Quezon

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Quezon Province
Lalawigan ng Quezon
Provincia de Quezon
—  Province  —
Province of Quezon

Flag

Seal
Nickname(s): The Palm State
Map of the Philippines with Quezon highlighted
Coordinates: 14°10′N 121°50′E / 14.167°N 121.833°E / 14.167; 121.833Coordinates: 14°10′N 121°50′E / 14.167°N 121.833°E / 14.167; 121.833
Country  Philippines
Region CALABARZON (Region IV-A)
Founded 1591 (as Kalilayan), March 2, 1901 (as Tayabas)
Capital Kalilayan (now Unisan)
(1591-1779)
Tayabas
(1779-1910)
Lucena
(1910-present)
Government
 • Type Province of the Philippines
 • Governor David C. Suarez (NUP)
 • Vice Governor Vicente J. Alcala (Independent)
Area
 • Total 8,706.6 km2 (3,361.6 sq mi)
Area rank 8th out of 80
  2nd largest in Philippines before split of Baler and Boac
Population (2010)
 • Total 1,987,030
 • Rank 12th out of 80
 • Density Bad rounding here230/km2 (Bad rounding here590/sq mi)
 • Density rank 41st out of 80
Divisions
 • Independent cities 1
 • Component cities 1
 • Municipalities 39
 • Barangays 1,209
including independent cities: 1,242
 • Districts 1st to 4th districts of Quezon (shared with Lucena City)
Time zone PHT (UTC+8)
ZIP Code 4300-4342
Spoken languages Tagalog (Tayabas Dialect), English
Website www.quezon.gov.ph

Quezon (Tagalog pronunciation: [keˈzon]) is a province of the Philippines in the CALABARZON region of Luzon island. The province was named after Manuel L. Quezon, the second President of the Philippines, and its capital is Lucena City.

Quezon is southeast of Metro Manila and is bordered by the provinces of Aurora to the north, Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna and Batangas to the west and the provinces of Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur to the east. Part of Quezon lies on an isthmus connecting the Bicol Peninsula to the main part of Luzon. The province also includes the Polillo Islands in the Philippine Sea.

A major tourism draw to the province is Mount Banahaw. The mountain is surrounded by spiritual mysticism with many cults and religious organizations staying on the mountain. Numerous pilgrims visit the mountain especially during Holy Week.

Contents

History [edit]

Originally, what now forms Quezon was divided among the provinces of Batangas, Laguna, and Nueva Ecija. The area was first explored by Juan de Salcedo in 1571-1572, during his expedition from Laguna to Camarines provinces.

In 1591, the province was created and called Kaliraya or Kalilayan, after the capital town which later became Unisan. In about the middle of the 18th century, the capital was transferred to the town of Tayabas, from which the province got its new name.

Depredation and plunder by the Moros were rampant during the Spanish regime, because they opposed the colonizers, especially in their efforts to spread Christianity. The destruction of Kalilayan in 1604 by a big fleet of moro pirates caused the inhabitants to transfer to Palsabangon (Pagbilao).

However, even the colonized people grew discontented with the Spaniards over the centuries. The most important event in the history of the province was the Confradia Revolt in 1841, which was led by the famous Lucbano, Apolinario dela Cruz, popularly known as Hermano Pule. The province, under Gen. Miguel Malvar, was also among the earliest to join the Philippine Revolution. The Revolutionary Government took control over the province on August 15, 1898.

The Americans then came and annexed the Philippines. A civil government was established in the province on March 12, 1901, with Lucena as its capital.

Japanese occupation of the province during World War II began on December 23, 1941, when the Japanese Imperial Army landed in Atimonan. The occupation witnessed the brutal murders of prominent sons of Tayabas. April 4, 1945 was the day the province was liberated as the combined Filipino and American army forces reached Lucena.

After the war, on September 7, 1946, Republic Act No. 14 changed the name Tayabas to Quezon, in honor of Manuel L. Quezon, the Commonwealth president who hailed from Baler, which was one of the province's towns.

Quezon's division [edit]

In 1951, the northern part of Quezon was made into the sub-province of Aurora (which included Baler). Aurora was the name of the president's wife, Aurora Quezon. In 1979, Aurora was separated from Quezon as an independent province.

In 1992, Republic Act No. 9495[1], which proposed to further divide Quezon into Quezon del Norte and Quezon del Sur lapsed into law without the President's signature on September 7, 2007. Quezon del Norte was to be composed of the first and second congressional districts of the province, with Lucena City as its capital. Quezon del Sur, with its capital at Gumaca, would have been composed of the third and fourth congressional districts. The COMELEC held the plebiscite on December 13, 2008 and majority of the votes cast rejected the division.

Geography [edit]

Quezon, east of Metro Manila, is the 8th largest province in the Philippines having an area of 892,601 hectares or 8,926.01 km². The northern part of the province is sandwiched between the Sierra Madre mountain range and the Philippine Sea. The southern part consists of the Tayabas Isthmus, which separates the Bicol Peninsula from the main part of Luzon Island, and the Bondoc Peninsula which lies between Tayabas Bay and Ragay Gulf.

The major islands of Quezon are Alabat Island and Polillo Islands. Mount Banahaw, an extinct volcano, is the highest peak at 2,188 m. It supplies geothermal power to the Makban Geothermal Power Plant.

Demographics [edit]

The inhabitants are mostly Tagalogs. The population is concentrated in the flat south-central portion which includes Lucena City, Sariaya, and Candelaria. After World War II, the Infanta area received migrants from Manila, Laguna and Batangas. People from Marinduque moved to the southern part of the Tayabas Isthmus and the Bondoc Peninsula. And people from Bicol Region migrated to Southern Towns of Calauag and Tagkawayan.

Economy [edit]

Quezon is the country's leading producer of coconut products such as coconut oil and copra. A large part of the province is covered in coconut plantations. Other major crops are rice, corn, banana, and coffee. Fishing is also a large part of the province's economy.

Cities and municipalities [edit]

Political subdivisions

Quezon is subdivided into 39 municipalities and one component city named Tayabas City. Lucena City, the capital, is independent from the administrative and fiscal supervision of the province, but is eligible to vote for provincial officials.

City/Municipality No. of
Barangays
Area
(km²)
Population
(2007)
Population
(2010)
Pop. density
(per km²)
1st District 308 4180.1 465,527 489,901 117.20
Burdeos
14
199.8
23,568
24,166
120.95
General Nakar
19
1344.8
24,895
25,973
19.31
Infanta
36
342.8
60,346
64,818
189.08
Jomalig
5
56.7
6,111
6,884
121.41
Lucban
32
130.5
45,616
46,698
357.84
Mauban
40
416
55,866
61,141
146.97
Pagbilao
27
171
62,561
65,996
385.94
Panukulan
12
226.6
11,968
12,511
55.21
Patnanungan
6
139.2
12,825
13,865
99.61
Polillo
20
253
27,912
28,125
111.17
Real
17
563.9
33,073
35,189
63.40
Sampaloc
14
104.8
13,534
13,107
125.07
Tayabas City
66
231
87,252
91,428
395.79
2nd District 168 825.4 614,677 646,838 783.67
Candelaria
25
129.1
105,997
110,570
856.47
Dolores
16
62.6
26,312
27,702
442.52
Lucena City
33
80.2
236,390
246,392
3072.22
San Antonio
20
172.9
30,023
31,681
183.23
Sariaya
43
212.2
128,248
138,894
654.54
Tiaong
31
168.4
87,707
91,599
543.94
3rd District 324 1982.75 386,783 412,748 208.17
Agdangan
12
31.5
11,164
11,567
367.21
Buenavista
37
161.4
24,798
29,053
180.01
Catanauan
46
253.1
65,705
65,832
260.11
General Luna
27
101
23,379
25,373
251.22
Macalelon
30
120.45
25,986
26,419
219.34
Mulanay
28
420
48,538
50,826
121.01
Padre Burgos
22
69.1
19,877
20,161
291.77
Pitogo
39
73.4
21,095
21,380
291.28
San Andres
7
61
29,216
33,586
550.59
San Francisco
16
304
53,286
57,979
190.72
San Narciso
24
263.6
39,828
45,386
172.18
Unisan
36
124.2
23,600
25,186
202.79
4th District 452 2079.4 415,913 437,543 210.42
Alabat
19
57.6
14,789
16,120
279.86
Atimonan
42
239.7
59,157
61,587
256.93
Calauag
90
324.7
69,475
69,223
213.19
Guinayangan
55
214.1
39,074
41,669
194.62
Gumaca
59
189.7
63,778
69,618
366.99
Lopez
95
355.4
86,660
91,074
256.26
Perez
14
57.5
11,022
12,039
209.37
Plaridel
9
35.1
10,069
10,238
291.68
Quezon
24
71.2
15,011
15,142
212.67
Tagkawayan
45
534.4
46,878
50,833
95.12

Notable people from Quezon [edit]

Splitting Quezon: Quezon del Norte and Quezon del Sur [edit]

On September 7, 2007, the Charter of Quezon del Sur, known as Republic Act No. 9495, lapsed into law without the signature of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. If approved by the voters of Quezon, it will split the province into two. Quezon del Sur will comprise the towns of Agdangan, Buenavista, Catanauan, General Luna, Macalelon, Mulanay, Padre Burgos, Pitogo, San Andres, San Francisco, San Narciso, Unisan, Alabat, Atimonan, Calauag, Guinayangan, Gumaca, Lopez, Perez, Plaridel, Quezon and Tagkawayan.

Quezon del Norte (original province) will comprise Burdeos, General Nakar, Infanta, Jamalig, Lucban, Mauban, Pagbilao, Panukulan, Patnanungan, Polillo, Real, Sampaloc, Tayabas, Candelaria, Dolores, San Antonio, Sariaya, Tiaong and Lucena City. The capital of Quezon del Sur shall be Gumaca while Quezon del Norte shall be Lucena City. If the plebiscite of November 2008 will favor splitting Quezon into two provinces, Quezon del Norte and Quezon del Sur will still be part of the CALABARZON (Southern Tagalog, Region-4A) under their original acronym "ZON" (Quezon).[1]

The Commission on Elections (Philippines) will hold the plebiscite on December 13, 2008, the 60th day after Republic Act No. 9495 will take effect. Gov. Rafael Nantes, one of the original authors of the law, and Vice Gov. Carlos Portes, opposed the division of the province. Board member Sonny Pulgar and businessman Hobart Dator Jr. launched the "Save Quezon Province Movement." The Comelec allotted P 50 million for the plebiscite.[2] Academician Prof. Joseph Jadway "JJ" Marasigan provided what he called the "strong theoretical framework" that deems the said split as a step backward. He instead called for the professionalization of service institutions and the differentiation of functions as the answer to the province's increasingly becoming complex environment. He organized students and fellow academicians to oppose such move. His participation resulted in a grave misunderstanding with the Lucena Catholic Bishop Emilio Marquez who strongly supported the idea of splitting the province. Marasigan maintained that bishops have no business in dealing with entirely political matters and should refrain from using their influence over their flock. Gov. Rafael Nantes, has later softened his stand against the proposed creation of Quezon del Sur.[3] Accordingly, upon request of Comelec Chair Jose Melo, a P38 million "Special Allotment Release Order" was issued by the Department of Budget and Management to the Commission on Elections (Philippines) to fund the holding of the plebiscite.[4]

On November 17, 2008, Save Quezon Province Movement (SQPM) asked the Supreme Court of the Philippines to declare Republic Act 9495 as unconstitutional, and to restrain the implementation of a November 12 Commission on Elections (Philippines) Resolutions Nos. 8533, 8534, 8535, 8537, 8538 and 8539[5] setting the plebiscite.[6][7]

Ultimately, the split did not push through, as the proposal was not approved.

Metro Lucena [edit]

Metro Lucena has an estimated population of 700,000 which is mostly concentrated in the flat south-central portion of Quezon, which includes the cities of Lucena and Tayabas, Sariaya, Candelaria, Lucban & Pagbilao . The people are often characterized as friendly and hardworking. It is the center of commerce and tourism in Quezon Province.

City/Municipality Nickname/s Class No. of
Barangays
Area
(km²)
Population
(2007)
Population
(2010)
Pop. density
(per km²)
Candelaria
Industrial Town of Quezon
1st Class Municipality
25
129.1
105,997
110,570
857
Lucban
Summer Capital of Quezon
2nd Class Municipality
32
154.15
45,616
46,698
303
Lucena City
Cocopalm City of the South
Biofuel City
The Gateway to the South
Entertainment Capital of Southern Luzon
1st Class City
Highly-urbanized City
33
83.17
236,390
246,392
2963
Pagbilao
Power Port of Quezon
1st Class Municipality
27
177.6
62,561
65,996
372
Sariaya
Heritage Town of Quezon
1st Class Municipality
43
245.3
128,248
138,894
566
Tayabas City
Home of the Finest Lambanog
City of Festivals
The City of Eleven Bridges
4th Class City
66
230.95
87,252
91,428
396

References [edit]

External links [edit]