National Capital Region

NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION: METRO MANILA

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION
The National Capital Region or NCR is the center of Luzon and capital region of the Philippines. The Cordillera Mountains forms its boundary on the east, Laguna de Bay on the southeast, Central Luzon on the north and Southern Tagalog region on the south.

It is composed of the cities of Manila, Kalookan, Las Pinas, Makati, Mandaluyong, Marikina, Paranaque, Muntinlupa, Pasay, Pasig and Quezon City. Pending ratification for city hood through plebiscites by their respective residents are the municipalities of Taguig, Valenzuela, and the industrial district of Novaliches in Quezon City. The municipalities of MM are Navotas, Malabon, Pateros and San Juan. NCR does not have any provinces

Its total land area of 636 10 sq. kms. includes residential, industrial, institutional and agricultural areas and unclassified public forests. MM is divided into 6 zones: Manila Bay, Coastal Margin including its reclaimed area, Laguna de Bay, Guadalupe Plateau, Marikina Valley and Laguna Lowland.

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|POPULATION |
|In 2000, the region’s population was 10,492,000 which increases to more than 13 million during daytime due to a large workforce |
|residing in the areas adjoining the metropolis but working in the city. |
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|CULTURAL GROUPS |
|Metro Manila is composed of almost all the cultural groups of the Philippines. The principal language used is Tagalog with English as|
|the secondary language. |
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|CLIMATE |
|The dry season is from November to May and the rainy season from June to October. April and May are normally its warmest months. |
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|FACILITIES |
|The metropolis has one of the first-class harbors in Asia. The Manila Bay opens out into South China Sea and is a gateway to Asia. |
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|Metro Manila is considered the country's premier business region with adequate facilities and services in transportation, housing and|
|commercial infrastructure, communications, power supply and recreational facilities. It has world-class malls and commercial centers.|
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|It has excellent seaport facilities and an international airport supplemented by the seaports of international standards in Batangas |
|City and Subic Bay, Olongapo and by the Clark International Airport in Angeles City. The government has envisioned an integrated road|
|network and mass based rail transport system within the metropolis. |
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|Makati City is the premier business and financial district, although other areas are being developed such as the Ortigas Center in |
|Pasig City, the Filinvest Corporate Center and Fort Bonifacio, Makati City. |

Metropolitan Manila (Filipino: Kalakhang Maynila) or the National Capital Region (NCR) (Filipino: Pambansang Punong Rehiyon) is the capital of the Philippines and among the world's thirty most populous metropolitan areas. Metro Manila is one of the two defined metropolitan areas in the Philippines, the other being Metro Cebu.

Metro Manila is the metropolitan area that contains the city of Manila, as well as sixteen surrounding cities and municipalities, including Quezon City, the capital from 1948 to 1976. Metro Manila is the political, economic, social, and cultural center of the Philippines, and is one of the more modern metropolises in Southeast Asia. Among locals, particularly those from Manila proper and those in the provinces, Metro Manila is often simply referred to as Manila; however locals from other parts of the metropolis may see this as offensive, owing to city pride and also the fact that some cities are actually geographically closer to the neighboring provinces than to Manila itself. Metro Manila is often abbreviated as M.M.. The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is located in Makati City.

Metro Manila is the smallest of the country's administrative regions, but the most populous and the most densely populated, having a population of 9,932,560 (2000 census) in an area of only 636 square kilometers. It is also the only region without anyprovinces. The region is bordered by the provinces of Bulacan to the north, Rizal to the east, and Cavite and Laguna to the south. Metro Manila is also sandwiched by Manila Bay to the west and Laguna de Bay to the southeast with the Pasig River running between them, bisecting the region.

The term Metro Manila should not be confused with the metro rail system of the region, and the word metro itself always describes the metropolitan area (as in the metro). The railways are called by their abbreviations, such as the LRT and the MRT, also known as Light Rail Transit and Metro Rail Transit, respectively.

On paper, Manila is the designated capital and seat of the Philippine government, but in practice, the seats of government are all around Metro Manila. The executive and administrative seat of government is located in Manila, so is the judiciary. The upper house of the legislature (Senate of the Philippines) is located in Pasay City, and the lower house (House of Representatives of the Philippines) in Quezon City.

Economy

Business districts

Makati City is widely acknowledged as the financial capital of the country, where one can find the Makati Central Business District (CBD). Interesting landmarks in Makati's Central Business District include Ayala Center, composed of Glorietta and Greenbelt, Ayala Museum, andYuchengco Museum. Also in Makati is Rockwell Center. Most multi-national company offices and embassies in the Philippines are situated in Makati. Also posing as a competitor for a vibrant business center are Bonifacio Global City in Taguig, Eastwood City in Quezon City,Ortigas Center in Pasig City, Manila Bay City Reclamation Area in the cities of Pasay,Parañaque and Las Piñas, and Alabang Estates and Madrigal Business Park in Muntinlupa.

Shopping centers

Metro Manila is the shopping center of the Philippines. Three “megamalls” are located in this region and these are SM Mall of Asia, SM Megamall and SM City North Edsa which is the 2nd largest mall in the world. Before the expansion of SM North EDSA, the SM Mall of Asia was the largest. Makati is regarded as the main central business district of Metro Manila while Ortigas City is the second most important business district in Metro Manila. Other shopping centers in Ortigas Center include Robinson's Galleria, Shangri-La Plaza, and The Podium.

Recently opened in Pasig is a new development called Frontera Verde, which currently hosts Tiendesitas, a tiangge-style shopping center. Soon to rise are a new SM development as well as several other malls. In the Central Business District of Makati, the Ayala Center hosts other malls, including Glorietta and the upscale Greenbeltshopping districts. Also in Makati is the Rockwell Center. These places are frequented by members of Metro Manila's upper classes.

Taguig City has a mall named Market Market!, which is strategically located in a transportation hub within Fort Bonifacio Global City.

In the City of Manila, the largest malls include SM City Manila and Robinson's Place-Ermita.

Cubao is Quezon City's Central Commercial Area that hosts 5 malls that includes the ultra-modern Gateway Mall. Other malls include various SM chains in the metropolis. Aside from Cubao, there is also Eastwood City, located along Libis.

Metro Manila has a lot of markets, locally called palengke. One of these are the Central Market, located in Quiapo district of Manila, and Divisoria Market, also in Manila. Cloverleaf Market in Balintawak, Quezon City supplies most of Metro Manila's fruit and vegetable products. Navotas Port Market supplies most of Metro Manila's fish products. Other smaller markets include the markets of Cubao Farmers, Nepa-Q Mart, Muñoz, Balingasa, Galas, Santa Mesa, Novaliches Talipapa, Baclaran, Pasay Libertad, and Pasay Cartimar, the latter also being one of the largest pet markets in the Philippines.

Midway between a mall and a market are the Philippine-only tiangges, or airconditioned markets selling goods such as clothes, shoes, accessories, computer parts, mobile phones, CDs, VCDs, MP3s, iPods, and DVDs. Among these can be found in Greenhills Shopping Centerin the municipality of San Juan and St. Francis Square in Mandaluyong City.

Wealth extremes

Metro Manila is a place of economic extremes. Most of the wealthy and upper-middle class in the country reside within gated communities in places such as Forbes Park, Dasmariñas Village, San Lorenzo Village, Bel-Air Village, and Urdaneta Village in Makati, Loyola Heights, La Vista Subdivision, Corinthian Gardens, Greenmeadows, Capitol Hills District, Ayala Heights, Filinvest 1 and 2, Baranggay South Triangle, Baranggay West Triangle, New Manila, Blue Ridge, St. Ignatius Village, and White Plains of Quezon City, Valle Verde Village of Pasig City, Greenhills in San Juan, and Ayala Alabang in Muntinlupa City. Other wealthy families opt to live urban lifestyles and own large apartments and condominium units such as those in the Rockwell Center in Makati and the Fort Bonifacio Global City in Taguig. The fact that the area is populated by many of the wealthiest people in the country has also driven up the real estate value of the properties in these areas such that they are unmatched anywhere else.

However, practically side-by-side with the residences of Metro Manila's elite are slums and squatter areas, most of which are on the outskirts of the aforementioned gated communities, as well as areas left behind by the rapid development of the rest of Metro Manila, such as Tondo and Sampaloc in Manila, Guadalupe in Makati, some parts of Marikina, Caloocan, and Valenzuela, and most parts of Navotas. Highway roadsides are often crowded with corrugated-steel-roofed huts and straw markets by which livelihood is obtained, in a stark contrast to the gated subdivisions present in Metro Manila. Less than 10% of the population actually live in the aforementioned neighborhoods, while the rest live in non-gated (normal) neighborhoods in regular houses, apartments, tenements and shacks.

Metro Manila is also characterized by a very little middle class group scattered throughout the metropolis. The middle class in Metro Manila enjoys much more spending power, access to education, and far better living qualities than the numerous poverty-stricken people that migrate to Metro Manila from the provinces.

Recreation

Metro Manila is rich in historical landmarks and recreational areas. Located west of Metro Manila is the famous Rizal Park, also known as the Luneta Park. Rizal Park is the reference point for all kilometer points on the island of Luzon and the Philippines. Rizal Park features the statue of the Philippine National Hero Jose Rizal, as well as several Philippine flags, a gigantic relief map of the Philippines, scenic Chinese gardens, and the several government offices, such as the Department of Tourism. On the seaside front of Rizal Park are numerous seafood restaurants specializing in Filipino and Asian cuisine.

Near Rizal Park is a 400-year-old Imperial City known as Intramuros, a walled domain which was once the seat of government during the Spanish Colonial Era and Mid-American Periods. Among the attractions are Fort Santiago, a timeworn Spanish military fortress which was also the cell for the national hero, Jose Rizal in 1896; Casa Manila, a Spanish colonial villa which is converted into a house gallery; Manila Cathedral, the official seat of the Archbishop of Manila; San Agustin Church, the oldest existing church/building in the Philippines that survived the wars and earthquakes of Manila since 1587; Intramuros Golf Club, a prime golf course outside the walls; and the Clam Shell Tent, an exhibition center of the Department of Tourism. Horse-carriages and tourist buses are also some of the attractions. The rest also include a walk above the walls surrounding Intramuros, government offices, universities and colonial houses.

The National Museum of the Filipino People can be also found here. It is a complex of two Greco-Roman buildings which house ancient relics, native mummies, natural treasures and factual galleries about the Philippines and other countries. The museum also boasts a vast collection of artworks and masterpieces crafted by Filipinos which were commended by the Louvre Museum per se. Similarly, part of the museum complex is the first planetarium in Southeast Asia. Also located here is the Quirino Grandstand, which apart from the regular miting de avance (Spanish: political gatherings), is also a popular rendezvous site for various religious groups, such as El Shaddai and other popular American-based Protestant movements, such as Benny Hinn International Ministries.

Fort Bonifacio, or FB, is the location of military detachments, cemeteries, international schools, and world-class dining and shopping facilities. Other local recreation areas include Nayong Pilipino (Philippine Village) in Parañaque City, Quezon City Memorial Circle and Ninoy Aquino Wildlife Center (both located in Diliman district of Quezon City), the posh Greenbelt Center, located in Makati City, the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex and Bay City, both located in Pasay City. Meanwhile, the Paco Park, Arroceros Botanical Garden, Manila Zoo, Plaza Rajah Sulayman, Plaza Miranda, new Rizal Avenue Bargain Walkway, the all-steel Gothic Church of San Sebastian, the bars and night clubs ofErmita and Malate districts and the famous Roxas Boulevard Bay Walk which offers a fine view of the legendary Manila Bay sunset and dining of Asian, Western and Filipino cuisine, are all located in Manila.

Transportation

Roadways

NCR has an extensive system of highways connecting the various cities and municipalities. it has two different rapid transit systems in Metro Manila: the Manila Light Rail Transit System, or the LRT, and the Manila Metro Rail Transit System, or the MRT. Logistics for trade is also a notable feature of NCR, as it houses major shipping ports and busiest airports.
NCR also takes pride in housing more than 50 hospitals and tens of healthcare facilities, spas and clinics to care for the region's residents and visitors.

Airports

The country's main airport is the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) which straddles the boundary between Parañaque City and Pasay City. It presently consists of two terminals, while a third one will open soon. There is also a separate domestic terminal. There are two main runways and the hangar of Philippine Airlines is located near the Villamor Air Base.

There are four airport terminals in Metro Manila, all of which are located in Parañaque City, 9 kilometers south of the City of Manila.

▪ NAIA-1: the original terminal, constructed in 1981. The 67,000 square meter terminal was designed by Filipino architect Leandro V. Locsin and has a design capacity of 4.5 million passengers per year. It currently serves all non-Philippine Airlines international flights. The terminal has reached capacity in 1991 and has been over capacity ever since. ▪ NAIA-2: finished in 1998 and named the Centennial Terminal since 1998 was the centennial year of the declaration of Philippine independence. The 75,000 square meter terminal was originally designed by Aéroports de Paris to be a domestic terminal, but the design was later modified to accommodate international flights. It has a capacity of 2.5 million passengers per year in its international wing and 5 million in its domestic wing, which later will expand to nine million passengers yearly. Terminal 2 is the home of Philippine Airlines and Air Philippines and is used for both its domestic and international flights since it has the most flights out of the NAIA terminals. ▪ NAIA-3: approved for construction in 1997 and is nearly complete. The modern US$500 million, 189,000 square meter facility was designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) to have a capacity of 13 million passengers per year. However, a legal dispute between the government of the Philippines and the project's main contractor, PIATCO, over alleged anomalies in the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) contract, is holding completion and opening of the terminal. On December 2004, the Philippine Government took over the management of the facility through an order of the Pasay City Regional Trial Court (RTC). Manila International Airport Authority is due to announce its opening in the mid-2006. ▪ Domestic Airport: built on 1948 on the old Airport Road. It currently handles all domestic air traffic, excluding Philippine Airlines and Air Philippines. Currently, the terminal is composed of two single-story buildings and serves the domestic local carriers, which are Cebu Pacific,Asian Spirit, Southeast Asian Airlines (Seair), Laoag International Airlines and Interisland Airlines.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 9,932,560 people and 2,132,989 households residing in Metro Manila. With a population density of 15,617/km², it is by far the most densely populated region of the Philippines. For the period 1995 to 2000, the annual population growth rate was 1.06 percent, lower than that of the 1990 to 1995 period (3.30 percent). If the current annual population growth rate of the metropolitan area continues, the population is expected to double in 65 years.

The most common language spoken in households is Tagalog (94.34%). English is widely understood.

The large majority of the population of Metro Manila is Roman Catholic (89.10%). Other religions include Iglesia ni Cristo (2.89%), Evangelicalism (1.64%), and Islam (0.60%). [1]

Education

Metro Manila is home to several noteworthy Philippine higher educational institutions. It is the education capital of the country and many students from the provinces head onto Metro Manila to study. There are 511 elementary schools and 220 secondary schools in Metro Manila. There are around 81 colleges and universities.

As such, several dormitories, apartments and boarding houses abound. Areas with a high number of educational institutions include the so-called "University Belt" and Taft Avenue in Manila, Katipunan Avenue and Fairview in Quezon City and Sta. Mesa straddling the Manila, Quezon City and Mandaluyong City borders.

Metro Manila is also home to numerous public and private basic education institutions, science high schools, and international schools.

Every year, thousands of students from the various countries of Asia, such as China, Japan, Korea, Iran and Vietnam, and even from Europe go to the Philippines to study.

Health

Manila is home to the World Health Organization's Regional Office for the Western Pacific, the main office of the Department of Health, and several hospitals and medical centers. Major hospitals such as the Makati Medical Center in Makati, Asian Hospital and Medical Centerin Muntinlupa, St. Luke's Medical Center in Quezon City and Taguig, and The Medical City in Pasig have world-class facilities. Some of these have geared themselves toward medical tourism. The Asian Hospital and Medical Center, established on March 15, 2002 with Jorge Garcia, MD, an alumnus of the Faculty of Medicine & Surgery of the University of Santo Tomas, as its founding chairman, is the first private tertiary hospital built in the southern part of Metro Manila. It currently stands on a land area within the vicinity of Filinvest Corporate City, Alabang, Muntinlupa, Philippines, measuring 17,258-square meters that both includes the main hospital building and the hospital's medical offices.

Police and security

Police structure in the Philippines is centralized and its command center is located in Camp Crame in Santolan, Quezon City. Metro Manila is divided into 5 police districts namely Central (Quezon City), Western (City of Manila), Eastern (Mandaluyong, Pasig, Marikina, San Juan), Northern (Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, Valenzuela) and Southern (Makati, Muntinlupa, Las Piñas, Parañaque, Taguig and Pateros). The Armed Forces of the Philippines' command headquarters is located in Camp Aguinaldo in Murphy, Quezon City. Metro Manila is the National Capital Region Command created by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to defend the metropolis from insurgents and terrorist groups. Philippine Army headquarters is located in Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City. Philippine Air Force headquarters is located in Villamor Airbase in Pasay City. Philippine Navy headquarters was once located in Roxas Boulevard in Manila until its transfer by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo toZamboanga City.

Public utilities

Electricity

Metro Manila's electricity is generated by the state-owned National Power Corporation (Napocor) and other independent power producers across the island of Luzon. It is transmitted by the state-owned National Transmission Corporation (TransCo) through high tension wires. It is stored and distributed by the Manila Electric Company (Meralco), the only company allowed to distribute electricity to the metropolis.

Water

Metro Manila's tap water is sourced from the Angat Dam in Norzagaray, Bulacan. It is stored in the Novaliches Reservoir and filtered in the La Mesa Dam, both in northeast Quezon City. Metro Manila's water distribution and sewerage system used to be managed by the Metropolitan Water and Sewerage System (MWSS), a state-owned company. In 1997, MWSS awarded concessionare licenses to two private corporations. Metro Manila was sliced into two distribution areas.

▪ Maynilad Water Services Inc. (MWSI). It is currently majority-owned by the MWSS, which took it over from Benpres Holdings Company, which also controls MERALCO. It operates in western Quezon City, southern Caloocan City, Manila (excluding Downtown), Valenzuela City, Malabon City, Navotas, Pasay City, Parañaque City, Las Piñas City, and western Muntinlupa City. MWSS is currently bidding out its shares in MWSI and expects to conclude the bidding before the end of the year. ▪ Manila Water Company (MWC). It is owned by the Ayala Corporation, which also controls Globe Telecom. It operates in eastern Quezon City, northern Caloocan City, downtown Manila, Marikina City, Pasig City, Taguig City, Pateros, Makati City, Mandaluyong City, San Juan, and eastern Muntinlupa City.
What are the Festivals found in NCR Region of the Philippines?

1. caracol sa makati - last Sunday of Jan.
2. sambalilo (paranaque) - entire month of feb.
3. salubong (angono, rizal) - Easter Sunday
4. araw ng maynila - June 24
5. pagoda (pasig) - 1st Sunday of July
6. santacruzan - celebrated nationwide - entire month of may