Brief History of Las Pinas City

One of the first fishing communities on the coast of Manila Bay was Las Pias. Either in 1762 or 1797, it was
established as a town within the province of Cavite—because historical accounts are unclear, it is
impossible to pinpoint Las Pinas' exact creation date. Cavada, a historian of Spain, and Fr. Juan Medina
gave the year as 1762, whereas Buzeta gave the year as 1797. The history of "Las Pinas," the real name
of the city, differs. Some claimed that prior to distributing their pia (pineapples) for sale in local markets,
traders from the provinces of Cavite and Batangas shipped them first to this town. Others claimed that the
quarrying of stones and adobe, which were used to create homes and bridges, proved that it was "Las
Peas" and not Las Pias. The name might have come from one of the two political parties that dominated
the area at the time. The Las Pinas Parochial Church museum's historic church bell, however, was
inscribed with the following: "Siendo Cura-del Pueblo de las Penas el M.R.P. Padre Diego Cera se Fundio
esta equilon ano de 1820." It demonstrates that even during Fr. Prior to the spelling of the town's name
changing to "Las Pinas," which was suggested by Diego Cera, the town's first parish priest, it was firstly
known as "Las Penas.".

The town of Las Pias, built in 1824 by Diego Cera and conquered by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo's men in the
1896 Philippine Revolution, served as a significant battleground. During the Second World War, it was also
held by the Japanese. During the town's liberation, a group of mixed Filipino and American soldiers fought
the Japanese Imperial forces until the war's end. In 1903, it was combined with Parañaque, the latter being
the seat of a new municipal government and later separated. President Fidel V. Ramos approved the
legislation establishing Las Pias as a new city on February 12, 1997. After a month-long vote in favor of
cityhood, Las Pinas was incorporated as the tenth city in Metro Manila on March 26, 1997.