Laguna (province) in the context of Mount Makiling

Calabarzon (officially stylized in all caps; English: /ˌkɑːləbɑːrˈzɒn/; Tagalog: [kalɐbaɾˈsɔn]), sometimes referred to as Southern Tagalog (Tagalog: Timog Katagalugan) and designated as Region IV‑A, is an administrative region in the Philippines. It is situated southeast of Metro Manila and is bordered by Manila Bay and the South China Sea to the west, Lamon Bay and the Bicol Region to the east, Tayabas Bay and the Sibuyan Sea to the south, and Central Luzon to the north. Comprising five provinces—Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon (hence the acronym)—and one highly urbanized city, Lucena, it is the most populous region in the Philippines, according to the 2020 census, with over 16.1 million inhabitants. It is also the country's second most densely populated region, after the National Capital Region. Calamba in Laguna serves as the regional center, while Antipolo in Rizal is the most populous city in the region.

Before its creation as a separate region, Calabarzon, along with the Mimaropa region, the province of Aurora, and parts of Metro Manila, comprised the historical region known as Southern Tagalog until they were separated in 2002 through Executive Order No. 103.

Quezon, officially the Province of Quezon (Tagalog: Lalawigan ng Quezon) and historically known as Tayabas, is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region on Luzon. Lucena, a highly urbanized city governed separately from the province, serves as the provincial capital and its most populous city. The name of the province came from Manuel L. Quezon, the president of the Philippines from 1935 to 1944 and a native of Baler, which was formerly a part of the province. The province was known as Kalilayan upon its creation in 1591, renamed as Tayabas by the 18th century, before settling on its current name in 1946. To distinguish the province from Quezon City, it is also known as Quezon Province, a variation of the province's official name.

One of the largest provinces in the country, Quezon is situated on the southeastern portion of Luzon, with the majority of its territory lying on an isthmus that connects the Bicol Peninsula to the rest of Luzon. It also includes the Polillo Islands in the eastern part of the province. It is bordered by the provinces of Aurora and Bulacan to the north, Rizal, Laguna, and Batangas to the west, and Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur to the southeast. It also shares maritime borders with Marinduque and Masbate.

The Greater Manila Area (Filipino: Malawakang Maynila) is the contiguous urbanized region surrounding the Manila metropolitan area in the Philippines. This built-up zone includes Metro Manila and the neighboring provinces of Bulacan to the north, Cavite and Laguna to the south, and Rizal to the east. While urban sprawl continues to absorb new zones, some areas remain as independent settlement clusters separated by non-urban land.

In early 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the area was also referred to as "NCR Plus" or "NCR+" (National Capital Region Plus) by authorities, in connection with the designation of community quarantines.

Biñan (Tagalog pronunciation: [biˈɲan] or traditionally [biˈɲaŋ]), officially the City of Biñan (Filipino: Lungsod ng Biñan), is a component city in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 584,479 people, making it the most populous city in the province of Laguna.

Biñan has become both a suburban residential community of Metro Manila and a location for some of the Philippines' largest industrial estates and export processing zones. Prior to its cityhood in 2010, Biñan was the richest municipality in the Philippines with an annual gross income of ₱677 million (US$14.383 million) and net income of ₱250 million (US$5.308 million), as of 2007 by the Commission on Audit.

Los Baños (IPA: [lɔs bɐˈɲɔs]), officially the Municipality of Los Baños (Tagalog: Bayan ng Los Baños), colloquially 'Elbi' or simply LB, is a municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 117,030 people.

It was declared as the Special Science and Nature City of the Philippines through Presidential Proclamation No. 349. The proclamation, however, does not convert the municipality to a city or give it corporate powers that are accorded to other cities.

Maguindanaon (Basa Magindanawn, Jawi: باس مڬندنون‎), or Magindanawn is an Austronesian language spoken by Maguindanaon people who form majority of the population of eponymous provinces of Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur in the Philippines. It is also spoken by sizable minorities in different parts of Mindanao such as the cities of Zamboanga, Davao, General Santos, and Cagayan de Oro, and the provinces of Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, South Cotabato, Sarangani, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga Sibugay, Davao del Sur, Davao Occidental, Bukidnon as well as Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal and Laguna. As of 2020, the language is ranked to be the ninth leading language spoken at home in the Philippines with only 365,032 households still speaking the language.

The Laguna Copperplate Inscription is an official acquittance (debt relief) certificate inscribed onto a copper plate in the Shaka year 822 (Gregorian A.D. 900). It is the earliest-known, extant, calendar-dated document found within the Philippines.

The plate was found in 1987 by a laborer near the mouth of the Lumbang River in Wawa, Lumban, Laguna, in the Philippines. The inscription was mainly written in Old Malay using the Old Javanese script called Kawi script, with several technical Sanskrit words and either Old Javanese or Old Tagalog honorifics. After it was found, the text was first translated in 1991 by Antoon Postma, a Dutch anthropologist and Hanunó'o script researcher.

Batangas, officially the Province of Batangas (Filipino: Lalawigan ng Batangas IPA: [bɐˈtaŋgas]), is a first class province of the Philippines located in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Calabarzon region. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 2,908,494 people, making it the 8th most populous province in the country. Its capital is the city of Batangas, and is bordered by the provinces of Cavite and Laguna to the north, and Quezon to the east. Across the Verde Island Passages to the south is the island of Mindoro and to the west lies the South China Sea. Poetically, Batangas is often referred to by its ancient name, Kumintáng.

The province of Batangas was billed as the second richest province in the Philippines by the Commission on Audit by the year 2020. It has been the second richest province in the country for two consecutive years. In 2020, its provincial government posted a record high of ₱25.2 billion worth of assets, the largest in Calabarzon and the whole Luzon.

Mount Banahaw (IPA: [bɐˈnahaʊ]; also spelled as Banahao and Banájao) is an active complex volcano on Luzon in the Philippines. The three-peaked volcano is located at the boundary of Laguna and Quezon provinces. It is the highest mountain in both provinces and Calabarzon region, dominating the landscape for miles around.

The mountain is considered by many a holy mountain, thus a bundok dambana, and is popular among pilgrims along with mountain climbers. It is located in a protected area known as Mounts Banahaw–San Cristobal Protected Landscape covering 10,901 hectares (26,940 acres) of land.