Southern Tagalog
Southern Tagalog (), designated as Region IV, was an administrative region in the Philippines that comprised the current regions of Calabarzon and Mimaropa, the province of Aurora of Central Luzon (then part of Quezon Province until 1979), and several cities of Metro Manila. It was partitioned into the two regions on May 17, 2002. History. Southern Tagalog was the largest region in the Philippines in terms of both land area and population. The "2000 Census of Population and Housin"g showed the region having a total of 11,793,655 people, which comprised 15.42 percent of the 76.5 million population of the  country at that time. Quezon City was the designated regional center of Southern Tagalog. The former region covered the area where many reside; the two other majority-Tagalophone regions are the National Capital Region and Central Luzon. Partitioning. Region IV or Southern Tagalog was divided into Calabarzon and Mimaropa, upon the issuance of "Executive Order No. 103", dated May 17, 2002, by then-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Additionally, the province of Aurora was moved to Region III (Central Luzon). Administrative divisions. Cities. Southern Tagalog region had 13 chartered cities prior to its partition.