Antonio Leviste

Gov. J. Antonio Leviste is a distinguished member of an illustrious Batangas family reowned in both business and politics. He served as the youngest governor of the province of Batangas from 1972 to 1980 and, until recently, as Governor of the Board of Investments.

He graduated at The Lyceum Of The Philippines In 1959 and was the President Of Batangas Varsitarian,a prestigious organization for Batangueno college students.During his term as Governor of Batangas, he was elected member of the Batasang Bayan chairman of the Regional Development Council, Vice President of the League of Governors and City Mayors, and chairman of the Program for Forest Ecosystem Management.

He was a staunch advocate of the environment. He initiated a forest ecosystem management program which today continues to be a model in reforestation that made him earn the coveted "Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Philippines" (TOYM) award for Public Administration.

He was chosen the "Realtor of the Year" by the Business Writers Association of the Philippines and served as the director in various government agencies, including the People's Homesite and Housing Corporation (now the NHA), Philippine Ports Authority, Philippine Aerospace Development Corporation, Semirara Mining Corporation and the Philippine Tourism Authority. He was co-founder of the Pasay Board of Realtors and the Philippine Association of Real Estate Boards. He also served as Chairman of the Philippine Leisure and Retirement Authority. He holds the rank of Lt. Commander in the Philippine Navy Reserve Force and is the Honorary Consul General of the State of Palestine.

Today, he is a pillar of the Philippine tourism and real estate industries. He is the charter president of the Resort Association of the Philippines and co-founder of the Tourism Council of the Philippines. He is the Chief Executive Officer of the Leviste Group of Companies, real estate firm with a proven track record of more then 50 years engaged in housing, subdivision, condominium and resort development.

CALABARZON

CALABARZON is one of the regions of the Philippines. It is also designated as Region IV-A and its regional capital is Calamba City in Laguna. The region is composed of five provinces, namely: Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon. The region's name is an portmanteau of the names of these provinces.

The region is located in southwestern Luzon, just south and west of Metro Manila and is the second most densely populated region.

CALABARZON and MIMAROPA were previously combined together as Southern Tagalog, until they were separated in 2002. Palawan was subsequently moved from MIMAROPA to the more logical Western Visayas, turning the former into MIMARO.

Executive Order No. 246, dated October 28, 2003, designated Calamba City as the regional center of CALABARZON.

World Outlook in Local Action

In compliance with the principles of 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, the Municipal Government of Rosario, Batangas formulated the Aksyon ng Bayan Rosario 2001 And Beyond Human and Ecological Security Plan by virtue of Executive Order No. 98-02 dated October 5, 1998 by then Mayor Rodolfo Guerra Villar.

The plan pursued a sustainable development approach to poverty reduction efforts balanced with concerns for ecological security. This required an active collaboration among the municipal and barangay government units, non-governmental and people's organizations, and the local community.

To further institutionalize the Aksyon ng Bayan Rosario 2001 And Beyond framework and integrate its principles in local development plans, the CLUP was prepared by the Municipal Land Use Committee and the Office of the Municipal Planning and Develoment Coordinator, with technical assistance from the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB). In 2000, the CLUP and its accompanying Zoning Ordinance (ZO) was approved with immediate effect.

Vilma Santos-Recto

Vilma Santos-Recto (born Maria Rosa Vilma Tuazon Santos November 3, 1953) is the most popular and the most awarded actress in the Philippines. She's known as the "Queenstar" and "Star for All Seasons". She is currently in politics as the first woman Governor of Batangas. She was previously the first woman Mayor of Lipa City for 9 years (3 terms).

In 1998, she entered politics and ran for mayor of Lipa City, Batangas where she won by landslide victories in three consecutive elections. As the first woman mayor of Lipa City, she helped bring not just economic progress and infrastructure development to Lipa City, but more notably her various programs on public health, education and environment, which again earned various local and international awards and recognitions.

In 2005, the University of the Philippines conferred her the Gawad Plaridel Award for her achievements and contributions both as an actress and a public servant. In the same year she was conferred with honorary doctorate degree (honoris causa) in humanities by the Lipa City College. She was again honored in 2006 by the University of the Philippines as one of the four awardees in UP's First Diwata Awards.

Dr. Vilma Santos is married to Senator Ralph Recto, who belongs to a well-known political clan in the Philippines. Together they have a son, Ryan Christian. She is also a mother to actor/model/television host Luis 'Lucky' Manzano, from previous marriage to actor Edu Manzano.

Santos-Recto was proclaimed as the duly elected Governor-elect of the province of Batangas on May 21, 2007 after garnering 475,740 votes against Sanchez's 344,969 for a winning margin of more than 130,000. She is the first female governor of Batangas province.

Balete

Balete is a 5th class municipality in the province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 19,252 people in 3,067 households.

Balete is well known for its location, because of the panoramic view of the Taal Volcano.

Incumbent Mayor David Pamplona was assassinated in Brgy. Bulihan, Malvar, Batangas on February 13, 2008.

Balete is politically subdivided into 13 barangays.

Alangilan
Calawit
Looc
Magapi
Makina
Malabanan
Paligawan
Palsara
Poblacion
Sala
Sampalocan
Solis
San Sebastian