Mabitac, officially the Municipality of Mabitac (), is a municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the , it has a population of people.
Mabitac was once known as an abundant hunting ground for wild game several centuries ago. Early inhabitants used numerous traps, locally called bitag, to catch animals. As a result, the area came to be known as âÂÂMabitag,â meaning âÂÂa place with many traps,â which eventually evolved into its present name, Mabitac.
The first Spaniards who came to this place were the friars who established the first Spanish settlement in the area and began to Christianize the local population. The Spaniards, having difficulty in pronouncing the "G" consonant, called this place "Mabitac" whenever they mentioned this place. Eventually, the name found its way in the official records and maps of Laguna made by Spanish cartographers and mariners who chartered the coastal areas of Laguna de Bay.
This town was formerly a barrio of Siniloan, an immediate neighboring town. It became an independent municipality in 1611, not by legislation, but by mutual agreement between the Spanish friars of both towns who were then the influential ruling class. The 1818 Spanish census recorded the area having 525 native families and 3 Spanish-Filipino families.
Mabitac was the site of a battle in the PhilippineâÂÂAmerican War, when on September 17, 1900, Filipinos under General Juan Cailles defeated an American force commanded by Colonel Benjamin F. Cheatham.
In 1942, Japanese soldiers entered and occupied Mabitac. In 1945, the Philippine guerrillas defeated the Japanese and liberated Mabitac.
Mabitac is from Santa Cruz, from Manila, and from Antipolo.
Mabitac is politically subdivided into 15 barangays, as indicated below: Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.
In the 2024 census, the population of Mabitac was 21,748 people, with a density of .
The Famy-Mabitac Schools District Office governs all educational institutions within the municipality. It oversees the management and operations of all private and public, from primary to secondary schools.