Mabitac

Mabitac
Municipality
Municipality of Mabitac
Mabitac Poblacion
Flag
Map of Laguna with Mabitac highlighted
OpenStreetMap
Mabitac Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 14°26′N121°25′E / 14.43°N 121.42°E / 14.43; 121.42
Country	Philippines
Region	Calabarzon
Province	Laguna
District	4th district
Founded	January 6, 1616
Barangays	15 (see Barangays)
Government   [1]
• Type	Sangguniang Bayan
•  Mayor	Alberto S. Reyes
•  Vice Mayor	Ronald I. Sana
•  Representative	Benjamin Cueto "Benjie" Agarao Jr.
•  Municipal Council	Members Ferdinand D. Bobadilla Gerardo C. Fader Angelito V. Valderrama Sr. John Rafael F. Eroma Romar M. Merano Magie G. Anievas-De Luna Felipe J. Barba Paolo C. Villanueva
•  Electorate	14,935 voters (2025)
Area [2]
• Total	80.76 km2 (31.18 sq mi)
Elevation	128 m (420 ft)
Highest elevation	726 m (2,382 ft)
Lowest elevation	−1 m (−3 ft)
Population  (2024 census) [3]
• Total	21,748
• Density	270/km2 (700/sq mi)
•  Households	5,022
Economy
•  Income class	5th municipal income class
•  Poverty incidence	9.79 % (2021) [4]
•  Revenue	₱ 139 million (2022)
•  Assets	₱ 280.9 million (2022)
•  Expenditure	₱ 115.8 million (2022)
•  Liabilities	₱ 79.29 million (2022)
Service provider
• Electricity	First Laguna Electric Cooperative (FLECO)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	4020
PSGC	0403414000
IDD  :  area code	+63 (0)49
Native languages	Tagalog
Website	www.mabitac.gov.ph

Mabitac, officially the Municipality of Mabitac (Tagalog : Bayan ng Mabitac), is a municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 21,275 people. ^[5]

Mabitac was an excellent hunting ground for wild game three centuries ago. Native hunters used numerous cave-ins or trap-ins called "bitag" in the local dialect. Hence, the place was referred to as "Mabitag" meaning "a place with many traps".

Mabitac is 30 kilometres (19 mi) from Santa Cruz, 76 kilometres (47 mi) from Manila, and 59 kilometres (37 mi) from Antipolo.

History

The first Spaniards who came to this place were the friars who established the first Spanish settlement in the area and began to Christianize the local population. The Spaniards, having difficulty in pronouncing the "G" consonant, called this place "Mabitac" whenever they mentioned this place. Eventually, the name found its way in the official records and maps of Laguna made by Spanish cartographers and mariners who chartered the coastal areas of Laguna de Bay.

This town was formerly a barrio of Siniloan, an immediate neighboring town. It became an independent municipality only in the year 1611, not by legislation, but by mutual agreement by and between the Spanish friars of both towns who were then the influential ruling class.

Mabitac was the site of a battle in the Philippine–American War, when on September 17, 1900, Filipinos under General Juan Cailles defeated an American force commanded by Colonel Benjamin F. Cheatham.

World War II and Japanese occupation

Destroyed buildings in Mabitac (1945)

The Japanese occupation of the Philippines occurred between 1942 and 1945, when Imperial Japan occupied the Commonwealth of the Philippines during World War II. The invasion of the Philippines started on 8 December 1941, ten hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

In 1942, Japanese soldiers entered and occupied Mabitac. In 1945, the Philippine guerrillas and irregular forces defeated the Japanese Imperial forces and liberated Mabitac.

Geography

Barangays

Mabitac is politically subdivided into 15 barangays, as indicated below:  ^[6] Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

• Amuyong
• Lambac (Poblacion)
• Lucong (Poblacion)
• Matalatala
• Nanguma
• Numero
• Paagahan
• Bayanihan (Poblacion)
• Libis ng Nayon (Poblacion)
• Maligaya (Poblacion)
• Masikap (Poblacion)
• Pag-Asa (Poblacion)
• Sinagtala (Poblacion)
• San Antonio
• San Miguel

Climate

Climate data for Mabitac, Laguna
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	26 (79)	27 (81)	29 (84)	31 (88)	31 (88)	30 (86)	29 (84)	29 (84)	29 (84)	29 (84)	28 (82)	26 (79)	29 (84)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	22 (72)	22 (72)	22 (72)	23 (73)	24 (75)	25 (77)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	23 (73)	23 (74)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	58 (2.3)	41 (1.6)	32 (1.3)	29 (1.1)	91 (3.6)	143 (5.6)	181 (7.1)	162 (6.4)	172 (6.8)	164 (6.5)	113 (4.4)	121 (4.8)	1,307 (51.5)
Average rainy days	13.4	9.3	9.1	9.8	19.1	22.9	26.6	24.9	25.0	21.4	16.5	16.5	214.5
Source: Meteoblue [7]

Demographics

Population census of Mabitac

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1903	1,052	—
1918	760	−2.14%
1939	1,973	+4.65%
1948	2,700	+3.55%
1960	4,316	+3.99%
1970	6,377	+3.98%
1975	7,415	+3.07%
1980	8,543	+2.87%
1990	11,444	+2.97%
1995	13,309	+2.87%
2000	15,097	+2.74%
2007	17,608	+2.14%
2010	18,618	+2.05%
2015	20,530	+1.88%
2020	21,275	+0.75%
2024	21,748	+0.53%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]

In the 2020 census, the population of Mabitac was 21,275 people, ^[13] with a density of 260 inhabitants per square kilometre or 670 inhabitants per square mile.

Economy

Poverty incidence of Mabitac

10 20 30 40 2000 35.68 2003 24.42 2006 11.40 2009 14.43 2012 22.49 2015 16.91 2018 2.99 2021 9.79 Source: Philippine Statistics Authority [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21]

Gallery

• 
  Welcome marker
• 
  Hilltop view of Mabitac
• 
  Town hall
• 
  Nuestra Señora de Candelaria Parish Church

Notable personalities

• Juan Cailles (born Juan Cailles y Kauppama; November 10, 1871 – June 28, 1951) was a Filipino of French-Indian descent. A member of the revolutionary movement Katipunan, he was a commanding officer of the Philippine Revolutionary Army who served during the Philippine Revolution and Philippine–American War. He later served as a provincial Governor of Laguna and a member of the Philippine Legislature.

See also

• Battle of Mabitac

References

1.   Municipality of Mabitac | (DILG)
2. "2015 Census of Population, Report No. 3 – Population, Land Area, and Population Density" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. Quezon City, Philippines. August 2016. ISSN   0117-1453. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 25, 2021. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
3. "2024 Census of Population (POPCEN) Population Counts Declared Official by the President". Philippine Statistics Authority. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
4. "PSA Releases the 2021 City and Municipal Level Poverty Estimates". Philippine Statistics Authority. 2 April 2024. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
5. "2024 Census of Population (POPCEN) Population Counts Declared Official by the President". Philippine Statistics Authority. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
6. "Province:". PSGC Interactive. Quezon City, Philippines: Philippine Statistics Authority . Retrieved 12 November 2016.
7. "Mabitac: Average Temperatures and Rainfall". Meteoblue. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
8. "2024 Census of Population (POPCEN) Population Counts Declared Official by the President". Philippine Statistics Authority. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
9. Census of Population (2015). "Region IV-A (Calabarzon)". Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. Philippine Statistics Authority . Retrieved 20 June 2016.
10. Census of Population and Housing (2010). "Region IV-A (Calabarzon)" (PDF). Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. National Statistics Office . Retrieved 29 June 2016.
11. Censuses of Population (1903–2007). "Region IV-A (Calabarzon)". Table 1. Population Enumerated in Various Censuses by Province/Highly Urbanized City: 1903 to 2007. National Statistics Office.
12. "Province of". Municipality Population Data. Local Water Utilities Administration Research Division. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
13. "2024 Census of Population (POPCEN) Population Counts Declared Official by the President". Philippine Statistics Authority. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
14. "Poverty incidence (PI):". Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
15. "Estimation of Local Poverty in the Philippines" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. 29 November 2005.
16. "2003 City and Municipal Level Poverty Estimates" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. 23 March 2009.
17. "City and Municipal Level Poverty Estimates; 2006 and 2009" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. 3 August 2012.
18. "2012 Municipal and City Level Poverty Estimates" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. 31 May 2016.
19. "Municipal and City Level Small Area Poverty Estimates; 2009, 2012 and 2015". Philippine Statistics Authority. 10 July 2019.
20. "PSA Releases the 2018 Municipal and City Level Poverty Estimates". Philippine Statistics Authority. 15 December 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
21. "PSA Releases the 2021 City and Municipal Level Poverty Estimates". Philippine Statistics Authority. 2 April 2024. Retrieved 28 April 2024.

External links

• "Municipality of Mabitac", Province of Laguna Website
• Philippine Standard Geographic Code
• Philippine Census Information
• Local Governance Performance Management System Archived 2012-05-23 at the Wayback Machine