Quezon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other meanings, see Quezon (disambiguation).

Province of Quezon
Provincial seal of Quezon
Map of the Philippines with Quezon highlighted
Region	CALABARZON (Region IV-A)
Capital	Lucena City
Divisions
- Highly urbanized cities	1
- Component cities	1
- Municipalities	39
- Barangays	1,242
- Congressional districts	4
Population	12th largest
- Total (2007)	1,679,030
- Density	193/km² (45th highest)
Area	5th largest
- Total	8,706.6 km²
Founded	March 2, 1901 (as Tayabas)
Spoken languages	Tagalog, English language
Governor	Rafael Puchero Nantes (Liberal)

Quezon is a province of the Philippines located in the CALABARZON region in Luzon. The province was named after Manuel L. Quezon, the second President of the Philippines, and its capital is Lucena City. Quezon City is not located in and should not be confused with Quezon province: Quezon City is located in Metro Manila, a region to the west of CALABARZON, while Quezon province is in eastern CALABARZON.

Quezon is located southeast of Metro Manila and it is surrounded by the provinces of Aurora to the north, Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna and Batangas to the west and the Camarines provinces to the east. Quezon lies on an isthmus separating the Bicol Peninsula from the main part of Luzon. The province also covers the Polillo Islands in the Philippine Sea.

A major tourism draw of the province is the famed Mt. Banahaw. The mountain is surrounded by spiritual mysticism. Many cults and religious organizations stay in the mountains and numerous Christians visit the mountain during Holy Week.

[edit] Known Personalities from Quezon Province

• Rey Danseco sports Editor (Bagong Tiktik), TV boxing host and international boxing judge/reporter - Calauag
  
• Aiza Seguerra former child actress and singer - Calauag
  
• Manoling Morato PCSO official - Calauag
  
• Tomas Morato former Mayor of Calauag and Quezon City - Calauag
  
• Lorenzo Tañada former Senator - Gumaca
  
• Wigberto Tañada former Liberal Party President and former senator - Gumaca
  
• Anneli R. Lontoc former LTO Chief - Lopez
  
• Gil M. Portes movie director - Pagbilao
  
• Roy Alvarez movie actor - Pagbilao
  
• Jennifer Rances a.k.a Jenny Miller movie actress - Lucena City
  

[edit] Economy

Quezon is the country's leading producer of coconut products such as coconut oil and copra. A large part of the province is covered in coconut plantations. Fishing is also a large part of the province's economy.

[edit] Geography

[edit] Political

Quezon is subdivided into 39 municipalities and 1 city (excluding the capital, Lucena City, which is a highly-urbanized city).

[edit] Physical

Quezon is a long province having an area of 8,706.6 km². The northern part of the province sandwiched between the Sierra Madre mountain range and the Philippine Sea. The southern part consists of the Tayabas Isthmus, which separates the Bicol Peninsula from the main part of Luzon Island, and the Bondoc Peninsula which lies between Tayabas Bay and Ragay Gulf.

The major islands of Quezon are Alabat Island and Polillo Islands. Mt. Banahaw, an extinct volcano, is the highest peak at 2,188 m. It supplies geothermal power to the Makban Geothermal Power Plant.

[edit] History

Originally, what now forms part of Quezon was divided among the provinces of Batangas, Laguna, and Nueva Ecija. The area was first explored by Juan de Salcedo in 1571-1572, during his expedition from Laguna to Camarines provinces.

In 1591, the province was created and called Kaliraya or Kalilayan, after the capital town which later became Unisan. In about the middle of the 18th century, the capital was transferred to the town of Tayabas, from which the province got its new name.

Depredation and plunder by the Moros were rampant during the Spanish regime, because they opposed the colonizers, especially in their efforts to spread Christianity. The destruction of Kalilayan in 1604 by a big fleet of moro pirates caused the inhabitants to transfer to Palsabangon (Pagbilao).

However, even the colonized people grew discontent with the Spaniards over the centuries. The most important event in the history of the province was the Confradia Revolt in 1841, which was led by the famous Lucbano, Apolinario dela Cruz, popularly known as Hermano Pule. The province, under Gen. Miguel Malvar, was also among the earliest to join the Philippine Revolution. The Revolutionary Government took control over the province on August 15, 1898.

The Americans then came and annexed the Philippines. A civil government was established in the province on March 2, 1901, with Lucena as its capital.

Japanese occupation of the province during World War II began on December 23, 1941, when the Japanese Imperial Army landed in Atimonan. The occupation witnessed the brutal murders of prominent sons of Tayabas. April 4, 1945 was the day the province was liberated as the Filipino and American army reached Lucena.

After the war, on September 7, 1946, Republic Act No. 14 changed the name Tayabas to Quezon, in honor of Manuel L. Quezon, the Commonwealth president who hailed from Baler, which was one of the province's towns.

In 1951, the northern part of Quezon was made into the sub-province of Aurora (which included Baler). Aurora was the name of the president's wife, Aurora Quezon. In 1979, Aurora was finally separated from Quezon as an independent province.

[edit] Splitting Quezon: Quezon del Norte & Quezon del Sur

On September 7, 2007, The Charter of Quezon del Sur, known as Republic Act No. 9495, was lapsed into law without the signature of the President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. A plebiscite has been set for January 2008.^[1] If approved by the voters of Quezon, it will split the province into two. Quezon del Sur will comprise the towns of Agdangan, Buenavista, Catanauan, General Luna, Macalelon, Mulanay, Padre Burgos, Pitogo, San Andres, San Francisco, San Narciso, Unisan, Alabat, Atimonan, Calauag, Guinayangan, Gumaca, Lopez, Perez, Plaridel, Quezon and Tagkawayan. Quezon del Norte (original province) will comprise of Burdeos, General Nakar, Infanta, Jamalig, Lucban, Mauban, Pagbilao, Panukulan, Patnanungan, Polillo, Real, Sampaloc, Tayabas, Candelaria, Dolores, San Antonio, Sariaya, Tiaong and Lucena City. The capital of Quezon del Sur shall be Gumaca while Quezon del Norte shall be Lucena City. If the plebiscite of January 2008 will favor splitting Quezon into two provinces, Quezon del Norte and Quezon del Sur will still be part of the CALABARZON (Southern Tagalog, Region-4A) under their original acronym "ZON" (Quezon).

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official website of Quezon province
• UP Kalilayan Multiply SiteMultiply Sit,e an organization of University of the Philippines Students from Quezon and Aurora
• UP Kalilayan -official Web Site, an organization of University of the Philippines Students from Quezon and Aurora

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