Las Piñas

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Lore & Background

Las Piñas was one of the earliest fishing settlements on the shores of Manila Bay. The etymology of the name 'Las Piñas' is disputed: one version holds that traders shipped piñas (Spanish for pineapples) for sale there; another claims the original name was 'Las Peñas' ('the rocks'), as the area was a quarry for stone and adobe.

Reader's Guide

Las Piñas holds significance as a historic fishing settlement that evolved into a key urban center in Metro Manila. Diego Cera, is a unique cultural landmark. Economically, Las Piñas was known for salt-making in the 18th century, using solar dry beds and clay tiles from Vigan to produce white salt graded as tertia, segunda, and primera. In modern times, the city has developed coco coir nets from discarded coconut husks for flood prevention and erosion control, providing income for locals. It is politically subdivided into 20 barangays grouped into two legislative districts.

Did You Know?

• The Bamboo Organ was completed in 1824 by Fr. Diego Cera.
• An inscription on the old church bell of Saint Joseph Parish Church reads 'Siendo cura del pueblo de Laspeñas el M.R.P. Padre Diego Cera se fundió este equilón año de 1820', showing the town was called 'Las Peñas' during Cera's time.
• Las Piñas was known for salt-making in the 18th century, using solar dry beds and clay tiles from Vigan to produce white salt graded as tertia, segunda, and primera.

Provincial Roots and Wartime Displacement

Before the two municipalities ever shared a single parliamentary seat, their legislative fates were tethered to different provincial umbrellas. Las Piñas fell under the representation of Rizal for a long stretch beginning in 1907, while Parañaque was linked to Manila's provincial delegation during the brief 1898–1899 period. The Japanese-sponsored Second Philippine Republic of 1943–1944 created a peculiar split: Parañaque was absorbed into the City of Greater Manila and voted as part of Manila's at-large district in the National Assembly, yet Las Piñas stayed anchored to Rizal's representation. This wartime divergence meant that two neighboring communities, separated by little more than a municipal boundary, were answering to entirely different legislative structures simultaneously. The post-war era saw both revert to provincial representation under Rizal until the mid-1970s, a period spanning roughly six decades in which neither municipality possessed a dedicated seat of its own.

Birth of Metro Manila and Regional Representation

On 7 November 1975, Presidential Decree No. 824 severed Las Piñas and Parañaque from their provincial ties, folding them into the newly created Metropolitan Manila Area. This administrative reorganization fundamentally altered how the two municipalities participated in national politics. Rather than being absorbed into a single city's delegation as Parañaque had been during the occupation, they now belonged to a metropolitan region. From 1978 through 1984, Metro Manila was represented collectively in the Interim Batasang Pambansa as Region IV, meaning residents of Las Piñas and Parañaque were part of a much larger voting bloc encompassing the entire metropolitan area. This regional model, while granting them a seat in the interim legislature, diluted the specific concerns of each municipality within a broader urban constituency. It was a transitional arrangement that set the stage for more localized representation in the years ahead.

The Brief Combined District of 1984–1986

The January 1984 plebiscite approved amendments to the 1973 Constitution, and among the resulting legislative changes was Batas Pambansa Blg. 643, a new apportionment ordinance governing the election of Regular Batasang Pambansa members. Under this ordinance, Las Piñas and Parañaque were paired into a single parliamentary district allotted exactly one representative. That seat was contested at large in the May 1984 elections, meaning voters across both municipalities cast ballots for a single candidate rather than for separate district representatives. The combined district endured for barely two years before the People Power Revolution of 1986 dismantled the Regular Batasang Pambansa entirely. The abrupt abolition of the legislature meant the Las Piñas–Parañaque district never had the chance to develop a long-term political identity or a multi-term representative. Its existence was defined as much by its sudden end as by its creation.

Post-Revolution Reconfiguration

The constitutional proclamation of 11 February 1987 brought a decisive reorganization of how Las Piñas and Parañaque would be represented in the restored House of Representatives. The old pairing was dissolved, and each municipality was matched with a different neighbor. Las Piñas was joined with Muntinlupa to form the congressional district of Las Piñas–Muntinlupa, while Parañaque was granted its own standalone congressional district. Both new districts elected their members to the House of Representatives beginning in 1987, marking the first time in decades that Parañaque held a dedicated seat unattached to Manila's broader delegation. This reconfiguration reflected the political logic of the post-Marcos era, in which the old Marcos-era legislative structures were replaced with a restored bicameral system. The split also acknowledged that the two municipalities, despite their geographic proximity, had distinct political and demographic profiles warranting separate representation.