San Pablo, officially the City of San Pablo ( fil, Lungsod ng San Pablo), is a 1st class

component city A city ( fil, lungsod/siyudad) is one of the units of local government in the Philippines. All Philippine cities are chartered cities ( fil, nakakartang lungsod), whose existence as corporate and administrative entities is governed by their own ...

in the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of Laguna,

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 285,348 people. It is located in the southern portion of Laguna

, it is one of the oldest cities in the Philippines. By land area, it is the largest in the province of Laguna. Its population ranks sixth within the province after the cities of Calamba, Santa Rosa, Biñan, San Pedro, and

Cabuyao Cabuyao, officially the City of Cabuyao ( fil, Lungsod ng Cabuyao), is a 1st class component city in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 355,330 people. It used to be known as the "riche ...

. The city is also known as the "City of Seven Lakes" ( fil, Lungsod ng Pitong Lawa), referring to the

Seven Lakes of San Pablo The Seven Lakes of San Pablo ( fil, Pitong Lawa ng San Pablo) are seven volcanic crater lakes scattered around the City of San Pablo, in the province of Laguna, Philippines. The Lakes The seven lakes of the city are: * Lake Bunot * Lake Caliba ...

Lake Sampaloc Lake Sampaloc is a volcanic crater lake on the island of Luzon, Philippines. It is the largest of the Seven Lakes of San Pablo, Laguna. Nearly half of the lake's depth has a shallow depression at the bottom, indicating its volcanic origin. The la ...

(or Sampalok), Lake Palakpakin, Lake Bunot, Lakes Pandin and Yambo, Lake Muhikap, and Lake Calibato. San Pablo was part of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lipa The Archdiocese of Lipa is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the Philippines comprising the civil province of Batangas. Its cathedral is the Cathedral of Lipa located in the episcopal see of Lipa. F ...

since 1910. On November 28, 1967, it became an independent

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...

and became the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Pablo.

History

San Pablo's earliest historical record dates back to pre-

Spanish 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 Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

times when four large barrios bounded by Mount Makiling composed "Sampalok". In 1571, the first Spanish troops under Captain

Juan de Salcedo Juan de Salcedo (; 1549 – March 11, 1576) was a Spanish- Novohispanic conquistador. He was born in Mexico in 1549 and he was the grandson of Miguel López de Legazpi and brother of Felipe de Salcedo. Salcedo was one of the soldiers who accompa ...

arrived in the upland village of Sampaloc, which became a parish in 1586, and then a municipality in 1647, and was renamed "San Pablo de Los Montes" in honor of Saint Paul the First Hermit. In 1756, it was placed under the jurisdiction of

Batangas Batangas, officially the Province of Batangas ( tl, Lalawigan ng Batangas ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region on Luzon. Its capital is the city of Batangas, and is bordered by the provinces of Cavite and La ...

province but was returned in 1883 to Laguna. Philippine Island - Luzon Island - NARA - 68157059

In 1899, a municipal government was established, with Atty. Innocente Martinez as municipal president. Marcos Paulino was elected municipal president in 1902 when the civil government was set up. From 1926 to 1940, the people of San Pablo worked for its independence from the province of Laguna. On May 7, 1940, the Charter Bill sponsored by Assemblyman Tomas D. Dizon of Laguna's 1st district was approved by President Manuel L. Quezon. The bill became known as the City Charter of San Pablo or Commonwealth Act No. 520 – approved by President Quezon. The city was inaugurated on March 30, 1941, with Dr. Potenciano Malvar, a former governor of Laguna, as the city mayor appointed by president Manuel L. Quezon. Succeeding him 1941 as an appointed mayor was Dr. Manuel Quisumbing, in turn followed by Tomas D. Dizon in 1943 as an appointed mayor. The succeeding mayors were elected after 1955, with Cipriano B. Colago being the first elected city mayor.

Geography

San Pablo has a cool climate owing to its location. It is nestled in the foothills of three mountains: Mount Banahaw, Mount Makiling and the Sierra Madre Mountains. These mountains do not only provide attractions for the tourism industry (such as waterfalls) and sources of many forest-based products, but also serve as stewards for the clean air. It is situated southeast of

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

via Alaminos, southwest of Santa Cruz via Calauan. Its soil is suitable for those seeking opportunities in agriculture and horticulture given its richness and fertility. The different barangays have coconut plantation, lanzones fruit – ''

Lansium parasiticum ''Lansium parasiticum'', commonly known as langsat (), lanzones (), or longkong in English; duku in Indonesian or dokong in Terengganu Malay, is a species of tree in the Mahogany family with commercially cultivated edible fruits. The species ...

tree plantation A tree plantation, forest plantation, plantation forest, timber plantation or tree farm is a forest planted for high volume production of wood, usually by planting one type of tree as a monoculture forest. The term ''tree farm'' also is used to ...

and rambutan fruit tree plantation – Rambutan. The place is rich in

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowerin ...

plants.

Climate

The prevailing climatic conditions in the municipality is categorized into wet and

dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The te ...

Barangays

San Pablo City is politically subdivided into 80

barangay A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolita ...

s. * I-A (Sambat) * I-B * II-A (Triangulo) * II-B (Guadalupe) * II-C (Unson) * II-D (Bulante) * II-E (San Anton) * II-F (Villa Rey) * III-A (Hermanos Belen) * III-B * III-C (Labak/De Roma) * III-D (Villongco) * III-E * III-F (Balagtas) * IV-A * IV-B * IV-C * V-A * V-B * V-C * V-D * VI-A (Mavenida) * VI-B * VI-D (Lparkers) * VI-E (YMCA) * VII-A (P.Alcantara) * VII-B * VII-C * VII-D * VII-E * Atisan * Bagong Bayan (I-C) * Bagong Pook (VI-C) * Bautista * Concepcion (Bunot) * Del Remedio (Wawa) * Dolores * San Antonio 1 (Balanga) * San Antonio 2 (Sapa) * San Bartolome (Matang-ag) * San Buenaventura (Palakpakin) * San Crispin (Lumbangan) * San Cristobal *

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

(Tiim) *

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

(Calihan) * San Gabriel (Butucan) * San Gregorio * San Ignacio * San Isidro (Balagbag) * San Joaquin * San Jose (Malamig) * San Juan * San Lorenzo (Saluyan) * San Lucas 1 (Malinaw) * San Lucas 2 * San Marcos (Tikew) * San Mateo * San Miguel * San Nicolas * San Pedro * San Rafael (Magampon) * San Roque (Buluburan) * San Vicente * Santa Ana * Santa Catalina (Sandig) * Santa Cruz (Putol) * Santa Elena * Santa Filomena (Banlagin) * Santa Isabel * Santa Maria * Santa Maria Magdalena (Boe) * Santa Monica * Santa Veronica (Bae) * Santiago I (Bulaho) * Santiago II * Santisimo Rosario * Santo Angel (Ilog) * Santo Cristo * Santo Niño (Arsum) * Soledad (Macopa)

Demographics

According to the 2010 census, San Pablo had a population of 248,890 people, up from 237,259 people and 44,166 households in the 2007 census. The city was once the largest city in Laguna, but it was overtaken by Calamba in the 1990 census. San Pedro followed suit in 1995, then came Santa Rosa and Biñan in 2007, and

in 2015, all owing their growth to its proximity to

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the seat of government and one of three defined metropolitan areas in ...

Ethnicity and language

The language spoken in the city and the medium of instruction in schools are English and

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

, also known as Tagalog in this area.

Economy

At the end of the 20th century and the start of the 21st century, economic development shifted from San Pablo to the western Laguna. San Pedro, Biñan, Santa Rosa,

, Calamba, Los Baños, and Santa Cruz experienced rapid economic development brought about by local and foreign investments, the rapid growth of industrial estates and export processing zones, and the placement of major institutions in those areas, San Pablo City was left behind and remained a semi-developed residential community. Despite the fact that the city was partly touched by economic development, San Pablo City boasts itself as a potential eco-tourism destination in the province. However, given its human and land resources, various BPO companies are seriously looking at developing the city into the ICT hub of Southern Luzon. Although there were previous attempts to build a similar establishment, SM Prime Holdings was given its go signal in July 2008 to push ahead for SM City San Pablo located at Riverina Commercial Estates along Maharlika Highway at Barangay San Rafael. Apart from this, the development of the Hacienda Escudero plantation resort town and nearby real estates, which is a joint venture with Landco, is by far the largest planned community investment in the city covering : It will include resort type communities; the original Villa Escudero Plantations as the center-piece; commercial establishments like a mall, hotels, and a convention center to be built relative to the distinctive architecture theme of the original Villa Escudero. As such ''Hacienda Escudero'' will become the ultimate history town themed community in this part of the country.

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN (an initialism of its two predecessors' names, Alto Broadcasting System and Chronicle Broadcasting Network) is a Philippine commercial broadcast network that serves as the flagship property of ABS-CBN Corporation, a company unde ...

TV-46 San Pablo (DWLY-TV) served the city through its office along Rizal Avenue at the heart of the city. San Pablo City is home to showrooms, marketing, and parts/servicing centers of Honda Cars Laguna, Ford San Pablo, Isuzu San Pablo, Hyundai San Pablo, Mitsubishi (SFM) San Pablo, Nissan Southwoods-San Pablo, and Toyota San Pablo. San Pablo also claims the title ''City of Buko Pie'' –

Buko Pie Buko pie, sometimes anglicized as coconut pie, is a traditional Filipino baked young coconut (malauhog) custard pie. It is considered a specialty in the city of Los Baños, Laguna located on the island of Luzon. Buko pie is made with young c ...

", which is a disputed title as other neighboring towns are also known for producing the delicacy.
Colettes' Buko Pie
, based in San Pablo, was known for experimenting with different variants of the delicacy, though the first buko pie store is in Los Baños, "D' Original Buko Pie" store. Buko pie is acknowledged to have originated from Los Baños –

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 20 ...

– Los Banos, as an invention of a Food Technologist from UPLB –

, Los Banos Campus. Thus, the more popular term: "Los Baños Buko Pie." The supply of coconut in San Pablo, though, makes it an ideal spot for putting up buko pie shops. Franklin Baker Company, one of the well-known companies with operations in San Pablo, has announced that its plant in the city would cease its operations and transfer to another existing facility, owned by the said company, in

Davao del Sur Davao del Sur ( ceb, Habagatang Dabaw; ), officially the Province of Davao del Sur, is a province in the Philippines located in the Davao Region in Mindanao. Its capital is Digos City. Davao City is the largest city in terms of area and populat ...

by December 2008. The said decision could affect the jobs of at least 1,200 people, the majority of them San Pableños. Various factors are blamed for this closure, including the conversion of big coconut farms into residential areas. However, production was restored in the first quarter of 2009 in the San Pablo plant of Franklin Baker Company due to processing problems encountered at

Tourism and recreation

The

, seven

crater lake Crater Lake ( Klamath: ''Giiwas'') is a volcanic crater lake in south-central Oregon in the western United States. It is the main feature of Crater Lake National Park and is famous for its deep blue color and water clarity. The lake partly fill ...

s scattered around the city, have for many generations provided food and livelihood, leisure and respite for the citizens of the city. A bustling city of trade and commerce, it is also a center of education and learning with schools, colleges, and training institutions. LakeSampalocjf7542 06

, located behind the City Hall, is the youngest

in the San Pablo volcanic field and the largest of the city's seven lakes –

. * Lake Bunot (Coconut husk Lake) * Lake Calibato * Twin Lakes – Lakes Pandin and Yambo * Lake Palakpakin * Lake Muhikap Hacienda Escudero Plantation Resort Town is the largest planned community investment in the city covering . The resort has the richness of coconut plantation, and provides serenading Filipino songs and ''Bayanihan Dances'' (Folk Dances). Public Playground and Sampalok Lake (''Katuparan ng Pangarap'': Fulfillment of Dreams) is a public playground in the city built during the term of mayor Atty. Zacarias Africa Ticzon, who as well improved tourism places around Lake Sampaloc, that is near the municipal City Hall. Both places serve as haven for sports, and recreation. The vicinity for tourism consequently encouraged small businesses for restaurants of native dishes catering visitors of the area. It has dramatically contributed income for the city. The Komikero Komiks Museum, a brick-and-mortar museum meant to showcase the Philippines' rich history of graphic novels and comic books, and the talent of eminent artists in the field, features original art from Philippine comic book industry leaders including Alfredo Alcala,

Francisco Coching Francisco V. Coching (January 29, 1919
lambiek.net – September 1, 1998) was a Filipino ...

, Alex Niño,

Steve Gan Steve Gan (born May 22, 1945) is a Chinese-born Filipino comics artist. He is best known for co-creating Panday with Carlo J. Caparas and Marvel Comics' Star-Lord and Skull the Slayer. Biography Steve Gan was born as Santos S. Gan but changed ...

Nestor Redondo Nestor P. Redondo (May 4, 1928 – December 30, 1995)Nestor P. Redondo
at the

Gerry Alanguilan Doroteo Gerardo N. Alanguilan Jr. (20 January 1968 – 21 December 2019), also known in the Philippines by his alias Komikero, was a Filipino comic book artist, writer, and architect from San Pablo, Laguna. He was an important figure in the Ph ...

. Alanguilan himself curated the museum until his death in 2019.

Government

Elected officials

City council (2022-2025): * Mayor: Vicente B. Amante ( Nacionalista Party) * Vice Mayor: Justin G. Colago ( Nacionalista Party) * City Councilors: ** Angelita E. Yang ( Nacionalista Party) ** Karla Monica Adajar-Lajara ( Nacionalista Party) ** Carmela A. Acebedo ( Nacionalista Party) ** Diosdado A. Biglete ( Nacionalista Party) ** Martin Angelo B. Adriano, Jr. ( Lakas-CMD) ** Plaridel G. Dela Cruz ( Nacionalista Party) ** Elsie Pavico ( Nacionalista Party) ** Buhay D. Espiritu (

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

) ** Napoleon C. Calatraba ( Nacionalista Party) ** Dandi C. Medina ( Nacionalista Party)

List of former municipal executives

Appointed

Elected

Infrastructure

Healthcare

Most of the large hospitals in San Pablo are located in the city proper, but there are also health centers built for each barangay in San Pablo. Notable hospitals and medical centers are shown below. – San Pablo Colleges Medical Center (Barangay San Rafael) – San Pablo City Doctors' Hospital (A. Mabini Street) – Laguna Provincial Hospital San Pablo (Gen. Luna St.)

Transportation

San Pablo city is along the Maharlika Highway which leads to Quezon province.

Jeepneys Jeepneys (), sometimes called jeeps (), are minibus-like public utility vehicles, serving as the most popular means of public transportation in the Philippines. They are known for their crowded seating and kitsch decorations, which have become ...

connect San Pablo city proper with nearby Calauan and Rizal, as well as other cities like Tanauan, Santo Tomas, and Calamba. It is also served by vans heading to the cities of Lipa and Santa Rosa. Philippine National Railways has a station for its southern main line near the city proper.

Utilities

San Pablo's water source is run by its own San Pablo City Water District and is assisted by NAWASA. Just like every other place in Southern Tagalog, San Pablo's electricity is run by

Meralco The Manila Electric Company (), also known as Meralco (, ), is an electric power distribution company in the Philippines. It is Metro Manila's only electric power distributor and holds the power distribution franchise for 22 cities and 89 munic ...

Telecommunications

Citizens of San Pablo mainly use

PLDT PLDT, Inc., formerly known as the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company ( fil, Kompanya ng Teleponong Pangmalayuan ng Pilipinas), is a Philippine telecommunications, internet and digital service holdings company. It is one of the country's ...

(including

Smart Smart or SMART may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Smart'' (Hey! Say! JUMP album), 2014 * Smart (Hotels.com), former mascot of Hotels.com * ''Smart'' (Sleeper album), 1995 debut album by Sleeper * '' SMart'', a children's television se ...

Globe A globe is a spherical model of Earth, of some other celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve purposes similar to maps, but unlike maps, they do not distort the surface that they portray except to scale it down. A model glo ...

, and

Dito Telecommunity Dito Telecommunity Corporation (stylized as DITO), formerly known as Mindanao Islamic Telephone Company, Inc. or Mislatel is a telecommunications company in the Philippines which is also engaged in the business of multimedia and information te ...

, although some may use other internet service providers. Texting stations are often found in retail stores, stands, and residential houses.

Notable personalities

* Cynthia Barker, English politician and former mayor of

Hertsmere Hertsmere is a local government district and borough in Hertfordshire, England. Its council is based in Borehamwood. Other settlements in the borough include Bushey, Elstree, Radlett and Potters Bar. The borough borders the three north London ...

, England. *

Alexander Gesmundo Alexander Gahon Gesmundo (born November 6, 1956) is serving as the chief justice of the Philippines since April 5, 2021. He replaced Diosdado Peralta, who retired early on March 27, 2021. He previously served as an associate justice of the Supre ...

, 27th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines *

Arturo Brion Arturo Dizon Brion (born December 29, 1946) is a former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. He took his oath as a member of the Supreme Court on March 17, 2008. From 2006 until his appointment to the Supreme Court, Brion s ...

, 161th Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. * Liza Maza, former

Gabriela Gabriela may refer to: * Gabriela (given name), a Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian feminine given name * ''Gabriela'' (1942 film), a Czech film * ''Gabriela'' (1950 film), a German film * ''Gabriela'' (1983 film), a Brazilian film * ''Gabriela' ...

Partylist and Bayan Muna Partylist Representative *

Celso Al. Carunungan Celso Al. Carunungan is a Filipino people, Filipino writer, novelist, and scriptwriter in English and Filipino languages. In 1959, he won the Best Story prize from the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS) for writing the story and ...

, writer, novelist, and film scriptwriter *

, a.k.a. "Komikero," comic book artist and writer best known for his graphic novels Wasted and Elmer. *

Bayani Casimiro Bayani Casimiro Sr. (July 16, 1918 – February 27, 1989) was a Filipino dancer who was among the leading stars of bodabil (vaudeville) in the 1930s and 1940s. He also appeared in musical films and later in life, in comedic roles. A tap danc ...

, tap dancer * Edgar Calabia Samar, poet and fictionist. * Jay Arcilla, actor and StarStruck Avenger in the 5th season of StarStruck. * Jiggy Manicad, television news producer/reporter and newscaster. * Flor Contemplacion, domestic worker *

Sol Aragones Marisol Castillo Aragones-Sampelo (born November 6, 1977) is a Filipina politician who served as the Representative of Laguna's 3rd district from 2013 to 2022. Before entering politics, she was a news presenter for ABS-CBN from 1998 to 2012. ...

, former news anchor reporter of

; politician. * Roberta Angela Tamondong, model, beauty pageant titleholder, and Bb. Pilipinas Grand International 2022

References

External links

Official Website of San Pablo City, Laguna, Philippines

San Pablo City
* Philippine Standard Geographic Code
Philippine Census Information

Local Governance Performance Management System
{{Authority control Cities in Laguna (province) Populated places established in 1647 1647 establishments in the Philippines Component cities in the Philippines