Calaca, Batangas

Calaca, officially the City of Calaca (Filipino: Lungsod ng Calaca), is a component city in the province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 87,361 people.^[5]

Calaca
Component city
City of Calaca
Street outside Gen. Eleuterio Marasigan Memorial Hall
Seal
Map of Batangas with Calaca highlighted
OpenStreetMap
Calaca Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 13°55′48″N 120°48′47″E
Country	Philippines
Region	Calabarzon
Province	Batangas
District	1st district
Founded	May 10, 1835[1]
Cityhood	September 3, 2022
Barangays	40 (see Barangays)
Government  [2]
• Type	Sangguniang Panlungsod
• Mayor	Sofronio Leonardo C. Ona Jr.[3]
• Vice Mayor	Jerry Raphael I. Kipte
• Representative	Joseph Eric R. Buhain
• City Council	Members Deovic M. Ontangco Robenson M. Sale Prima C. Dajoyag Michael Jones C. Salazar Rexner Jown V. Pastoral Divina A. Opelanio Caesar Ryan H. Noche Cedric M. de Joya
• Electorate	63,857 voters (2025)
Area [4]
• Total	114.58 km2 (44.24 sq mi)
Elevation	49 m (161 ft)
Highest elevation	253 m (830 ft)
Lowest elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population  (2020 census)[5]
• Total	87,361
• Density	760/km2 (2,000/sq mi)
• Households	20,901
Economy
• Poverty incidence	10.70 % (2021)[6]
• Revenue	₱ 891.5 million (2022)
• Assets	₱ 2,330 million (2022)
• Expenditure	₱ 804.7 million (2022)
• Liabilities	₱ 949.1 million (2022)
Service provider
• Electricity	Batangas 1 Electric Cooperative (BATELEC 1)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	4212
PSGC	0401007000
IDD : area code	+63 (0)43
Native languages	Tagalog
Website	calaca.gov.ph

Calaca is home to the lively Calacatchara festival (a portmanteau of Calaca and atchara (chutney).

Etymology

The name was taken from the roofs of the houses made of bamboos halves arranged over top of one another. One anecdote believes that: When it was still a sitio and long been called Calaca, three Spanish officials happened to pass by. They saw some carpenters making the roof of a house. They asked one of the carpenters about the name of the place. The carpenter, who did not know Spanish, believed that the Spaniards were asking what they were making and they answered, “calaca.” The Spaniards noted the name and since then, Calaca became the official name.^[7]

History

Calaca was part of Balayan when it was used to be a barrio. On May 10, 1835, it was officially converted into a town. Don Rufino Punungbayan was the first Gobernadorcillo of the municipality during the year 1835–1836.

Cityhood

Main article: Cities of the Philippines

On March 11, 2020, House Bill No. 6598 was filed for the conversion of the municipality of Calaca into a component city in the province of Batangas.^[8] Both the House of Representatives and the Senate passed the bill. On May 26, 2021, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte approved the bill through Republic Act No. 11544.^[9] On August 19, 2021, COMELEC postponed the plebiscite which seeks to ratify the conversion of the municipality of Calaca into a city for the preparation of the 2022 elections.^[10] On July 13, 2022, the election body sets the date of plebiscite on September 3, 2022.^[11] By virtue of Republic Act No. 11544 after ratification of the law, Calaca becomes the fifth city in Batangas and the first in the province's 1st legislative district.^{[12][13][3][14]}

Calaca cityhood plebiscite

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	29,424	88.61
No	3,781	11.39
Valid votes	33,205	100%
Invalid or blank votes	0	0%
Total votes	33,205	100.00
Registered voters/turnout	58,881	56.39%
Source: Press statement from the COMELEC via Twitter; news article from Manila Bulletin

Geography

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the city has a land area of 114.58 square kilometres (44.24 sq mi) ^[15] constituting 3.67% of the 3,119.75-square-kilometre- (1,204.54 sq mi) total area of Batangas.

Calaca is 38 kilometres (24 mi) from Batangas City and 116 kilometres (72 mi) from Manila.

Barangays

Calaca is politically subdivided into 40 barangays, as indicated in the matrix below.^[16]. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

As of June 30, 2021, there are five barangays that are considered urban (highlighted in bold).^[17]

PSGC	Barangay	Population			±% p.a.
		2020[5]		2010[18]
041007001	Bagong Tubig	2.8%	2,434	2,083	▴	1.57%
041007002	Baclas	1.9%	1,688	1,574	▴	0.70%
041007003	Balimbing	0.6%	494	456	▴	0.80%
041007004	Bambang	1.6%	1,415	1,239	▴	1.34%
041007006	Barangay 1 (Poblacion)	2.2%	1,903	1,839	▴	0.34%
041007007	Barangay 2 (Poblacion)	0.9%	827	729	▴	1.27%
041007008	Barangay 3 (Poblacion)	0.3%	278	279	▾	−0.04%
041007009	Barangay 4 (Poblacion)	1.2%	1,031	908	▴	1.28%
041007010	Barangay 5 (Poblacion)	1.3%	1,096	1,004	▴	0.88%
041007011	Barangay 6 (Poblacion)	0.9%	762	742	▴	0.27%
041007012	Bisaya	1.2%	1,016	861	▴	1.67%
041007013	Cahil	4.3%	3,742	2,929	▴	2.48%
041007014	Caluangan	2.1%	1,863	1,699	▴	0.93%
041007015	Calantas	3.6%	3,128	2,784	▴	1.17%
041007016	Camastilisan	4.7%	4,147	3,425	▴	1.93%
041007017	Coral ni Lopez (Sugod)	2.2%	1,921	1,695	▴	1.26%
041007018	Coral ni Bacal	1.6%	1,389	1,145	▴	1.95%
041007019	Dacanlao	7.1%	6,177	5,243	▴	1.65%
041007020	Dila	1.9%	1,624	1,504	▴	0.77%
041007021	Loma	1.5%	1,346	1,112	▴	1.93%
041007022	Lumbang Calzada	3.2%	2,820	2,329	▴	1.93%
041007023	Lumbang na Bata	2.1%	1,873	1,769	▴	0.57%
041007024	Lumbang na Matanda	2.9%	2,549	1,944	▴	2.75%
041007025	Madalunot	2.2%	1,927	1,675	▴	1.41%
041007027	Makina	1.5%	1,301	1,094	▴	1.75%
041007028	Matipok	2.1%	1,830	1,515	▴	1.91%
041007030	Munting Coral	0.4%	387	328	▴	1.67%
041007031	Niyugan	1.6%	1,404	1,185	▴	1.71%
041007032	Pantay	6.5%	5,654	4,517	▴	2.27%
041007033	Puting Bato West	3.8%	3,291	2,892	▴	1.30%
041007034	Puting Kahoy	1.5%	1,310	1,179	▴	1.06%
041007035	Puting Bato East	2.5%	2,145	2,001	▴	0.70%
041007036	Quisumbing	2.5%	2,193	1,824	▴	1.86%
041007037	Salong	5.5%	4,766	4,130	▴	1.44%
041007038	San Rafael	1.1%	965	661	▴	3.86%
041007039	Sinisian	2.3%	2,025	1,764	▴	1.39%
041007041	Taklang Anak	1.4%	1,190	980	▴	1.96%
041007042	Talisay	2.3%	1,985	1,935	▴	0.26%
041007043	Tamayo	1.8%	1,590	1,435	▴	1.03%
041007044	Timbain	2.7%	2,373	2,114	▴	1.16%
	Total		87,361	70,521	▴	2.16%

Climate

Climate data for Calaca City, Batangas
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	29 (84)	30 (86)	31 (88)	33 (91)	32 (90)	30 (86)	29 (84)	29 (84)	29 (84)	29 (84)	29 (84)	29 (84)	30 (86)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	20 (68)	20 (68)	21 (70)	22 (72)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	24 (75)	23 (73)	22 (72)	21 (70)	22 (72)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	11 (0.4)	13 (0.5)	14 (0.6)	32 (1.3)	101 (4.0)	142 (5.6)	208 (8.2)	187 (7.4)	175 (6.9)	131 (5.2)	68 (2.7)	39 (1.5)	1,121 (44.3)
Average rainy days	5.2	5.0	7.4	11.5	19.8	23.5	27.0	25.9	25.2	23.2	15.5	8.3	197.5
Source: Meteoblue (Use with caution: this is modeled/calculated data, not measured locally.)[19]

Demographics

Population census of Calaca

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1903	5,838	—
1918	9,310	+3.16%
1939	10,671	+0.65%
1948	13,551	+2.69%
1960	18,667	+2.70%
1970	27,780	+4.05%
1975	31,705	+2.69%
1980	36,508	+2.86%
1990	45,377	+2.20%
1995	51,459	+2.38%
2000	58,489	+2.78%
2007	64,966	+1.46%
2010	70,521	+3.03%
2015	81,859	+2.88%
2020	87,361	+1.29%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[20][18][21][22]

In the 2020 census, Calaca had a population of 87,361.^[5] The population density was 760 inhabitants per square kilometre (2,000/sq mi).

Economy

Calaca is currently identified by the Philippine Statistics Agency as a 1st class municipal economic zone.^[23] The Philippine Statistics Agency as of September 2022 had not made a determination of the income classification on the city scale for Calaca based on the previous four years of revenue.^[24]

Poverty incidence of Calaca

10 20 30 40 50 2000 47.68 2003 37.56 2006 28.10 2009 17.84 2012 19.95 2015 17.36 2018 10.29 2021 10.70 Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32]

Gallery

• 
  Welcome arch from Lemery
• 
  Police station
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  Public market
• 
  Saint Raphael the Archangel Parish Church