nationally recognized in the books related to the biography of José Rizal, the country's national hero. It was in June 1869 when José Rizal as a young boy went to Biñan with his brother Paciano. They proceeded to his aunt's house near the town proper where they were to be lodged. Here, his first formal education was entrusted to Maestro Justiniano Aquino Cruz who after a year and a half of tutelage advised young Rizal to continue higher education in Manila. In honor of José Rizal, a plaque of recognition was bestowed on the house where he stayed at. A monument now stands at the center of Biñan's plaza in recognition of Biñan's affiliation to Rizal. Cityhood On February 2, 2010, by the virtue of the Republic Act No. 9740, Biñan became a component city after its voters accepted the ratification in the plebiscite. It became the 4th city in the province and 139th in the Philippines. Geography Biñan is located south of Manila and from Santa Cruz. It is bounded on the north by San Pedro, on the west by General Mariano Alvarez, Carmona, and Silang, on the south by Santa Rosa, while on the east lies Laguna de Bay, the largest lake in the country. The city covers a total land area of that represents 2.5 percent of the entire Laguna province. In 2008, Biñan had a total population of 269,608. It is the fourth most populated in the province (9.8% of the provincial population), next only to Calamba (12.66%), San Pedro City (11.42%), and Santa Rosa City (9.92%). Topography Biñan is generally plain with 85.33 percent of its total area having a slope of zero to 2.5 percent. This covers all the 24 barangays except for small portions of Barangay Biñan and San Francisco having a slope ranging from 2.6 to 25 percent, meaning it is gently sloping to strongly sloping. With more than three-fourths of its area generally level to nearly level, this makes Biñan suitable for agricultural and urban development. Soil properties Of the eleven-soil series that compose the land area of Laguna, Carmona and Gingua series covers about two types that can only be seen in Biñan. Carmona series covers about or 59.24 seen in Biñan's land area. Agricultural land in these areas is primarily devoted to rice and sugar production. Gingua series, on other hand, specifically the fine sandy type covers which is