Southern Tagalog ( fil, Timog Katagalugan, also known colloquially as ''Rehiyong Timog Tagalog''), designated as Region IV, was an administrative region in the

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 ...

that comprised the current regions of

Calabarzon Calabarzon (), formally known as the Southern Tagalog Mainland, is an administrative region in the Philippines, designated as Region IV-A. The region comprises five provinces: Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Quezon, and Rizal; and one highly urba ...

and Mimaropa, the province of

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

Central Luzon Central Luzon ( pam, (Reyun ning) Kalibudtarang Luzon, pag, (Rehiyon na) Pegley na Luzon, tgl, (Rehiyon ng) Gitnang Luzon, ilo, (Rehion/Deppaar ti) Tengnga ti Luzon), designated as Region III, is an administrative region in the Philippines, ...

(then part of

Quezon Province Quezon, officially the Province of Quezon ( tl, Lalawigan ng Quezon), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region on Luzon. Kalilayan was the first known name of the province. It was later renamed Tayabas. In honor of the ...

until 1979), and several cities of

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 ...

(formerly part of Rizal, except for

Valenzuela Valenzuela may refer to: Places * Valenzuela, Paraguay * Valenzuela, Metro Manila, Philippines * Valenzuela, Spain * Valenzuela de Calatrava, Spain * Valenzuela, Louisiana Other uses * Valenzuela (surname), including a list of people with the n ...

, which was part of

Bulacan Bulacan, officially the Province of Bulacan ( tl, Lalawigan ng Bulacan), is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the city of Malolos. Bulacan was established on August 15, 1578, and part of the Me ...

, and for

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 2,960,048 people. It was fou ...

and

Pasay Pasay, officially the City of Pasay ( fil, Lungsod ng Pasay; ), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 440,656 people. Due to its location j ...

which were and are independent cities). The name remains as a geographical region only, which exempts Aurora. It was partitioned into the two regions on May 17, 2002.

History

Southern Tagalog was the largest region in the Philippines in terms of both land area and population. The ''2000 Census of Population and Housin''g showed the region having a total of 11,793,655 people, which comprised 15.42 percent of the 76.5 million population of the country at that time.

was the designated regional center of Southern Tagalog. The former region covered the area where many reside; the two other majority- Tagalophone regions are the

National Capital Region A capital region, also called a capital district or capital territory, is a region or district surrounding a capital city. It is not always the official term for the region, but may sometimes be used as an informal synonym. Capital regions can exis ...

and

Partitioning

Region IV or Southern Tagalog was divided into

and Mimaropa, upon the issuance of ''

Executive Order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of t ...

No. 103'', dated May 17, 2002, by then-President

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal Arroyo (, born April 5, 1947), often referred to by her initials GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician serving as one of the House Deputy Speakers since 2022, and previously from 2016 to 2017. She previously ...

. Additionally, the province of

was moved to Region III (

Administrative divisions

Provinces

Cities

Southern Tagalog region had 13 chartered cities prior to its partition. *

Antipolo Antipolo, officially known as the City of Antipolo ( fil, Lungsod ng Antipolo), is a 1st class component city and capital of the province of Rizal, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 887,399 people. It is the ...

* Bacoor *

Batangas City Batangas City, officially the City of Batangas ( fil, Lungsod ng Batangas), is a 1st class component city and capital of the province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 351,437 people. Batangas City ...

Calapan City Calapan, officially the City of Calapan ( fil, Lungsod ng Calapan), is a 3rd class component city and capital of the province of Oriental Mindoro, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 145,786 people. The city serv ...

* Calamba *

Cavite City Cavite City, officially the City of Cavite ( fil, Lungsod ng Kabite, Spanish and cbk, Ciudad de Cavite), is a 4th class component city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 100,674 people. The city was the ...

* Lipa *

Lucena Lucena, officially the City of Lucena ( fil, Lungsod ng Lucena), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Calabarzon region of the Philippines. It is the capital city of the Provinces of the ...

* Puerto Princesa * San Pablo *

Tagaytay Tagaytay, officially the City of Tagaytay ( fil, Lungsod ng Tagaytay), is a 2nd class component city in the province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 85,330 people. It is one of the country's most po ...

* Tanauan *

Trece Martires Trece Martires, officially the City of Trece Martires ( fil, Lungsod ng Trece Martires), is a 4th class component city and ''de facto'' capital city of the province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of ...

Demographics

Languages

The native languages of Southern Tagalog are: * Alangan, spoken in the interior of Mindoro. * Asi, spoken in Romblon and Marinduque. * Buhid, spoken in the interior of Mindoro. * Calamian Tagbanwa, spoken in Palawan. *

Chavacano Chavacano or Chabacano is a group of Spanish-based creole language varieties spoken in the Philippines. The variety spoken in Zamboanga City, located in the southern Philippine island group of Mindanao, has the highest concentration of speaker ...

, spoken in parts of Cavite. *

Cuyonon Cuyonon is a regional language, regional Bisayan languages, Bisayan language spoken on the coast of Palawan and the Cuyo Islands in the Philippines.

, spoken in Palawan. * Hanunoo, spoken in the interior of Mindoro. * Hiligaynon, spoken in Romblon and Palawan. * Iraya, spoken in the interior of Mindoro. * Malay, spoken in south Palawan. *

Onhan Onhan is a regional language, regional Bisayan languages, Western Bisayan language spoken, along with the Romblomanon language, Romblomanon and Asi languages, in the province of Romblon, Philippines. The language is also known as ''Inunhan'' an ...

, spoken in Romblon. * Palawano, spoken in Palawan. * Romblomanon, spoken in Romblon. * Tadyawan, spoken in the interior of Mindoro. * Tagalog, spoken in Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan. It is the regional lingua franca, mostly as

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 ...

. * Tausug, spoken in southwestern Palawan. * Tawbuid, spoken in the interior of Mindoro. The languages not native to the region are: Ilocano in Quezon, Laguna, Rizal, Cavite, Batangas, Mindoro, and Palawan (Aurora & Quezon have the largest concentration of Ilocano speakers when Aurora was part of Southern Tagalog, the statistics now excusively belong to Quezon); Bikol in Quezon, Batangas, and Rizal; Cebuano in Rizal, Batangas, Cavite, and Quezon;

Kinaray-a The Karay-a language ( krj, label=none, Kinaray-a, krj, label=none, Binisayâ nga Kinaray-a or krj, label=none, Hinaraya; en, Harayan) is an Austronesian regional language in the Philippines spoken by the Karay-a people, mainly in Antique, I ...

in Palawan;

Kapampangan Kapampangan, Capampañgan or Pampangan may refer to: *Kapampangan people of the Philippines *Kapampangan language Kapampangan or Pampangan is an Austronesian language, and one of the eight major languages of the Philippines. It is the primary ...

and Pangasinan in Batangas and Cavite.

Notes

References

{{- Defunct regions of the Philippines Tagalog 1965 establishments in the Philippines 2002 disestablishments in the Philippines Calabarzon Mimaropa