Southern Tagalog ( fil, Timog Katagalugan, also known colloquially as ''Rehiyong Timog Tagalog''), designated as Region IV, was an

administrative region Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

that comprised the current regions of

Calabarzon Calabarzon (), formally known as the Southern Tagalog Mainland, is an administrative region in the Philippines, designated as Region IV-A. The region comprises five provinces: Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Quezon, and Rizal; and one highly urba ...

and

Mimaropa Mimaropa (usually capitalized in official government documents), formally known as the Southwestern Tagalog Region, is an administrative region in the Philippines. It was also formerly but still colloquially designated as Region IV-B until 2016 ...

, the province of

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

Central Luzon Central Luzon ( pam, (Reyun ning) Kalibudtarang Luzon, pag, (Rehiyon na) Pegley na Luzon, tgl, (Rehiyon ng) Gitnang Luzon, ilo, (Rehion/Deppaar ti) Tengnga ti Luzon), designated as Region III, is an administrative region in the Philippines, ...

(then part of Quezon Province until 1979), and several cities of

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...

(formerly part of

Rizal Rizal, officially the Province of Rizal ( fil, Lalawigan ng Rizal), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Its capital is the city of Antipolo. It is about east of Manila. The province is named after José R ...

, except for Valenzuela, which was part of

Bulacan Bulacan, officially the Province of Bulacan ( tl, Lalawigan ng Bulacan), is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the city of Malolos. Bulacan was established on August 15, 1578, and part of the Me ...

, and for

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 2,960,048 people. It was foun ...

and

Pasay Pasay, officially the City of Pasay ( fil, Lungsod ng Pasay; ), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 440,656 people. Due to its location j ...

which were and are independent cities). The name remains as a geographical region only, which exempts Aurora. It was partitioned into the two regions on May 17, 2002.

History

Southern Tagalog was the largest region in the Philippines in terms of both land area and population. The ''2000 Census of Population and Housin''g showed the region having a total of 11,793,655 people, which comprised 15.42 percent of the 76.5 million population of the country at that time.

was the designated regional center of Southern Tagalog. The former region covered the area where many reside; the two other majority- Tagalophone regions are the National Capital Region and

Partitioning

Region IV or Southern Tagalog was divided into

and

, upon the issuance of ''

Executive Order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of ...

No. 103'', dated May 17, 2002, by then-President

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal Arroyo (, born April 5, 1947), often referred to by her initials GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician serving as one of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines, House Deputy Spe ...

. Additionally, the province of

was moved to Region III (

Administrative divisions

Provinces

Cities

Southern Tagalog region had 13 chartered cities prior to its partition. *

Antipolo Antipolo, officially known as the City of Antipolo ( fil, Lungsod ng Antipolo), is a 1st class component city and capital of the province of Rizal, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 887,399 people. It is the m ...

* Bacoor *

Batangas City Batangas City, officially the City of Batangas ( fil, Lungsod ng Batangas), is a 1st class component city and capital of the province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 351,437 people. Batangas City ...

* Calapan City * Calamba *

Cavite City Cavite City, officially the City of Cavite ( fil, Lungsod ng Kabite, Spanish and cbk, Ciudad de Cavite), is a 4th class component city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 100,674 people. The city was th ...

Lipa Lipa or LIPA (Cyrillic: Липа) may refer to: Acronym *Liquid Isopropyl alcohol *League for Independent Political Action, a former American progressive political organization *Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, a performing arts school in ...

* Lucena *

Puerto Princesa Puerto Princesa, officially the City of Puerto Princesa ( Cuyonon: ''Siyudad i'ang Puerto Princesa''; fil, Lungsod ng Puerto Princesa), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Mimaropa region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 censu ...

* San Pablo * Tagaytay * Tanauan *

Trece Martires Trece Martires, officially the City of Trece Martires ( fil, Lungsod ng Trece Martires), is a 4th class component city and ''de facto'' capital city of the province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population o ...

Demographics

Languages

The native languages of Southern Tagalog are: * Alangan, spoken in the interior of Mindoro. * Asi, spoken in Romblon and Marinduque. * Buhid, spoken in the interior of Mindoro. * Calamian Tagbanwa, spoken in Palawan. *

Chavacano Chavacano or Chabacano is a group of Spanish-based creole language varieties spoken in the Philippines. The variety spoken in Zamboanga City, located in the southern Philippine island group of Mindanao, has the highest concentration of speake ...

, spoken in parts of Cavite. * Cuyonon, spoken in Palawan. * Hanunoo, spoken in the interior of Mindoro. * Hiligaynon, spoken in Romblon and Palawan. * Iraya, spoken in the interior of Mindoro. * Malay, spoken in south Palawan. * Onhan, spoken in Romblon. * Palawano, spoken in Palawan. * Romblomanon, spoken in Romblon. * Tadyawan, spoken in the interior of Mindoro. *

Tagalog Tagalog may refer to: Language * Tagalog language, a language spoken in the Philippines ** Old Tagalog, an archaic form of the language ** Batangas Tagalog, a dialect of the language * Tagalog script, the writing system historically used for Tagal ...

, spoken in Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan. It is the regional lingua franca, mostly as Filipino. * Tausug, spoken in southwestern Palawan. * Tawbuid, spoken in the interior of Mindoro. The languages not native to the region are: Ilocano in Quezon, Laguna, Rizal, Cavite, Batangas, Mindoro, and Palawan (Aurora & Quezon have the largest concentration of Ilocano speakers when Aurora was part of Southern Tagalog, the statistics now excusively belong to Quezon); Bikol in Quezon, Batangas, and Rizal; Cebuano in Rizal, Batangas, Cavite, and Quezon; Kinaray-a in Palawan; Kapampangan and

Pangasinan Pangasinan, officially the Province of Pangasinan ( pag, Luyag/Probinsia na Pangasinan, ; ilo, Probinsia ti Pangasinan; tl, Lalawigan ng Pangasinan), is a coastal province in the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region of Luzon. Its c ...

in Batangas and Cavite.

Notes

References

{{- Defunct regions of the Philippines Tagalog 1965 establishments in the Philippines 2002 disestablishments in the Philippines Calabarzon Mimaropa