Alitagtag, officially the Municipality of Alitagtag (), 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 ...

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 26,819 people. Alitagtag derived its name from the Tagalog word ''alinagnag'', which means "a small distinct light."

History

Much of Alitagtag was once part of

Bauan Bauan, officially the Municipality of Bauan (), is a municipality in the province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 90,819 people. Etymology Bauan derived its name from the following Tagalog wor ...

. On August 10, 1908, the resolution by the electorate of barrios Alitagtag, Balagbag, Dalipit, Munlawin, and Muzon was transmitted to the Provincial Committee, who would approve it in three months' time. Batangas Governor Galicano Apacible later endorsed it to the Civil Commission for a hearing that would be held on January 2, 1909. The aforementioned barrios were separated from Bauan to constitute the new independent municipality of Alitagtag by virtue of Executive Order No. 43 dated May 7, 1909. The order took effect on January 1, 1910. In 1957, the following barrios were created: Pingas, composed of

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 Pingas and Corral; Tadlak, composed of sitios Tadlak and Malukan; and Sambi, composed of the sitio Sambi.

Geography

According to the

Philippine Statistics Authority The Philippine Statistics Authority (; PSA) is the central statistical authority of the Philippine government that collects, compiles, analyzes, and publishes statistical information on economic, social, demographic, political affairs, and gene ...

, the municipality has a land area of constituting of the total area of Batangas. It is bordered on the north by

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 ...

, east by Cuenca and San Jose, west by Santa Teresita and San Luis, and south by

and San Pascual.

Barangays

Alitagtag is politically subdivided into 19

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 ...

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, Alitagtag had a population of 26,819. The population density was .

Economy

Culture

The town is notable for being the original location where a replica of the

True Cross According to Christian tradition, the True Cross is the real instrument of Jesus' crucifixion, cross on which Jesus of Nazareth was Crucifixion of Jesus, crucified. It is related by numerous historical accounts and Christian mythology, legends ...

was erected in the early Spanish colonial period. Known as the Holy Cross of Alitagtag or ''Mahal na Poong Santa Cruz'', the image which was supposedly hewn from the post of a fallen house made of '' anubing'' hardwood, is venerated in surrounding towns for its reputedly auspicious powers. The '' sublî'' dance, now popular throughout the province and beyond, is the most widely recognised ritual associated with the

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

devotion to the Holy Cross of Alitagtag.

Gallery

File:Alitagtag,Batangasjf1345 09.JPG, Municipal hall File:Alitagtag,Batangasjf1394 13.JPG, Park File:Alitagtag,Batangasjf1345 06.JPG, Multipurpose sports complex File:AlitagtagChurchjf1414 11.JPG, Invencion de la Santa Cruz Parish Church

References

External links

* Philippine Standard Geographic Code {{DEFAULTSORT:Alitagtag, Batangas Municipalities of Batangas Populated places on Taal Lake 1910 establishments in the Philippines Political divisions established by Philippine executive order