Santa Teresita, officially the Municipality of Santa Teresita (Tagalog: Bayan ng Santa Teresita), is a municipality in the province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 21,742 people.[1]
Etymology
Santa Teresita is derived from Spanish for its patron saint, Thérèse of Lisieux, who is also known as St. Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face.[2]
History
On December 28, 1961, the barrios of Sambat, Sinipian, Bihis, Calayaan, Irukan and Cutang Cawayan from the municipality of Taal; Calumala, Tambo, Saimsim and Burol from the municipality of San Nicolas; and Pacifico and Sampa from the municipality of San Luis were separated and constituted into a new and separate municipality known as Santa Teresita, by virtue of Executive Order No. 454 signed by President Carlos P. Garcia.[3]
Ireneo Aquino was appointed as its first municipal mayor, serving until June 1962. In 1971, barangay Antipolo was established as a separate barangay out of barangay Sinipian, as well as barangay Cuta East, which was separated from barangay Cutang Cawayan.[4]
Geography
Santa Teresita is located at 13°51′59″N 120°58′53″E / 13.86639°N 120.98139°E / 13.86639; 120.98139 along the southern lakeshore area of Taal Lake. Its boundaries are San Nicolas in the north, San Luis on the south, Taal on the west and Taal Lake on the northeast.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the municipality has a land area of 16.30 square kilometers (6.29 sq mi) [5] constituting 0.52% of the 3,119.75-square-kilometer (1,204.54 sq mi) total area of Batangas.
Santa Teresita is 17 kilometers (11 mi) from Batangas City and 122 kilometers (76 mi) from Manila.
Barangays
Santa Teresita is politically subdivided into 17 barangays, as shown in the matrix below.[6] Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.
Currently, there are 3 barangays which are classified as urban.
| PSGC | Barangay | Population | ±% p.a. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024[7] | 2010[8] | |||||
| 041027001 | Antipolo | 3.5% | 768 | 696 | ▴ | 0.69% |
| 041027002 | Bihis | 7.3% | 1,584 | 1,373 | ▴ | 1.00% |
| 041027003 | Burol | 3.1% | 667 | 454 | ▴ | 2.72% |
| 041027004 | Calayaan | 9.5% | 2,060 | 1,902 | ▴ | 0.56% |
| 041027005 | Calumala | 6.2% | 1,346 | 1,289 | ▴ | 0.30% |
| 041027006 | Cuta East | 5.5% | 1,185 | 991 | ▴ | 1.25% |
| 041027007 | Cutang Cawayan | 3.4% | 733 | 510 | ▴ | 2.56% |
| 041027008 | Irukan | 2.9% | 637 | 598 | ▴ | 0.44% |
| 041027009 | Pacifico | 8.9% | 1,945 | 1,680 | ▴ | 1.03% |
| 041027010 | Poblacion I | 7.6% | 1,662 | 1,483 | ▴ | 0.80% |
| 041027012 | Saimsim | 12.6% | 2,730 | 1,910 | ▴ | 2.52% |
| 041027013 | Sampa | 6.0% | 1,295 | 1,172 | ▴ | 0.70% |
| 041027014 | Sinipian | 4.1% | 898 | 705 | ▴ | 1.70% |
| 041027015 | Tambo Ibaba | 4.5% | 976 | 683 | ▴ | 2.52% |
| 041027016 | Tambo Ilaya | 4.2% | 920 | 580 | ▴ | 3.27% |
| 041027017 | Poblacion II | 5.4% | 1,180 | 986 | ▴ | 1.26% |
| 041027018 | Poblacion III | 2.5% | 541 | 403 | ▴ | 2.07% |
| Total | 21,742 | 17,415 | ▴ | 1.56% | ||
Climate
| Climate data for Santa Teresita, Batangas | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 28 (82) | 29 (84) | 30 (86) | 32 (90) | 31 (88) | 29 (84) | 28 (82) | 28 (82) | 28 (82) | 28 (82) | 28 (82) | 28 (82) | 29 (84) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 19 (66) | 19 (66) | 20 (68) | 21 (70) | 23 (73) | 23 (73) | 23 (73) | 23 (73) | 23 (73) | 22 (72) | 21 (70) | 20 (68) | 21 (70) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 11 (0.4) | 13 (0.5) | 14 (0.6) | 32 (1.3) | 101 (4.0) | 142 (5.6) | 208 (8.2) | 187 (7.4) | 175 (6.9) | 131 (5.2) | 68 (2.7) | 39 (1.5) | 1,121 (44.3) |
| Average rainy days | 5.2 | 5.0 | 7.4 | 11.5 | 19.8 | 23.5 | 27.0 | 25.9 | 25.2 | 23.2 | 15.5 | 8.3 | 197.5 |
| Source: Meteoblue[9] | |||||||||||||
Demographics
In the 2024 census, Santa Teresita had a population of 21,742 people.[10] The population density was 1,300 inhabitants per square kilometre (3,400/sq mi).
Economy
Poverty incidence of Santa Teresita
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[11][12][13][14][15][16][17]
Education
The Santa Teresita Schools District Office governs all educational institutions within the municipality. It oversees the management and operations of all private and public, from primary to secondary schools.[18]
Primary and elementary schools
- Burol Elementary School
- Calumala Elementary School
- Jorge M. Atienza Elementary School
- Irukan-Kalayaan Elementary School
- Mohon Elementary School
- Saimsim Elementary School
- Sta. Teresita Central School
- Tambo Elementary School
Secondary schools
- Sampa-Pacifico Integrated School
- St. Therese Catholic School Batangas
- Sta. Teresita National High School
Gallery
References
- 1."2024 Census of Population (POPCEN) Population Counts Declared Official by the President". Philippine Statistics Authority. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
- 2.Presidential Proclamation No. 1396, s. 2007 (September 27, 2007), "Declaring Monday, October 1, 2007, as Special (Non-working) Day in the Municipality of Sta. Teresita, Province of Batangas", Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines, retrieved July 12, 2023
- 3.Executive Order No. 454, s. 1961 (December 28, 1961), "Creating the Municipality of Sta. Teresita in the Province of Batangas", Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines
- 4."History". Municipality of Sta. Teresita. Archived from the original on January 21, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
- 5."Province:". PSGC Interactive. Quezon City, Philippines: Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
- 6."Municipal: Santa Teresita, Batangas". PSGC Interactive. Quezon City, Philippines: Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
- 7.Census of Population (2020). "Region IV-A (Calabarzon)". Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
- 8.Census of Population and Housing (2010). "Region IV-A (Calabarzon)" (PDF). Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. National Statistics Office. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
- 9."Santa Teresita: Average Temperatures and Rainfall". Meteoblue. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
- 10."2024 Census of Population (POPCEN) Population Counts Declared Official by the President". Philippine Statistics Authority. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
- 11."Poverty incidence (PI):". Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
- 12."Estimation of Local Poverty in the Philippines" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. 29 November 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 February 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
- 13."2003 Small Area Estimates of Poverty (Full Report)" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. 11 March 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 May 2025. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
- 14."2006 City and Municipal Level Poverty Estimates". Philippine Statistics Authority. 3 August 2012. Archived from the original on 21 May 2025. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
- 15."PSA Releases the 2012 Municipal and City Level Poverty Estimates". Philippine Statistics Authority. 31 May 2016. Archived from the original on 21 September 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- 16."PSA Releases the 2015 Municipal and City Level Poverty Estimates". Philippine Statistics Authority. 10 July 2019. Archived from the original on 24 February 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
- 17."PSA Releases the 2018 Municipal and City Level Poverty Estimates". Philippine Statistics Authority. 15 December 2021. Archived from the original on 15 January 2022. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
- 18."Masterlist of Schools" (PDF). Department of Education. January 15, 2021. Retrieved October 6, 2025.