Santo Tomas (Batangas)

Santo Tomas, officially the Municipality of Santo Tomas, is a of the Philippines in the province of in the of the Philippines. The population was at the.With the continuous expansion of Metro Manila, the municipality is now part of Manila's conurbation which reaches Lipa City in its southernmost part. It borders the cities of Calamba City to the north, Los Baños to the north-east, Alaminos to the east, Tanauan City and Malvar to the west, and Lipa City to the south.Santo Tomas is the hometown of Philippine Revolution and Philippine-American War hero Miguel Malvar, the last Filipino General to surrender to the Americans.The patron of Santo Tomas is Saint Thomas Aquinas, patron of Catholic schools, whose feast day is celebrated every 7 March.HistoryThe town of Santo Tomas was founded in 1666, with Captain Manuel Melo as its first head. Originally, it was composed of a large Poblacion. When the Spanish friars arrived, their first and foremost objective was to construct a church near the river to satisfy their propensity for water. Thus, the present site of the Roman Catholic Church was chosen, near the San Juan River. As years went by, more houses were built around the church. This became the center of the Poblacion.