Santo Tomas, Batangas

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.[6]

Mount Makiling seen from uptown Santo Tomas

Santo Tomas is located at 14°05′N 121°11′E. It is situated at the foot of Mount Makiling, and is 70 kilometers (43 mi) south of Manila.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the city has a land area of 95.41 square kilometers (36.84 sq mi) [3] constituting 3.06% of the 3,119.75-square-kilometer (1,204.54 sq mi) total area of Batangas.

In the 2015 census, Santo Tomas had a population of 179,844. [4] The population density was 1,900 inhabitants per square kilometre (4,900/sq mi).

Public market

The First Philippine Industrial Park which is owned by the Lopez Group of Companies is located in the city.[15]

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,[16] Portello subdivision which was developed by Camella Homes,[17] 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 (bone marrow soup) 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 (CBD) 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.

City hall

• Mayor: Edna Padilla Sanchez
• Vice Mayor: Armenius O. Silva
• Councilors:
• Catherine J. Perez
• Gerardo M. Malijan
• Danilo P. Mabilangan
• Arlene F. Mañebo
• Renante V. Arcillas
• Helengrace P. Navarro
• Cresenciano E. Ramos, Jr.
• Raymond Timothy V. Almeda
• ABC president: Severino M. Medalla
• SK Federation President: Mico Renzo D. Bathan

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.[22]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Santo Tomas, Batangas.

• Official website
• Santo Tomas Profile at PhilAtlas.com
• Philippine Standard Geographic Code
• Santo Tomas, Batangas Wordpress