Santa Maria, Laguna

Geography

Santa María, at 126 km² is the 3rd largest town in Laguna in terms of land area, after San Pablo City and Calambâ City, followed by Lumbán. It is surrounded by the towns of Tanay (Rizal) on the north-west; Pililla (Rizal) on the west; Mabitac on the south-west, Famy on the southeast (both in Laguna); and Real (Quezon) on the north-east. It is the northernmost town in Laguna.

Bounded by the provinces of Rizal and Quezon from the western portion up to the northern tip down north eastern part, the town has a mountainous terrain. With the MARILAQUE Sub-Regional Plan (Manila-Rizal-Laguna-Quezon), the municipality functions as link between the highly industrialized capital and the marine life-rich Quezon province. A 43 kilometer road network, the Marcos Highway, physically connects to the eyed site for the International Port. Silangan Railway Express 2000 (MARILAQUE Railway) is another infrastructure project proposed for implementation under the PPP Scheme.

Barangays

Santa María is politically subdivided into 25 barangays:

History

From Mabitac was a mountain path pointed northward leading to a village called Caboan. On this path near the village gateway gathers people and Chinese merchants selling and buying wares, livestock and other farm produce. Aetas sell their herbs, medicinal rootstocks, and wild honey. Women from Mabitac trade chickens with clay pots, pandan mats, and sabutan hats. It was a market place.

Caboan came from the Tagalog word “Kabuhuan,” which means bamboo thicket. “Buho,” is a genus of bamboo, which grows abundantly in the village. Caboan is a miracle of nature. Rare orchids and wild flowers decorated its forests. Its falls called “Ambon-ambon” located in one corner of the village looks like a stair of giant rocks going up to heaven. Its Nilubugan River was rich in exquisite white rocks and stones and its crystal-clear water seems to drift to nowhere.

This village used to be a part of the province of Morong. Padre Antonio de la Llave was the first parish priest of Caboan. Residents believe that he was the one responsible for making the village a town and in renaming it into San Miguel de Caboan in 1602.

A legend tells the story of how San Miguel de Caboan became Santa María. The story says that a couple going home from the market place after trading their vegetable harvest with their basic needs, found lying on the ground an image of the blessed virgin. At first, they thought it was a porcelain piece dropped by a Chinese merchant. Porcelain was a very expensive commodity during the period as it is today. After careful examination, they recognized the image as that of the Virgin Mary. The couple made an altar in their house and enthroned the image there.

The next morning the couple was astonished. The image was gone. They looked for the image all over, until they decided to look at the place where they found it. They saw a group of women, poking with a long stick something on the ground that looked like a piece of ivory. It was the image of the Virgin. It was back at the very spot where they found it.

In 1613, Padre Geronimo Vásquez built the first church on the spot where the couple found the image of the Virgin. Thus, San Miguel de Cabuoan became Santa María de los Ángeles, in short — Sta. María. The Chinese uprising in 1639 destroyed the church. Parishioners rebuilt it in 1669, before the earthquake of 1880 leveled it again to the ground. Padre Leopoldo Arellano raised it once more in 1891. The church is still surviving and is now known as the Nuestra Señora delos Angeles Parish Church.

Local government

Elected officials (2013 elections):