http://www.LivingInthePhilippines.comis theORIGINAL, firstPhilippines Expat site on the Net, since 1989. This is not one of many knock-offs, copycats, imitations. Some have permutations of the names,misspellings and "in" and "the" or "ing." left off to deceive you. This is the original, by: Don A. Herrington
The present metropolis began from the pre-Hispanic
village called Maynila near the mouth of the Pasig
River. In 1571, the Spanish Conquistador Miguel
Lopez de Legaspi, took possession of the settlement
after subduing Rajah Sulayman and his warriors.
The Spaniards built stonewalls around the village,
which they later called Intramurals, or the city
within the walls. For the next 300 years, the city
would influence socio-cultural, religious and
economic life of the colony of the Philippines.
As its population grew, the city claimed the suburbs
of Binondo, Quiapo, Dulongbayan (Santa Cruz), San
Miguel, Singalong, Paco, Malate, San Andres Bukid,
the province of Tundo (which some historians claim
is older than the city itself), and so on.
The suburbs of Manila extended further during the
American regime: south to Pasay, east to San Juan
and north to Santa Mesa heights. During this time,
and up to the 1930s, most of what is now the
National Capital Region were rice lands, cogonal
areas or forests.
The population of the city of Manila was only
285,000 in 1918, but it grew at 5.6 percent per year
to more than 600,000 in 1939. Today the city,
including surrounding suburbs has 16 million
inhabitants The Founding of Quezon City
Quezon City was
the brainchild of Commonwealth President Manuel L
Luzon, which was designed to become a well planned,
model garden city adjacent to Manila.
The government bought in 1936 for this purpose 1,500
hectares of the Dolman Estate and built the first
low-cost, mass housing project now called the
Kamuning District. Soon Quezon City became the
overflow area for Manila.
During the Japanese Occupation, Quezon City, Manila
and some towns of Rizal, were merged into "Greater
Manila". Manila became the most devastated city
during World War II, second only to Warsaw, which
the Nazis practically razed to the ground.
By 1960 the population of Manila had grown to 1.1
million, while the combined population of Quezon
City, Pasay and Caloocan was 667,000, or more than
half that of Manila proper. In 1990 the population
of Quezon City was 1.63 million, while Manila's
population was "only" 1.5 million. Gradually the
word "Greater Manila" or "Metro Manila" became the
standard expression for the National Capital Region.
Metropolitan Manila
Metro Manila, or
the National Capital Region, as it is presently
constituted, was created by presidential decree. The
same decree established the Metropolitan Manila
Commission (MMC), which was mandated to solve the
perennial problems of garbage disposal, flooding and
traffic congestion in the region. After the EDSA
Revolution, the Commission was changed by an
executive order to the Metropolitan Manila Authority
(MMA), which is run by a ruling council composed of
all mayors of the 13 municipalities and four cities.
These mayors elect a chairman from their ranks every
six months. The total population of the area covered
by the Metropolitan Manila Authority is around 10
million.
Metro Manila today is no longer confined to its
designated boundaries. The megalopolis extends as
far north as Meycauayan, Bulacan, and as far south
as San Pedro and Santa Rosa in Laguna and Bacoor,
Imus, Carmona and Kawit in Cavite. Eastwards, its
sprawl includes the westerly towns of Rizal such as
Angono, Binangonan, Taytay and Antipolo. The suburbs
of this megalopolis, on the other hand, extend
farther north to include Bocaue and Malolos in
Bulacan, south and south-west to Calamba, Los Banos
in Laguna, Tagaytay and Naic in Cavite. All in all
Metro Manila's total population figure comes to
approximately 16 million.
The Cities and Municipalities of Metro Manila
Composition of Metro Manila
today:
Cities:
Manila City Quezon City Caloocan City Pasay City Municipalities Las Pinas Makati Malabon Mandaluyong Marikina Muntinlupa Navotas Paranaque Pasig Pateros San Juan Taguig Valenzuela
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