San Pedro, Laguna

The Laguna Copperplate Inscription is the oldest historical document found in the Philippines. It has the first historical reference to Tondo and dates back to Saka 822 (c. 900).

The Area of where the modern city of San Pedro is found served as the native settlement of the Tagalogs centuries before Spanish contact. Laguna de Bay and the San Isidro River gave livelihood and food to the early settlers. The Laguna Copperplate Inscription dated back to 900 AD mentioning the ancient polity of Tondo was found on Lumban, Laguna giving the idea that the area of San Pedro which some independent Ancient Barangays headed by their own Datus are settled was under the influence if not directly under the alliance network of the Lakan of Tondo.

On January 16, 1571, it was announced by Miguel López de Legazpi that a settlement called "Tabuko" which is an old Tagalog term that means "the end part of the river" be converted to an encomienda or a town under the helm of Gaspar Ramirez. A month after Miguel López de Legazpi established Manila as the capital of Spanish East Indies, Legazpi's grandson and conquistador Juan de Salcedo, while exploring the region of Laguna de Bay, founded a settlement in Biñan which was annexed as a barrio to Tabuko, a large town which also then comprised what are now the cities of San Pedro, Santa Rosa, and Cabuyao.

San Pedro de Tunasán became a town on January 18, 1725, upon the request of San Pedrense Principalía led by Alonzo Magtibay, Francisco Santiago, and Ignacio de Guevarra and approved by the Governor-General and Manila Archbishop Francisco de la Cuesta, King Philip V of Spain decreed that the town formerly known as "Tabuko" be a separate town from "Kabuyaw" (present-day city of Cabuyao).[11][14] Francisco Santiago subsequently became the first mayor of the newly formed town.

By virtue of the last will of Philip V of Spain, Rodriguez de Figueroa or "Don Esteban", a group of Augustinian Fathers gained the ownership of the Tunasán Estate. Later on, San Pedro became an hacienda of Colegio de San José, a group of Jesuits who took over the property which now is known as "San Pedro Tunasán".

During that period, agriculture, fishing, duck raising, fruit trees, and sampaguita were the main source of income of its residents. This period was highlighted by the growing tenant/landlord dispute. The tenants of Hacienda San Pedro Tunasán fought for their birthrights over their ancestral lands. This struggle took almost 423 years of unsuccessful resistance to Colegio de San José, and in 1938, the government bought the home sites of the San Pedro Tunasán Hacienda from the Colegio for re-sale to its tenants. This event laid to rest the tenants/landlord problem in the town.

During the Philippine Revolution, after the execution of Andres and Procopio Bonifacio at Maragondon, Cavite on 1897, the group of Gregoria de Jesus, the widow of Andres, departed to San Pedro Tunasán to hide. They were welcomed by San Pedro native Gregoria Olivares and settled on the house of Almario Ilmedo on barrio San Roque.[15]

On October 12, 1903, San Pedro Tunasan was annexed to the adjacent municipality of Biñan by virtue of Act No. 939.[16] It was reconstituted as an independent municipality by virtue of Act No. 1308 dated October 29, 1906, thus separating it from Biñan effective January 7, 1907.[17] A barrio called Tunasancillo became part of the Municipio of Muntinlupa which was a part of the province of Manila when the town of San Pedro Tunasán sold it in 1907 during the American period.[18] On February 28, 1914, the name of the town, San Pedro de Tunasán, was shortened to its present name of San Pedro, by virtue of Act No. 2390.[19] From the Spanish time until after the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, the scenario did change a bit.

During World War II, Abelardo Remoquillo (1922-1945), known among his peers, war enemies, and admirers as “Captain Remo”, was a young guerrillero from San Pedro, Laguna who fought against the Japanese Imperial Army. He joined the Hunters ROTC guerilla and fought against the invaders from different fronts of Southern Luzón He also participated in the famous Raid at Los Baños. He died not in San Pedro but in faraway Bay, Laguna while attacking a Japanese garrison. He is now known as a local hero and has a monument on the historic town plaza of San Pedro.[20]

On August 30, 1954, President Ramón Magsaysay signed at the historic town plaza the Land Tenancy Act. By virtue of this law, farm lots of the hacienda were bought by the Philippine government to be sold at cost to the tenants or occupants of the farm lots in Bayan-Bayanan under the Narra Settlement Project of the Magsaysay Administration. San Pedro became a resettlement area for families in Metro Manila in 1968 to 1971. Thereon population significantly increased with the rise of several GSIS/SSS housing projects in 1975. Industries sprouted in the succeeding years such as the Aclem Paper Mills, Holiday Hills Golf and Country Club (now KC Filipinas Golf Resort Club), Philippine Tobacco Flu Curing Corporation, Berbacs Chemicals, US Tobacco Corporation, Holland Milk Products, Trinity Lodge Mining Corporation, Kimberly Clark, Cosmos, among others.

The succeeding administration of ex Mayors Felicisimo Vierneza and Calixto Cataquiz brought significant changes in the political, economic and cultural landscape of San Pedro. There were major commercial and industrial developments during the administration of Mayor Vierneza starting 1972 while Mayor Cataquiz's 12- year administration in 1986 focused on residential subdivisions with massive infrastructure projects and beautification programs.[12]

On March 27, 2013, President Benigno Aquino III signed the Republic Act No. 10420[21] converting the municipality into a new component city of the province of Laguna. The cityhood of San Pedro was ratified through a plebiscite scheduled by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC). The date for the ratification is December 28, 2013, after the National Barangay Elections. It became the sixth city of Laguna after the cities of Biñan, Cabuyao, Calamba, San Pablo, and Santa Rosa, and also the third to be a city in the 1st congressional District Laguna - making it the first city district in the province.

COMELEC officially proclaimed the first-class municipality of San Pedro as a component city of Laguna on December 29, 2013. Juanito Icarro, regional director of Calabarzon and Mimaropa, and Marianne Marfori, provincial election supervisor, made the proclamation at the municipal hall after San Pedro residents voted for the cityhood in a plebiscite held on December 28, 2013. "Yes" votes for cityhood totaled 16,996 (which is an additional 50 votes added in some precincts mostly in the San Vicente area to win the "yes" vote), and "no" votes, only 869, in 501 clustered precincts in San Pedro. Only 11% of 165,777 registered voters in San Pedro's 27 barangays took part in the plebiscite.

Support groups from the local government and non-government organizations are striving to incorporate San Pedro into Metro Manila.[22][23]

Former Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Francis Tolentino is pushing for the inclusion of the city in the National Capital Region, and eventually become its 18th member city. Tolentino said that in the first meeting of the MMDA Council of mayors in January 2015, he will push for the inclusion of the city to the MMDA.[23]

Senator Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III is seeking the separation of the city of San Pedro from the first legislative district of Laguna province to constitute a lone congressional district. In 2015, Pimentel filed Senate Bill No. 3029 for the creation of the San Pedro as a separate district to commence in the next national and local elections.[24]

After the city of Santa Rosa formally had its own legislative district, San Pedro remained as the only City in the First District hence the 1st District may be also referred as the Lone district of San Pedro and In 2022, San Pedro elected its first very own Representative for the 19th Congress.

Political subdivisions of San Pedro

San Pedro is politically subdivided into 27 barangays. Barangay San Antonio is the largest barangay, which has a total of 780 hectares, while Barangay San Vicente is the most populous with a total population of 92,092.[25]

Notes

San Pedro Apostol Parish

San Pedro is home for the famous Krus ng San Pedro Tunasán. Majority of the people are Roman Catholics. Other religious groups include are the Members Church of God International (MCGI), Jesus Miracle Crusade International Ministry (JMCIM), United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP), Jesus Is Lord Church (JIL), Jesus Christ the Lifegiver Ministries (JCLM), Christ Lord of Zion (CLOZ), and other full gospel churches under Christian Leaders Association of San Pedro (CLASP), Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC), The United Methodist Church, Presbyterian Churches, Christian Bible Baptist Church, other Baptist and Bible Fundamental churches. Islam is also practiced within the community. There are 15 Catholic parishes in the city, full gospel churches, and one mosque.

Agricultural lands now account for only thirteen hectares of the total land area due to residential, commercial and industrial conversions. There are lands with slope ranging from 8%-15% of the total land area located in parts of barangays San Antonio and San Vicente planted with mangoes and siniguelas trees. Livestock and poultry businesses operate in the area.

Puregold Pacita Complex

There are more than 4,700 total business establishments, 40+ commercial, savings and rural banks, 110+ restaurant, cafeteria, and other refreshment parlor, and two public and five private markets and supermarkets. There are 40 banks, over 60 pawnshops, over 30 lending institutions and 11 insurance companies operating in the city. Commercial and business establishments are mostly concentrated at Pacita Complex and Rosario. A large percentage of industrial and manufacturing establishments of San Pedro is located on the adjacent barangays of San Vicente and San Antonio; E&E Industrial Complex is located in San Antonio where some of the city's factories are situated.

San Pedro has two major malls such as Robinsons Galleria South (located in Barangay Nueva, opened in 2019)[39] and SM Center San Pedro (located in Barangay United Bayanihan, opened in 2023).[40]

The annual City Festival is celebrated in the second week of February. This week-long festival includes various activities ranging from cultural to sports, trade fairs, amateur singing contests, parades, historical exhibits, social and religious gatherings, tribal dances, street dances, cheering and sport exhibitions. The highlight of the festival is the coronation night of the "Hiyas ng San Pedro". The festival aims to promote tourism in San Pedro and to revitalize Sampaguita industry in the community. The celebration was formerly known as "Manok ni San Pedro Festival", which started in 1999 and was renamed to "Sampaguita Festival" in 2002. The celebration kicked off with a grand parade.

San Pedro City holds the record of laying the longest sampaguita (flower lei) line, spanning 3.6 km (2 mi), from Biñan–San Pedro boundary to San Pedro–Muntinlupa boundary on the National Highway; this was listed in the Guinness World Records in 2009.

Paskuhan Sa San Pedro is an annually celebrated festival in San Pedro City. It starts at the beginning of December and runs to the end of the month. The opening is a grand parade which is participated in by public and private schools in the city, local government and other socio-civic organizations. The main event of the opening is the lighting of the whole plaza, fireworks display, and various school performances. Every night a variety of shows are performed by the participants, which last up to midnight. On December 29 of every year the cityhood anniversary of San Pedro is celebrated.

The museum preserves and celebrates the insurmountable professional and political achievements of former Vice President Salvador Laurel, located at Holiday Hills.[41]

• Adelina I National High School, San Antonio
• Amazing Grace School, Inc., San Vicente
• Cuyab Integrated National High School, Cuyab
• Doña Pilar M. Alberto Integrated High School, Landayan
• Estrella Elementary School, Estrella
• Jesus the Risen Savior School, San Antonio
• Landayan Elementary School, Landayan
• Laguna Resettlement Community School, United Bayanihan
• Langgam Elementary School, Langgam
• Maranatha Christian Academy, Landayan
• Mater Ecclesiae School, Villa Olympia
• Pacita Complex Elementary School, Pacita
• Pacita Complex Junior High School, Pacita
• Pacita Complex Senior High School, Pacita
• Sampaguita Village Elementary School, Calendola
• Sampaguita Village National High School, Calendola
• San Isidro Elementary School, Bayan-bayanan
• San Pedro Relocation Center National High School - Main
• Southville 3A Elementary School, Southville 3A
• Southville 3A National High School, Southville 3A
• Upper Villages Christian Academy, United Bayanihan

Municipal mayors:

• Francisco Santiago (1725)
• Turibio Almieda (1901-1902)
• Jose Guevarra (1908-1910)
• Apolonio Morando (1910-1912)
• Jose H. Guevarra (1921-1922)
• Tiburcio Morando (1916-1921; 1922-1925)
• Victor Vergara (1925-1926)
• Jose Martinez (1928-1934)
• Ciriaco M. Limpiahoy (1934–1942)
• Antonio Partoza (1945)
• Benedictio Austria
• Gavino Y. Alvarez
• Mario M. Brigola (1960-1963)
• Jose L. Amante (1941; 1946-1947)
• Felicisimo "Fely" Almendrala Vierneza (1972–1986; 1998–2007)
• Ernesto Climaco (1988)
• Calixto Cataquiz (1986–1988, 1988–1998; 2007–June 24, 2013)
• Norvic D. Solidum (June 24–30, 2013)
• Lourdes S. Catáquiz (June 30–December 28, 2013)

City mayors:

• Lourdes S. Catáquiz (December 28, 2013 – June 30, 2022)
• Art Joseph Francis Mercado (June 30, 2022 – present)

• Cacai Bautista, comedian
• Julia Clarete, TV host, actress
• John Lloyd Cruz, actor, model
• Jane De Leon, actress
• Ogie Diaz, comedian, columnist and TV host
• Paw Diaz, actress
• Marlann Flores, actress
• Kristine Hermosa, actress
• Jan Manual, actor
• Rocco Nacino, actor
• Jamilla Obispo, actress
• Gladys Reyes, actress
• Christopher Roxas, actor
• Nathalie Hart, actress
• Nikki Valdez, actress
• Jiggly Caliente, actress, drag queen
• Jake Zyrus, singer, songwriter

• Rico Blanco, singer, former vocalist of Rivermaya

• Stephanie Retuya, contestant and runner-up in Asia's Next Top Model (cycle 1)
• Desiree Verdadero, Miss Universe 1984 3rd runner-up

• Salvador Laurel, 8th Vice President of the Philippines (under Corazon C. Aquino), 5th Prime Minister of the Philippines

• Tony Calvento, print/broadcast journalist for The Calvento Files

• Jema Galanza, PVL MVP, UAAP Beach Volleyball champion for Adamson University Lady Falcons
• Chris Javier, basketball player
• Kyla Atienza, volleyball player