Lipa (), officially the City of Lipa (), is a
component city in the
province
A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
of
Batangas
Batangas, officially the Province of Batangas ( ), is a first class province of the Philippines located in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Calabarzon region. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 2,908,494 people, making ...
,
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 372,931 people.
It is the first city with a charter in the province and one of five cities in Batangas alongside
Batangas City,
Calaca,
Santo Tomas, and
Tanauan. It is located south of
Manila
Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
and is the most populous city of Batangas.
The
Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR) and
South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) provide access to Batangas City and
Metro Manila
Metropolitan Manila ( ), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; ), is the capital region and largest List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located ...
.
Etymology
Batangueños from the early years had their settlement in Bombon Lake and began dispersing to other places when the volcano erupted. While a group of people was moving to another settlement area, the image of St. Sebastian was stolen from them and later on was found on a tree called "lipa." People believed that the patron saint wished to name that place "Lipa".
History
The primal composition in the southeastern region of Bombon Lake were elements of the dispersed colonial families founded by two datus, namely, Dumangsil and Balkasusa in
Taal, Batangas
Taal , officially the Municipality of Taal (), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 61,460 people.
Taal is f ...
, between the 10th and 13th century. These pioneer settlers under the leadership of the fleeing Datu Puti, formerly purchased the lowlands from King Marikudo of Panay.
It is however subject to conjecture whether the pre-historic
Negrito
The term ''Negrito'' (; ) refers to several diverse ethnic groups who inhabit isolated parts of Southeast Asia and the Andaman Islands. Populations often described as Negrito include: the Andamanese peoples (including the Great Andamanese, th ...
s 12,000 to 15,000 years age or the much later waves of Austronesian seafarers from 5,000 to 300 B.C. were able to settle along the coasts of Batangas into the inner lake region of
Taal which was accessible to navigation through the Pansipit River, thus, the possibility of miscegenetic marriages and cross culture among the
aboriginal inhabitants, the old settlers and the later Dumangsil and Balkasusa clans, or whether violent wars have been waged between the old inhabitants and new colonizers is uncertain as well.
Out of this Bornean tribe of the Dumangsil and Balkasusa clans came the ancestry of Lipa and as later on, their descendants who spread out towards
Laguna de Bay and
Bicol Peninsula. The remains excavated from their ancient settlements in Butong,
Taal,
Calatagan and
Balayan
Balayan, officially the Municipality of Balayan (), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 95,913 people.
The town ...
attest to the fact of their presence in the said site at least in the latter part of the 13th century down to the coming of Goiti and
Legaspi in Batangas in 1570. The flourishing trade relations between these early Batangueños with a number of
Chinese merchants prior to the
Spanish conquest explained the presence of hundreds of
Chinese wares from potteries to stonewares and vases of
Song dynasty
The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...
period to the latter part of the 16th century, in the burial grounds at
Calatagan sites of Pulung Bakaw, Kay Tomas, Pinagpatayan I and II at Butong, all in Taal, Batangas.
By origin the early Lipeños were
Buddhist
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
in religion and
Indian in civilization. With its not infrequent contact with the Chinese traders, the Batangueños have absorbed and been influenced too by China. With the
Spanish colonization of the Philippines
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
and the Salcedo conquest of
Batangas
Batangas, officially the Province of Batangas ( ), is a first class province of the Philippines located in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Calabarzon region. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 2,908,494 people, making ...
in 1572, the Lipeños were forced to embrace
Western civilization
Western culture, also known as Western civilization, European civilization, Occidental culture, Western society, or simply the West, refers to the internally diverse culture of the Western world. The term "Western" encompasses the social no ...
.
Spanish rule
At the coming of the
Spaniards
Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance-speaking ethnic group native to the Iberian Peninsula, primarily associated with the modern nation-state of Spain. Genetically and ethnolinguistically, Spaniards belong to the broader Southern a ...
to
Batangas
Batangas, officially the Province of Batangas ( ), is a first class province of the Philippines located in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Calabarzon region. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 2,908,494 people, making ...
in 1570, the
Malay settlements along the southern shores of
Taal Lake
Taal Lake (, ), formerly known as Bombón Lake, is a fresh water Volcanic crater lake, caldera lake in the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Batangas, on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. The lake fills Taal Volcano, a large volc ...
at Tagbakin was inhabited by the warlike descendants of the two datus called the Tagalogs. In 1605, after Marshall Gabriel de Rivera received the encomienda of Bombon, the Augustinian Fathers made Tagbakin the first settlement of the Lipeños and a mission center with the name of San Sebastian, perhaps after the installed Patron Saint, which continued to the present. The settlement was made a regular municipality in 1702 and a regular parish in 1716 with Fray Diego de Alday as the first curate.
With the eruption of
Taal Volcano
Taal Volcano (; ) is a large caldera filled by Taal Lake in the Philippines. Located in the province of Batangas about south of Manila, the volcano is the second most List of active volcanoes in the Philippines, active volcano in the country ...
in 1724, the people moved to what is now "Lumang Lipa" (part of present-day
Mataasnakahoy) and, again, in 1754, they moved to
Balete where they settled for two years until 1756 when they moved inland to the present site obviously for more security from volcanic eruptions. When Don Galo de los Reyes was the governadorcillo of Lipa, he introduced the cultivation of
coffee
Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...
. The seeds of the
Arabica species were said to be of two chupas brought in from
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
by an Augustinian missionary. The coffee industry so flourished and made Lipa the richest municipality in the country with an annual income of that on October 21, 1887, the
Queen regent
In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...
Maria Christina, acting for the young
King Alfonso XIII, signed a decree elevating Lipa to a city known as "Villa de Lipa", and later authorized to use a
coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...
by the Royal
Overseas Minister Don
Víctor Balaguer.
At the celebration of the elevation of Lipa to a city in January 1888,
José Rizal
José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda (, ; June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896) was a Filipino nationalist, writer and polymath active at the end of the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. He is popularly considered a na ...
was invited by Dr. Jose Lozada, Catalino Dimayuga and the brothers Celestino and Simeon Luz but Rizal responded only with his Hymno Al Trabajo which he dedicated to the zeal and industry of the Lipeños.
The raising of
cacao was introduced in Lipa by an Augustinian priest, Father Ignacio de Mercado, and that was the beginning of its
cultivation throughout the Philippines.
The Lipeños also engaged themselves in livestock raising and varied home crafts for men, and small industries, like weaving, embroidery and sewing for women. After
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, citrus production prevailed until 1970 and, after its decline, about 1965, poultry and swine raising began to take roots and to thrive in no small degree until the present.
The first newspaper in Batangas, published in
Spanish, was the ''Lumubog-Lumutang'', printed in Lipa in 1889, and established by the well-known writers Cipriano Kalaw, Gregorio Katigbak, Benito Reyes, Hugo Latorre and Pedro Laygo. Other pioneer Spanish writers were Bernardo Solis, Catalino Dimayuga, and Manuel Luz.
During the revolution, Gregorio Aguilera Solis edited a newspaper ''Columnas Voluntas de la Federacion Malaya''. This paper became the media for notable poems and literary works of Albino Dimayuga, Baldomero Roxas, Luis Lina Kison, Bernardo Solis, Benedicto Solis, Emiliano Manguiat and Petronio Katigbak.
Roman Dimayuga wrote plays, while Pedro Laygo published articles on domestic and international politics, and Tomas Umali on
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...
affairs. Hispanistas during the
American regime included national figures like Teodoro Kalaw, Fidel Reyes, Arsenio Luz, Maximo Bernardo Solis, Enrique Laygo, and
Claro M. Recto. Lipeños also served in the
Revolutionary Republic
A revolutionary republic is a form of government whose main tenets are popular sovereignty, rule of law, and representative democracy. It is based in part on the ideas of Enlightenment thinkers, and was favored by revolutionaries during the ...
. These were Gregorio Aguilera who was a delegate to the
Malolos Congress
The Malolos Congress (), also known as the Revolutionary Congress () and formally the National Assembly, was the legislative body of the Revolutionary Government of the Philippines.
From 1898 to 1899, prior to the Philippine Declaration of I ...
; Ceferino Pantoja, also a member of that congress; Jose Lozada, as envoy to
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, and
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, and Cipriano Kalaw, the first vice-president and Treasurer of the Central Committee of
Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
.

In the field of education, Father Valerio Malabanan was foremost among Lipeños who established schools. Others were Sebastian Virrey, Jacinto Silva, Candido Lantin and Gregorio Katigbak. In 1894, Brigido Morada established his own school at his house in Mataas na Lupa. Under Father Valerio Malabanan were such well-known figures as
Apolinario Mabini
Apolinario Mabini y Maranán (; July 23, 1864 – May 13, 1903) was a Filipino revolutionary, revolutionary leader, educator, lawyer, and Politician, statesman who served first as a legal and constitutional adviser to the Philippine Revolution# ...
, General
Miguel Malvar
Miguel Malvar y Carpio (September 27, 1865 – October 13, 1911) was a Filipino general who served during the Philippine Revolution and, subsequently, during the Philippine–American War. He assumed command of the Philippine revolutionary forc ...
and Sotero Laurel.
Sebastian Virrey countered with such former students as the brothers Alfonso and
Claro M. Recto; Fidel and Carmelo Reyes; Teodoro and Maximo Kalaw; Pacifico, Jose and Enrique Laygo; and Manuel Luz Roxas, Jose D. Dimayuga, Bernabe Africa, Pablo Borbon, Potenciano Malvar, Leoncio Aranda and Bishop Alfredo Obviar.
The later school, perhaps marked for permanence by the enthusiastic patronage of its high standard maintained through the years since its founding in 1922 until the present, is the Mabini Academy established by Dr. Jose Ma. Katigbak, Randall A. Rowley, Tarcila Malabanan-Katigbak and Emilia Malabanan. The fact that Lipeños, even up to the present, are very religious, may be attributed to the fact that Fr. Benito Baras, who was Parish Priest of Lipa for almost three decades (1865–1894), has considered Villa de Lipa as his very own and had shown great paternal love for the Lipeños that he constructed the Parish Church (now Cathedral of the
Archdiocese of Lipa) and a new and bigger cemetery with a chapel.
A plaque of dedication to the opening and blessing of the new Campo Santo De Lipa (Cemetery of Lipa) can still be seen at the archway of the entrance, an attestment of Fr. Benito Baras' dedication to the people of Villa de Lipa. Moreover, without aid from the State, he constructed the bridge at Sabang and the road that served as a national highway to Manila and
Laguna.
American occupation
The Parish of Lipa, established in 1716, became a diocesan center in 1910, included the provinces of Batangas, Laguna, Tayabas (
Quezon
Quezon, officially the Province of Quezon () and historically known as Tayabas, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon Regions of the Philippines, region on Luzon. Lucena, a highly urbanized ci ...
),
Marinduque
Marinduque (; ), officially the Province of Marinduque, is an island province in the Philippines located in Southwestern Tagalog Region or Mimaropa, formerly designated as Region IV-B. Its capital is the municipality of Boac, the most popul ...
and
Mindoro
Mindoro is the seventh largest and eighth-most populous island in the Philippines. With a total land area of 10,571 km2 ( 4,082 sq.mi ), it has a population of 1,408,454, as of the 2020 census. It is located off the southwestern coast of ...
, with Msgr. Jose Petrelli as the first bishop.
Barrios Luta, Bilukaw, Kalikangan (Caligañgan), Payapa, and San Gallo (San Galo) were excised from Lipa to form the new independent municipality of
Malvar by virtue of an Executive Order issued by acting
Governor-General
Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...
Charles Yeater on December 16, 1918, with the municipality's inauguration taking effect on January 10, 1919.
Mataasnakahoy, which includes Lumang Lipa, likewise became a separate municipality through Executive Order No. 308 signed by acting
Governor-General of the Philippines
The governor-general of the Philippines (; ; ) was the title of the Executive (government), government executive during the colonial period of the Philippines, first by History of the Philippines (1521–1898), the Spanish in Mexico City and l ...
George C. Butte on March 27, 1931, taking effect on January 1, 1932.
Cityhood
On August 31, 1947, Lipa was inaugurated as a chartered City created under Republic Act No. 162 approved on June 20, 1947.
On June 21, 1969, barrios Alangilan, Balete, Calawit, Looc, Magapi, Makina, Malabanan, Palsara, Sampalukan, and Solis, along with sitios Paligawan, Sala, and Wani-Wani, were excised from Lipa to form part of the new independent municipality of
Balete, by virtue of Republic Act No. 5659.
Geography
Lipa covers an area of at an elevation of above sea level. Lipa's fishing area is located at barangay Halang, in the west of the city; it is actually a portion of Taal Lake, which is connected to other municipalities (
Cuenca,
Mataasnakahoy and
Balete).
Lipa is bounded by the city of
Santo Tomas in the northeast, the city of
San Pablo of
Laguna, and the municipalities of
Tiaong and
San Antonio, Quezon in the east, the municipalities of
Padre Garcia and
Rosario
Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city, located northwest of Buenos Aires on the west bank of the Paraná River, is the third-most populous city in the ...
in the southeast, the municipalities of
Ibaan and
San Jose in the southwest, the municipalities of
Cuenca and Mataasnakahoy and
Taal Lake
Taal Lake (, ), formerly known as Bombón Lake, is a fresh water Volcanic crater lake, caldera lake in the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Batangas, on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. The lake fills Taal Volcano, a large volc ...
in the west and the municipalities of
Balete and
Malvar in the northwest.
The city's location, in a valley between the
Malepunyo Mountain Range and
Mount Macolod, makes it a low-risk area for natural disasters. These two mountains serve as a windbreak during typhoons. Mount Macolod, in the west, also served as shield during eruptions of the
Taal Volcano
Taal Volcano (; ) is a large caldera filled by Taal Lake in the Philippines. Located in the province of Batangas about south of Manila, the volcano is the second most List of active volcanoes in the Philippines, active volcano in the country ...
.
Barangays
Lipa is politically subdivided into 72
barangay
The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...
s, as shown in the matrix below. Each barangay consists of
purok
A ''purok'' () is an informal division within a barangay in the Philippines. While not officially considered a local government unit (LGU), a ''purok'' often serves as a unit for delivering services and administration within a barangay. ''Pur ...
s and some have
sitios
A ''sitio'' (Spanish language, Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own bar ...
.

San Jose was formerly known as Patay. In 1955, the
sitio
A ''sitio'' ( Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own barangay if its popu ...
s of Duhatan, Tagbakin, Initan, Malabong and Halang (then part of the Pinagtungolan barrio) became an independent
barrio
''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city delimited by functional (e.g. residential, comm ...
.
In 1957, the sitios of Waniwani, Sayatin and Look were moved from the Balete barrio to the barrio of Look.
Climate
Lipa has a
tropical monsoon climate
An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate subtype that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ' ...
(Köppen system: ''Am'') under the
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
, with a dry season between January and April, and rain for the rest of the year. The average yearly temperature is . The highest recorded temperature is , and the lowest recorded temperature is .
Demographics
The population of Lipa, Batangas, in the 2020 census was 372,931 people, with a density of .
Language
Tagalog is the most widely spoken language in the city.
English is the medium of instruction in schools and is widely understood and spoken especially in the business community and for official documents.
Religion
Catholicism

Majority of the city's population are
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
s, and the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lipa today comprises the civil province of Batangas. Formed as the Diocese of Lipa on April 10, 1910, the archdiocese once covered other provinces such as Batangas, Laguna, Quezon, Marinduque and Mindoro, with Most Reverend Joseph Petrelli, D.D. as the first bishop. Currently, the archdiocese is divided into 6
vicariates, each headed by a
vicar forane
A dean, in an ecclesiastical context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, and many Lutheran denominations. A dean's assistant i ...
. There are 49 parishes in all, served by 143 priests (122 of which are diocesan), 13 religious brothers, and 197 religious sisters. There are also 23 existing Catholic schools, two high school seminaries, three college seminaries, and two pastoral centers.
The Church and Monastery of Lipa is the location of a 1940s apparition of the Virgin Mary which was seen by sister Teresing Castillo and numerous accounts of rose petal showers from the 1940s to the 1960s. Some of the rose petals, which had the silhouette of the Virgin Mary when flashed with light, have been preserved by the Diocese of Lipa and various townfolks who have witnessed the petal showers. An investigation conducted by researchers of the University of the Philippines proved that the figures on the petals were natural and not stamped by man-made means. A few years after the apparition of the Virgin Mary, the Vatican released a document stating that the apparition in Lipa was false. Despite this, the rose petal showers continued until the last apparition of Mary appeared, saying three things, of which the most important was to 'pray for China', which at the time was among the poorest regions in the world. Due to the decline of the Vatican regarding the apparition, the Diocese of Lipa ordered the destruction of Mary's statue in the church which depicted the apparition. However, the founding nuns of the church hid it instead. Decades afterwards in the 21st century, before the death of a founding nun, she wished for the statue of the apparition to be viewed by the public once more. Thousands of devotees went back to the church and since then, the statue has been in public view. During a certain event, the priest ordered a mass outside the church to bless the municipality of Lipa, where the apparition statue was brought outside as well. During that time, sun beatings from heaven, which was viewed by thousands of people during a mass outside the church, occurred. Devotees flocked Lipa afterwards, where cures for blindness and terminal sickness were cured through the usage of prayers with the preserved petals from the petal showers of the 1940s to the 1960s. In 2014, it was later found out that most of the bishops who signed in favor of declaring the apparitions of the 1940s as a lie were forced to sign such documents. This sparked the current Lipa Church to gather as much evidence to back the existence and miracles of the apparitions.
Protestants and other groups
There are other Christian groups such as various Protestant denominations including
Evangelicals
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of the Christian g ...
,
Born Again
To be born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelical Christianity, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is d ...
,
Iglesia ni Cristo
The (INC; ; ) is an independent Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, church founded in 1913 and registered by Felix Manalo, Félix Manalo in 1914 as a corporation sole, sole religious corporation ...
,
Members Church of God International (MCGI), Kingdom of Jesus Christ,
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co-fou ...
,
Seventh-Day Adventist
The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbat ...
, and
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...
.
Other religions include
Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
and
Buddhism
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
.
Economy
Lipa's proximity to the country's capital,
Manila
Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
, having an approximate distance of or approximately an hour-and-half drive via the
South Luzon Expressway enhances its strategic access to development trends. It is fast emerging as a key city in the
province
A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
, becoming a major institutional/administrative center, medical center, commercial center, financial center, agro-industrial center and residential center.
It is identified as an ideal hub and center of the
Calabarzon Agro-Industrial Region in the Regional Physical Framework Plan of
Region IV-A. In the recent past, Lipa is being transformed from an
agrarian to an urbanized area. A significant portion of the agricultural land area of the city has been converted to residential subdivisions, industrial area with the establishment of
Lima Technology Center utilizing lands in the city and
Malvar Municipality. Recently, the influx of
business process outsourcing (BPO) firms such as call centers have contributed much to the growth of the local economy. BPO sites are scattered throughout the city. It ranked 6th out of 10 in the Top 10 next wave cities of 2010 by the Commission of Information and Communication Technology (ICCT). Teletech Inc. pioneered the BPO company in Lipa City in 2006. Alorica followed after few years. The most recent BPO company is The Results.
Likewise, due to a very strategic location, the Lipa City Market is comparatively busy than other neighboring towns. Thus, it boasts a large quantity of market business. As a result, it attracts more customers from neighboring towns like Padre Garcia, Rosario, Ibaan, San Juan, Malvar, Mataas na Kahoy, Balete, Cuenca, and Lemery and from the cities of Batangas, Santo Tomas and Tanauan. An S&R Membership Shopping outlet is located beside it.
It is also noticeable that Lipa City is being home to new settlers from different regions. Muslims from Mindanao for example have settled in Lipa City, primarily due to growing economy. There are also settlers from Mindoro, Bicol, Quezon and other places. Likewise, there are many Koreans who established their business in Lipa. Furthermore, it is evident that Indian Nationals are also an everyday sight.
Culture
Food
Lipa is the home of ''
lomi
Lomi or pancit Lor mee, lomi (Hokkien ) is a Culture of the Philippines, Filipino dish made with a variety of thick fresh egg noodles of about a quarter of an inch in diameter, soaked in lye water to give it more texture. Because of its popula ...
''. According to history, this is primarily due to the influence of early Chinese settlers.
Lomi is cooked using raw noodles, cassava mixed with water, beaten egg, salt and pepper, meat, liver and other ingredients that make it tasty. Eventually, there are countless of variations of Lomi these days. The lomi house is a very common place found in every barangay. However, there are a few recognized by the Lipenos, like Renfel, Kids Lomihouse, LBN, Beegees, Liam's to mention a few.
''Goto'' is also a popular recipe. It is usually composed of internal organs of cows. This is a bowl of hot soup with beef, tripe, entrails, and blood, added with fish sauce and ''calamansi'' juice with chili.
However, due to influx of culture from nearby provinces, Lipeños also enjoy new recipes like ''sisig'' of Pampanga, and ''Bicol Express'' of Bicol.
Due to Lipa's craze for food, several food courts have been established.
Technology
Lipa has few technologically advanced
infrastructure
Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and pri ...
. PKI is one of the advanced factories that pioneered the productions in Lipa City. Since it was established in Barangay Inosluban, Lipa City was known to be an employment-friendly zone. This was followed by the establishment of LIMA Industrial Park, which houses multiple production lines. It houses various companies that employ hundreds of production workers. Not only from the city proper, it hires employees from its nearby cities like Tanauan, Rosario, Batangas, San Jose, Malvar etc.
The San Benito Private Estate project is a 25-hectare integrated active
wellness township
A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries.
Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...
in
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...
with The Farm at San Benito group in Barangay Tipacan, Lipa.
Museums
Museo de Lipa, inaugurated in November 2007, is a project of the Lipa City Tourism Council envisioned by its Past President, Lucila R. Resurreccion. On display are antique mementos such as: the Coffee Corner – an exhibit of the different tools used in coffee production; Las trajes de mestizas and ternos – gowns worn by women during the pre-war days and during festive occasions; the Satsuma Vase – a gift given by the Luna brothers to the unparalleled hospitality shown by the aristocratic couple Doña Germana Solis and Dr. Jose Lozada; and the office tables of Don Claro Mayo Recto and Mayor Carlos Solis, the 24-hour Mayor.
Other artifacts exhibited are certain collections of furniture and objects of art loaned and donated by different antique collectors and by some of the landed gentry of Lipa: antique cabinets, tables, mirrors, antique silverware chinaware, tea sets, religious images and articles, jars, and brass artifacts.
The ground floor serves as a function area and features works of several contemporary Lipeño visual artists.
Religious monuments
In 1605, Don Diego de Salcedo discovered a community of farmers living in fairly good economic conditions at Lake Bombon, now Tagbakin, Lipa City. The Augustinians among them started a religious mission called “Convent of San Sebastian in Comintang”.
However, the residents noticed that the land area- residential and agricultural-was getting smaller due to the rising waters of Taal Lake, they transferred to Balete. But the site was submerged by the lake in 1754 after the eruption of Taal Volcano. To avoid a similar occurrence, the townsfolk decided to transfer the town to a place far from the lake and the volcano. Legend has it that they agreed to pray the rosary while walking and whenever they may be at the end of the 24th mystery, there the town would be relocated. And they walked upland, away from the lake and the volcano, and at the end of the 24th mystery, they reached what is now called Mataas na Lupa. The temporary poblacion and the church were thus resettled there.
The location benefited everybody since it was along the main road that led to the coastal towns, the ground was high enough and the east winds were hedged in by high mountains. But after some time, the settlers had to seek another location due to the problem of water supply. The “better site” is the present site of the cathedral. The Augustinians administered the parish until the end of the 19th century.
The first church building was made of light materials. The building of “serious architecture, proven solidity and great proportions” was begun in 1779 and finally completed in 1865, on the first year of Fr. Benito Varas who administered the town until 1894.
The church was made of hewn stone and tiled roof, in accordance with the usual pattern of churches. It was a rectangular structure with artistically painted wooden panelings in lieu of an arch to which were attached support and strong beams which crisscrossed the walls to protect the building from earthquakes, attractive and had plain and simple altar ornaments without the extravagant carvings that were characteristic of the past century.
During the 19th century, keen competition among Tanauan, Lipa, Batangas, Bauan and Taal for the choice of the seat of new diocese in the Southern Tagalog Region, with Batangas Province at the center, motivated the people to build extraordinary, big churches. On April 10, 1910, the historic creation of the new diocese took place and the first bishop, Joseph Petrelli, selected Lipa as the see because of its cool climate. In later years, there were moves to transfer the see to San Pablo City but Bishop
Alfredo Verzosa turned it down due to poor religious environment of San Pablo during that time.
The church suffered heavily in 1944. Alejandro Olalia repaired the façade, the dome, the transept, the roof, the main altar, and the belfry. The interior painting was retouched. Two side aisles were added. The church was awarded the title Cathedral of the archdiocese incorporating Batangas Province during the administration of Cardinal
Rufino Santos.
Pedro G. Galende wrote that "the emphasis (of the edifice) is placed on the mass, which appeals much more to the senses due to its harmonic organization. The three buildings – church, convent and bell tower are so closely associated with each other that they well exemplify the typical mission complex."
At present, the 220-year old cathedral and convent is undergoing restoration and repairs. Through the efforts of the parish priest, Alfredo A. Madlangbayan, and the San Sebastian Millenium Restoration Committee, the church façade and the belfry have been repainted, the pews are newly varnished, the ceiling and the roof of the dome have been repaired, the old and leaking roof of the church and convent are replaced with long span GI sheets, and there is a new altar at the vigil room. On account of the multitude of faithful gathering at the church during liturgical activities, especially for archdiocesan affairs, the sound system was also upgraded.
Festivals
In the previous years, Lipa City had the Coffee Festival as its official city festival being coffee granary of the Philippines. The Coffee Festival was then celebrated from December 11 to 16.
Then Lipa also had the Walistik Festival celebrated on the second week of January where walis (broom) was used in costumes and props. Walis symbolizes unity and this was what the Lipeños had in mind every time they celebrate Walistik Festival.
Now, Lipa City is celebrating Lomi Festival. Lomi, being one of the most popular dishes in this side of the province, Lipa City has quite a number of lomi houses which never cease to entice people.
Traditionally, however, Lipa City is celebrating Lipa City Town Fiesta annually every January 20. This is a date to celebrate the feast of their patron saint, Saint Sebastian. During the celebration, the main road of CM Recto is flocked with market-stalls selling affordable items. Also peoples visit the Lipa City Cathedral to attend mass. Houses prepare and serve food to visitors.
Transportation
Road networks
Lipa has an extensive road network. The city is a transportation hub for Batangas and nearby provinces.
National highways and expressways
Lipa is served by a network of national highways and an expressway. The
Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR Tollway) connects the city with
Batangas City,
Tanauan and
Santo Tomas, with a connection to
South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), thereby linking the city with
Calamba and
Metro Manila
Metropolitan Manila ( ), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; ), is the capital region and largest List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located ...
.
Jose P. Laurel Highway, or Ayala Highway (Route 4) on one portion, connects Lipa with the municipalities and cities of
Malvar, Tanauan, and Santo Tomas in the north and
San Jose and Batangas City to the south. P. Torres Street or Lipa-Padre Garcia Road (Route 431), links the city with
Padre Garcia and also serves as a route to the municipalities
Rosario
Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city, located northwest of Buenos Aires on the west bank of the Paraná River, is the third-most populous city in the ...
and
San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to:
* San Juan, Puerto Rico
* San Juan, Argentina
* San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines
San Juan may also refer to:
Places Arge ...
. Another highway, the Alaminos-Lipa City Road, serves the northern barangays of the city, runs northeast to
Alaminos and serves as a route to the city with
San Pablo in
Laguna. Governor Feliciano P. Leviste Highway or Lipa-Balete Road links Lipa with Balete.
Arterial roads
Claro M. Recto Avenue, General Luna Avenue, and B. Morada Avenue serve the city center or ''
poblacion
''Poblacion'' (from Spanish '' población'', meaning "population"), sometimes abbreviated as Pob., is a term used in the Philippines to refer to the administrative center, downtown, old town, or commercial area of a city or municipality. It ...
''. On the rural areas within the city boundary, arterial roads, like Lodlod Avenue, Santo Tomas-Lipa Road and Lipa-Ibaan Road, serve the barangays and also connect with nearby municipalities, like San Jose-Batangas, Santo Tomas and Ibaan-Batangas respectively. An arterial road running beside Fernando Air Base serves the municipality of
Mataasnakahoy.
Public transportation
Buses, vans,
jeepney
A jeepney (), or simply a jeep (), is a type of Public transport, public utility vehicle (PUV) that serves as the most popular means of Transportation in the Philippines, public transportation in the Philippines. Known for its crowded seating ...
s, tricycles, and multicabs common means of transportation in the city. Large numbers of jeepneys ply their trade around the city, and are becoming the primary mode of transportation. A grand terminal built beside SM City Lipa mall now serves as the city's central transport terminal.
Government
Local government
Like other
cities in the Philippines, Lipa is governed by a mayor and vice mayor who are elected to three-year terms. The mayor is the executive head who leads the city's departments in the execution of city ordinances and in the delivery of public services. The vice mayor heads a legislative council that is composed of 13 members: twelve elected councilors and one ''
ex officio
An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, or council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by r ...
'' office held by the
Association of Barangay Chairmen President as the
barangay
The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...
sector representative. The council is in charge of creating the city's policies in the form of ordinances and resolutions.
Pursuant to Chapter II, Title II, Book III of Republic Act No. 7160 or the Local Government Code of 1991, the city government is to be composed of a mayor (''alkalde''), a vice mayor (''bise alkalde'') and
members
Member may refer to:
* Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon
* Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set
* In object-oriented programming, a member of a class
** Field (computer science), entries in ...
(''kagawad'') of the legislative branch
Sangguniang Panlungsod
The Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) is the local legislature, legislative body of a Philippine city, city government in the Philippines. The name of the legislative body comes from the Filipino language, Filipino words "''sanggunian''" ("council") � ...
alongside a secretary to the said legislature, all of which are elected to a three-year term and are eligible to run for three consecutive terms.
As with every
Philippine city
A city ( or ) is one of the units of local government in the Philippines. All Philippine cities are chartered cities (Filipino: ), whose existence as corporate and administrative entities is governed by their own specific municipal charters in a ...
, Lipa's chief executive is the city mayor. Elected to a term of three years and limited to three consecutive terms, the mayor appoints the directors of each city department, which include the office of administration, engineering office, information office, legal office, and treasury office. The incumbent mayor is Eric Africa of the
Nacionalista Party
The Nacionalista Party (Filipino language, Filipino and Spanish language in the Philippines, Spanish: ''Partido Nacionalista''; , NP) is a political party in the Philippines which is the oldest existing party in the country and in Southeast Asi ...
.
The city's vice mayor performs duties as acting governor in the absence of the mayor. The vice mayor also automatically succeeds as mayor upon the death of the incumbent. The vice mayor also convenes the
Sangguniang Panlungsod
The Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) is the local legislature, legislative body of a Philippine city, city government in the Philippines. The name of the legislative body comes from the Filipino language, Filipino words "''sanggunian''" ("council") � ...
, the city's legislative body. The incumbent vice mayor of Lipa is Camille Angeline Lopez of
Partido para sa Demokratikong Reporma, the first female to hold the position.
Legislative
Within the city, the City Board or
Sangguniang Panlungsod
The Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) is the local legislature, legislative body of a Philippine city, city government in the Philippines. The name of the legislative body comes from the Filipino language, Filipino words "''sanggunian''" ("council") � ...
crafts all city ordinances, performs appropriation of city funds, issues franchises and permits, impose fees on city services, and exercise other duties and powers as stipulated by the Local Government Code of 1991. Being a first-class city in terms of income, Lipa is entitled to a City Board composed of 12 members.
The city, which is solely comprised by the
province's 6th congressional district, was last represented in the
Philippine House of Representatives
The House of Representatives (; '','' thus commonly referred to as ''Kamara'') is the lower house of Congress, the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, with the Senate of the Philippines as the upper house. The lower house is commonly refe ...
by
Ralph Recto
Ralph Gonzalez Recto (; born January 11, 1964) is a Filipino politician currently serving as the 33rd secretary of finance since 2024, under President Bongbong Marcos. He previously served as the representative for Batangas' 6th district a ...
of the
Nacionalista Party
The Nacionalista Party (Filipino language, Filipino and Spanish language in the Philippines, Spanish: ''Partido Nacionalista''; , NP) is a political party in the Philippines which is the oldest existing party in the country and in Southeast Asi ...
.
Education
Lipa hosts a number of public and private universities such as the
Batangas State University
Batangas State University, The National Engineering University (; BatStateU The NEU) is a State university and college (Philippines), state university in the province of Batangas, Philippines. Established in 1903 as a training school, Batangas S ...
Claro M. Recto Campus,
Kolehiyo ng Lungsod ng Lipa,
The Mabini Academy,
De La Salle Lipa,
Lipa City Colleges,
Canossa Academy Lipa,
AMA Computer College,
Philippine State College of Aeronautics,
University of Batangas. ICT-ED Institute of Science and Technology,
STI College,
New Era University, and the
National University
A national university is mainly a university created or managed by a government, but which may also at the same time operate autonomously without direct control by the state. In the United States, the term "national university" connotes the highe ...
also hosts a campus in the city.
Additional schools
*
Pinagtongulan National High School
Media
Lipa has two local radio stations, Magik 88.7 (
DZUN), an adult contemporary-oriented station, and Citybeat 102.3 (
DWKV), a music and talk radio station. Stations based in
Batangas City and
Metro Manila
Metropolitan Manila ( ), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; ), is the capital region and largest List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located ...
are mostly clearly received, except for some stations whose signals are affected by the local topography.
ABS-CBN Southern Tagalog,
ABS-CBN
ABS-CBN is a leading Philippine media and content company. It serves as the flagship media brand of ABS-CBN Corporation, a subsidiary of Lopez Holdings Corporation. Once the country's largest free-to-air television network, ABS-CBN has since ...
's regional television station, hosted its studios in Lipa. GMA Network and GTV serve Lipa through relay stations at
Bicol Region
The Bicol Region, designated as Region V, is an administrative region of the Philippines. It comprises six Provinces of the Philippines, provinces, four on the Bicol Peninsula (the luzon#Southeastern Luzon, southeastern end of Luzon): Albay, Ca ...
.
Lipa has no locally published newspapers, but major newspapers marketed in Metro Manila reach the city through local distributors.
Sister cities
;International
*
Fremont, California
Fremont () is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. Located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area, Fremont has a population of 230,504 as of 2020, making it the fourth List of cities and towns in the San F ...
, United States
*
Fushun
Fushun ( zh, s=, t=, p=Fǔshùn, historically Fuxi ()) is a prefecture level city in Liaoning province, China, about east of Shenyang, with a total area of , of which is the city proper. Situated on the Hun River ("muddy river"), it is one o ...
, China
;Local
*
Manila
Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
References
External links
*
Philippine Standard Geographic Code*
Lipa City Tourism Council*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lipa City
Cities in Batangas
Populated places established in 1887
1887 establishments in the Philippines
Populated places on Taal Lake
Component cities in the Philippines