Calamba City Day in the Philippines Date in the current year: April 21, 2024

Calamba is a 1st class component city situated in the Philippine province of Laguna. It is the regional center of the Calabarzon region, which encompasses the provinces of Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Quezon, and Rizal. Nicknamed the “Spring Resort Capital of the Philippines”, Calamba is known for its hot spring resorts. The city is also famous as the hometown of José Rizal, a Filipino national hero who was executed by the Spanish during the Philippine Revolution.

The city’s name derives from the Tagalog world kalamba, which means a wide-mouthed earthenware water jar, also known as tapayan, banga or balanga. The origin of the name is reflected in the Calamba Jar, also known as the Calamba Claypot, a landmark located at the City Plaza. Built in 1937–1939, it is the largest clay pot in the world. A kalamba is also depicted on the city’s seal, superimposed with José Rizal’s profile.

Pre-Hispanic settlement in the area can be traced back to prehistoric times. The Spanish arrived in what is now Calamba in the 17th century and converted the entire area into a hacienda named Tabuco, which included the present-day cities of Biñan, Cabuayo, Calamba, San Pedro, and Santa Rosa. In 1639, Chinese farmers who had been forcibly resettled to Calamba by the Spanish governor started a rebellion that spread across the region and eventually resulted in the deaths of more than 20,000 rebels.

Calamba became an independent pueblo (settlement) on August 28, 1742, and was given town status in 1770. In 1813, Calamba was placed under the governance of Dominican friars, who would divide the hacienda into portions and sell it to the natives on an installment basis under the new American government.

During much of World War II, Calamba, like the rest of the Philippines, was occupied by Japan. The Imperial Japanese Army burned down the St. John the Baptist Church, originally built in 1859, and committed a massacre, killing at least 2,000 civilians. After the liberation of the Philippines, the town began to rebuild; the church was reconstructed and restored in 1974.

Talks of converting Calamba into a city first began in 1994, when the municipal council requested the Senate and the House of Representatives to co-sponsor a bill to grant Calamba cityhood. However, nothing came out of it. The process of Calamba’s conversion into a city began in earnest in 2000. The bill granting Calamba cityhood was signed into law by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on March 5, 2001, and supported by a plebiscite on April 21, 2001. The anniversary of the plebiscite is now celebrated as Calamba City Day.

In October 2003, President Arroyo designated Calamba as the regional center of Calabarzon. Today, Calamba has the reputation of the richest city in the region; its main sources of income are manufacturing plants, IT companies, banking, tourism, agriculture, and services.