San Pedro, Laguna


', officially the ', is a 1st class of the Philippines| in the province of,. According to the, it has a population of people.
It is named after its patron saint, Peter the Apostle.
Despite being the third smallest in the entire province, with a total land surface area of only 24.05 km2, San Pedro is the fourth largest city in terms of population after the cities of Calamba, Biñan, and Santa Rosa. The city also has the highest population density in the province of Laguna and in the whole Calabarzon region, having 14,000 people/km2.

History

San Pedro de Tunasán became a town on January 18, 1725, when King Charles II of Spain decreed that the town formerly known as "Tabuko" be a separate town from "Kabullaw".
By virtue of the last will of Philip V of Spain, Rodriguez de Figueroa or "Don Esteban", a group of Augustinian Fathers gained the ownership of the Tunasán Estate. Later on, San Pedro became an hacienda of Colegio de San José, a group of Jesuits friars who took over the property which now is known as "San Pedro Tunasán". Tunasán literally means "a place where there is Tunás", a medicinal plant abundant on shoreline area.
During that period, agriculture, fishing, duck raising, fruit trees, and sampaguita were the main source of income of its residents. This period was highlighted by the growing tenant/landlord dispute. The tenants of Hacienda San Pedro Tunasán fought for their birthrights over their ancestral lands. This struggle took almost 423 years of unsuccessful resistance to Colegio de San José, and in 1938, the government bought the home sites of the San Pedro Tunasán Hacienda from the Colegio for re-sale to its tenants. This event laid to rest the tenants/landlord problem in the town.
In the year 1902, the name San Pedro de Tunasán was simplified to San Pedro.
From the Spanish time until after the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, the scenario did change a bit, when on August 30, 1954, beginning to the Philippine Commonwealth forces against the Japanese, President Ramón Magsaysay signed at the historic town plaza the Land Tenancy Act. By virtue of this law, farm lots of the hacienda were bought by the Philippine government to be sold at cost to the tenants or occupants of the farm lots in Bayan-Bayanan under the Narra Settlement Project of the Magsaysay Administration.

Cityhood

On March 27, 2013, President Benigno Aquino III signed the Republic Act No. 10420 converting the municipality into a new component city of the province of Laguna. The cityhood of San Pedro was ratified through a plebiscite scheduled by the Commission on Elections. The date for the ratification is December 28, 2013 after the National Barangay Elections. It became the sixth city of Laguna after the cities of Biñan, Cabuyao, Calamba, San Pablo, and Santa Rosa, and also the third to be a city in the 1st congressional district of Laguna - making it the first city district in the province.
COMELEC officially proclaimed the first-class municipality of San Pedro as a component city of Laguna on December 29, 2013. Juanito Icarro, regional director of Calabarzon and Mimaropa, and Marianne Marfori, provincial election supervisor, made the proclamation at the municipal hall after San Pedro residents voted for the cityhood in a plebiscite held on December 28, 2013. "Yes" votes for cityhood totaled 16,996, and "no" votes, only 869, in 501 clustered precincts in San Pedro. Only 11% of 165,777 registered voters in San Pedro's 27 barangays took part in the plebiscite.

San Pedro City eyed as 18th member of Metro Manila

Support groups from the local government and non-government organizations are striving to incorporate San Pedro into Metro Manila.
Former Metro Manila Development Authority Chairman Francis Tolentino is pushing for the inclusion of San Pedro City in the National Capital Region, and eventually become its 18th member city. Tolentino said that in the first meeting of the MMDA Council of mayors in January 2015, he will push for the inclusion of the city to the MMDA.
Senator Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III is seeking the separation of the City of San Pedro from the first legislative district of Laguna province to constitute a lone congressional district. In 2015, Pimentel filed for the creation of the San Pedro City as a separate district to commence in the next national and local elections.

Geography

San Pedro is located in Region IV-A or Calabarzon. San Pedro is the boundary between Laguna and Metro Manila, so San Pedro is known as "Laguna's Gateway to Metro Manila". San Pedro shares boundaries with Metro Manila's southernmost city, Muntinlupa bounded with Tunasan River, Biñan, Dasmariñas, Carmona and Gen. Mariano Alvarez bound with San Isidro River. Its position makes San Pedro a popular suburban residential community, where many residents commute daily to Metro Manila for work.

Barangays

San Pedro is politically subdivided into 27 barangays. Barangay San Antonio is the largest barangay, which has a total of 780 hectares, while Barangay San Vicente is the most populous with a total population of 92,092.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7^Seven new barangays created as separate and distinct from its mother Barangay San Vicente after it was ratified and approved through a plebiscite held on July 11, 2015 under COMELEC Resolution No. 9969.

Climate

Demographics

The City of San Pedro is the 37th most populous city in the Philippines. As of, the population is, up from 294,310 in 2010, or an increase of almost 11%. Its area is with a density of.

Religion

San Pedro is home for the famous Krus ng San Pedro Tunasán. Majority of the people are Roman Catholics. Other religious groups include are the Members Church of God International, Jesus Miracle Crusade International Ministry, United Church of Christ in the Philippines, Jesus Is Lord Church, Jesus Christ the Lifegiver Ministries, Iglesia Ni Cristo, The United Methodist Church, Presbyterian Churches, Christian Bible Baptist Church, other Baptist and Bible Fundamental churches. Islam is also practiced within the community. There are 15 Catholic parishes in the city, and one mosque.

Economy

Most economic activity in San Pedro is concentrated at San Antonio, also the city's largest and most populous barangay. Barangay Nueva, the city center, is home to a central public market as well as clothing and homeware stores, and some supermarkets. San Pedro also has a large number of factories, most notably the Alaska Milk Corporation factory in San Antonio.

Agriculture

Agricultural lands now account for only thirteen hectares of the total land area due to residential, commercial and industrial conversions. There are lands with slope ranging from 8%-15% of the total land area located in parts of barangays San Antonio and San Vicente planted with mangoes and siniguelas trees. Livestock and poultry businesses operate in the area.

Commerce and industry

There are 4,705 total business establishments, 40+ commercial, savings and rural banks, 110+ restaurant, cafeteria, and other refreshment parlor, and two public and five private markets and supermarkets. There are 40 banks, over 60 pawnshops, over 30 lending institutions and 11 insurance companies operating in the city. Commercial and business establishments are mostly concentrated at Pacita Complex and Rosario. A large percentage of industrial and manufacturing establishments of San Pedro is located on the adjacent barangays of San Vicente and San Antonio; E&E Industrial Complex is located in San Antonio where some of the city's factories are situated.

Malls

, San Pedro's first major mall located at Barangay Nueva, opened in July 19, 2019. Galleria South is the 1st Robinsons Galleria mall in South Luzon and 3rd nationwide. The mall houses government offices like Philhealth, Pag-ibig, LTO, etc, and also has art pieces at every corner.

Tourism

Sampaguita Festival

The annual City Festival is celebrated in the second week of February. This week-long festival includes various activities ranging from cultural to sports, trade fairs, amateur singing contests, parades, historical exhibits, social and religious gatherings, tribal dances, street dances, cheering and sport exhibitions. The highlight of the festival is the coronation night of the "Hiyas ng San Pedro". The festival aims to promote tourism in San Pedro and to revitalize Sampaguita industry in the community.The celebration was formerly known as "Manok ni San Pedro Festival", which started in 1999 and was renamed to "Sampaguita Festival" in 2002. The celebration kicked off with a grand parade.
San Pedro City holds the record of laying the longest sampaguita line, spanning, from Biñan City - San Pedro City boundary to San Pedro City - Muntinlupa City boundary on the National Highway; this was listed in the Guinness World Records in 2009.

Christmas Festival

Paskuhan Sa San Pedro is an annually celebrated festival in San Pedro City. It starts at the beginning of December and runs to the end of the month. The opening is a grand parade which is participated in by public and private schools in the city, local government and other socio-civic organizations. The main event of the opening is the lighting of the whole plaza, fireworks display, and various school performances. Every night a variety of shows are performed by the participants, which last up to midnight. On 29 December of every year the cityhood anniversary of San Pedro is celebrated.

Salvador Laurel Museum and Library

The museum preserves and celebrates the insurmountable
professional and Political avchievement of the late statesman, located at Holliday hills.

Transportation

San Pedro is traversed by the South Luzon Expressway, which roughly cuts through the middle of town, and the older National Highway, an at-grade route mostly used by public transportation.
San Pedro is at the terminus of numerous city bus routes, and the central bus terminal is at Pacita Complex. Jeepneys ply the highway, and there are also jeepneys that connects the barangays to the west. Most of the city is served by tricycles, while barangay Landayan and some subdivisions have pedicabs as well.
The PNR Metro Commuter Line serves the city, with two stations: San Pedro and Pacita Main Gate.

Healthcare

Throughout the city, healthcare is primarily provided at the Barangay Health Centers in every barangay. Also, several medical missions are operated and provided by local and international organizations. The major hospitals in the city are:
Most people in San Pedro live in over 59 subdivisions, that are either gated communities or open residential areas. The city is also a location of several government-led relocation projects. Squatters, or informal settlers, are scattered over the city.

Education

The Department of Education Region IV-A - Division of San Pedro supervises the operation of over 12 public elementary schools and 7 public high schools and provides permits to over 35 private schools, including Catholic schools. Private schools are scattered throughout the city, especially on the subdivisions. With the implementation of the K-12 program, some private schools added senior high schools, and many public high schools still have limited facilities for the senior high school.
Tertiary education and technical education are provided by several institutions scattered on the city. The Laguna Northwestern College has two campuses in San Pedro, one being a branch on Pacita Complex and the other one at A. Mabini St.. Polytechnic University of the Philippines has one campus in the city. San Pedro College of Business Administration in Barangay Nueva provides courses related to business administration. And recently, San Pedro City Polytechnic College located at Barangay Narra has opened it's door last 2017 to students of San Pedro

Local government

List of former mayors

Municipal mayors:
City mayors:
The City of San Pedro logo represents San Pedro's identity – a Gateway City:
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