Laurel, officially the Municipality of Laurel (Tagalog: Bayan ng Laurel), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 43,210 people.

Laurel is previously part of Talisay, its current neighbor town, until 1969.

Etymology

The town's present name is derived from Miguel Laurel, known as the first notable Laurel in the Philippines and a longtime patriarch of the place and José P. Laurel, a former president and a native of Tanauan, Batangas.

History

Laurel traces its origin to a remote barrio called Bugain (derived from buga, a black cinder formed from fly ashes during Taal Volcano eruption), which was part of Talisay that was established in 1869. Located by the Tanauan Bay, the present-day municipality was also the first location of Tanauan's municipal seat (poblacion) until 1754, when it was transferred to the present-day barangay Sala in Tanauan as a result of the Taal Volcano eruption that year. In 1903, the barrio became part of Tanauan when Talisay was merged with the former by virtue of Act No. 708. A year later, it was transferred to Taal by virtue of Act No. 1244, before it was eventually returned to the reestablished municipality of Talisay. After the 1911 Taal Volcano eruption, population grew at the area with agricultural cultivation as the locals' primary livelihood. The area was later called Nayon ng Bayuyungan (derived from bayong) or simply as Bayuyungan and was designated as the center of the area that consisted it and nearby barrios.

Locals led by Jose Macaraig, Placido Amo (vice mayor of Talisay), and Severino Amo signed a petition to create an independent town out of barrio Bayuyungan and adjacent barrios. It was first endorsed to Senator Maria Kalaw Katigbak, who in turn presented it to President Diosdado Macapagal. It was also presented to the Talisay municipal government, who in turn forwarded it to Batangas Governor Feliciano Leviste. The Batangas Provincial Board then endorsed the petition as a resolution to Batangas 3rd district Representative José B. Laurel Jr. and finally through House Bill No. 17628.

On June 21, 1969, the barrios of Bayuyungan, Ticub, Balakilong, Bugaan, Berinayan, As-is, San Gabriel, and Buso-buso were officially separated from Talisay and constituted into a new and separate municipality of Laurel, by virtue of Republic Act No. 5689; Bayuyungan became the present-day poblacion. The first set of officials acted on November 8, 1971, with Placido Amo as Mayor.

Geography

Laurel is located at 14°03′N 120°54′E / 14.05°N 120.9°E / 14.05; 120.9.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the municipality has a land area of 71.29 square kilometers (27.53 sq mi)  constituting 2.29% of the 3,119.75-square-kilometer (1,204.54 sq mi) total area of Batangas.

Laurel is 70 kilometers (43 mi) from Batangas City and 93 kilometers (58 mi) from Manila.

Barangays

Laurel is politically subdivided into 21 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

PSGC	Barangay	Population			±% p.a.
		2020		2010
041011001	As‑Is	5.4%	2,354	2,133	▴	0.99%
041011002	Balakilong	9.5%	4,118	3,974	▴	0.36%
041011004	Berinayan	4.6%	2,008	1,613	▴	2.21%
041011006	Bugaan East	4.7%	2,028	1,811	▴	1.14%
041011007	Bugaan West	5.5%	2,374	2,290	▴	0.36%
041011008	Buso‑buso	6.2%	2,692	2,445	▴	0.97%
041011010	Dayap Itaas	1.7%	752	494	▴	4.29%
041011011	Gulod	6.4%	2,746	2,501	▴	0.94%
041011012	J. Leviste	5.4%	2,351	1,884	▴	2.24%
041011013	Molinete	3.4%	1,480	1,442	▴	0.26%
041011014	Niyugan	2.8%	1,219	1,252	▾	−0.27%
041011015	Paliparan	2.1%	887	760	▴	1.56%
041011016	Barangay 1 (Poblacion)	1.3%	570	507	▴	1.18%
041011017	Barangay 2 (Poblacion)	3.3%	1,438	1,265	▴	1.29%
041011018	Barangay 3 (Poblacion)	1.5%	663	759	▾	−1.34%
041011019	Barangay 4 (Poblacion)	1.4%	610	593	▴	0.28%
041011020	Barangay 5 (Poblacion)	1.8%	790	674	▴	1.60%
041011021	San Gabriel	5.9%	2,559	2,340	▴	0.90%
041011022	San Gregorio	7.9%	3,433	2,931	▴	1.59%
041011023	Santa Maria	5.1%	2,217	1,986	▴	1.11%
041011024	Ticub	5.0%	2,155	2,020	▴	0.65%
	Total		43,210	35,674	▴	1.93%

Climate

Demographics

Population census of Laurel

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1970	13,137	—
1975	15,143	+2.89%
1980	17,889	+3.39%
1990	22,099	+2.14%
1995	23,781	+1.38%
2000	27,604	+3.25%
2007	34,953	+3.31%
2010	35,674	+0.75%
2015	39,444	+1.93%
2020	43,210	+1.81%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority

In the 2020 census, Laurel had a population of 43,210. The population density was 610 inhabitants per square kilometer (1,600/sq mi).

Economy

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Poverty incidence of Laurel

10 20 30 40 2006 14.80 2009 21.75 2012 31.29 2015 25.67 2018 13.13 2021 6.86 Source: Philippine Statistics Authority

• Fishing – Laurel's main economical source is fish culture in Taal Lake where most of local residents base their trade.
• Farming – Small rice paddies on the foothills of Taal canyon ridge provide for ricefields to farmers.
• Real estate – The town's vast land resource provide ideal location for real estate developers such as Megaworld and Fil-Estate which are mostly based in Metro Manila. Among the major real estate subdivisions located in Barangay San Gregorio are Canyon Woods and Twin Lakes.

Government

Local government

Like other municipalities in the Philippines, Laurel is governed by a mayor and vice mayor who are elected to three-year terms. The mayor is the executive head who leads the municipal's departments in the execution of municipal ordinances and in the delivery of public services. The vice mayor heads a legislative council that is composed of 10 members: 8 elected councilors and 2 ex officio office held by the ABC President as the barangay sector representative and by the SK Federation President. The council is in charge of creating the minucipal's policies in the form of ordinances and resolutions.

House of Representatives (Batangas-3rd district)
Rep. Ma. Theresa V. Collantes (NPC)
Batangas Provincial Board (3rd District)
BM Fred Corona (NPC)	BM Rudy Balba (NP)
Local Government of Laurel (2022–2025)
Mayor
Hon. Lyndon Bruce (PRP)
Vice Mayor
Hon. Aries Parilla (PRP)
Sangguniang Bayan Members
Hon. Sylvia Austria (PRP)	Hon. Vincent Endaya (Ind.)
Hon. Angelito Rodriguez (PRP)	Hon. Norvic Garcia (PRP)
Hon. Francisco Endozo (PRP)	Hon. Liezl De Castro (PRP)
Hon. Iris Joyce Agojo (NPC)	Hon. Regina Landicho (NPC)
LNB President
Hon. Rufino Dirain (Bugaan West)
SK Federation President
Hon. Cyruz Caesar Mendoza (Buso-buso)

Mayoralty Election Results

2022: Then-incumbent Joan Amo ran for reelection and lost. She faced off businessman and neophyte politician Lyndon Bruce.

Laurel mayoralty elections

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	PRP	Lyndon Bruce	13,711	57.77%
	NPC	Joan Amo	10,021	42.23%
Margin of victory			3,690	15.54%
Total votes			23,732	100%
	PRP gain from NPC

2019: Then-incumbent Randy James Amo was term-limited and ran for Board Member (lost). His party nominated his wife, Joan Amo. She faced then-incumbent Vice Mayor Felimon Austria and businessman Roderick Natanauan.

Laurel mayoralty elections

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	PDP–Laban	Joan Amo	10,737	52.56
	Independent	Roderick Natanuan	7,369	36.07
	Nacionalista	Felimon Austria	2,321	11.36
Margin of victory			3,368	16.67%
Valid ballots			20,427	98.07%
Invalid or blank votes			403	1.93%
Total votes			20,830	100%
	PDP–Laban hold

2016: Then-incumbent Randy James Amo ran for reelection and won. He ran against businessman Roderick Natanauan and then-incumbent Municipal Councilor Vincent Endaya.

Laurel mayoralty elections

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Randy James Amo	10,743	54.8%
	NPC	Roderick Natanauan	8,338	42.5%
	PDP–Laban	Vincent Endaya	528	2.7%
Total votes
	Liberal hold

2013: Then-incumbent Mayor Randy James Amo ran for reelection. He faced off against former Mayor Atty. Natalio Panganiban.

Laurel mayoralty election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Randy James Amo	10,529	61.62
	UNA	Natalio Panganiban	6,559	38.38
Total votes			17,479	100.00
	Liberal hold

2010: Then-incumbent John Benedict Panganiban ran for reelection against then-incumbent Vice Mayor Randy James Amo (won) and Aristotle Parilla.

Laurel mayoralty elections

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	'Randy James Amo'	5,993
	Nacionalista	John Benedict Panganiban	5,495
	PMP	Aristotle Parilla	3,143
Total votes
	Liberal gain from Nacionalista

Former Municipal Mayors

No.	Name	Term of Office
1	Placido Amo	1969-1986
2	Natalio Panganiban	1986-1988
(1)	Placido Amo	1988-1992
3	Joven de Grano	1992-1995
(2)	Natalio Panganiban	1995-2004
4	John Benedict Panganiban	2004-2010
5	Randy James Amo	2010-2019
6	Joan Amo	2019-2022

Gallery

• 
  Laurel Municipal Hall
• 
  Laurel Police Station
• 
  Street in Poblacion Laurel
• 
  Laurel welcome arch
• 
  Laurel Church
• 
  Twin Lakes shopping village