Southern Tagalog (Filipino: Timog Katagalugan), designated as Region IV,[a] was an administrative region in the Philippines that comprised the current regions of Calabarzon and Mimaropa, the province of AurorainCentral Luzon, and most of the National Capital Region. It was the largest region in the Philippines in terms of both land area and population. After its partition on May 17, 2002, Southern Tagalog continues to exist as a cultural-geographical region.[3]
Southern Tagalog was the largest region in the Philippines in terms of both land area and population. The 2000 Census of Population and Housing 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.[2][4]
Quezon City was the designated regional center of Southern Tagalog.[1]
On September 7, 1946, Republic Act No. 14 changed the name TayabastoQuezon; both Quezon City & Quezon Province were named in honor of Manuel L. Quezon, the Commonwealth president who was born in Baler, which was one of the province's towns.[5]
In June 1951, the northern area of Quezon (specifically, the towns of Baler, Casiguran, Dilasag, Dingalan, Dinalungan, Dipaculao, Maria Aurora and San Luis) was made into the sub-province of Aurora.[6] Aurora was named of the president's wife, Aurora Quezon, also a native of Baler. Aurora was finally separated from Quezon as an independent province in 1979, and added to Southern Tagalog.[7]
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), the physical location of the province.[3] The total separation of Aurora from Quezon & transfer of Aurora to Central Luzon were the fulfillment of the wishes and prayers of the residents of the original Municipalities of Baler and Casiguran to be truly independent from Quezon Province for the first time & to reform the original La Pampanga since the Spanish occupation.[8][9]
Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur, which are under Bicol Region, are sometimes considered part of Southern Tagalog recently, as there has been a language shift in recent years to Tagalog, which is more common native language, from being historically Bikol-speaking provinces.
Hiligaynon, spoken in eastern parts of Palawan and southern parts of Romblon. There are also significant speakers in Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, Quezon, Batangas and southern parts of Mindoro where the language is not native.
Kinaray-a, spoken in eastern parts of Palawan and southern parts of Romblon. There are also significant speakers in Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, Quezon, Batangas and southern parts of Mindoro where the language is not native.
Tagalog, spoken in Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan. It is the regional lingua franca, mostly as Filipino.
Tausug, spoken in southwestern Palawan. There are also significant speakers in other parts of Southern Tagalog especially in urban areas where the language is not native.
Other native languages spoken in Southern Tagalog are Hatang Kayi, also named as Sinauna, a Central Luzon language spoken in Tanay, Rizal and General Nakar, Quezon (this is related to Kapampangan and Sambalic languages), the Manide language in east Quezon and a small portion in north Quezon, the Umiray Dumaget language in north Quezon and a small area in central Quezon, and the Inagta Alabat languageonAlabat Island.
The languages not native to the region are: Ilocano in Quezon, Laguna, Rizal, Cavite, Batangas, Mindoro, and Palawan (Aurora & Quezon have the largest concentration of Ilocano speakers when Aurora was part of Southern Tagalog, the statistics now exclusively belong to Quezon); Bikol in Quezon, Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, and Marinduque; Cebuano in Rizal, Batangas, Cavite, and Quezon; Kapampangan and Pangasinan in Batangas, Cavite, Mindoro and Palawan; Maranao and Maguindanao in many parts of the region especially in urban areas.
