CALABARZON (/ka-la-bar-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. 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 combined together 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 CALABARZON Region and the second highlyurbanized 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. 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, Batangas, Morong (now named Rizal) and Tayabas (now named Quezon). The provinces of Cavite, Laguna and Batangas

are especially notable for being three of the first eight provinces that rose up in
revolt against the Spanish crown. This significance is noted in the eight-rayed sun of the Philippine flag. 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. 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 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. Currently, CALABARZON consists of five provinces: Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon. The lowest lowland area is the coastal plain in particular. These areas have extremely low ground level of 0 to 2 metres (0 to 6.6 ft) elevation compared to the high tide level of about 0.8 metres (2 ft 7 in) from the mean sea level (msl). These are the cities of Cavite, Bacoor and the municipalities of Kawit, Noveleta, Rosario, northern part of Carmona and eastern part of Ternate. The lowland area consists of the coastal and alluvial plains. These areas have flat ground slope of less than 0.5% and low ground elevation of 2 to 30 metres (6 ft 7 in to 98 ft 5 in). The alluvial plain can be found in the city of Imus and southern part of General Trias. Into these

municipalities forms the transition area between the coastal plain and the central hilly area. It also covers some areas of Bacoor, Kawit, Noveleta, Rosario, Tanza and Carmona. The third topography type is the central hilly area, generally found on the mountain foot slope. It forms the rolling tuffaceous plateau. This topography includes steep hills, ridges and elevated inland valley. The plateau is characterized with ground elevation ranging from 30 metres (98 ft) to nearly 400 metres (1,300 ft). Its ground slope ranges from 0.5 to 2%. The city of Trece Martires and Dasmarias and the municipalities of General Emilio Aguinaldo, General Mariano Alvarez, Indang, Maragondon, Ternate, Silang andCarmona have this kind of topography.

The last topography type is upland mountainous area, found in Magallanes, Amadeo, Tagaytay, Mendez, Alfonso, southern part of Maragondon and Carmona. They are situated at a very high elevation above 400 metres (1,300 ft) with slopes of more than 2%. The Tagaytay ridge has an average elevation of 610 metres (2,000 ft) with Mount Sungay (now Peoples Park in the Sky) at 14831.71N 121119.02E, the highest elevation in the province at 716 metres (2,349 ft). The mountain was much higher before with an elevation of 752 metres (2,467 ft), topped by rock formations that resembled horns (Sungay in Tagalog) hence the name. The prominence of the mountain was leveled in half during the construction of Peoples Park in the Sky during the Marcos administration. The municipality of Maragondon has the biggest area intended for agriculture, accounts for 14.57% of the total provincial agricultural lands while Cavite City has no longer available land for agriculture related activities and industries. If based on total agricultural lands, we may say that the major players in agriculture in the Province are Maragondon, Silang, Indang, Naic and Alfonso. Of the seven districts in the province, the top three with the widest agricultural area are District VII comprising 43,587.01 hectares or 61.85 percent of the total agricultural areas with 27,115 farmers followed by District VI with 17.40 percent or 12,257.71 hectares having 8,701 farmers and District V comprising 10,248.55 hectares with 10,295 farmers. The municipality of Silang has the most number of farmers. The municipality of Maragondon only ranks 3rd in terms of number of farmers. This can be attributed to highly mechanized operation and vast plantation of rice. The same is true with Gen. Trias and Naic, known as the rice producing municipalities in Cavite. The number of farmers increased by 6.5% that corresponds to around 3,097 farmers. The increase in the number of farmers was due to worldwide recession which led to work displacement of some Caviteos. Silang is dominated by pineapple and coffee plantations as well as with cutflower production.

In 1577, the Franciscan missionaries arrived in Manila, and in 1578 they started evangelizing Laguna, Morong (now Rizal), Tayabas(now Quezon) and the Bicol Peninsula. Juan de Plasencia and Diego de Oropesa were the earliest Franciscans sent to these places. From 1580, the towns of Bay, Caliraya, Majayjay, Nagcarlan, Liliw, Pila, Santa Cruz, Lumban, Pangil and Siniloan were founded. In 1678, Fray Hernando Cabrera founded San Pablo de los Montes (now San Pablo City) and built a wooden church and convent considered as the best and finest in the province. In 1670, delimitation of borders were made between Lucban, Majayjay and Cavite. The populous town at that time was Bay, the capital of the province until 1688, when the seat of the provincial government was moved to Pagsanjn, and later in 1858, to Santa Cruz. In 1754, the Province of Laguna and Tayabas were divided, with the Malinao River separating the towns of Majayjay andLucban. The province became a bloody battle ground for the Chinese during the two instances that they rose in revolt against Spain. In 1603s, the Chinese made their last stand in the mountains of San Pablo, and in 1639, they fortified themselves in the highlands of Cavinti and Lumban, surrendering in Pagsanjan a year later. The natives of Laguna proved loyal to the Spanish crown during the British invasion (17621764) when thousands rallied to its defense. When a detachment of British troops under Captain Thomas Backhouse entered the province in search of the silver cargo of the galleon Filipino, Francisco de San Juan of Pagsanjn led a band of volunteers that fought them in several engagements in and around the town which was then the provincial capital (16881858). Backhouse plundered the town and burned its newly reconstructed church but San Juan succeeded in escaping with the precious hoard to Pampanga where the treasure greatly bolstered the defense effort of Simn de Anda, leader of the resistance movement. For his heroism, San Juan was made a brigade commander and alcalde mayor of Tayabas (now Quezon) province. Saplot Batangenyo,Batangas novelty shirts, For the first time, the Batangueos had something they can wear and show off a shirt that they can show the world who they are, that they are Batangueos through and through, and they are proud of it, Thats because we define the message ourselves. The goal was to have religious, intelligent ridiculous, and gross message presented with class and style.(likhang sining ng Emmanuel's tatakan @ibp.)

Most of these roads are concrete, some are paved with asphalt and the rest remain gravel roads. Majority of the municipal/city roads are paved with concrete, while barangay roads consist of 46.7% concrete and asphalt roads and 53.3% earth and gravel roads. There are three main highways traversing the province: Aguinaldo Highway runs in a general northsouth direction; the Governor's Drive runs in a general east-west direction and the A. Soriano Highway runs within the coastal towns on the west. The existing road length computed in terms of road density with respect to population at the standard of 2.4 kilometers per 1,000 population has a deficit of 3,532.71 kilometers.

Although it is widely accepted that the term Tagalog came from the word 'Taga-Ilog' o river Dwellers, (referring to the Pasig River), Wang The-Ming pointed out in his writings that Batangas was the real centre of the Tagalog Tribe, which he then identified as Ma-yi. According to this Chinese Annals, Mayi had its centre in the Province and extends to as far as

Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, Quezon, Bataan, Bulacan, Mindoro, Marinduque, Nueva Ecija, Some parts of Zambales and Tarlac. However, many historians interchangeably use the term Tagalog and Batangueo. Henry Otley Beyer, an American archaeologist, also showed in his studies that the early Batangueos have a special affinity with the precious stone known as the jade. In fact, the named the Late Paleolithic Period of the Philippines as the Batangas Period in recognition of the multitude of jade found in the excavated caves in the province. Beyer identified that the jade-cult reached the Province as early as 800 BC and lasted until 200 BC. The history of Batangas as a province can never be separated from the history of the Christianization of the Islands. In the same years that de Goiti and Salcedo visited the province, the Franciscan missionaries came to Taal. The place later became the first settlement of the Spaniards in Batangas and one of the earliest in the Philippines.

In 1572 the Augustinians founded Taal in the place of Wawa, now San Nicolas, and from there began preaching in Balayan and in all the big settlements around the lake of Bombon (Taal). Indeed, the Augustinians did a very good job. Not only did they make Batangas the second most important religious centre of the Archipelago, they did it in a mere 10-year period. In fact, up to now, Batangas remains to be one of the most 'Christianised' and even the most 'Catholic' Province in the Philippines. The first missionaries in the diocese were the Augustinians, and they remained until the revolution against Spain. Among the first missionaries were eminent men like Alfonso de Albuquerque, Diego Espinas, Juan de Montojo and others. The first centers of faith were established in Taal, then in Balayan, Bauan, Lipa, Sala, Tanauan, all around the lake of Bombon (Taal). The first missionaries were the Augustinians. And during the first ten years, the whole region around the lake of Bombon was completely Christianized. It was done through the preaching of men who had learned the first rudiments of the language of the people. At the same time they started writing manuals of devotion in Tagalog,such as novenas. What is more, they wrote the first Tagalog grammar that served other missionaries who came. The year of foundation of important parishes follows: 1572 the Taal parish was founded by the Augustinians; 1581 the Batangas parish under Fray Diego Mexica; 1596 Bauan parish administered by the Augustinian missionaries; 1605 Lipa parish under the Augustinian administration;1774 Balayan parish was founded; 1852 Nasugbu parish; and 1868 LemeryParish. Nasugbu became a very important centre of trade during the Spanish occupation of the country. So important was this town that the first recorded battle between two European Forces in Asia was in Fortune Island, Nasugbu, Batangas. In the late part of the 20th Century, the inhabitants of Fortune

Island discovered a sunken galleon that contained materials sold in the Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade. Today, the Galleon stands majestically in the islands as a reminder of the grandeur of Batangan Past.

Recent history The 1986 People Power Revolution in EDSA marked another time where Batangueos enter the picture. When Corazon Aquino was inaugurated as president by the bloodless revolution, the Batangueo Salvador Laurel is no less than her Vice-President. She also appointed Renato de Villa as the Chief of Constabulary and Director-General of the Integrated National Police, and later the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It was under his leadership that the Military remained loyal to Aquino despite the many coup d'etat attempts of Gregorio Honasan. He was also one of the influences behind the Second People Power in 2001. During the Presidency of Joseph Estrada, he also chose four Batangueos to be his closest advisers. The group was composed of Domingo Panganiban (Department of Agriculture), Benjamin Diokno (Department of Budget and Management), Dong Apacible (Legislative Liaison), Tony "Lepili" Leviste (Board of Investments Governor), and Ped Faytaren (Economic Intelligence Chief). This is not to mention Dennis Hernandez, special assistant to Alfredo Lim of the Department of Interior and Local Government.

Post-American period After Douglas MacArthur made his famous landing in the Island of Leyte, he came next to the town of Nasugbu to mark the liberation of Luzon. This historic landing is remembered by the people of Batangas every last day of January, a holiday for the Nasugbugueos. And if Leyte is proud of the bronze statues of McArthur, Batangas can is also proud of their own version of that. After the Philippines was freed from America, the Batangueos once again entered the picture. Statesmen from Batangas became famous in the government. These include the legislators Felipe Agoncillo, Galicano Apacible (who later became the Secretary of Agriculture), Ramon Diokno, Apolinario R. Apacible, Expedito Leviste, Gregorio Katigbak,Teodoro Kalaw, Claro M. Recto, and Jose Laurel. Most of these legislators became well known not only in the country but also in the world as many of them held executive offices afterwards. some of them were even sent as Philippine Envoys to other countries.

It is also notable that when Quezon left the Philippines during the Japanese Occupation, the Japanese government in the Philippines chose the Batangueo Jose Laurel, Sr. to the de jure President of the Puppet Republic. As mentioned in the section of culture, Batangueos are indeed fond of drinking. This is of no surprise as it lies in what is called the coconut belt that is the raw material for the local liqueurs, the lambanog (with 90% proof) and the tuba (which is made of 5.68% alcohol and 13% sugar). Sugar is also a major industry. As a matter of fact, after the Hacienda Luisita, the country's former largest sugar producer, was broken-up for land reform, the

And as the mythology of the Philippines say that from the bamboo came men and women, Batangueos learned to make a living out of it. Some towns (those that are adjacent to Laguna) have a very prosperous bamboo based industry. Here, you can see houses that are made of bamboo, furniture made of bamboo, and even food cooked in bamboo. Natives say that food cooked in bamboo has an added scent and flavour. But if the locals cook in bamboos, some also eat bamboos. Baby bamboos to be exact. In these towns also, labong or the baby bamboo is cooked with coconut milk or even with other ingredients to make a truly Batangas delicacy. One must also remember that the Capital City of Batangas hosts the second most important international seaport in the Island of Luzon. Next only to that of Manila International Port, Batangas International Port is a primary entry point of goods not only coming from the Southern part of the country but from everywhere in the world.

They also tend to live in a large extended family. It is but common that a piece of land remains undivided until the family connection becomes to far-off related. Marriages between relatives of the fifth generation is still restrained in the Batangan culture even if Philippine laws allow it. Most Batangueos are either farmers or fishers who sell their own products in the market. Although most of them have also finished a degree, a lot of the people prefer to not use what they have studied

and put up their own small businesses instead. This is perhaps due to the subconscious idea that he who has no land to cultivate or trade to make is a lazy person. Batangueos are known for being religious,where devotees pay respect in such way that they make rituals,like dances and chants(Luwa) to please them,one of these is the Passion in which it is a common sight to hear these chants during the Lenten season, a religious act still practice today. During the month of May the people of Bauan and Alitagtag celebrate the feast day of the Mahal na Poon ng Sta. Cruz, a ritual dance called the Subli is made to repect to the Poon .In the town of Taal they celebrate the feast day of the Our Lady of Caysasay and San Martin de Tours a two day celebration where procession from the shine of the Virgin towards the Pansipit River where the fluvial procession and another procession towards the Basilica are made in honored of the Virgin Mary. He, together with Ambassador Lauro Baja, former Executive secretary Renato de Villa, Current Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Supreme Court Justice Renato Corona, and Transport Secretary Leandro Mendoza received the award in a ceremony which highlighted the celebration of the 423rd year of the founding of the Province.