Santo Tomas, Batangas


', officially the ', is a of the Philippines| in the province of,. According to the, it has a population of people.
With the continuous expansion of Metro Manila, the city is now part of Manila's conurbation which reaches Lipa in its southernmost part. It borders the cities of Calamba to the north, Los Baños to the north-east, Alaminos to the east, Tanauan and Malvar to the west, and Lipa to the south.
Santo Tomas is the hometown of Philippine Revolution and Philippine-American War hero Miguel Malvar, the last Filipino General to surrender to the Americans. On September 7, 2019, the Republic Act 11086, or the City Charter of Santo Tomas, was ratified on a plebiscite by the electorate of Santo Tomas.
The patron of Santo Tomas is Saint Thomas Aquinas, patron of Catholic schools, whose feast day is celebrated every March 7.

History

The then-municipality of Santo Tomas was founded in 1666, with Captain Manuel Melo as its first head. Originally, it was composed of a large Poblacion. When the Spanish friars arrived, their first and foremost objective was to construct a church near the river to satisfy their propensity for water. Thus, the present site of the Roman Catholic Church was chosen, near the San Juan River. As years went by, more houses were built around the church. This became the center of the Poblacion.
Other groups of houses were scattered all over the area. They were given such odd names as "Kabaong", because the stones along the road were coffin shaped; "Putol" because the trail was cut by a creek that crossed over it, "Aptayin", because "apta" of fine shrimps were found in the brook, "Biga", because biga trees abounded there, and "Camballao", because twin rivers divided the place. These different unit groups comprised the barrios of the town.
The natives were by nature God-fearing, peaceful and obedient. The conquerors did not much have difficulty in enforcing decrees and orders. One such irrevocable decree was to change the original names of the barrios to the names of Saints in the Catholic Calendar and to place each them under its patrotonio, the former "Pook" and "Aptayin" were joined together and called San Bartolome, "Kabaong" was changed to San Vicente, "Biga" to Santa Anastacia, and "Camballao" to San Isidro Sur and Isidro Norte. The whole town was given the name of Santo Tomas de Aquino, a high Prince of the Dominican Order to where most of the first friars belonged. As time went by, more barrios were added to the list each with an assumed name of a saint.
From the year 1666, the head of the town had different titles. He was variously known as "Captain" from 1666 to 1782; "Alcalde" from 1783 to 1788; "Gobernadorcillo" from 1789 to 1821; "Presidente Local" from 1822 to 1899; "Presidente Municipal" from 1900 to 1930; and "Municipal Mayor" from 1931 to the present.

Cityhood

In 2015, Nelson P. Collantes, the then representative of Batangas' 3rd District, proposed a House bill to convert Santo Tomas into a component city. After a few years, with a unanimous vote of 19–0, the Senate approved a Senate bill for the municipality's conversion into a city on March 19, 2018. On October 5, 2018, President Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act 11086 or "An Act Converting the Municipality of Santo Tomas in the Province of Batangas into a Component City to be known as the City of Santo Tomas." It is the first municipality to be converted into a city under the Duterte administration, effectively ratified September 7, 2019.

Geography

Santo Tomas is located at. It is situated at the foot of Mount Makiling, and is south of Manila.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the has a land area of constituting of the total area of Batangas.

Barangays

Santo Tomas is politically subdivided into 30 barangays. Most of the barangays were named after saints.

Climate

Demographics

In the, had a population of. The population density was.

Economy

The First Philippine Industrial Park which is owned by the Lopez Group of Companies is located in the city.
Most of the city is residential with a lot of farmland. But there are also some developed subdivisions along the city like the San Antonio Heights in Barangay San Antonio which was developed by Avida Land, a division of Ayala Land, Portello subdivision which was developed by Camella Homes, and Terrazza de Santo Tomas in Barangay San Roque which was developed by Ovialand. The city is well known for an entire strip of bulalo restaurants and to a hospital named Saint Cabrini Medical Center which is located inside the city center.
Aside from various real estate development in the city, Santo Tomas also has a popular lifestyle and commercial complex in the locality. The AGOJO-Lifestyle Strip located in the Central Business District along the Maharlika Highway houses various restaurants, coffee shops, salons, clothing boutiques, videoke bars, fitness gym, automotive services and Shell Fuel Station among others. Popular restaurants and coffee shops include both international brands and home grown establishments. These include McDonald's,Yellow Cab Pizza, Kuya J Restaurant, Savory Chinese Restaurant, Bon Chon, Tapa King, Macao Imperial Milk Tea, Serendipity Tea Bar,Gossip Milk Tea, SouthBox KTV, Tagami Japanese Restaurant, Retro Bags & Wings, Brand X Burger, MiniStop, Crave Cave, Goldilocks, Red Ribbon, Cafe Tribu, Starbucks, Taza Mia Coffee and Figaro Coffee. Beauty & Wellness shops like Davids Salon, Nailandia, Glow Spa, Hearty Nails, Beauty Loft, Derma Care Facial center, Brand Shack RTW and Less Consumo clothing. Also within the lifestyle strip are insurance and bank branches namely LandBank, China Bank, Standard Insurance and Alpha Insurance. Other dining options along the area includes Shakey's Pizza, Mang Inasal, Jollibee, KFC, Seafood Island, Chowking, Bo's Coffee, King Lok Restaurant, and Barrio Fiesta.
Liana's mall and Puregold are also present for grocery and shopping needs of the locals. Moreover, an upcoming SM Mall is in development near the city center.

Transportation

Roads

The Maharlika Highway connects the city with Calamba, the rest of Laguna, with the highway reaching as far as Bicol Region. The Southern Tagalog Arterial Road starts at the city from the north side of the expressway, and connects the city with Lipa and Batangas City. A connection with South Luzon Expressway has been opened, further connecting the city with Metro Manila. The José P. Laurel Highway connects the city with Tanauan City, Lipa and Batangas City.

Public transport

s connect the city with Calamba to the north, Tanauan to the south, and San Pablo to the east. Buses from Manila to Batangas City, Lucena, or Bicol serve the city. UV Express service also connects Santo Tomas with San Pablo, Santa Rosa, Lipa, and Dasmariñas. Tricycles provide transportation within the barangays.

Government

Universities

The Polytechnic University of the Philippines has one campus in Santo Tomas.

High schools

The city has 4 public high schools.
There are 28 public elementary schools within Santo Tomas.

Santo Tomas North District

A. Zone 1
B. Zone 2
C. Zone 3
A. Zone 4
B. Zone 5
C. Zone 6
There are 15 private schools within the Santo Tomas.
In Philippine mythology, the homeland of the anggitays is believed to be somewhere in Santo Tomas, Batangas. The anggitays are creatures resembling centaurs but have a single horn on the forehead and are generally female.