rizal, who, coincidentally, was a native of Laguna. The new province comprised 29 municipalities, 17 from Manila and 12 from Morong. In 1902, Macario Sakay, a veteran Katipunan member, established the Tagalog Republic in the mountains of Rizal. Ultimately, Sakay's Tagalog Republic ended in 1906 when he and his men were betrayed under the guise of holding a national assembly aimed at the self-determination of the Filipino people.^[4]

On September 7, 1946, the Third Philippine Republic enacted Republic Act No. 14, which renamed the province of Tayabas to Quezon, in honor of Manuel Quezon. Quezon was the second President of the Philippines and a native of Baler (now part of Aurora). In 1951, the northern part of Quezon became the sub-province Aurora, named after Quezon's wife.

On September 24, 1972, President Ferdinand Marcos enacted Presidential Decree No. 1, which organized the provinces into 11 regions as part of Marcos' Integrated Reorganization Plan. The IRP created Region IV, known as the Southern Tagalog region, and was the largest region in the Philippines. At this time, Region IV consisted of Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Marinduque, Oriental Mindoro, Occidental Mindoro, Quezon, Rizal, Romblon, and Palawan. In 1979, Aurora formally became a province independent of Quezon and was also included in Region IV.

Executive Order No. 103, dated May 17, 2002, made great changes to the Southern Tagalog region. Due to its size, Region IV was split into two separate regions, Region IV-A (CALABARZON) and Region IV-B (MIMAROPA). Aurora was transferred to Region III, Central Luzon.

Executive Order No. 246, dated October 28, 2003, Former President Gloria Arroyo declared Calamba City as the regional center of the region.^[5]

Currently, CALABARZON consists of five provinces: Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon.

CALABARZON Regional Government Center

The country's first One-stop-shop Regional Government Center, soon to rise in region capital in Calamba City.

Political divisions

Provinces

Political map of the region.

The five provinces which compose Calabarzon are as follows:

Cities

The region is home to 20 cities, two of which are highly urbanized. Antipolo, in particular, is known as the seventh most populous city in the Philippines. A large part of Calabarzon is considered a part of Greater Manila, and Batangas is home to the Metro Batangas metropolitan area. It has a gross regional product of ₱1.65 trillion (at current prices), which accounts for 17% of the national GDP.^[6]

Special City

^A Antipolo was declared a "highly-urbanized city" by President Benigno Aquino; such proclamation however still needs to be ratified in a plebiscite.^[7]
B On August 7, 2000, the municipality of Los Baños, Laguna was declared as a "Special Science and Nature City of the Philippines"^[8][9] through Presidential Proclamation No. 349^[10] in recognition of its importance as a center for science and technology, being home to many prestigious educational, environmental and research institutions. This proclamation does not convert the municipality to a city or give it corporate powers that are accorded to other cities.

Demographics

CALABARZON has a population of 12.61 million people, the largest of all the regions in the Philippines,^[11] with 49.9% being male and 50.1% being female. The population growth rate between 2000 and 2010 of 3.07% decreased from the growth rate between 1990 and 2000 of 3.91%, a trend which coincided with the rest of the nation. Life expectancy for men in CALABARZON is 68.9 years and 75.2 years for women. There are an estimated 356,000 Overseas Filipino Workers originally from CALABARZON.^[12]

A vast majority of people living in CALABARZON are Tagalogs. It is estimated that around 5.8 million Tagalogs live in Region IV-A.^[13] Taal, in particular, is considered the "Heartland of Tagalog Culture" and is currently the present "center" of Tagalog culture and people. CALABARZON is also home to a sizable amount of people with Chinese and Spanish ancestry on account of Chinese immigration and Spanish colonialization, respectively. Because of this large majority of Tagalog natives, the majority of people living in CALABARZON also speak the Tagalog language. Filipino, being a version of Tagalog, is also predominant in the region. English is also commonly spoken throughout CALABARZON and is the language of business and education. In Cavite, Chavacano, a Creole language is also commonly spoken.

The large majority of the population of CALABARZON is a part of the Roman Catholic church which accounts for 80% of the national population. Other Christian denominations present in the region are the Iglesia Ni Cristo, the Philippine Independent Church and Seventh-day Adventist Church. There are also Muslims living in CALABARZON although they are in the minority.

Economy

CALABARZON is the second largest contributor to the national GDP, accounting for 17% of the gross domestic product. The region boasts a 2.1% inflation rate, lower than the national average of 3%. The region has a 9.2% unemployment rate which is higher than the national average of 7%. CALABARZON, much like the rest of the country, is caught in the middle of being an industrial and an agricultural economy.

Due to CALABARZON's proximity to Metro Manila, a large amount of urbanization has taken place over the years. Cavite and Laguna in particular are sites of manufacturing and high-tech industries, with companies like Intel and Panasonic setting up plants in the region. Santa Rosa, Laguna, is home to a host of semi-conductor and automotive companies such as Amkor and Toyota, while Gen. Trias is home to Cavite's largest economic development zone, the PEC Industrial Park.

CALABARZON still has a large agricultural base. As of 2002, the region had 282,700 farms, covering 588,500 hectares, or 36.3% of the region's total land area.^[14] Cavite alone has almost 70,500 hectares of agricultural land. Laguna is home to the International Rice Research Institute, which can be found within the University of the Philippines Los Baños, whose main goal is find sustainable ways to help rice farmers. Batangas, meanwhile, is home to a large pineapple and coconut industry, which is used to make Barong Tagalogs and native liqueurs such as lambanog and tuba in Tayabas City. Quezon is the country's leader in coconut products such as coconut oil and copra. Rizal is known for its piggeries. Region IV-A's agricultural base, however, is slowly decreasing. Due to their proximity to large bodies of water, Laguna and Batangas also have sizable fishing industries. Taal Lake is a large source of fresh water fishes for the country.

Rizal Shrine in Calamba, Laguna

Tourism

Due to the region's history and natural resources, tourism plays a major role in the regional economy. Cavite and Laguna are homes to various historical sites, such as the Rizal Shrine in Calamba City, tallest Jose Rizal Statue in the World, located in Calamba City and the Aguinaldo Shrine in Kawit, Cavite. San Pablo, Laguna is famous for its seven lakes, Pagsanjan for its majestic and world-famous waterfalls and Taal Lake in Batangas is a famous tourist destination. Tayabas City is known as the City of Festivals, Rest and Recreation Destination of Quezon and the Home of the Finest Lambanog. Minor Basilica of Saint Michael Archangel is the religious testaments of the Tayabenses and declared as National Cultural Treasures of the Philippines, the Casa Comunidad de Tayabas, the former office of the former President Manuel Luis Quezon and the place where Hermano Pule was sentenced to death, and the Malagonlong Bridge and the 9 other century-old Spanish arch type and National Cultural Treasure bridges. Their famous festivals which draws a lot of crowd since it was started like the Taytsinoy Festival, Mayohan Festival, Pa’yas Festival Hagisan Festival, Baliskog Festival, Angel Festival, Aguyod Festival and the Turumba Festival every Holy Week which made Tayabas the City of Festivals and their delectable cuisines like Budin, Yema Cake and Lambanog. Lucban is famous for the Kamay ni Hesus Shrine, a 50-foot statue of the Ascending Christ on top of a hill. Batangas is also famous for its scenic beaches in Nasugbu and Calatagan. Antipolo is another major tourist spot, found in Rizal. CALABARZON is also home to a multitude of baroque churches made during the Spanish Era.

The region is also home to a lot of mountains, such as Mount Makiling in Laguna, Mount Banahaw in Quezon and Mount Macolod in Batangas. Makiling and Banahaw are especially popular to tourists and mountain climbers. There is a legend surrounding Mt. Makiling regarding Maria Makiling, the mountain's so-called guardian fairy, while Mt. Banahaw is considered a Holy mountain, with pilgrims making the hike every Holy Week.

CALABARZON is also home to various theme parks, the most famous of which is Enchanted Kingdom, found in Santa Rosa, Laguna. Enchanted Kingdom is a 17-hectare theme park modeled after Knott's Berry Farm. Lemery, Batangas houses another theme park, Fantasy World.

Pasalubong also plays a major part of CALABARZON's tourism industry. Goods such as bibingka and cassava cake are sold to tourists, and shops usually line up roads. Vendors range from business franchises to street vendors who cook the goods on the spot. Souvenirs are also common, especially in tourist destinations such as Taal Lake. Shirts and keychains are commonly sold.

Official Seal

CALABARZON Regional Government Center Seal

The seal was released on 2013, where the City Government of Calamba and the private Malaysian company AlloyMTD, started the construction of the regional government center in Brgy. Mapagong. The seal shows the map of CALABARZON on right, mountains depicting the mountain ranges of Sierra Madre and Mt. Makiling, and also a Philippine sun on the upper portion and Jose Rizal's face on the left portion of the seal, since Rizal, the Philippine national hero came from Calamba City; the regional government center.

See also

• List of Cultural Properties of the Philippines in CALABARZON

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to CALABARZON.

Calabarzon (Region IV-A) Southern Tagalog Mainland CAvite, LAguna, BAtangas, Rizal, QueZON Regional Center Calamba Provinces Batangas Cavite Laguna Quezon Rizal Metropolitan Area Metro Batangas Highly Urbanized Cities Lucena Component Cities Antipolo Bacoor Batangas City Biñan Cabuyao Calamba Cavite City Dasmariñas General Trias Imus Lipa San Pablo San Pedro Santa Rosa Tagaytay Tanauan Tayabas Trece Martires Provincial Capitals Antipolo (de facto) Batangas City Imus (de jure) Lucena Santa Cruz Trece Martires (de facto) Municipalities Agdangan Agoncillo Alabat Alaminos Alfonso Alitagtag Amadeo Angono Atimonan Balayan Balete Baras Bauan Bay Binangonan Buenavista Burdeos Cainta Calaca Calatagan Calauag Calauan Candelaria Cardona Carmona Catanauan Cavinti Cuenca Dolores Famy General Emilio Aguinaldo General Luna General Mariano Alvarez General Nakar Guinayangan Gumaca Ibaan Indang Infanta Jalajala Jomalig Kalayaan Kawit Laurel Lemery Lian Liliw Lobo Lopez Los Baños Lucban Luisiana Lumban Mabini Mabitac Macalelon Magallanes Magdalena Majayjay Malvar Maragondon Mataasnakahoy Mauban Mendez Morong Mulanay Nagcarlan Naic Nasugbu Noveleta Padre Burgos Padre Garcia Paete Pagbilao Pagsanjan Pakil Pangil Panukulan Patnanungan Perez Pila Pililla Pitogo Plaridel Polillo Quezon Real Rizal Rodriguez Rosario (Batangas) Rosario (Cavite) Sampaloc San Andres San Antonio San Francisco San Jose San Juan San Luis San Mateo San Narciso San Nicolas San Pascual Santa Cruz Santa Maria Santa Teresita Santo Tomas Sariaya Silang Siniloan Taal Tagkawayan Talisay Tanay Tanza Taysan Taytay Teresa Ternate Tiaong Tingloy Tuy Unisan Victoria Barangays Batangas (List) Cavite (List) Laguna (List) Quezon (List) Rizal (List) Luzon, Republic of the Philippines

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