Lipa, Batangas

At the coming of the Spaniards to Batangas in 1570, the Malay settlements along the southern shores of Taal Lake at Tagbakin was inhabited by the warlike descendants of the two datus called the Tagalogs. In 1605, after Marshall Gabriel de Rivera received the encomienda of Bombon, the Augustinian Fathers made Tagbakin the first settlement of the Lipeños and a mission center with the name of San Sebastian, perhaps after the installed Patron Saint, which continued to the present. The settlement was made a regular municipality in 1702 and a regular parish in 1716 with Fray Diego de Alday as the first curate.

With the eruption of Taal Volcano in 1724, the people moved to what is now "Lumang Lipa" and, again, in 1754, they moved to Balete where they settled for two years until 1756 when they moved inland to the present site obviously for more security from volcanic eruptions. When Don Galo de los Reyes was the governadorcillo of Lipa, he introduced the cultivation of coffee. The seeds of the Arabica species were said to be of two chupas brought in from Mexico by an Augustinian missionary. The coffee industry so flourished and made Lipa the richest municipality in the country with an annual income of P4,000,000.00 that on October 21, 1887, the Queen regent Maria Christina, acting for the young King Alfonso XIII, signed a decree elevating Lipa to a city known as "Villa de Lipa", and later authorized to use a coat of arms by the Royal Overseas Minister Don Víctor Balaguer.[7]

At the celebration of the elevation of Lipa to a city in January 1888, José Rizal was invited by Dr. Jose Lozada, Catalino Dimayuga and the brothers Celestino and Simeon Luz but Rizal responded only with his Hymno Al Trabajo which he dedicated to the zeal and industry of the Lipeños.

The raising of cacao was introduced in Lipa by an Augustinian priest, Father Ignacio de Mercado, and that was the beginning of its cultivation throughout the Philippines.

The Lipeños also engaged themselves in livestock raising and varied home crafts for men, and small industries, like weaving, embroidery and sewing for women. After World War II, citrus production prevailed until 1970 and, after its decline, about 1965, poultry and swine raising began to take roots and to thrive in no small degree until the present.

The first newspaper in Batangas, published in Spanish, was the Lumubog-Lumutang, printed in Lipa in 1889, and established by the well-known writers Cipriano Kalaw, Gregorio Katigbak, Benito Reyes, Hugo Latorre and Pedro Laygo. Other pioneer Spanish writers were Bernardo Solis, Catalino Dimayuga and Manuel Luz. During the revolution, Gregorio Aguilera Solis edited a newspaper Columnas Voluntas de la Federacion Malaya. This paper became the media for notable poems and literary works of Albino Dimayuga, Baldomero Roxas, Luis Lina Kison, Bernardo Solis, Benedicto Solis, Emiliano Manguiat and Petronio Katigbak. Roman Dimayuga wrote plays, while Pedro Laygo published articles on domestic and international politics and Tomas Umali on military affairs. Hispanistas during the American regime included national figures like Teodoro Kalaw, Fidel Reyes, Arsenio Luz, Max B. Solis, Enrique Laygo and Claro M. Recto. Lipeños also served in the Revolutionary Republic. These were Gregorio Aguilera who was delegate to the Malolos Congress; Ceferino Pantoja, also a member of that congress; Jose Lozada, as envoy to Washington, D.C., and Paris, and Cipriano Kalaw, the first vice-president and Treasurer of the Central Committee of Hong Kong.

Father Valerio Malabanan established a historical school that produced future leaders like Apolinario Mabini and Miguel Malvar

In the field of education, Father Valerio Malabanan[8] was foremost among Lipeños who established schools. Others were Sebastian Virrey, Jacinto Silva, Candido Lantin and Gregorio Katigbak. In 1894, Brigido Morada established his own school at his house in Mataas na Lupa. Under Father Valerio Malabanan were such well-known figures as Apolinario Mabini, General Miguel Malvar and Sotero Laurel. Sebastian Virrey countered with such former students as the brothers Alfonso and Claro M. Recto; Fidel and Carmelo Reyes; Teodoro and Maximo Kalaw; Pacifico, Jose and Enrique Laygo; and Manuel Luz Roxas, Jose D. Dimayuga, Bernabe Africa, Pablo Borbon, Potenciano Malvar, Leoncio Aranda and Bishop Alfredo Obviar. The later school, perhaps marked for permanence by the enthusiastic patronage of its high standard maintained through the years since its founding in 1922 until the present, is the Mabini Academy established by Dr. Jose Ma. Katigbak, Randall A. Rowley, Tarcila Malabanan-Katigbak and Emilia Malabanan. The fact that Lipeños, even up to the present, are very religious, may be attributed to the fact that Fr. Benito Baras, who was Parish Priest of Lipa for almost three decades (1865–1894), has considered Villa de Lipa as his very own and had shown great paternal love for the Lipeños that he constructed the Parish Church (now Cathedral of the Archdiocese of Lipa) and a new and bigger cemetery with a chapel. A plaque of dedication to the opening and blessing of the new Campo Santo De Lipa (Cemetery of Lipa) can still be seen at the archway of the entrance,[9] an attestment of Fr. Benito Baras' dedication to the people of Villa de Lipa. Moreover, without aid from the State, he constructed the bridge at Sabang and the road that served as a national highway to Manila and Laguna. The Lipa Parish, established in 1716, became a diocesan center in 1910, included the provinces of Batangas, Laguna, Tayabas (Quezon), Marinduque and Mindoro, with Msgr. Jose Petrelli as the first bishop. On August 15, 1972, the diocese was raised to an ecclesiastical province composed of Batangas province and the dioceses of Lucena, Infanta and Calapan, with Msgr Alejandro Olalia as the first Archbishop.

On August 31, 1947, Lipa was inaugurated as a chartered City created under Republic Act No. 162 approved on June 20, 1947.

Lipa is politically subdivided into 72 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

San Jose was formerly known as Patay.[11] In 1955, the sitios of Duhatan, Tagbakin, Initan, Malabong and Halang (then part of the Pinagtungolan barrio) became an independent barrio.[12] In 1957, the sitios of Waniwani, Sayatin and Look were moved from the Balete barrio to the barrio of Look.[13]

Lipa has a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen system: Am) under the Köppen climate classification, with a dry season between January and April, and rain for the rest of the year. The average yearly temperature is 25.6 °C (78.1 °F). The highest recorded temperature is 35.7 °C (96.3 °F), and the lowest recorded temperature is 16.4 °C (61.5 °F).

Tagalog is the most widely spoken language in the city. English is the medium of instruction in schools and is widely understood and spoken especially in the business community and for official documents.

Majority of the city's population are Roman Catholics, and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lipa today comprises the civil province of Batangas. Formed as the Diocese of Lipa on April 10, 1910, the archdiocese once covered other provinces such as Batangas, Laguna, Quezon, Marinduque and Mindoro, with Most Reverend Joseph Petrelli, D.D. as the first bishop. Currently, the archdiocese is divided into 6 vicariates, each headed by a vicar forane. There are 49 parishes in all, served by 143 priests (122 of which are diocesan), 13 religious brothers, and 197 religious sisters. There are also 23 existing Catholic schools, two high school seminaries, three college seminaries, and two pastoral centers.

The Church and Monastery of Lipa is the location of a 1940s apparition of the Virgin Mary which was seen by sister Teresing Castillo and numerous accounts of rose petal showers from the 1940s to the 1960s. Some of the rose petals, which had the silhouette of the Virgin Mary when flashed with light, have been preserved by the Diocese of Lipa and various townfolks who have witnessed the petal showers. An investigation conducted by researchers of the University of the Philippines proved that the figures on the petals were natural and not stamped by man-made means. A few years after the apparition of the Virgin Mary, the Vatican released a document stating that the apparition in Lipa was false. Despite this, the rose petal showers continued until the last apparition of Mary appeared, saying three things, of which the most important was to 'pray for China', which at the time was among the poorest regions in the world. Due to the decline of the Vatican regarding the apparition, the Diocese of Lipa ordered the destruction of Mary's statue in the church which depicted the apparition. However, the founding nuns of the church hid it instead. Decades afterwards in the 21st century, before the death of a founding nun, she wished for the statue of the apparition to be viewed by the public once more. Thousands of devotees went back to the church and since then, the statue has been in public view. During a certain event, the priest ordered a mass outside the church to bless the municipality of Lipa, where the apparition statue was brought outside as well. During that time, sun beatings from heaven, which was viewed by thousands of people during a mass outside the church, occurred. Devotees flocked Lipa afterwards, where cures for blindness and terminal sickness were cured through the usage of prayers with the preserved petals from the petal showers of the 1940s to the 1960s. In 2014, it was later found out that most of the bishops who signed in favor of declaring the apparitions of the 1940s as a lie were forced to sign such documents. This sparked the current Lipa Church to gather as much evidence to back the existence and miracles of the apparitions.

There are other Christian groups such as various Protestant denominations including Evangelicals, Born Again, Iglesia ni Cristo, Members Church of God International (MCGI), Kingdom of Jesus Christ, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventist, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Other religions include Islam and Buddhism.

Lipa is the home of lomi. According to history, this is primarily due to the influence of early Chinese settlers. Lomi is cooked using raw noodles, cassava mixed with water, beaten egg, salt and pepper, meat, liver and other ingredients that make it tasty. Eventually, there are countless of variations of Lomi these days. The lomi house is a very common place found in every barangay. However, there are a few recognized by the Lipenos, like Renfel, Kids Lomihouse, LBN, Beegees, Liam's to mention a few.

Goto is also a popular recipe. It is usually composed of internal organs of cows. This is a bowl of hot soup with beef, tripe, entrails, and blood, added with fish sauce and calamansi juice with chili.

However, due to influx of culture from nearby provinces, Lipeños also enjoy new recipes like sisig of Pampanga, and Bicol Express of Bicol. Due to Lipa's craze for food, several food courts have been established.

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Lipa has few technologically advanced infrastructure. PKI is one of the advanced factories that pioneered the productions in Lipa City. Since it was established in Barangay Inosluban, Lipa City was known to be an employment-friendly zone. This was followed by the establishment of LIMA Industrial Park, which houses multiple production lines. It houses various companies that employ hundreds of production workers. Not only from the city proper, it hires employees from its nearby cities like Tanauan, Rosario, Batangas, San Jose, Malvar etc.

Museo de Lipa, inaugurated in November 2007, is a project of the Lipa City Tourism Council envisioned by its Past President, Lucila R. Resurreccion. On display are antique mementos such as: the Coffee Corner – an exhibit of the different tools used in coffee production; Las trajes de mestizas and ternos – gowns worn by women during the pre-war days and during festive occasions; the Satsuma Vase – a gift given by the Luna brothers to the unparalleled hospitality shown by the aristocratic couple Doña Germana Solis and Dr. Jose Lozada; and the office tables of Don Claro Mayo Recto and Mayor Carlos Solis, the 24-hour Mayor.

Other artifacts exhibited are certain collections of furniture and objects of art loaned and donated by different antique collectors and by some of the landed gentry of Lipa: antique cabinets, tables, mirrors, antique silverware chinaware, tea sets, religious images and articles, jars, and brass artifacts.

The ground floor serves as a function area and features works of several contemporary Lipeño visual artists.

In 1605, Don Diego de Salcedo discovered a community of farmers living in fairly good economic conditions at Lake Bombon, now Tagbakin, Lipa City. The Augustinians among them started a religious mission called “Convent of San Sebastian in Comintang”.

However, the residents noticed that the land area- residential and agricultural-was getting smaller due to the rising waters of Taal Lake, they transferred to Balete. But the site was submerged by the lake in 1754 after the eruption of Taal Volcano. To avoid a similar occurrence, the townsfolk decided to transfer the town to a place far from the lake and the volcano. Legend has it that they agreed to pray the rosary while walking and whenever they may be at the end of the 24th mystery, there the town would be relocated. And they walked upland, away from the lake and the volcano, and at the end of the 24th mystery, they reached what is now called Mataas na Lupa. The temporary poblacion and the church were thus resettled there.

The location benefited everybody since it was along the main road that led to the coastal towns, the ground was high enough and the east winds were hedged in by high mountains. But after some time, the settlers had to seek another location due to the problem of water supply. The “better site” is the present site of the cathedral. The Augustinians administered the parish until the end of the 19th century.

The first church building was made of light materials. The building of “serious architecture, proven solidity and great proportions” was begun in 1779 and finally completed in 1865, on the first year of Fr. Benito Varas who administered the town until 1894.

The church was made of hewn stone and tiled roof, in accordance with the usual pattern of churches. It was a rectangular structure with artistically painted wooden panelings in lieu of an arch to which were attached support and strong beams which crisscrossed the walls to protect the building from earthquakes, attractive and had plain and simple altar ornaments without the extravagant carvings that were characteristic of the past century.

During the 19th century, keen competition among Tanauan, Lipa, Batangas, Bauan and Taal for the choice of the seat of new diocese in the Southern Tagalog Region, with Batangas Province at the center, motivated the people to build extraordinary, big churches. On April 10, 1910, the historic creation of the new diocese took place and the first bishop, Joseph Petrelli, selected Lipa as the see because of its cool climate. In later years, there were moves to transfer the see to San Pablo City but Bishop Alfredo Verzosa turned it down due to poor religious environment of San Pablo during that time.

The church suffered heavily in 1944. Alejandro Olalia repaired the façade, the dome, the transept, the roof, the main altar, and the belfry. The interior painting was retouched. Two side aisles were added. The church was awarded the title Cathedral of the archdiocese incorporating Batangas Province during the administration of Cardinal Rufino Santos.

Pedro G. Galende wrote that "the emphasis (of the edifice) is placed on the mass, which appeals much more to the senses due to its harmonic organization. The three buildings – church, convent and bell tower are so closely associated with each other that they well exemplify the typical mission complex."

At present, the 220-year old cathedral and convent is undergoing restoration and repairs. Through the efforts of the parish priest, Alfredo A. Madlangbayan, and the San Sebastian Millenium Restoration Committee, the church façade and the belfry have been repainted, the pews are newly varnished, the ceiling and the roof of the dome have been repaired, the old and leaking roof of the church and convent are replaced with long span GI sheets, and there is a new altar at the vigil room. On account of the multitude of faithful gathering at the church during liturgical activities, especially for archdiocesan affairs, the sound system was also upgraded.

In the previous years, Lipa City had the Coffee Festival as its official city festival being coffee granary of the Philippines. The Coffee Festival was then celebrated from December 11 to 16.

Then Lipa also had the Walistik Festival celebrated on the second week of January where walis (broom) was used in costumes and props. Walis symbolizes unity and this was what the Lipeños had in mind every time they celebrate Walistik Festival.

Now, Lipa City is celebrating Lomi Festival. Lomi, being one of the most popular dishes in this side of the province, Lipa City has quite a number of lomi houses which never cease to entice people.

Traditionally, however, Lipa City is celebrating Lipa City Town Fiesta annually every January 20. This is a date to celebrate the feast of their patron saint, Saint Sebastian. During the celebration, the main road of CM Recto is flocked with market-stalls selling affordable items. Also peoples visit the Lipa City Cathedral to attend mass. Houses prepare and serve food to visitors.

Lipa has an extensive road network. The city is a transportation hub for Batangas and nearby provinces.

Ayala Highway

Lipa is served by a network of national highways and an expressway. The Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR Tollway) connects the city with Batangas City, Tanauan and Santo Tomas, with a connection to South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), thereby linking the city with Calamba and Metro Manila. Jose P. Laurel Highway, or Ayala Highway (Route 4) on one portion, connects Lipa with the municipalities and cities of Malvar, Tanauan, Santo Tomas, and Calamba in the north and San Jose and Batangas City to the south. P. Torres Street or Lipa-Padre Garcia Road (Route 431), links the city with Padre Garcia and also serves as a route to the municipalities Rosario and San Juan. Another highway, the Alaminos-Lipa City Road, serves the northern barangays of the city, runs northeast to Alaminos and serves as a route to the city with San Pablo in Laguna. Governor Feliciano P. Leviste Highway or Lipa-Balete Road links Lipa with Balete.

Claro M. Recto Avenue, General Luna Avenue, and B. Morada Avenue serve the city center or poblacion. On the rural areas within the city boundary, arterial roads, like Lodlod Avenue, Santo Tomas-Lipa Road and Lipa-Ibaan Road, serve the barangays and also connect with nearby municipalities, like San Jose-Batangas, Santo Tomas and Ibaan-Batangas respectively. An arterial road running beside Fernando Air Base serves the municipality of Mataasnakahoy.

Buses, vans, jeepneys, tricycles, and multicabs common means of transportation in the city. Large numbers of jeepneys ply their trade around the city, and are becoming the primary mode of transportation. A grand terminal built beside SM City Lipa mall now serves as the city's central transport terminal.

Lipa City Hall

Like other cities in the Philippines, Lipa is governed by a mayor and vice mayor who are elected to three-year terms. The mayor is the executive head who leads the city's departments in the execution of city ordinances and in the delivery of public services. The vice mayor heads a legislative council that is composed of 13 members: twelve elected councilors and one ex officio office held by the Association of Barangay Chairmen President as the barangay sector representative. The council is in charge of creating the city's policies in the form of ordinances and resolutions.

Pursuant to Chapter II, Title II, Book III of Republic Act No. 7160 or the Local Government Code of 1991,[26] the city government is to be composed of a mayor (alkalde), a vice mayor (bise alkalde) and members (kagawad) of the legislative branch Sangguniang Panlungsod alongside a secretary to the said legislature, all of which are elected to a three-year term and are eligible to run for three consecutive terms.

As with every Philippine city, Lipa's chief executive is the city mayor. Elected to a term of three years and limited to three consecutive terms, the mayor appoints the directors of each city department, which include the office of administration, engineering office, information office, legal office, and treasury office. The incumbent mayor is Eric Africa, from the Nacionalista Party, who first served as city councilor from 1998 to 2007, from 2010 to 2013 and city Vice Mayor from 2013 to 2019. He was first elected as mayor of Lipa in 2019 defeating Bernadette Sabili, wife of then-incumbent Mayor Meynardo Sabili.

The city's vice mayor performs duties as acting governor in the absence of the mayor. The vice mayor also automatically succeeds as mayor upon the death of the incumbent. The vice mayor also convenes the Sangguniang Panlungsod, the city's legislative body. The incumbent vice mayor of Lipa is Camille Angeline Lopez from the Partido para sa Demokratikong Reporma. She first assumed office on June 30, 2019. She's the first female city vice mayor.

The city, which is a lone congressional district, is represented in the Philippine House of Representatives by congressman Ralph Recto from the Nacionalista Party. He first assumed office as representative of the 4th legislative district of Batangas when Lipa was still part of it in 1992. He was elected to the Philippine Senate in 2001 and was able to return in 2010. Within the city, the City Board or Sangguniang Panlungsod crafts all city ordinances, performs appropriation of city funds, issues franchises and permits, impose fees on city services, and exercise other duties and powers as stipulated by the Local Government Code of 1991. Being a first-class city in terms of income, Lipa is entitled to a City Board composed of 12 members.

• Pinagtongulan National High School