Sto. Tomas is Batangas’ 4th city

BATANGAS, Philippines — There are now four cities in this province.

Sto. Tomas was added to the list after its cityhood was ratified in a plebiscite on Saturday.

The other cities are Lipa, Tanauan and Batangas.

Sto. Tomas municipal election officer Juan Aguila said 22,858 voted yes while only 431 voted no during the plebiscite.

There are a total of 98,583 registered voters in Sto. Tomas, of which 22 percent participated in the plebiscite.

A former first class municipality, Sto. Tomas is one of the oldest towns in Batangas.

Located at the foot of Mt. Makiling, it is the birthplace of Gen. Miguel Malvar, the last Filipino general to surrender to the Americans.

Sto. Tomas has a population of 179,844 and a land area of 10,032.38 hectares.

Republic Act 11086, which President Duterte signed last year, converts Sto. Tomas into a city.

It also tasked the Commission on Elections to set the date and supervise the plebiscite to ratify its cityhood.