Rosario, Batangas

Rosario, Batangas
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Rice Granary of Batangas, Agro-Industrial Capital of Southern Tagalog
Home of Sinukmani Festival}}
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| anthem = Himno ng Rosario
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| established_date = June 9, 1687
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| leader_title =
| leader_name = Leovigildo K. Morpe
| leader_title1 = Vice Mayor
| leader_name1 = Atanacio G. Zara
| leader_title2 = Representative
| leader_name2 = Lianda B. Bolilia
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Rosario, officially the Municipality of Rosario, is a 1st class municipality in the province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 128,352 people.
Rosario is considered as among the interior municipalities of the Batangas Bay region, comprising eleven municipalities and two cities whose catchment areas drain into Batangas Bay. The town is also dubbed as "The Rice Granary of Batangas".
History
Accounts show that the origin of Rosario was a Christian settlement along the coast of Lobo. The settlement became prey to the pirate raids during the Moro wars of the 18th century.
The Moro or pirate raids forced the inhabitants of the settlement to the safety of the ravine and forest on the north-west bank of Kansahayan River (now the Municipality of Taysan). Here the settlement was relocated. However, at the height of the Moro Wars in the second half of the 18th century, the vicious Moro raids reached Kansahayan. In one of their forays the Parish Priest is said to be among those slain.
The inhabitants decided to leave Kansahayan. They headed farther north holding a novena and praying the rosary in the process of their flight. On the 9th night of the novena, the fleeing inhabitants reached the river bank of Tubig ng Bayan (a river originating from Lipa) in now the town of Padre Garcia. Here they finally settled. Living in peace and prosperity, the grateful town's people erected a stone church south of the river bank in honor of their benefactress, the Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Parish. The town was named Santo Rosario.
Santo Rosario was razed to the ground during the Philippine–American War. In the early American military occupation of Santo Rosario, a cavalry officer, Captain Daniel H. Boughton, came upon the big spring at the foot of Tombol Hill. He decided to relocate the town west of the spring, where Rosario's population center is now.
Official records show that on June 9, 1902, a council of prominent citizens of the town met under a mango tree beside Tombol Spring. On the spot they formally organized the municipal government of Rosario. The following assumed the first key positions of the town government:
Geronimo Carandang (Presidente)
Diego Rosales (Bise Presidente)
Luis Greñas (Secretario)
Leon Magtibay (Tesorero)
A wealthy landowner, Don Antonino Luancing donated for the town's public buildings and plaza.
Local historians were not unanimous as the exact date of the founding of this town. Certainly it was among those organized by the ecclesiastical authorities after the creation of Batangas as a province in 1581. It is generally believed to have come to the existence in 1687 while still located along the coast of Lobo during the term of Don Nicolas Morales as gobernadorcillo. Originally, Rosario comprised the whole parts of the municipalities of Lobo, Taysan, Ibaan, San Juan de Bolbok and the entire municipality of Padre Garcia.
The old settlement in Kansayahan now bears the name of Pinagbayanan, a thriving marketing post in the municipality of Taysan. The old town site of Santo Rosario had been named Lumang Bayan before it was renamed Padre Garcia when the latter was created and carved out Rosario in 1949 as a separate municipality.
Geography
Rosario is located at .
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the municipality has a land area of constituting of the total area of Batangas.
Climate
Barangays
Rosario is politically subdivided into 48 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.
Malaya was formerly known as Munting Tubig.
Clusters
For purposes of community organization and effective delivery of social development projects, the Office for Sustainable Development under supervision of the Office of the Municipal Mayor in 1995, divided the 48 barangays into 8 barangay clusters with 6 member barangays each.
This system was patterned after the resolutions traditionally passed by the Sangguniang Bayan as part of its organizational plan following the general elections when new members are elected into office for a new term.
Consequently, the barangay cluster arrangement was adopted and served as the framework for land use development strategies enunciated under the Comprehensive Land Use Plan of Rosario, Batangas for Planning Period 2000–2010 (CLUP).
Demographics
In the 2020 census, Rosario had a population of 128,352. The population density was .
Economy
Due to strategic location, and the separation of Lipa City to become a lone congressional district, Rosario has since become a center of commerce in 4th district of Batangas. Rosario hosts some supermarket chains like SM Hypermarket, Ultra Mega, and Puregold and compete with local mini-marts. High-end home improvement suppliers such as the Maquiling Builders Depot in Barangay Namunga and CitiHardware in Barangay San Jose are rising within the municipality. Wilcon Depot opens its 85th store in Barangay Baybayin. Fast food restaurants like Jollibee, Chowking, Kenny Rogers, KFC, McDonald's, Shakey's and Domino's Pizza mostly prefer Rosario for their first store within the 4th district. Seattle's Best's very first drive thru in the Philippines is found in Barangay Namunga. Industrial establishments in the municipality are mostly agri-based, while the Puyat Steel Corporation is an ISO 9002-certified galvanizing plant manufacturing world-class iron sheets. International Pipe Industries Corporation, also an ISO-certified, manufactures high quality spiral welded steel pipes and fittings with one of its facilities located in Barangay Masaya.
Education
Padre Vicente Garcia Memorial Academy, also known as The Academy or by its acronym PVGMA, is a private, non-sectarian institution offering basic education from junior high school to senior high school. It is the first and oldest high school in Rosario established in 1946.
Saint Joseph College is a Catholic institution offering both basic and higher education founded in 1956.
The Leon Manigbas Elementary School (LMES) is a government primary school located in San Jose, Rosario, Batangas, Philippines. The "school code" is 107578. As of 2020, the principal is Ella Castillo, and the school colors are Blue and Yellow. Leon Manigbas Elementary School was established in 1993 and has existed for 27 years as of 2020.
Batangas State University Jose B. Zuño Campus is an extension campus of the Batangas State University or BSU in Rosario located in Barangay Namunga. Housed within the campus are the College of Teacher Education, College of Industrial Technology, and College of Accountancy, Business, Economics and International Hospitality Management.
Government
Elected officials
The current set of municipal officials were elected during the 2022 General Elections; their term is set to expire in 2025.
Judiciary
Rosario has a regional trial court (RTC) Branch 87 recognized by the Supreme Court of the Philippines.
Transportation
Road networks
Gualberto Avenue, referred to as kalye mayor, is the main thoroughfare within the town proper that gives access to municipality of Ibaan, Batangas City, and Metro Manila via STAR Tollway in the west; and municipality of San Juan, Lucena City all the way to Bicol Region in the east. Intersecting with Gualberto Avenue are the Lipa-Rosario Road (component road of N431) in the north giving access to municipality of Padre Garcia, Lipa City, and also Metro Manila; and Carandang Street in the south giving access to municipalities of Taysan and Lobo.
Public transportation
There are jeepneys bound for Batangas City and Lipa City on a regular basis. Jeepneys not from a terminal plying from Lipa City to San Juan, Batangas also pass by Rosario via the Gualberto Avenue. Buses from Batangas City to Lucena and buses from San Juan, Batangas to LRT-Buendia/PITX, Cubao, Ayala Malls Manila Bay, and BGC also pass by Gualberto Avenue. Like many other towns and cities in the Philippines, tricycles are common means of transportation within the municipality. Modern jeepneys bound for SM Lipa Grand Terminal also exist.
Culture
Cuisine Sinukmani aptly represents the town as its main ingredients: rice, coconut, and sugar are also the main products of Rosario; which is why Sinukmani Festival is celebrated annually during the founding anniversary of the municipality.Kalamay is not just a popular snack in Rosario but also a vital part of traditional Batangas wedding or baysanan along with suman. Kalamay is usually offered on the latter part of baysanan called dapit. The sticky rice cake symbolizes strong attachment of the couple to each other and to each other's family. Suman on the other hand is given during the sabugan, a part of baysanan within the wedding reception. The ninongs and ninangs or the principal sponsors and even some relatives and friends are called to give cash gifts or sabog. In exchange, they receive suman in a manner that it is seemingly being sold to them. Principal sponsors get to receive a basket of goodies with the suman in it plus primal cuts of meat collectively called sabit.
Like any other town in Batangas, other famous delicacies in Rosario includes:
Lomi, a Filipino noodle dish originated in the nearby city of Lipa. Original recipe of Batangas lomi has a thicker soup usually topped only with kikiam, meatballs, and pork liver. Other toppings include boiled eggs (can be chicken or quail), chicharon and other fried meat but strictly no vegetables unlike the variety of lomi proliferating outside of Batangas
Goto, in other areas of the Philippines, it is a rice porridge. Gotong Batangas on the other hand is a thin soup dish with beef tripes and other innards. It is accompanied by a mixture of fish sauce, calamansi, chopped onions, and chili as condiments and could be served with rice separately
Kalderetang kambing, a goat stew dish which is a specialty due to the abundance of goats in Rosario and nearby municipalities
Pupor, a kind of chicharon in Batangas fried in its own pork fat similar to the pitichan of Pampanga, pinakupsan of the Visayas or tulapo particularly in Iloilo
Tulingan, though Rosario is a landlocked municipality, Batangas mostly consists of coastal towns like the nearby San Juan and Lobo where they can have access to this fish, popularly braised to perfection. A common practice is frying the braised fish the next day if there are any leftovers making it more flavorful then what's left with the fried fish can be cooked in coconut milk for another day. Batangueños are jokingly said to be venting anger on the tulingan because of this.
Buchi-buchi, deep fried sweetened cassava known as balinghoy. In Batangas, it is coated in orange wrapper which at first looks like another snack in the Philippines called kwek-kwek if you are not familiar with the food. It is also different from buchi made from glutinous rice and coated with sesame seeds.
Panutsa, Batangas version of a sweet delicacy made by crystallizing brown sugar mixed with peanuts. Outside Batangas, the term is referred to the muscovado variant; but in Batangas, that variant is called sangkaka Kapeng barako, a type of coffee grown mainly in Batangas. It is associated with machismo due to its high caffeine content and strong flavor thus calling it barako which means "stud". In line with this, the barako coffee is one of the symbols of bravery in Batangas along with the balisong, and the Batangueños themselves
Penitensyahan
Traditions observed during Holy Week in Rosario include pilgrimage to the Grotto and the ascent to Tombol Hill. Good Friday starts early in the morning with Penitensyahan, a notable procession in Rosario which includes higantes. A more traditional long procession is held at night that features images of Jesus, Mama Mary, and various saints. On Easter Sunday, Salubong and Pagbati is performed in front of the parish church. Pagbati in Rosario is traditionally composed of three young ladies dancing to the tune of a local brass band. They are dressed in white on the actual Easter Sunday dance early in the morning, and clad in a more colorful dress on the Black Saturday rehearsal dance held in the evening. It is accompanied by waving a flag with grace, making sure it would not fall or roll up.
Tourism
Attractions include:
Tombol Hill and The Grotto
Naambon Falls
Batangas Racing Circuit in Barangay Maligaya
Notable personalities
Angelina Tan, incumbent Governor of Quezon Province
Jovit Baldivino, Pilipinas Got Talent Season 1 winner
Jovencito Zuño, Chief State Prosecutor
Jose Romulo, Premiere actor born Romulo Alib Zuño in Rosario and was a former police officer of the town
Fr. Vicente Garcia, Filipino priest during the Spanish colonial period and defender of Dr. Jose Rizal. Technically, he is from Rosario—in one of its barrio'' at the time, Maugat; which at present is part of, his namesake, the municipality of Padre Garcia
Sister cities
Iloilo City
References
External links
[ Philippine Standard Geographic Code]
Municipalities of Batangas