Victoria, Laguna

The name of Victoria from Spanish language which means "victory" in English. It was named after Victoria Quirino, the daughter of former President Elpidio Quirino under whose presidency the municipality was established.^[8] The younger Quirino also served as the First Lady as her father was a widower.

Prominent citizens and civic leaders found new hope to make Nanhaya, then a barrio part of Pila, a town, when the Americans granted the Philippines Independence in 1946. They revived the move to separate from Pila. During this time, citizens proposed to name the town Trinidad, after the young republic's First Lady, the wife of then-President Manuel Roxas. Strong oppositions shelved the proposal once more.

After Roxas's death, Elpidio Quirino took over the presidency. Nanhaya's residents remained undaunted. They tried once more, intensifying the campaign. Most prominent and wealthiest family of the town is the Fernandez clans, Judge Jose Fernandez, then Mayor Alejandro Fernandez, Atty. Ramon H. Fernandez Sr., Andres Franco, Dr. Agrifino Oca, Gregorio Herradura, and Leonardo Rebong stood for the proposal. On November 15, 1949, President Elpidio Quirino signed into effect Executive Order No. 282, segregating barrios Nanhaya, Bancabanca, Daniw, Masapang, San Benito, San Felix, San Francisco, and San Roque from Pila and formed a new independent municipality.^[9]

After Pateros became highly urbanized and densely populated, Victoria became a destination of balut traders and became the "Duck Raising Center of the Philippines". The town was featured as the detour challenge of Leg 11 of the 5th Season of The Amazing Race. Victoria celebrates the Itik Festival every second week of November.

The municipal seat of Pila was once located in Barangay Pagalangan, now one of Victoria's barangays. The remains of Pila's original parish church can still be found in Pagalangan, which in the past made that community a target of treasure hunters seeking antiques. Pagalangan ceased to be Pila's capital when the town center was relocated due to frequent flooding.^[10]

Victoria is southeast of Laguna de Bay, 76 kilometers (47 mi) south of Manila and 11 kilometers (6.8 mi) from Santa Cruz. It is bordered by the Municipality of Calauan to the south-west, Nagcarlan to the southeast and Pila to the north-east.

In the 2024 census, the population of Victoria was 45,230 people,^[17] with a density of 2,000 inhabitants per square kilometer or 5,200 inhabitants per square mile.

Poverty incidence of Victoria

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority^{[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]}

The Victoria 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.^[26]