Region IV-A (CALABARZON) |
The region is composed of five provinces, namely: Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon; acronym CALABARZON. |
| Region IV-A (CALABARZON)CALABARZON (/ká-lɑ-bɑr-zon/) is one of the regions of the Philippines. It is designated as Region IV-A and its regional center is Lipa City in Batangas. The region is composed of five provinces, namely: Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon; whose names form the acronym CALABARZON. The region is also more formally known as Southern Tagalog Mainland. The region is in southwestern Luzon, just south and east of Metro Manila and is the second most densely populated region. CALABARZON and MIMAROPA were previously together known as Southern Tagalog, until they were separated in 2002 by virtue of Executive Order No. 103. Executive Order No. 246,, dated October 28, 2003, designated Calamba City as the regional center of CALABARZON. The largest city of the CALABARZON Region and the second most highly urbanized city is Antipolo City, with Lucena City being the first. CALABARZON is the most populated region in the Philippines, with a population of 12,609,803 inhabitants. The region is also home to a host of important Philippine historical figures, most notable of which is the Philippines' national hero, Jose Rizal, who was born in Calamba. Economy CALABARZON is the second largest contributor to the national GDP, accounting for 17% of the gross domestic product. The region boasts a 2.1% inflation rate, lower than the national average of 3%. The region has a 9.2% unemployment rate which is higher than the national average of 7%. CALABARZON, much like the rest of the country, is caught in the middle of being an industrial and an agricultural economy. Due to CALABARZON's proximity to Metro Manila, a large amount of urbanization has taken place over the years. Cavite and Laguna in particular are sites of manufacturing and high-tech industries, with companies like Intel and Panasonic setting up plants in the region. Santa Rosa, Laguna, is home to a host of semi-conductor and automotive companies such as Amkor and Toyota, while Gen. Trias is home to Cavite's largest economic development zone, the PEC Industrial Park. CALABARZON still has a large agricultural base. As of 2002, the region had 282,700 farms, covering 588,500 hectares, or 36.3% of the region's total land area. Cavite alone has almost 70,500 hectares of agricultural land. Laguna is home to the International Rice Research Institute, which can be found within the University of the Philippines Los Baños, whose main goal is find sustainable ways to help rice farmers. Batangas, meanwhile, is home to a large pineapple and coconut industry, which is used to make Barong Tagalogs and native liqueurs such as lambanog and tuba in Tayabas City. Quezon is the country's leader in coconut products such as coconut oil and copra. Rizal is known for its piggeries. Region IV-A's agricultural base, however, is slowly decreasing. Due to their proximity to large bodies of water, Laguna and Batangas also have sizable fishing industries. Taal Lake is a large source of fresh water fishes for the country. CitiesCALABARZON is home to 18 cities, two of which are highly urbanized. Antipolo, in particular, is known as the seventh most populous city in the Philippines. A large part of CALABARZON is considered a part of Greater Manila, and Batangas is home to the Metro Batangas metropolitan area. CALABARZON has a gross regional product of ₱1.65 trillion (at current prices), which accounts for 17% of the national GDP.[6]
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