The quest for quality education is indeed very elusive. Various ways and means have been identified if only to improve the education in our city division. As educators, we always persist that doing becomes easier – not that nature of the task has changed, but our ability to do so has increased.

The quest for quality education is indeed very elusive. Various ways and means have been identified if only to improve the education in our city division. As educators, we always persist that doing becomes easier – not that nature of the task has changed, but our ability to do so has increased.

I.A. Situation & Challenges in the City of Sto. Tomas

Sto. Tomas, one of the oldest towns of Batangas, is located at the foot of the legendary and picturesque Mt. Makiling. It is sixty (60) kilometers south of Manila and known as the birthplace of Gen. Miguel Malvar, the last Filipino General to surrender to the Americans. The town of Sto. 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, just as a stone’s throw from the San Juan River. As years went by, more and more houses were built around the church. This became the center of the Poblacion.

The journey to cityhood all began with the vision of the man, the late Armando C. Sanchez, who served as its mayor from 1998 to 2004, and the Governor of the province from 2004 to 2007. Through his exemplary leadership, Sto. Tomas’ income classification vastly improved, from third Class Municipality to first Class Municipality.

On October 5, 2018, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte signed into law the Republic Act No. 11086 commonly known as “an ACT converting the Municipality of Sto. Tomas into a component City of the Province of Batangas to be known as the City of Sto. Tomas”. What was initially believed to be inevitable was again relegated to the sidelines as another political exercise began to unfold – the 2019 National and Local Elections. After the election fever subsided, and with its local leaders getting fresh mandate, the COMELEC finally set the cityhood plebiscite on September 7, 2019. And come the plebiscite day, all the hardships, perseverance, and toils were transformed into ecstatic celebration, and exuberance when the long-awaited decision of the people of Sto. Tomas was announced. Thereafter, Sto. Tomas is officially the country’s 146th and Batangas’ 4th component city.

From an agricultural area, City of Sto. Tomas at present continues to transform its image as an abode of industrial development bringing more employment opportunities to the Tomasino. The City of Sto. Tomas is a major trading hub and agro-industrial haven in the CALABARZON region of the Philippines, with God-fearing and empowered Tomasinos with a competitive, business-friendly, and dynamic economy, supported by reliable and accessible infrastructure in a sustainable community governed by responsive and technocratic leaders.

•Geographic Location

The Municipality of Sto. Tomas is one of the 31 municipalities in the Province of Batangas. It is located in the northeastern section of the province. It is bounded at the west by the San Juan River, at the north by the Siam-siam River and ridges of Mt. Makiling, at the northeast by the Alas-as River, and at the southeast by the San Juan River. Municipality-wise, Calamba in the north; Bay and Alaminos in the east, Tanauan and Malvar in the west; and Lipa City in the south.

Sto. Tomas is accessible from Metro Manila through the Philippines-Japan (Maharlika) Highway which leads to Quezon and Bicol Provinces in the south. The National Highway to Batangas City links to the International Pier in Batangas Bay. The extension of the South Expressway that pass-through barangay San Rafael cut the travel time to the Batangas International Pier. The CALABARZON Highway is being constructed in the southern part of the town in barangay Sta. Cruz.

The extension of the South Expressway to Quezon and Laguna Provinces through Sto. Tomas along the slopes of Mt. Makiling is being planned by PNCC, the operator of the South Expressway.

•Climate

The climate in Sto. Tomas is hot, oppressive, and overcast. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 71°F to 92°F and is rarely below 67°F or above 95°F. Based on the beach/pool score, the best time of year to visit Sto. Tomas for hot-weather activities is from mid-January to mid-April. The hot season lasts for 1.8 months, from April 6 to May 31, with an average daily high temperature above 90°F. The hottest month of the year in Sto. Tomas is May, with an average high of 91°F and low of 76°F. The cool season lasts for 2.7 months, from November 24 to February 14, with an average daily high below 84°F. The coldest month of the year in Sto. Tomas is January, with an average low of 71°F and high of 83°F as cited in the recent study conducted by Weather Spark.

The soils of Sto. Tomas is known to be highly erodible while the prevailing rainfall is known to be highly erosive. There are two soil types identified, Lipa loam and Macolod clay loam. Lipa loam was formed from volcanic parent materials that developed from Taal geologic formation while Macolod clay loam was formed from volcanic parent materials from Mt. Makiling. The 7,508 hectares Lipa loam are mostly found in the lower level to undulating slopes that is currently used for agriculture which is dominantly of coconut mix vegetation. On the other hand, the 1,858.7 hectares Macolod clay loam are mostly located at elevations greater than 500 masl in the upper mountainous slopes of Mt. Makiling that have forest vegetation. The climate belongs to Type III with annual rainfall of about 1,500 mm to 2,500 mm. Dry or wet seasons are not very pronounced in Type III climate with relatively dry months in November to April.

The daily average high (red line) and low (blue line) temperature, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted lines are the corresponding average perceived temperatures.

•Population

The population of the City of Sto. Tomas as of 01 May 2020 is 218,500 based on the 2020 Census of Population and Housing (2020 CPH). This accounts for about 7.51 percent of Batangas population in 2020.

The 2020 population of the City of Sto. Tomas is higher by 38,656 than the population of 179,844 in 2015, and 93,760 more than the population of 124,740 in 2010. Moreover, it is higher by 138,107 compared with the population of 80,393 in 2000. (Table 1)

Among the thirty (30) barangays of the City of Sto. Tomas, San Vicente had the biggest population in 2020 with 23,335 persons, followed by Santa Anastacia with 19,442, San Miguel with 18,959, Santa Maria with 17,998, and San Antonio with 16,754 persons. (Table 2)