METROPOLITAN MANILA

1975-PRESENT

HISTORY

Then President Ferdinand Marcos established the Metro Manila Commission (MMC) to
act as the central government of the local government units (LGUs) of the National Capital
Region (NCR) or Metro Manila. The head of the commission was a governor, an appointive
position rather than an elected one. Marcos appointed his wife Imelda Marcos as the MMC
Governor.

Following the People Power Revolution of 1986, President Marcos was removed from
his position with Corazon Aquino installed as new president. Marcos' whole family went into
exile. The succeeding holders of the position of MMC Governor served in care-taker capacity as
Officers-in-Charge (OIC; or Acting MMC Governors) while Aquino evaluated on the possible
fate of the MMC. Aquino appointed Joey Lina as acting Governor within the year. In 1987, Lina
resigned to run for senator and acting Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay was appointed in Lina's
place. Binay himself later resigned from his post as Governor to run for Mayor of Makati.

Presidential Management Staff Efren Cruz was appointed following Binay's resignation.
Cruz served the post until the abolition of the MMC, consequentially the governor post itself, in
1990. The MMC was replaced by the Metro Manila Authority which would be led by one of the
Mayors of Metro Manila as MMA Chairperson.

PROPOSED REVIVAL

There are proposals to revive the position of Governor of Metro Manila due to concerns
about the limited power of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority as a body, and its
head the MMDA Chairman.

House Bill 2596 (previously 4758) titled An Act Creating the Metropolitan Manila
Government was among the measures seeking to do so. The measure, authored by
representative Lito Atienza of Buhay Party-List, seeks the establishment of a regional
government for Metro Manila to be led by a governor elected by voters in the metropolis. The
government will absorb all the powers of the MMDA, which according to Atienza is just a
coordinating agency whose chairperson could be defied by Metro Manila's mayors. As per the
measure the governor will be assisted by a vice governor and a regional council, where each
congressional district has one representative. Then MMDA Chairman Tim Orbos also supported
proposals to revive the position since the MMDA chairman has no powers to enact ordinance
that would cover all LGUs of Metro Manila.

Chairperson of the metropolitan manila development authority

The chairperson of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority is the chief
executive officer of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and the presiding
officer of the Metro Manila Council. The post is also known as the Officer-in-Charge (OIC)
when the post is held in an acting capacity.

ELIGIBILITY
The Chairperson of the MMDA is appointed by the President of the Philippines. The
appointment of the chairperson is subject to the same disqualifications and prohibitions of
a member of the Cabinet.

FUNCTIONS
The Chairperson of the MMDA is also the presiding officer of the Metro Manila Council.
The Chairperson is tasked to execute the policies and measures approved by the Metro Manila
Council as well as oversee the management and operations of the MMDA.

LIST OF MAYORS IN METRO MANILA

Metro Manila is a metropolitan area in the Philippines, consisting of 16 cities and a

municipality, designated as the National Capital Region (NCR) of the country.

The mayors in Metro Manila are considered as the local chief executives of their
respective localities and they also form part of the Metro Manila Council of the Metropolitan
Manila Development Authority (MMDA).
Manila

# Mayor Dates in Office Notes

1 Arsenio Cruz Herrera 1901–1905 First appointed mayor

2 Félix Roxas 1905–1917

3 Justo Lukbán 1917–1920

4 Ramón Fernández 1920–1923

5 Eulogio Rodríguez 1923–1924

6 Miguel Romuáldez 1924–1927

7 Tomás Earnshaw 1927–1933

8 Juan Posadas 1934–1940

* Eulogio Rodríguez 1940–1941

9 Juan Nolasco 1941–1941

Concurrently as mayor of the City of Greater

10 Jorge Vargas 1941–1942
Manila

Concurrently as mayor of the City of Greater

11 León Guinto 1942–1944
Manila
12 Hermenegildo Atienza 1944–1945

* Juan Nolasco 1945–1946

13 Valeriano Fugoso 1946–1947

14 Manuel de la Fuente 1948–1951

15 Arsenio Lacson 1952–1962 First elected mayor

16 Antonio Villegas 1962–1971

17 Ramon Bagatsing 1972–1986

18 Mel Lopez 1986–1987 Acting mayor

19 Gregorio Ejército 1987–1988 Acting mayor

18 Mel Lopez 1988–1992

20 Alfredo Lim 1992–1998

21 Lito Atienza 1998–2007

20 Alfredo Lim 2007–2013

22 Joseph Estrada 2013–2019

23 Isko Moreno 2019–2022

 24 Honey Lacuna 2022–present First female mayor of the city [4]

Poverty, housing and urban slums

The Smokey Mountain Development and Reclamation Project for the

former Smokey Mountain dumpsite and slum community is a prime example of in-city
relocation housing for informal settler families in Tondo, City of Manila.

From the 1980s up to the present, informal settlers have accounted for roughly
one-third of the Metro Manila population. A majority of informal settlers belong to the
middle-class. In 2014, there are an estimated four million slum dwellers living in Metro
Manila. Homelessness is also a major problem in Metro Manila.

However, these are being addressed by creating in-city relocation housing, and
by relocating informal settler families in low-density housing built in the nearby
provinces of Batangas, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal.

During the American occupation, housing policies in Manila dealt the problem of
sanitation and concentration of settlers around business areas. Among those
implemented were business codes and sanitation laws in slum areas in the 1930s.
During this period and until the 1950s, new communities were opened for relocation.

Among these were Projects 1–8 in Diliman, Quezon City and the Vitas tenement
houses in Tondo. The government implemented the Public Housing Policy in 1947 that
established the People's Homesite and Housing Corporation (PHHC). A few years later,
it put up the Slum Clearance Committee which, with the help of the PHHC, relocated
thousands of families from Tondo and Quezon City to Sapang Palay in San Jose del
Monte, Bulacan in the 1960s

During the time of President Ferdinand Marcos, the World Bank and the Asian
Development Bank supported the programs for the "development of relocation" and
"on-site development." Carmona and Dasmariñas in Cavite and San
Pedro in Laguna opened as relocation sites.
 Along with the establishment of the National Housing Authority (Philippines),
Presidential Decree 772 made squatting a crime, making the Philippines one of only two
countries (the other is South Africa) where squatting is a crime. The government
formulated the National Shelter Program which became the over-all framework for
dealing with housing needs of all income classes

Imelda Marcos held both the position as Governor of Metro Manila and as
Minister of Human Settlements and Ecology or MHSE until the downfall of the
dictatorship in 1986. The MHSE, through loans from the World Bank, initiated the
Bagong Lipunan Improvement of Sites and Services (BLISS) housing projects not only
in Metro Manila but also in other provinces.

From 1960 to 1992, the government transferred some 328,000 families to

resettlement sites 25–40 km from Metro Manila. According to the Asian Coalition on
Housing Rights, during Corazon C. Aquino's time, the government would bring some
100,000 persons to relocation sites yearly. During the said period, Sapang Palay and
Carmona had a 60% abandonment rate.

Congress enacted RA 7279 or the Urban Development and Housing Act (UDHA)
in 1992. The law gave a new name for the squatters: informal settlers. Essentially,
UDHA gives protection for big private ownership of land in the urban areas, ensuring
that these are protected from illegal occupants. The law also widened the scope of
private sector participation in the National Shelter Program (NSP

In the middle of the Arroyo administration's term, infrastructure projects of the

government led to the demolition of hundreds of thousands of families (from along
railways, C4 road, C5 road, and from Fort Bonifacio). During the same period, new
relocation sites in Bulacan, Valenzuela and Caloocan opened.

Economy

Poverty Incidence of Metro Manila

 The National Capital Region accounts for 36% of the gross domestic product of
the Philippines in 2018. Furthermore, it has the highest per capita GDP of the country
at ₱183,747. The employment rate in the region is at 91.3% as of April 2021.

According to Brookings Institution, the 2014 share of output by industry in Metro

Manila is as follows: trade and tourism: 31.4%, business/finance: 28.6%, local/non-
market: 15.6%, manufacturing: 12.5%, transportation: 4.9%, construction: 4%, utilities:
2.8%, and commodities: 0.3%.

Metro Manila will add 1.85 million square meters of office spaces between 2015
and 2017 in the central business districts in Makati, Taguig, and Quezon City as more
global firms such as Google and HSBC seeks to outsource business process in the
Philippines. The vacancy rate for office spaces remains low, at less 3% in the year-end
of 2014. Manila remains as the least expensive capital city in the Asia-Pacific to occupy
prime office space at an average rent of $22 per square meter per month.

Metro Manila makes it to the "Global Top 30" cities according to property
consultancy firm Jones Lang LaSalle, citing its economic scale, vast population, large
gross domestic product and BPO specialization as its competitive edge. Furthermore,
the region ranks 3rd for the top business process outsourcing global destinations, next
to Bangalore and Mumbai. The region's retail sector remains strong, bolstered by
remittances abroad, BPOs, and its tourism sector.

Historically, the main business district of the metropolis was Binondo, where
commercial trading flourished since the 15th century. By the 1960s, economic activities
shifted from Binondo to Makati. It transformed Makati into one of the leading financial
centers in Asia. Still, Binondo remained as a cultural and financial center because of the
vast Chinese population residing and doing business in the area.

The minimum wage of Metro Manila is at ₱481 ($10.77) for non-agricultural

workers and at ₱444 ($9.94) for those working in the agricultural sector, the highest
minimum wage among all the 17 regions of the country. However, an increase of ₱25
was made and implemented in November 2018.

Image gallery
 Makati CBD is the principal central business district of the Philippines.

 The Metro Manila skyline from San Mateo, Rizal, looking at Makati CBD, Ortigas
CBD, Eastwood City and Bonifacio Global City.

 The Northern Metro Manila skyline from San Mateo, Rizal, looking
at Manila, Araneta City, and Quezon City.

 The Northern Roxas Boulevard Skyline.

 The Makati, Bay City, and Entertainment City skylines from Manila Bay.

Ayala Avenue, looking westward, in the Makati Central Business District.

Bonifacio Global City and Makati skylines from Grand Hyatt Manila, the tallest building in
the Philippines.

Metro Manila has many central business districts (CBD), which categorizes it
under the multiple nuclei model in human geography terms. The most prominent CBDs
are the Makati Central Business District, Bonifacio Global City, Ortigas Center, Binondo,
and Alabang. The region also has plenty of mixed-use developments owned and
developed by private corporations such as the Ayala Corporation, Eton
Properties, Megaworld Corporation and SM Prime Holdings.

The Makati Central Business District is the premier business and commercial
center of the Philippines. It is the headquarters to most of the multinational
corporations residing in the Philippines as well as the country's biggest commercial
firms and BPO companies. The Central Business District has an office stock of 1.1
million square meters of Grade A and premium office space. It is the home to the tallest
skyscrapers in the region as well as in the country.

Bonifacio Global City is the newest business district of Manila and is the premier
financial and lifestyle center of the metropolis. It is located in the north-western part
of Taguig. It used to be a military base known as Fort Bonifacio. The Bases and
Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) privatized the property and its income from
the sale was intended to be used for the modernization of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines.

Upon its privatization, the place was transformed into a business hub featuring
numerous tourist attractions such as The Mind Museum, high-end shops, towering
office skyscrapers, and luxurious lofts and condominiums. Bonifacio Global City will
soon overtake the Makati Central Business District as the premier financial center of the
country in the future. One of the reasons for it is that the Philippine Stock Exchange will
relocate its headquarters in BGC. Also, it has more spaces and land for future
developments. It is also the most active business district, generating over 50 percent of
the growth in property market and has more available space for rent or lease and sale
than Makati.

Ortigas Center is a central business district located in Mandaluyong and Pasig,

with a small portion of it located in Quezon City. Landmarks in Ortigas include
the EDSA Shrine, Shangri-La Plaza and the SM Megamall. Furthermore, The Medical
City has its main campus in Ortigas Center. Important financial and national
institutions headquartered in Ortigas are the Asian Development Bank, Union Bank of
The Philippines and the National Economic and Development Authority. Ortigas is also
the home to the headquarters of San Miguel Corporation, Jollibee Foods
Corporation, Lopez Group of Companies and The Manila Electric Company.

Shopping
Aerial view of the SM Mall of Asia Complex (2016)

Global Blue ranked Manila as one of the "Best Shopping Destinations" in Asia.[96]
[97]
Metro Manila is home to some of the largest shopping malls in the world, three of
which are in the top 10. SM Megamall in Mandaluyong ranks as the 3rd largest shopping
mall in the world, followed by SM City North EDSA in Quezon City bagging the 4th
place. Meanwhile, SM Mall of Asia in Pasay ranks as the 9th largest shopping mall in
world. Other shopping malls in Metro Manila in the list of the largest shopping malls in
Metro Manila are the Ever Gotesco Commonwealth Center, Festival
Supermall, Greenbelt, Market! Market!, SM Aura Premier, SM Southmall and TriNoma.
Tourism and gambling

San Agustin Church, which was built in 1604 is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Tourism is a vital industry of the region. Metro Manila is the main gateway to the
Philippines. Trade and tourism represents 31.4% of share of NCR's output by industry
according to Brookings Institution.[82] Metro Manila welcomed 974,379 overnight
visitors in 2012, making it the top overnight tourist destination of the country.

Manila is visited by the majority of international tourists coming to the country

registering a total of 3,139,756 arrivals in 2012.

Metro Manila has opened 4,612 hotel rooms in 2015. It is also expected to exceed
the 3,500 annual addition of hotel rooms in the next two years. Gambling in Metro
Manila has also become a popular tourist attraction in the region. Metro Manila is a
popular gaming destination in Asia, rivaling other major gaming destinations such
as Macau and Singapore.

There are around 20 casinos in the metropolis, featuring luxurious casino

hotels and integrated resorts. Its thriving local gambling market makes Manila
attractive to casino operators. Popular gaming destinations are Resorts World
Manila in Newport City in Pasay, Solaire Resort & Casino, City of Dreams Manila, Okada
Manila, Westside City Resorts World, and NayonLanding in Entertainment City in Bay
City, Parañaque.

Okada Manila is one of Metro Manila's integrated casino resort and hotel
complex.

Intramuros is the historic walled area within the modern City of Manila.
Originally, it was considered to be Manila itself at the time when the Philippines was
under the Spanish Empire colonial rule. Owing to its history and cultural
value, Intramuros and Rizal Park were designated as flagship destination to become a
tourism enterprise zone in the Tourism Act of 2009. Intramuros is managed by
the Intramuros Administration.

The architecture of Intramuros reflects the Spanish colonial style and the
American neoclassical architectural style, since the Philippines was a colony
of Spain and the United States before it was granted its independence in 1946. Kalesa is
a popular mode of transportation in Intramuros and nearby places such
as Binondo, Ermita and the Rizal Park.

Popular tourist destinations in Intramuros include the Baluarte de San Diego,

Club Intramuros Golf Course, Cuartel de Santa Lucia, Fort Santiago, Manila
Cathedral, Palacio Arzobispal, Palacio de Santa Potenciana, Palacio del Gobernador,
Plaza Mexico, Plaza de Roma, San Agustin Church and its newest tourist attraction,
the Ayuntamiento de Manila.

Some of the country's oldest schools are founded in Intramuros, these are
the University of Santo Tomas (1611), Colegio de San Juan de Letran (1620), and Ateneo
de Manila University (1859). Only Colegio de San Juan de Letran (1620) remains at
Intramuros; the University of Santo Tomas transferred to a new campus at Sampaloc in
1927, and Ateneo left Intramuros for Loyola Heights, Quezon City (while still retaining
"de Manila" in its name) in 1952. Other prominent educational institutions include
the Manila High School and the University of the City of Manila.

Culture and contemporary life

Metro Manila is widely celebrated in popular lore, frequently the setting for
mostly Filipino books, movies, and television programs. Flores de Mayo is widely
celebrated throughout all the places in Metro Manila. The yearly Metro Manila Film
Festival, inaugurated in 1966, is the forerunner of all Philippine film festivals.

Arts
Metro Manila is the home to the National Museum of the Philippines, the
national museum of the country. It operates a chain of museums located in the grounds
of Rizal Park just outside Intramuros, such as the National Museum of Fine Arts,
the National Museum of Anthropology and the National Museum of Natural History.
The National Museum complex occupies the place and buildings that were a part of a
new capital center proposed by Daniel Burnham in 1901.

Prominent museums in Metro Manila include the Ayala Museum, Bahay

Tsinoy, Casa Manila, Lopez Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Manila, The Mind
Museum, Museo Pambata, Museo Valenzuela, Museum of Philippine Political
History, Pasig City Museum and the Rizal Shrine. Museums established by educational
institutions are the Ateneo Art Gallery, Jorge B. Vargas Museum and Filipiniana
Research Center, Museum of Contemporary Art and Design, UP Museum of a History of
Ideas, and the UST Museum of Arts and Sciences.

The national theater of the Philippines, known as the "Tanghalang Pambansa",

is situated on a 62 hectares (150 acres) cultural center called the Cultural Center of the
Philippines Complex. The complex is located between the cities of Manila and Pasay.
Aside from the CCP, other popular performing arts venue include Cuneta
Astrodome, Mall of Asia Arena, Rizal Park, Quezon Memorial Circle and Smart Araneta
Coliseum. Other venues used are the UPFI Film Center and UP Theater in the University
of the Philippines Diliman.

The famed Manila Metropolitan Theater, also known as The Met, was
constructed in 1931 and was known as the "Grand Dame" among all the Art Deco
theaters of Manila. Years of neglect forces its closure in 1996. The Met will be restored
through a tripartite agreement with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts,
the National Museum of the Philippines and the Escuela Taller.

Religion

Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion in Metro Manila. Other Christian

denominations, Muslims, Anitists, animists, and atheists are the minority. Among the
most important religious sites in the region are Manila Cathedral, San Sebastian Church
(Manila), Tondo Church, San Agustin Church (Manila), Quiapo Church and Baclaran
Church.

Sports
 .The National Capital Region is the home to the headquarters of the ASEAN
Basketball League, Baseball Philippines, Philippine Basketball Association, Maharlika
Pilipinas Basketball League, Philippine Super Liga, Shakey's V-League and
the Philippines Football League. Collegiate leagues based in the National Capital Region
are the Colleges and Universities Sports Association, National Athletic Association of
Schools, Colleges and Universities, National Collegiate Athletic Association, National
Capital Region Athletic Association, State Colleges and Universities Athletic
Association, Universities and Colleges Athletic Association, University Athletic
Association of the Philippines, Women's National Collegiate Athletic Association, Men's
National Collegiate Athletic Association and University of Makati's Association of Local
Colleges and Universities.

Two national sports complex is located in the region, the Rizal Memorial Sports
Complex and the PhilSports Complex. The Wack Wack Golf and Country Club has
hosted major tournaments such as the Philippine Open and the World Cup. Prominent
sporting venues in Metro Manila include the Smart Araneta Coliseum, Mall of Asia
Arena, Filoil Flying V Arena and the Cuneta Astrodome. The Greater Manila Area is also
home to the Philippine Arena, the world's largest indoor arena. It is located in Bocaue,
Bulacan and it has a maximum capacity of 55,000 people.

Metro Manila's, and in general the country's main sport is basketball. Another
popular sport in the city are cue sports, and billiard halls are found in many
places. Baseball, volleyball, football and swimming are also widely played sports. The
region has been the champion of the Palarong Pambansa for 13 straight years.

Manila Storm are a rugby league team training out of Rizal Park (Luneta Park)
and playing home matches at the Southern Plains Field, Calamba, Laguna. The Metro
Manila area is also home to a number of rugby union teams such as the Alabang Eagles,
Makati Mavericks, Manila Nomads Sports Club and the Manila Hapons.

Human resources

Education
 .Since the Spanish colonial period, Manila has been the center of education.
The University of Santo Tomas (1611), Colegio de San Juan de Letran (1620) and Ateneo
de Manila University (1859) are some of the oldest educational institutions that was
established during the colonial period. The University of the Philippines, along with
seven other State Universities and Colleges (SUC), namely the Eulogio "Amang"
Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology, Marikina Polytechnic College, Philippine
Normal University, Philippine State College of Aeronautics, Polytechnic University of
the Philippines, Rizal Technological University and the Technological University of the
Philippines, are based in Metro Manila. Manila's University Belt form the largest
concentration of higher education institutes in the Philippines, making Manila the
center for higher learning in the country. The country's top ranked universities, located
in Metro Manila, are widely known to be as follows, University of the
Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, and University of
Santo Tomas.

Prominent secondary schools in Metro Manila include the Philippine Science

High School in Diliman, Quezon City, the national science school of the Philippines and
the Manila Science High School in Ermita, the forerunner of all the science schools in
the country. Primary and secondary education is in the region is governed by the
Department of Education-National Capital Region (DepEd-NCR). Meanwhile, the
higher educational institutions are under the CHED-National Capital Region.

The region has the highest literacy rate among all the regions of the Philippines,
with 99.2% in 2008. Literacy rate for males is at 99.0% while literacy rate for females is
at 99.4%. For the school year of 2008–2009, Metro Manila has 511 public elementary
schools and 220 public secondary schools. There are 309 tertiary (public and private)
institutions as of the year-end of 2009. For the said school year, enrollment in public
elementary schools is at 1,219,333, public secondary schools at 661,019 and 687,096 for
tertiary (public and private) institutions.[119]

Public health
 Healthcare in Metro Manila is mostly provided by private corporations. 72% of
region's hospitals are privately owned. As of 2009, the region has 179 hospitals. Quezon
City has the most hospitals while Valenzuela and Pateros do not have any.[120] In 2008,
government health workers in NCR comprises 590 doctors, 498 dentists, 4,576 nurses,
and 17,437 midwives. Furthermore, Metro Manila has 27,779 beds with a ratio of 2.47
per 1,000 population as of 2008.[121] The region has the lowest malnutrition rate among
all the regions in the country.

The headquarters of the World Health Organization Regional Office for the
Western Pacific, and the World Health Organization Country Office for the Philippines
are in region. The main office of the Department of Health, the national health
department, is also in the region.

Metro Manila is designated by the Department of Health as the pioneer

of medical tourism, expecting it to generate $1 billion in revenue annually. However,
lack of progressive health system, inadequate infrastructure and the unstable political
environment are seen as hindrances for its growth. Under the Philippine Medical
Tourism Program, there are 16 participating hospitals (private and public) in Metro
Manila with a total number of 6,748 beds as of 2013. Five out of six hospitals in the
country accredited by the Joint Commission International are in the region, these are
the Asian Hospital and Medical Center, Makati Medical Center, St. Luke's Medical
Center – Global City, St. Luke's Medical Center – Quezon City and The Medical City.

East Avenue in Quezon City is the location of prominent national health centers:
the Lung Center of the Philippines, National Kidney and Transplant Institute, and
the Philippine Heart Center. Other national special hospital in Metro Manila include
the Philippine Orthopedic Center in Quezon City, and the National Center for Mental
Health in Mandaluyong. The Philippine General Hospital, the country's premier state-
owned tertiary hospital is located at the City of Manila. The St. Luke's Medical
Center which operates in Quezon City and Taguig, is a private tertiary referral
hospital cited as one of the best hospitals in the world.

Public safety
 The Philippine National Police is responsible for law enforcement in the country.
Its headquarters is located at Camp Crame along Bonny Serrano Avenue, Quezon City.
The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) is the regional branch of PNP that
operates in the region. Its headquarters is located at Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan,
Taguig. Under the supervision of NCRPO, Metro Manila is divided into five police
districts. The five police districts are the Northern Police District, Eastern Police
District, Southern Police District and Quezon City Police District.

Metro Manila has the highest rate of crime in the country in 2014, with 59,448
crimes reported (excluding crimes reported in barangay level) with 25,353 of these
crimes committed against persons. Following criticisms of high crime rate in Metro
Manila, the Philippine National Police launched a relentless anti-crime drive that
resulted in the decrease of crimes in the metropolis. As of March 2015 Metro Manila's
crime rate is down by 50%. From an average of 919 crimes reported weekly, it has gone
down to 412. Recorded robberies and theft also decreased by 63 in just a month. [133] All
the 159 police community precincts of Metro Manila will be using the electronic blotter
system in recording crimes starting June 2015.

The Bureau of Fire Protection National Capital Region provides fire

protection and technical rescue as well as emergency medical services to the metropolis.
It is broadly organized into five firefighting districts: Manila, Quezon City, District II,
District III and District IV.

The headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines is located at Camp

Aguinaldo, along with the Department of National Defense, in Murphy, Quezon City.
Aside from Camp Aguinaldo, other military bases situated in the region are Camp
Atienza and Fort Bonifacio. The Philippine Army has their headquarters at Fort
Bonifacio, Taguig. The Villamor Air Base in Ninoy Aquino International Airport is the
home to the headquarters of the Philippine Air Force while the headquarters of
the Philippine Navy is located at Roxas Boulevard, Malate, Manila.

The Philippine Coast Guard is headquartered at Port Area (Manila South

Harbor), City of Manila. Its Coast Guard NCR District also has its headquarters in the
city and has another Coast Guard Station in Pasig. It also has a base in Taguig and
maintains several detachments located in Navotas, Parañaque, Tangos, Vitas, Manila
North Harbor, Manila South Harbor and the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

In 2012, the AFP Joint Task Force-National Capital Region was launched to
ensure peace and stability in Metro Manila, bearing the same function of the
deactivated National Capital Regional Command, although it operates on a much
smaller size than its predecessor.

Infrastructure
Transportation
According to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, public
ridership in Metro Manila composes of the following: 46% of the people go around
by jeepneys, 32% by private vehicle, 14% by bus, and 8% use the railway system.
[137]
Transportation development in Metro Manila follows the Metro Manila Dream Plan,
which consists of building short-term to long-term infrastructure lasting up to 2030 and
addressing its issues on traffic, land use and environment.[138][139]

Roads and highways

The roads of Metro Manila is built around the City of Manila. Roads are classified
as local, national or subdivision roads. There are ten radial roads branching out from the
city. Also there are five circumferential roads forming a series of concentric semi-
circular arcs around Manila. The circumferential and radial roads are systems of
interconnected roads, bridges and highways. A problem with the circumferential roads
are the missing road links. These are the roads that are not yet constructed to give way
for development due to Metro Manila's rapid urbanization. The metropolis is resolving
this problem through the completion of missing road links or through the construction
of connector roads.

The radial and circumferential road system are being supplanted by a new
numbered highway system implemented by the Department of Public Works and
Highways, and new signage are being placed with its implementation. Expressways are
being assigned numbers with the E prefix. National roads are assigned 1 to 3 digit
numbers, except for those classified as tertiary national roads.

An important circumferential road is the Circumferential Road 4, with

the Epifanio de los Santos Avenue as its major component. It traverses the cities
of Pasay, Makati, Mandaluyong, Quezon City and Caloocan. Line 3 follows the
alignment of EDSA, from Taft Avenue in Pasay up to TriNoma, terminating before it
reaches Caloocan. Circumferential Road 5 serves the people near the regional limits of
Metro Manila and also serves as an alternate route for Circumferential Road 4.

Prominent radial roads include the Radial Road 1, composed of Roxas

Boulevard and the Manila–Cavite Expressway (Coastal Road) that connects Metro
Manila to Cavite, Radial Road 3 or the South Luzon Expressway that connects Metro
Manila to Laguna, Radial Road 6, composed of Aurora Boulevard and Marcos
Highway that runs up to Rizal and Radial Road 8 or the North Luzon Expressway that
serves as the gateway to the north.

The Skyway serves as the region's main expressway, directly connecting the
North Luzon Expressway and the South Luzon Expressway. It also enables access to the
Ninoy Aquino International Airport via the NAIA Expressway (NAIAX). The Skyway is
the first fully grade-separated highway in the Philippines and one of the longest elevated
highways in the world with a total length of approximately 42.79 kilometers (26.59 mi).
Other expressways such as the Manila–Cavite Expressway and Muntinlupa–Cavite
Expressway also connect Metro Manila to its surrounding areas.

The development of roads, highways and expressways are based on the Metro
Manila Dream Plan. Ongoing projects in the dream plan include the rehabilitation of
EDSA, Skyway Stage 3 and the construction of the missing road links for the
circumferential roads (e.g. Taft Avenue Flyover, Metro Manila Interchange Project
Phase IV).

Railway systems
 Rail transportation in the Greater Manila Area is a major part of
the transportation system in Metro Manila and its surrounding areas. It consists of
the Manila Light Rail Transit System, Manila Metro Rail Transit System, and the PNR
Metro Commuter Line. As of 2021, the three systems and its four operational lines
combined has 82 stations, covering a total of 113.3 km (70.4 mi). The network makes up
the majority of active railways in the country and bear the brunt of providing the
metropolis with rail as a faster alternative mode of transport other
than buses and jeepneys. However, these systems are currently insufficient for the
rapidly expanding metropolis; to address this, new lines and line extensions are under
construction, which will extend the system far out into neighboring regions.

Several new railway projects are being undertaken by the national government
and the private sector. These include the North–South Commuter Railway, the Metro
Manila Subway, and MRT Line 7, all of which are under construction. Line extensions
such as the LRT Line 1 South extension and the LRT Line 2 West extension are in the
pipeline.[142] Other line extensions and railway lines are in the planning stage.[143][142]

Air

Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) is the only airport and the premier
gateway in Metro Manila. It is the busiest airport in the Philippines. NAIA has four
terminals: Terminal 1, Terminal 2 (which is exclusively used by Philippine Airlines),
Terminal 3 (the newest and largest airport terminal in NAIA) and Terminal 4 (also
known as the Manila Domestic Passenger Terminal). The other airport that serves
Metro Manila is Clark International Airport in Angeles City which is located 80
kilometers (50 mi) away.

Buses

Bus franchises in the region are regulated by the Land Transportation

Franchising and Regulatory Board. The Premium Point-to-Point Bus Service is the
express bus system that runs from its dispatch terminal in Fairview up to the central
business districts along EDSA. It aims to cut travel time substantially and provide a
faster, safer and more convenient bus service to commuters, who are usually caught at
the heavy traffic across the metropolis. A second express bus link from SM North
EDSA, Trinoma and SM Megamall to Makati opened in December 2015, and by January
2016 was the line on which, for the first time in nearly three decades, a double-decker
bus traveled on EDSA, to the delight of motorists, followed by a third link, this time
from Robinsons Galleria to the Ayala Center complex in February 2016 and a fourth in
March linking the Ayala Center to the Alabang Town Center in Muntinlupa via the
Metro Manila Skyway (and later to Ayala Malls South Park). As of the present express
buses also link the Market Market mall and Circuit Makati to both the Nuvali residential
township and the Pacita Village complex in San Pedro, both in Laguna, in services
launched in 2014 and 2017, respectively (plus additional services to the UP Town Mall
in Quezon City and SM Masinag in Antipolo, Rizal), while intercity express buses have
been in operation since 2015 to alleviate traffic on EDSA. In 2018, additional services
from the Makati CBD and from San Lorenzo Place up to Cavite debuted.

Metro Manila will have its bus rapid transit system operational by 2018. The 27.7
kilometers (17.2 mi) proposed BRT system will traverse Commonwealth Avenue up to
the Manila City Hall. The planned BRT system costs ₱4.9 billion ($109.5 million) and
will have a fleet of 300 buses and 32 stations.

Ferry
The Pasig River Ferry Service run by the Metropolitan Manila Development
Authority is the principal ferry shuttle system of Metro Manila. It traverses the Pasig
River from Barangay Pinagbuhatan in Pasig to Plaza Mexico in Intramuros. Although it
was referred to as a ferry, it is more akin to a water bus. It has 17 stations, but only 14
are operational. Another ferry route called the Manila-Bataan Ferry was launched on
May 10, 2017, and traverses Manila Bay from the Bay Terminal at CCP Complex in
Manila to Orion, Bataan. A new ferry route known as the Cavite-Manila Ferry Service
that runs between Noveleta, Cavite and Intramuros was launched in January 2018.

Electricity and water

 Water zones for Metro Manila and the surrounding areas. Maynilad Water
Services operates in the red areas while Manila Water operates in the blue areas.

Meralco is the sole electric distributor of Metro Manila. It generates its power
from the National Power Corporation and other independent power producers in Luzon.
The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) was responsible for the
supply and delivery of potable water and the sewerage system in Metro Manila. It
was privatized in 1997 and the region and its immediate surrounding areas was split into
the east and west concession. The winning corporations provides the same function of
MWSS.

The Maynilad Water Services took over the west zone, which is composed
of Manila (excluding the southeastern part of the city), Caloocan, Las
Piñas, Malabon, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Parañaque, Pasay and Valenzuela. It also
operates in some parts of Makati and Quezon City. Manila Water operates on the east
zone, comprising the cities of Mandaluyong, Marikina, Pasig, Pateros, San
Juan and Taguig. It also operates in large areas of Makati and Quezon City and the
southeastern part of Manila, which was excluded from the west zone.

For garbage hauling, the region spent ₱4.221 billion ($93.855 million) in 2013.
Quezon City spent the most at ₱994.59 million ($22.115 million) while Pateros, the
region's only municipality, spent the least money on garbage at ₱9.478 million
($210,747).

DR. A.B. ADENA

Professor