Place:Las Piñas City, Cavite, CALABARZON, Philippines

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Las Piñas, officially known as the City of Las Piñas, 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 606,293 people.

Las Piñas was sixth in MoneySense Philippines "Best Places To Live" report in 2008. Attractions include Evia Lifestyle Center, SM Southmall, Robinsons Place Las Piñas and Las Piñas - Parañaque Wetland Park.

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Early history

Las Piñas was one of the earliest fishing settlements on the shores of Manila Bay. It was proclaimed as a province of Manila either in 1762 or 1797. Agustin, a Spanish historian, and Fr. Juan de Medina placed it at 1762. Las Piñas was formerly called "Las Pilas" due to its separation from Parañaque due to tribal conflicts. On the other hand, Manuel Buzeta recorded the date at 1797. Felix Timbang was the first gobernadorcillo in 1762, while Mariano Ortiz was the first municipal president of the town of Las Piñas.

Las Piňas is famous for its Bamboo Organ, which was built by Fr. Diego Cera and completed in 1824. In 1880, the city experienced an outbreak of cholera and smallpox leading to the loss of many lives. Years later, Las Piňas also became a central battleground between Spanish and Philippine forces during the Philippine Revolution.

The town of Las Piñas was also a major war theater during the 1896 Philippine Revolution, as it was occupied by forces of General Emilio Aguinaldo. In 1901, the municipality of Las Piñas, previously a part of the province of Manila, was incorporated to the newly created province of Rizal pursuant to the Philippine Commission Act No. 137. On October 12, 1903, in accordance with Act No. 942, it was combined with the town of Parañaque, with the latter as the seat of a new municipal government.

It was separated from Parañaque to become an independent municipality again on March 27, 1907, by virtue of Philippine Commission Act No. 1625. On January 1, 1942, Las Piñas was one of the municipalities of Rizal that was merged alongside Manila to form the City of Greater Manila as an emergency measure by President Manuel L. Quezon. The Japanese occupation forces dissolved Greater Manila in 1944, thus separating the consolidated cities and towns. The town was occupied by the Japanese during World War II and liberated by the combined American and Filipino forces. On November 7, 1975, through Presidential Decree No. 824, Las Piñas was excised from the province of Rizal to form Metro Manila. Las Piñas became one of the municipalities making up the region.

Etymology

The story about the true origin of the city's name, "Las Piñas", varies. One version mentioned, that traders from the province of Cavite and Batangas shipped their first piñas (Spanish for pineapples) for sale to this town before they were distributed to nearby markets. Another version related that it was "Las Peñas" (the rocks), evident by the quarrying of stones and adobe which were used to construct buildings and bridges. The old church bell from St. Joseph Parish Church founded by Diego Cera has been preserved inside the church museum. An inscription on the bell states, "Siendo cura del pueblo de Laspeñas el M.R.P. Padre Diego Cera se fundió este equilón año de 1820," showing that even during the time of Diego Cera, the town's first parish priest, the town was called "Las Peñas", for some time and eventually was renamed "Las Piñas".

Contemporary history

In the 1980s, economic growth erupted due to the advent of the construction of Coastal Road. Las Piñas currently serves as the proper gateway to Calabarzon.^[1]

In the 1990s, Las Piñas was known for its rampant illegal drug trade; in 1995, then-Councilor Yoyoy Villame criticized the town's image as the "Drug Capital of the Philippines", while NCR Command Director Job Mayo alleged upon his appointment in early 1996 that the town's police force had the most drug-dependent police officers in the metropolis.

Cityhood

On February 12, 1997, President Fidel V. Ramos signed the bill which elevated Las Piñas from municipality into a city. A plebiscite held a month after approved the city status by its residents, and Las Piñas became the 10th city of Metro Manila on March 26, 1997.

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