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Brief History - Founded in 1581, Batangas used to be a bigger province composed of the present Batangas, Mindoro, Marinduque, and the southeastern portion of Laguna. It used to be called Balayan, with this town as the capital. In the beginning of the 17th century, Marinduque and the Mindoro were made into separate provinces. In 1732, the capital was transferred to Taal. Finally, in 1754, the capital was transferred to Batangas and the province was thereafter named after the new capital town.

Geography - The province of Batangas is bounded on the north by the provinces of Cavite and Laguna, on the south by the Verde Island Passage, on the east by the provinces of Quezon and Laguna, and on the west by the South China Sea. It has a land area of 316,580 hectares. The terrain is generally rolling. 50% of the total land area has grade of less than 15 degrees. The rest are mountainous and hilly.

Political Subdivision - Batangas has two cities: Batangas City, the provincial capital, and the Lipa City. It has 32 municipalities with 1,080 barangays. The province is further divided into four political districts, each having a representative in Congress.

Climate - Batangas has a natural cool climate. It experiences two types of seasons: dry from November to April and wet for the rest of the year. Mean annual rainful is at maximum during July at 1.5 to 2.5 meters. March is the driest month. Mean monthly temperature is 82 degrees Fahrenheit. February is the coldest month averaging 69 degrees Fahrenheit while May is the hottest at 96.1 degrees Fahrenheit.

Population - The population of the province totals 1,658,567 as of 1995 with a density of 524 persons per square kilometer and an average growth rate of 2.20 percent annually. The labor force totals 1,029,000 ninety percent of which are employed. Batagueños are known for being adventurous, business-minded industrious, friendly and hospitable.

Language / Dialect - Batangueños are bilingual, with Tagalog and English as the basic languages used in business, government, schools and everyday communication.

How to get there? - The province of Batangas is 110 kilometers south of Manila. It is accessible by land transportation from Manila. Commercial buses of BLTB, JAM, Tritan, Batangas Express Liner,Triffman Liner, Biñan Transportation, ALPS and CJC Transit serve the riding public.

Batangas is accessible from neighboring provinces such as Cavite, Laguna and Quezon by land via public buses and jeepneys. Ferryboats and other watercrafts connect the province to Mindoro and other nearby islands. Most of the destinations in the province are accessible by public buses stationed on E. Delos Santos Avenues (EDSA), Pasay City and are about 1 1/2 hours ride away from Manila.

Getting around the place - One can ride jeepneys to move one town to another and tricycles are a major means of transport in getting around towns and barangays. Jeepneys and tricycles can be rented to reach specific tourist destinations and bancas when going resort - or island-hopping.

Nature has endowed Batangas with natural resources and picturesque sceneries. Coconut, orchids and mango trees lie alongside smooth sand beaches and their submarine gardens. Just a few kilometers from the shore will bring you to diverse dive sites - from the ones fit for novices (relatively shallow, constant water current), up to those which can pose a big challenge to experts. Without question, the most popular attraction is the Taal Volcano and Lake.

Batangas used to lie along the route of the Spanish Galleon Trade from Mexico to Manila. The recent discovery of the San Diego Galleon in Nasugbu, Batangas yielded precious artifacts, including Ming dynasty jars which were exhibited in Paris, France during this decade. The San Diego is considered one of the foremost archeological finds of the 90’s.

Batangas is the characterized by elevations such as Mt. Makulot where the trainee pilots of the Philippine Air Force Flying School in Lipa City practice their maneuvers. The blue waters of Anilao Beach can prove alluring to swimmers. The well-preserved town of Taal boasts of its old churches, handicrafts, and historical landmarks. Batangas is the home of one of the country’s national heroes, Apolinario Mabini who is known as the "Sublime Paralytic".

The proximity of Batangas to Manila and the good quality of most of the main roads make the province very accessible thereby fueling the local tourism industry and the provincial economy.

Batangas’ pre-eminence in the area of eco-industrial growth cannot be disputed. It ranks as one of the country’s richest provinces for being the producer of high grade coffee varieties among the other agriculture products, which won world acclaim in the past.

There are more possibilities to unravel about Batangas which investments can nurture, with eco-tourism and the controlled use of natural resources as strategies for socio-economic development. To date, the intensified development of Batangas Port as an alternative port to Metro Manila augurs well for the province.

Batanga - the Philippines