Current Time in Cabuyao, Philippines

Cabuyao lies in the province of Laguna on the island of Luzon in the Philippines, about forty-five kilometres south of Manila. The city occupies the level ground between the southern shore of Laguna de Bay, the largest lake in the country, and the foothills that rise towards Mount Makiling. Its position on the flat, well-watered plain made it prime agricultural land for centuries, and the same flatness later made it ideal for factories.

With a population of around three hundred and fifty thousand, Cabuyao is one of the larger cities in Laguna and part of the industrial corridor that runs south from the capital. Its importance is manufacturing. The industrial parks within the city host food, beverage, electronics, semiconductor and pharmaceutical plants operated by Filipino and international companies, and the city describes itself as the enterprise capital of Laguna, providing employment for tens of thousands of workers from across the region.

The town is old by Philippine standards, established under Spanish administration in the sixteenth century as one of the original settlements of Laguna, and several neighbouring towns, including Santa Rosa and Biñan, were once part of its territory. Its patron is Saint Polycarp, and the parish church bearing his name, built in the eighteenth century in the massive stone style used across the Spanish Philippines, remains the historic heart of the town. Cabuyao took part in the revolution against Spain at the end of the nineteenth century, remained a farming municipality through much of the twentieth, and was converted into a city in 2012 after decades of industrial growth.

Visitors come mainly for the surrounding region rather than the city itself. The church and the old municipal buildings on the plaza are worth a stop, and the lakeshore offers views across the water towards the mountains. Within an hour's drive are the hot springs resorts of Los Baños and Calamba, the forests and trails of Mount Makiling, the waterfalls at Pagsanjan, the birthplace museum of the national hero José Rizal, and the theme parks of Santa Rosa, which makes Cabuyao a practical base for exploring Laguna.

Local life follows the rhythms of Tagalog provincial culture, centred on the parish, the barangay and the extended family. The town fiesta in honour of Saint Polycarp fills the streets with processions, brass bands and open houses where neighbours and strangers alike are fed. Markets sell freshwater fish from the lake, buko pie, and the sweet delicacies for which Laguna is known, and basketball courts occupy the centre of almost every neighbourhood.

The South Luzon Expressway passes along the edge of the city, giving road access to Manila in about an hour outside peak times, and the Philippine National Railways line and frequent buses and jeepneys serve local travel. The University of Cabuyao, a city-run institution, along with private colleges and the nearby University of the Philippines campus at Los Baños, provides higher education.

Cabuyao is a working city that shows the industrial side of modern Luzon while keeping its Spanish-era church and provincial warmth intact.