Los Baños (IPA: [lɔs bɐˈɲɔs]), officially the Municipality of Los Baños (Tagalog: Bayan ng Los Baños), colloquialy 'elbi' or simply LB, is a 1st class municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 115,353 people.[4]
It has a total land area of 56.5 square kilometers (21.8 sq mi) and is bordered on the south and south-west by Mount Makiling and Santo Tomas in Batangas, on the north by Laguna de Bay, on the north-west by Calamba and on the east by the town of Bay. The town is located 63 kilometers (39 mi) southeast of Manila and is easily accessible via the South Luzon Expressway along with Manila South Road and Calamba–Pagsanjan Road.
Los Baños was declared as the Special Science and Nature City of the Philippines through Presidential Proclamation No. 349.[6] The proclamation, however, does not convert the municipality to a city or give it corporate powers that are accorded to other cities.
Aside from its importance in academics, science and research, Los Baños is a well-known tourist destination. Because of the town's proximity to Metro Manila, Los Baños's hot spring resorts are frequent weekend or summer getaways for residents of the vast metropolis and tourists from other places in the Philippines and abroad. Tourists who visit Los Baños also come to the several native delicacies stores in the town to buy the town's famous buko pie (coconut meat pie) as well as a home-grown brand of chocolate cake.[7][8] Currently, it is Laguna's richest municipality in terms of assets amounting to ₱652.95 million as of 2017.[9]
Etymology
Los Baños is derived from Spanish for "the baths", also referring to the hot springs. It was named as such in 1589 when Fr. Pedro Bautista built public baths in the present-day town.[10]
History
Spanish colonial era
Los Baños started as a settlement, a barrio of Bay called Mainit, the Tagalog term for "hot", alluding to the thermal springs at the foot of Mount Makiling. By 1589, through a Franciscan friar, it became popularly called by its present name, Los Baños.
In 1595, a temporary building made of bamboo and cogon was built to serve as shelter for the patients who journeyed to Mainit to seek cures for their ailments. It was on September 17, 1615, when the friars administered Los Baños as a separate town from Bay.[10]
In 1671, more permanent structures like churches and hospitals were built only to be destroyed by a fire in 1727. The structures were re-erected at a slow rate. The church which now stands in the municipal center of Los Baños dates back to 1851. The Spanish Governor's palace was built in 1879 but was only completed in 1892.[11]
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Aerial view of Los Baños, circa 1930s
In 1909, the University of the Philippines College of Agriculture (UPCA) was established.
The UPCA became a Japanese prisoner of war camp for nationals of the Allied countries, a target of Kempetai punitive measures, and the headquarters of a secret organization of guerrillas. On February 23, 1945, US forces of the First Battalion, 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the Eleventh Airborne Division led a combined amphibious and airborne raid against the prison camp, rescuing over 2,000 Allied nationals. They killed the 250-man Japanese garrison. In order to force the prisoners to leave behind their belongings and speed up the evacuation before the Japanese could send reinforcements, US forces and Filipino guerrillas burned the camp. Only Baker Hall, the university gymnasium until 2010, remained intact.[12]General Yamashita, the most famous World War 2 General of the Japanese, was tried and executed for war crimes in Los Baños, Laguna.[13]
Philippine independence
In 1959, the 10th World Scout Jamboree was held in Los Baños, with the theme "Building Tomorrow Today" with an attendance of 12,203 Scouts.
The social unrest which arose when Ferdinand Marcos' debt-driven campaign spending led to the 1969 Philippine balance of payments crisis [15][16] spread beyond the capital and also triggered protests by students in UP Los Baños, most prominently in the form of a 13-day strike which saw barricades established at the UPLB Gate and Los Baños Highway Junction areas.[17] This unrest coincided with another issue, which was the call for the UP College of Agriculture to become independent from the University of the Philippines in Diliman.[17]
When martial law was declared in September 1972, Marcos cracked down on any form of criticism or activism, leading to the arrest of many of Los Baños residents. Among those who experienced arrest and torture during martial law were the UPLB Institute of Chemistry's Dr. Aloysious Baes, while among those who became desaparecidos were Tish Ladlad, Cristina Catalla, Gerardo "Gerry" Faustino, Rizalina Ilagan, and UPLB Professor Jessica Sales. Among those confirmed to have been martyred for their beliefs was Manuel Bautista, the student leader who had spearheaded the establishment of UPLB's Textbook Exchange and Rental Center (TERC).[17][18]
In 1979, the evolution and development of academic excellence in Los Baños moved the people of Los Baños to request president Marcos to declare the municipality as "A Special University Zone", granted on June 15, 1982, by virtue of letter of instruction No. 883.
Los Baños was further declared as an "Agriculture, Forestry, and Life Sciences Community" on March 17, 1982, by virtue of Executive Order No. 784 (Section 23).[19]
Post-EDSA revolution era
Special Science and Nature City Marker
On August 7, 2000, Los Baños was declared a Special Science and Nature City of the Philippines by virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 349. It was signed by then-President Joseph Estrada.[6] The Proclamation is in recognition of the town's important contribution in country. The municipality has remained as the country's hub of science and nature with the presence of national and international research institutions collaborating towards the advancement of science research.[20]
21st century
The 6th Flora Malesiana, a triennial gathering of people with botanical expertise regarding "Malesia", was held from September 20 to 24, 2004. It provided a forum for Flora Malesiana members and encouraged publications on Malesian plants.
During the 2005 Southeast Asian Games, Los Baños played host to the aquatics events, with the newly built Trace Aquatic Center at Trace College serving as the venue.
The headquarters of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Center for Biodiversity was opened on August 8, 2006, having leased office spaces until late 2010s from the DENR-Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau, located at the College of Forestry, University of the Philippines Los Baños. It coincided with the foundation day celebrations of the organization. The Philippines assumed the Chairmanship of ASEAN in 2006 and played host to the 12th ASEAN and East Asia Summits (held in Metro Cebu, January 2007).
In January 2007, the 5th ASEAN Inter-Club Age-Group Swimming Championships was held in the Trace Aqua Sports Center.
Los Baños also plays host to the UAAP, as the Trace Aquatics Center has served as the venue for the league's swimming competitions since UAAP Season 70 until UAAP Season 76.
Currently, Los Baños is probably the densest habitat of academicians in South East Asia.[21] Although it is a small town, it has contributed widely through scientific achievements and contributions locally and worldwide particularly on agriculture.[citation needed]
On December 3, 2020, firing from outside the perimeter walls, its incumbent mayor Caesar P. Perez was assassinated inside the municipal office premises by an armed assailant,[22] with a former opposition councilor suspected to be the mastermind.[23]
Geography
Mount Makiling, previously declared as the first national park of the Philippines is now administered by the University of the Philippines Los Baños
Los Baños is nestled between two of Southern Luzon's most dominant geographical features – Mount Makiling to the south and south-west and Laguna de Bay to the north.[24] In fact, Laguna de Bay's southernmost tip is at Barangay Bambang, and Barangay Bagong Silang is already halfway up Mount Makiling. Both the mountain and the lake are volcanic features – Makiling being a potentially active volcano whose geothermal activities gave birth to the hot springs after which the town was named, and Laguna de Bay being the filled-in caldera of a massive prehistoric volcano.
Another notable geological feature is Tadlac Lake, a maar lake whose almost perfectly round shape and uncharted waters have led some locals to call it "the enchanted lake". Others call it "alligator lake", a reminder that it served as the last bastion of Laguna de Bay's once-plentiful cayman population, which has since been wiped out and is now just another legendary part of Philippine history.
Rivers
The town of Los Baños is crossed by five rivers or creeks:[24]
The Dampalit river, which is named after an edible herb, dampalit (Sesuvium portulacastrum), which often grows near river shores, originates on the north face of Mt. Makiling east of the Philippine High School for the Arts, and feeds into Laguna lake at the boundary of Barangays Lalakay and Bambang.[24]
The Saran creek, whose headwaters begin somewhere near the municipal dumpsite, flows through Barangay Anos near the municipal cemetery, and feeds into the lake at Barangay Malinta.
The Pele creek, named after the pili tree (Canarium ovatum), flows through the west side of Barangay Batong Malake and has its mouth at the boundary of Barangays Malinta and Mayondon.[24]
The Molawin River, most familiar to UPLB students because it flows through the UPLB campus and the Makiling Botanic Gardens, is named after the Molave tree (Vitex parviflora).
The Maitim river, whose name means "black", flows through the westernmost portions of Los Baños, marking the town's boundary with its neighboring town of Bay. The Molawin and Maitim rivers merge just a few meters before feeding into Laguna de Bay at the shore of Barangay Maahas.[24]
In the 2020 census, the population of Los Baños was 115,353 people,[4] with a density of 2,100 inhabitants per square kilometer or 5,400 inhabitants per square mile.
Philippine Carabao Center at UPLB (PCC at UPLB) – conducts R&D in water buffalo; implements other programs related to water buffalo development; one of the 13 regional centers of PCC (see the link below)
Agricultural and Life Sciences Complex
National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (NIMBB/BIOTECH) – UPLB
Institute of Plant Breeding
APEC Center for Technology Exchange and Training for Small and Medium Enterprises (ACTETSME)
National Crop Protection Center (NCPC)
College of Agriculture AgriPark
Baker Hall (also known as Los Baños Internment Camp during World War II)
^ abcdePlan of Road Network for Municipality of Los Baños, Province of Laguna, Island of Luzon (Map). Los Baños Municipal Planning and Development Office.
Corazon T. Aragon; Miguelito M. De Lim; Gerardo L. Tioseco (1985). "Economics of Tilapia Cage Culture in Laguna Province, Philippines". In Ian R. Smith; Enriqueta B. Torres; Elvira O. Tan (eds.). Philippine Tilapia Economics(PDF). Philippine Council for Agriculture and Resources Research and Development. pp. 66–82. ISBN971-1022-18-4. ISSN0115-4435.
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