Brief History

Las Piñas was one of the earliest fishing settlements on the shores of Manila Bay and
was proclaimed a town either in 1762 or 1797. Its exact date of creation cannot be
ascertained because historical records vary. Cavada, a Spanish historian and Fr. Juan
Medina placed it at 1762, while Buzeta recorded the date at 1797.

Besides being famous for its Bamboo Organ, which was built by Fr. Diego Cera and
completed in 1824, the town of Las Piñas was also a major war theater during the
1896 Philippine Revolution, as it was occupied by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo's forces. Las
Piñas was also, occupied by the Japanese during the Second World War, to be followed
by the liberation period, when the combined Filipino and American forces fought the
Japanese Imperial armed forces until the end of war.

In 1901, the Municipality of Las Piñas was incorporated from Cavite to the newly
created province of Rizal pursuant to Philippine Commission Act No. 137. Two years
later, it was combined with Parañaque, the latter being the seat of a new municipal
government.

It became a separate municipality from Parañaque on March 27, 1907 by virtue of the
Philippine Commission Act No. 1625. Then, with the founding of the Metropolitan
Manila Area (Metro Manila in short) in 1976, Las Piñas became one of the
municipalities making up the region.

On February 12, 1997, President Fidel V. Ramos signed the bill declaring Las Piñas a
new city. A plebiscite held a month after found the residents in approval of cityhood
and Las Piñas became the 10th city of Metro Manila on March 26, 1997.

Etymology

The story about the true origin of the city's name, "Las Piñas", varies. Some said that
traders from the province of Cavite and Batangas shipped first their piña (pineapples)
for sale to this town before they are distributed in nearby markets. Others related that
it was "Las Peñas" (not Las Piñas) evident by the quarrying of stones and adobe which
were used to construct buildings and bridges. The name could have also originated
from two political groups that ruled the place at that time.

But an inscription in an old church bell that has been preserved inside the museum of
the Las Piñas Parochial Church, stated "Siendo Cura-del Pueblo de las Peñas el M.R.P.
Padre Diego Cera se Fundio este equilon ano de 1820". It shows that even during the
time of Fr. Diego Cera, the town's first parish priest, the town has been called "Las
Peñas" until after some time that the spelling of the town's name was changed into
"Las Piñas".