The City
History
Las Piñas was one of the earliest fishing settlements on the shores of Manila Bay and was proclaimed a town either in 1762 or 1797. Its exact date of creation cannot be ascertained because historical records vary. Cavada, a Spanish historian and Fr. Juan Medina placed it at 1762, while Buzeta recorded the date at 1797.
Besides being famous for its Bamboo Organ, which was built by Fr. Diego Cera and completed in 1824, the town of Las Piñas was also a major war theater during the 1896 Philippine Revolution, as it was occupied by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo's forces. Las Piñas was also, occupied by the Japanese during Second World War, to be followed by the liberation period, when the combined Filipino and American forces fought the Japanese Imperial armed forces until the end of war.
In 1901, the Municipality of Las Piñas was incorporated from Cavite to the newly created province of Rizal pursuant to Philippine Commission Act No. 137. Two years later, it was combined with Parañaque, the latter being the seat of a new municipal government.
It became a separate municipality from Parañaque on March 27, 1907 by virtue of Philippine Commission Act No. 1625. Then, with the founding of the Metropolitan Manila Area (now Metro Manila) in 1976, Las Piñas became one of the municipalities making up the region.
On February 12, 1997, President Fidel V. Ramos signed the bill declaring Las Piñas a new city. A plebiscite held a month after found the residents in approval of cityhood and Las Piñas became the 10th city of Metro Manila on March 26, 1997.
Culture
Las Piñas City is home to unique festivals like the "Bamboo Organ Festival", "Waterlily Festival", "Bamboo Festival" and "Parol (Lantern) Festival".
According to the 2007 Census, Las Pinas has a population of 532,330 compared to 472,780 in the year 2000. These figures show an annual population growth of 1.65%.