Padre Garcia, officially the Municipality of Padre Garcia, is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 51,853 people. Padre Garcia's old name is Lumang Bayan, as it is the former seat of government of the neighboring town of Rosario. The name of the town is derived from one of its most famous sons, Padre Vicente Garcia, a native of Barangay Maugat. He was one of the first defenders of Jose Rizal's Noli Me Tangere. He and Rizal were friends during the time when they were fighting for the Philippines' independence from Spain. It is bounded on the north and northwest by Lipa City; east by San Antonio, Quezon; and south and southwest by Rosario.

History

The town was originally part of Rosario and known as Lumang Bayan or Sambat. It officially became a separate municipality on December 1, 1949 through Executive Order No. 279 signed by President Elpidio Quirino on October 11, 1949, with Jose A. Pesigan and Rustico K. Recto as the first elected mayor and vice mayor, respectively. It originally consisted of barrios Banaba, Banay-banay, Bawi, Castillo, Maugat, Lumang Bayan (poblacion), Pansol, Payapa, Quilo-quilo, San Miguel, San Felipe, and Tangob. In 1952, the town council founded the cattle market or bakahan. This was in direct competition to the established livestock market of neighboring Rosario, which resulted in rivalry, intimidation, and violence at times. But the market succeeded and developed into the biggest auction market in Southern Tagalog. Cattle trade happens during every Friday of the week.

Contemporary

On July 28, 2023, the new five-story municipal hall of Padre Garcia was inaugurated.

Geography

Padre Garcia is located at °N, °W. It is 27 km from Batangas City, 132 km from Manila, 53 km from Lucena, and 11 km from Lipa. According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the municipality has a land area of 41.51 km2 constituting NaN% of the 3,119.75 km2 total area of Batangas.

Barangays

Padre Garcia is politically subdivided into 18 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, Padre Garcia had a population of 51,853. The population density was undefined PD/km2.

Economy

Gallery