Mabitac, Laguna


', officially the ', is a of the Philippines| in the province of,. According to the, it has a population of people.
Mabitac was an excellent hunting ground for wild game three centuries ago. Native hunters used numerous cave-ins or trap-ins called "bitag" in the local dialect. Hence, the place was referred to as "Mabitag" meaning "a place with many traps".
Mabitac is situated on the eastern side of the province of Laguna, from Manila using Rizal Province on a winding road of Manila East Road, and Antipolo City or via the South Luzon Express, Calamba and Santa Cruz, Laguna.

History

The first Spaniards who came to this place were the friars who established the first Spanish settlement in the area and began to Christianize the local population. The Spaniards, having difficulty in pronouncing the "G" consonant, called this place "Mabitac" whenever they mentioned this place. Eventually, the name found its way in the official records and maps of Laguna made by Spanish cartographers and mariners who chartered the coastal areas of Laguna de Bay.
This town was formerly a barrio of Siniloan, an immediate neighboring town. It became an independent municipality only in the year 1611, not by legislation, but by mutual agreement by and between the Spanish friars of both towns who were then the influential ruling class.
Mabitac was the site of a battle in the Philippine-American War, when on September 17, 1900, Filipinos under General Juan Cailles defeated an American force commanded by Colonel Benjamin F. Cheatham.

World War II

In 1942, Japanese soldiers entered and occupied Mabitac. In 1945, the Philippine Commonwealth Army troops of the 4th, 42nd and 43rd Infantry Division and 4th Constabulary Regiment of the Philippine Constabulary together with the recognized guerrillas defeated the Japanese Imperial forces during the Second Battle of Mabitac.

Barangays

Mabitac is politically subdivided into 15 barangays:

Climate

Demographics

In the, the population of Mabitac was people, with a density of.

Images