Alaminos, officially the Municipality of Alaminos (), is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

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 Laguna,

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 51,619 people. The Municipality of Alaminos is an agro-industrial town that lies within the third congressional district of the Province of Laguna and is part of the Calabarzon. Based on the municipal zoning, the industrial sites are located along Maharlika Highway of Barangays San Andres, San Juan, San Agustin and San Benito. Here, lands are available for industrial and commercial purposes. Barangays San Andres and San Juan will also be developed as a techno park for farm housing, industrial and commercial purposes.

Etymology

Alaminos got its name from Capitan-General Juan de Alaminos Nivera, the chief executive 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 which the area the present-day municipality covers was once part of.

History

Alaminos began as a barrio of San Pablo, which was then only a town of the Province of Batangas. Its initial name was Trenchera, denoting the presence of long and deep ravines. The early inhabitants of Trenchera were believed to be insurrectionists, and possibly fugitives, who took advantage of the numerous trenches for hiding as well as for defense against the Spanish authority. Sometime in 1873 when a certain Don Andres Penaloza was the Gobernadorcillo (equivalent to Mayor) of the town of San Pablo, Trenchera was formally separated and became a pueblo or town but remained part of the Batangas. Don Cirilo Baylon, a wealthy resident of Trenchera and with good command of the Spanish language, invited Captain-General Juan de Alaminos Nivera, the Chief Executive of the Batangas. The Captain-General accepted the invitation and came in a colorful carriage drawn by two horses. With Don Cirilo Baylon leading, he was warmly received by the residents of Trenchera. Dona Gregoria Baylon, the younger sister of Don Cirilo Baylon presented bouquets of fresh flowers to the Captain-General. During the program in honor of the Captain-General and his party, Don Cirilo Baylon presented the petition of the residents asking that Trenchera be made into a duly organized and recognized town. The petition was read in public and the Captain General gave assurance to consider their wish favorably. In less than two months, the official paper proclaiming Trenchera as a new pueblo or town arrived from Lipa. At the same time, Don Cirilo Baylon was appointed the first Gobernadorcillo or town mayor in concurrent capacity as Capitan de los Constables de Pueblo or the equivalent of the local police chief. In appreciation of the Capitan-General, the new pueblo was named Alaminos in 1873 and remained part of Batangas until 1903, when it was returned to San Pablo by virtue of Act No. 939. It was later reconstituted as an independent municipality in 1916.

Geography

Alaminos has a land area of and is situated from Santa Cruz and southeast 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 ...

. The municipalities of Calauan and

Bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

are located north of Alaminos, the city of San Pablo on the south and east and the city of Santo Tomas in

province on its west. There are three main rivers in Alaminos, namely Kaquinkong, Onipa and Tigas. The Maharlika Highway passes through the municipality and is connected directly to Manila through the South Luzon Expressway.

Barangays

Alaminos is politically subdivided into 15

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 indicated 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 ...

. Currently, there are 4 barangays which are classified as urban (highlighted in bold). * Barangay I (

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 ...

) * Barangay II (Poblacion) * Barangay III (Poblacion) * Barangay IV (Poblacion) * Del Carmen * Palma * San Agustin (Antipolo) * San Andres * San Benito (Palita) * San Gregorio * San Ildefonso * San Juan * San Miguel * San Roque * Santa Rosa Brgy. San Gregorio is the biggest barangay measuring 840.6190 hectares followed by Brgy. Santa Rosa measuring 802.28 hectares.

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Alaminos, Laguna, was 51,619 people, with a density of .

Economy

A 120-MW

solar power plant A photovoltaic power station, also known as a solar park, solar farm, or solar power plant, is a large-scale grid-connected photovoltaic power system (PV system) designed for the supply of merchant power. They are different from most building ...

with a 40MW/60MWh grid battery operates near the city.

Government

List of local chief executives

The following is the list of mayors of Alaminos since 1873. Hernandez Sr. and Masa were appointed as Mayors. Donato died in office, with Vice Mayor Flores assuming the position of mayor following Donato's death. *Don Cirilo Baylon (1873-1875) *Raymundo Faylona (1875-1878) *Cirilo Baylon (1879-1881) *Marcelino Tolentino (1882-1884) *Policarpio Flores (1885-1887) *Mauricio Abril (1888-1890) *Sesinando Enriquez (1891-1893) *Marcelino Fule (1894-1896) *Jose Fule (1916-1919) *Leodegario Avenido (1919-1922) *Rafael Averion (1922-1925) *Lucio Cubillejo (1926-1928) *Francisco Fule (1928-1931) *Andres Averion (1931-1934) *Silvestre Silva (1934-1937) *Nicasio Villanueva (1937-1940) *Artemio Fule (1940-1943) *Demetrio Hernandez Sr. (1944–1946) *Felimon Masa (1947–1948) *Daniel Fandiño (1948–1951) *Lorenzo Dimayuga (1952–1955) *Pedro De Villa (1956–1963) *Casimiro Faylona (1968–1971) *Pedro De Villa (1968–1971) *Armando M. Bueser (1972–1979) *Francisco Donato (1980–1982) *Mariano Flores (1982–1987) *Samuel F. Bueser (1988–1998) *Demetrio P. Hernandez Jr. (1998–2001) *Samuel F. Bueser (May 14, 2001 – 2007) *Eladio M. Magampon (2007–2016) *Loreto M. Masa (2016–2019) *Eladio M. Magampon (2019–2021) *Ruben Alvarez (2021–2022) *Glenn Flores (2022–2025) *Eric Lopez (2025–present)

Culture

The religious patron of the town of Alaminos is the Nuestra Señora Del Pilar. On October 12 annually, the town fiesta of Alaminos is celebrated.

Special events/festivals

*Town Fiesta, October 12

Notable personalities

* Timoteo Ofrasio, S.J. – Filipino

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

priest, liturgist and lyricist. He is known for liturgical catholic songs produced under Jesuit Music Ministry such as "Paghahandog ng Sarili", "Isang Bansa", and "Panalangin sa Pagiging Bukas-Palad". This also includes "Alay sa Diyos" used during the 2015 papal visit to the Philippines. *

Ariella Arida Ariella "Ara" Hernandez Arida (; born November 20, 1988) is a Filipino beauty pageant titleholder, actress, and model, who was crowned Binibining Pilipinas Universe, Miss Universe Philippines 2013. She represented the Philippines at the Miss ...

– fashion model, television personality, Miss Universe-Philippines 2013, Miss Universe 2013 3rd Runner-up

Gallery

Alaminos Welcome Marker, Laguna, July 2023.jpg, Welcome marker Alaminos Church, Laguna, July 2023.jpg, Alaminos Church Jose Rizal Monument, Alaminos, Laguna.jpg, Jose Rizal Monument Rural Bank of Alaminos, Laguna, July 2023.jpg, Rural Bank of Alaminos An ancestral house from Alaminos, Laguna, July.jpg, An ancestral house in Alaminos

References

External links

* Philippine Standard Geographic Codebr>Philippine Census InformationLocal Governance Performance Management System
{{Authority control Municipalities of Laguna (province) 19th-century establishments in the Philippines