Tanauan, Province of Batangas, Calabarzon, Philippines

🇵🇭 Tanauan, officially the City of Tanauan, is a 1st Class component city in the province of Batangas, Philippines. It is incorporated as a city under Republic Act No. 9005, signed on February 2, 2001, and ratified on March 10, 2001.

The city is part of Mega Manila resulting from the continuous expansion of Metro Manila. It shares its borders with Calamba, Laguna, to the north, Tagaytay City, Cavite, to the north-west, Talisay to the west, Santo Tomas City to the east, and the towns of Balete and Malvar to the south. It borders on Taal Lake to the west. The town is known for the Old Tanauan Church Ruins, the most important archaeological site in the municipality where human remains from the colonial era have been unearthed.

Among those born in Tanauan are revolutionary former Prime Minister Apolinario Mabini and former President José P. Laurel.

Etymology The name "Tanauan" may have come from: • the Tagalog word tanaw, which means "to look through [the window]", as it was the site of a lookout tower that provides a view of the Pansipit River on the other side of Taal Lake and of the surrounding lands; or • tanawa, a shrub that flourished in the area and on the shoreline of Taal Lake, according to the National Historical Commission of the Philippines.

History Tanauan was founded by the Augustinians in 1584 on the north-western bay of Taal Lake (formerly Bombon Lake), called Tanauan Bay. Lookout towers were associated with 16th and 17th century churches to forewarn of Moro raids. "Old Tanauan" (Tagalog: Lumang Tanauan) included such lookout tower and associated sapao (built-up structures in the water). The 1754 eruption of Taal Volcano forced the town inhabitants to initially move to Sala. Then both towns moved again later that year to Tanauan's current location, in which Sala is now a barrio.

Tanaueños have displayed characteristics of personal independence and nationalism since early history. The town is called the cradle of noble heroes due to its contribution to the revolutionary movement of its sons Apolinario Mabini, the brains of Katipunan, and later by the statesman José P. Laurel. Also, three Tanaueños served as governors of Batangas, namely: José P. Laurel V, Modesto Castillo and Nicolas Gonzales.

From 1903 to 1906, during the American occupation, it was consolidated with the municipality of Talisay and became the seat of the municipal government. In 1904, the barrios of Balaquilong (Balakilong), Bayuyungan, Binirayan (Berinayan), Bugaan, and San Gabriel were ceded to Taal by virtue of Act No. 1244; these barrios would eventually be returned to Talisay and later form the present-day Laurel.

Recent events include the assassination of its former mayor, Cesar V. Platon, by NPA rebels on May 7, 2001, as he was running for the governorship of Batangas. This happened in Tuy a few days before the election. On July 2, 2018, then-mayor Antonio Halili, noted for public humiliation campaigns against criminals and drug pushers, was assassinated during the flag raising ceremony at the city hall.

Cityhood The Congress approved Batangas 3rd District Representative Jose Macario Laurel IV's bill and a Senate counterpart measure to convert the municipality of Tanauan into a city on December 19, 2000. Republic Act No. 9005, known as "The Charter of the City of Tanauan", was signed into law on February 2, 2001 by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

On March 10, 2001, a Saturday, the charter was approved by a referendum in Tanauan that drew 8,890 or 16% of the 55,453 registered voters. Two ballots were either spoiled or blank. The "yes" had it over the "no" by a landslide, 7,026 to 1,961.

According to cityhood advocates, quoted in reports reaching Batangas on Sunday, the turnout, despite being two times better than previous conversion-to-city exercises, was still only 16%.

Geography It is situated 64 km (40 mi) south of Manila and 41 km (25 mi) north of Batangas City.

Geography: Barangays Tanauan City is politically subdivided into 48 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

Religion Roman Catholicism is the most dominant and visible religion in Tanauan. St. John the Evangelist is its patron, and its main church is the St. John the Evangelist Parish. La Consolacion College Tanauan (formerly Our Lady of Fatima Academy, 1948), run by the Augustinian Sisters of Our Lady of Consolation, is the first Catholic school in the city. Other Catholic schools include Our Lady of Assumption Montessori School and Daughters of Mary Immaculate School (lay-operated). First Asia Institute is converting from a non-sectarian school to a Catholic (Christian) school.

Iglesia ni Cristo, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), Islam and other religious groups are also present in the city.

Economy Tanauan is known as an agricultural trading centre of Calabarzon. Agricultural products from Calabarzon and as far as the Mimaropa and Bicol regions are being sent here before it reaches Metro Manila public markets. Aside from being an important agricultural centre, Tanauan is also one of the Philippines' major industrial centres nowadays hosting four industrial parks which is home to various multinational companies and tourism facilities.

Transport: Public Jeepneys serve the city and the nearby municipalities and barangays. Tricycles provide transportation on the barangays. Buses connect the city with Metro Manila and Batangas City.

Transport: Road The Southern Tagalog Arterial Road passes at the central part of the city. The expressway connects the city with the rest of Batangas. Jose P. Laurel Highway connects the city to Santo Tomas and to the Pan-Philippine Highway on the north and with Malvar, Lipa, San Jose, and Batangas City to the south. Another highway links Tanauan with Talisay and Tagaytay. A 7.8-kilometer (4.8 mi) service road on both sides of STAR Tollway will connect the north-eastern barangays of Tanauan to the south-eastern barangays of the city

Aside from the STAR Tollway, national roads like the Jose P. Laurel Highway (Route 4) and Tanauan–Talisay Road (Route 421) serves also the city. The city also maintains roads that connects the rural barangays of the city.

Education Among the tertiary educational establishments in Tanauan is the First Asia Institute of Technology and Humanities, La Consolacion College, Christian College of Tanauan, Nova Schola, the STI Academic Center, the DMMC Institute of Health Sciences, and the Tanauan Institute. The Tanauan Institute is the oldest private education institution in the city having been established in 1924. The Sapphire International Aviation Academy which caters to aspiring aircraft pilots is also located within the city at the Barradas Airstrip.

There are 9 private and 16 public high schools, and 27 private and 44 public elementary schools. Those schools are overseen by the City Schools Division of Tanauan.