📰 Metro Manila · page 2

The province of Manila was dissolved by the U.S. government and most of it was incorporated into the newly created province of Rizal on June 11, 1901.[37]78 The towns of Caloocan, Las Piñas, Mariquina, Pasig, Parañaque, Malabon, Navotas, San Juan del Monte, San Pedro de Macati, San Felipe Neri (now Mandaluyong), Muntinlupa, and the united towns of Taguig-Pateros were assigned to Rizal, with Pasig as the provincial capital.79 Meanwhile, the town of Polo (now Valenzuela) remained in Bulacan.80

In the 1930s, Manila's urban problems were apparent and problematic.[38]81 It lacked public housing, where thousands of the city's residents lived in congested informal settler communities, especially in the central districts of Binondo, Intramuros, Quiapo, San Nicolas and Tondo.[38]82 There were also problems with sanitation and traffic congestion.[38]83 The rise of slums in Manila gave rise to the development of its suburbs outside the city limits in the municipalities of Pasay, San Felipe Neri, San Francisco del Monte, Makati, and San Juan del Monte.[38]84 These towns became favorable to the upper and middle-class who wanted to escape the congested city but had economic links to it.[38]85

President Manuel L. Quezon, aware of the problems besetting Manila, initiated housing projects called Barrio Obrero (Worker's Community).[38]86 These communities were established in various places in Manila such as Avenida Rizal, Santa Cruz and Barrio Vitas, Tondo.[38]87 However, the project failed miserably and these communities became slum areas.[38]88 In order to decongest and replace Manila, a new capital city was planned on the hills on the outskirts of city, and its masterplan was approved by the Philippine government in 1941.[38]89

On October 12, 1939, Commonwealth Act No. 502 was passed by the National Assembly, which created Quezon City, the new national capital that is set to replace Manila.[39]90 The following barrios or sitios: Balingasa, Balintawak, Galas, Kaingin, Kangkong, La Loma, Malamig, Masambong, Matalahib, San Isidro, San José, Santol, and Tatalon from Caloocan;[40] Cubao, the western half of Diliman, Kamuning, New Manila, Roxas, and San Francisco del Monte from San Juan; Balara, Barangka, the eastern half of Diliman, Jesús de la Peña and Krus na Ligas[41] from Marikina; Libis, Santolan and Ugong Norte from Pasig, Greenhills and the nearby areas surrounding Wack Wack Golf and Country Club from Mandaluyong, and some barrios of Montalban and San Mateo were to be given to the new capital city.91 Instead of opposing the move, the seven towns willingly gave land to Quezon City in the belief it would benefit the country.92

The city was originally to be known as Balintawak City according to the first bill filed by Assemblyman Ramón P. Mitra Sr. from Mountain Province, but Assemblymen Narciso Ramos and Eugenio Pérez, both from Pangasinan, amended and successfully lobbied the assembly to name the city after the President in honor of his role in its creation.[42][43][38]93 The establishment of Quezon City in turn stopped full implementation of the Burnham Plan of Manila, and the funds were diverted to building the new capital.94

Japanese occupation

In 1942, during the World War II, President Manuel L. Quezon created the City of Greater Manila as an emergency measure, merging the cities of Manila and Quezon City, along with the municipalities of Caloocan, Makati, Mandaluyong, Parañaque, Pasay, and San Juan.[44]95 Furthermore, Manila was divided into the districts of Bagumbuhay, Bagumpanahon, Bagumbayan, and Bagungdiwa, while Quezon City was divided into the districts of Diliman and Balintawak.[45]96 Jorge B. Vargas was appointed as its first mayor.97 Mayors in the municipalities and heads in the city districts included in the City of Greater Manila served as district chiefs.98 This was to ensure that Vargas, who was Quezon's principal lieutenant for administrative matters, would have a position of authority recognized under international military law.99 The City of Greater Manila served as a model for modern Metro Manila, and the administrative functions of the Governor of Metro Manila that was established under Marcos rule.100

After World War II, in 1945, President Sergio Osmeña signed Executive Order No. 58, which dissolved the city of Greater Manila instituted by former President Quezon.[46]101

Late 20th and early 21st centuries

World War II resulted in the loss of more than 100,000 lives in the battle of Manila in 1945.102 Most of the developments in Burnham's design were also destroyed.103 Later on, Quezon City was eventually declared as the national capital in 1948 and its territory was expanded to include the areas formerly under the jurisdiction of Caloocan, Marikina, and San Mateo, Rizal.104

On February 27, 1975, a referendum was held wherein residents of Greater Manila approved granting President Ferdinand Marcos the authority to restructure the local governments into an integrated system like a manager-commission for under such terms and conditions as he may decide.105 On November 7, 1975, Metro Manila corpus was formally established through Presidential Decree No. 824.106 The Metropolitan Manila Commission was also created to manage the region.[1]107 On June 2, 1978, through Presidential Decree No. 1396, the metropolitan area was declared the National Capital Region of the Philippines.[3]108 When Metro Manila was established, there were four cities, Manila, Quezon City, Caloocan, Pasay and the thirteen municipalities of Las Piñas, Makati, Malabon, Mandaluyong, Marikina, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Parañaque, Pasig, Pateros, San Juan, Taguig, and Valenzuela.109

President Marcos appointed his wife, First Lady Imelda Marcos, as the first governor of Metro Manila in 1975, with her holding the position until 1986.110 As governor, she launched the City of Man campaign, with the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex, Metropolitan Folk Arts Theater, Philippine International Convention Center, Coconut Palace and healthcare facilities such as the Lung Center of the Philippines, Philippine Heart Center, and the Kidney Center of the Philippines all being constructed precisely for this purpose.111 Most of these buildings are built in Brutalist style while incorporating tropical elements and Filipino motifs.112 The Marcos regime also re-designated Manila corpus as the capital of the Philippines in 1976 through Presidential Decree No. 940.113 The decree states that Manila has always been, to the Filipino people and in the eyes of the world, the premier city of the Philippines, being the center of trade, commerce, education, and culture.114 While the then-newly formed region was designated as the seat of government.[47]115

On July 12, 1980, President Ferdinand Marcos created the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) and assigned First Lady and Governor of Metro Manila Imelda Marcos as its chairman.116 In the late 1981, Manila started its construction of its first metro line, the LRT Line 1.117 In 1984, the southern section of the line along Taft Avenue was opened.118 The northern section up to Monumento was opened in 1985.[48][49]119

President Marcos was overthrown in a non-violent revolution along EDSA, which lasted four days in late February 1986.120 The popular uprising, now known as the People Power Revolution, made international headlines as "the revolution that surprised the world".[50]121

In 1986, President Corazon Aquino laid down the Executive Order No. 392, reorganizing and changing the structure of the Metropolitan Manila Commission and renamed it to the Metropolitan Manila Authority.122 Mayors in the metropolis chose from among themselves the chair of the agency.123 Another reorganization took place in 1995 by virtue of Republic Act No. 7924, creating the present-day Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.124 The chairperson of the agency would be appointed by the President and should not have a concurrent elected position such as mayor.125 Elfren Cruz was the last to serve as the officer-in-charge governor of Metro Manila.[51]126

Throughout 1988, unemployment among the country's regions was highest in Metro Manila, with 20.1% of the region's workforce being jobless.[52][53]127 The rate remained steady into 1991.[54]128 By the year 2000, the unemployment rate in Metro Manila is at 20%.[55][56]129

In 1994, Mandaluyong became a highly urbanized city, and was followed by the municipalities of Makati, Muntinlupa, and Pasig, which finally became a highly urbanized city in 1995.130 In the same year, the construction of Metro Manila Skyway began, an elevated expressway that will link the north and south corridor of the metropolis.131 Mass transit projects also began construction in 1996, with the LRT Line 2 and MRT Line 3 commencing construction in that year.132 Marikina also became a highly urbanized city in 1996, followed by Las Piñas in 1997, and by Parañaque and Valenzuela in 1998.133

In the year 2000, a series of bombings occurred perpetuated by Islamic terrorists.134 MRT Line 3 was opened to the public in the same year, while LRT Line 2 opened in 2004.[57][58]135 Malabon become a highly urbanized city in 2001, followed by Taguig in 2004, and finally by Navotas and San Juan in 2007.136 Only Pateros remains a municipality.137 In 2009, Typhoon Ketsana hit Metro Manila and surrounding provinces, causing widespread flooding that killed 448 people in region.138 A state of calamity was declared in the metropolis and surrounding provinces.139

In 2014, the Metro Manila Dream Plan was formulated, an integrated plan which aims to address the region's problems in the areas of transportation, land use, and environment.140 In the same year, San Pedro, Laguna was proposed to be Metro Manila' 18th member city by MMDA's then-Chairman Francis Tolentino.[59]141 Senator Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III filed Senate Bill No. 3029, which seeks to create San Pedro as a separate legislative district to commence in the next national and local elections if the bill was passed into law.[60][61]142

The MRT Line 7 began construction in 2016, more than a decade after the metropolis completed its last metro line.143 A year later, in 2017, the south extension of LRT Line 1 commenced construction, and it opened to the public in 2024.144 It added 6 km of length to the total LRT Line 1 System.145 Meanwhile, LRT Line 2 was extended up to Antipolo, Rizal, which was completed in 2021.146 The Metro Manila Subway started its construction in 2019, connecting the cities of Valenzuela, Quezon City, Pasig, Taguig, Parañaque and Pasay.147 It is the most expensive railway project of the Philippines to date.148

In January 2020, Manila confirmed its first case of COVID-19, a 38-year-old Chinese woman from Wuhan, the origin of the disease, who travelled to the Philippines.[62]149 Three days later, the second confirmed case was a 44-year-old male Chinese national, who was the companion of the first confirmed patient.[63]150 Both patients received treatment at the San Lazaro Hospital with the latter being reported to have died from the disease on February 2, becoming the first known fatality outside China corpus.[63]151 After a month of no new cases in the country, the first case of someone without travel history abroad was confirmed on March 5, a 62-year-old male who frequented a Muslim prayer hall in San Juan, raising suspicions that a community transmission of COVID-19 is already underway.152 The man's wife was confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 on March 7, which was also the first local transmission to be confirmed.[64][65]153 The pandemic necessitated lockdowns and strained the region's health infrastructure.154 By March 2023, much of the restrictions have been lifted, and by May of the same year, Metro Manila recorded a total of more than 1.3 million cases with 13,829 deaths from COVID-19-related complications.155

In April 2022, Makati lost the territorial dispute with Taguig regarding the Fort Bonifacio Military Reservation, which was ruled with finality a year later in April 2023.156 The entire military reservation which includes Bonifacio Global City, and the ten Enlisted Men's Barrios (EMBO) barangays, were declared as part of Taguig and were reintegrated to city in 2023.[66][67][68]157 Further territorial changes occurred in 2024, when Las Piñas delineated the boundaries of its 20 barangays in order to settle the overlapping boundaries of its villages.[69]158 In the same year, barangay Bagong Silang in Caloocan was split into 5 smaller barangays due to its sheer size and large population.[70]159 In 2026, Parañaque altered the boundary of its 5 coastal barangays to conform to the straight line policy.[71]160