Metropolitan Manila, commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region, is the capital region and largest metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay, the region lies between the Central Luzon and Calabarzon regions. Encompassing an area of 636.00 km2 (245.56 sq mi) and with a population of 13,484,462 as of 2020, it is composed of sixteen highly urbanized cities: the capital city, Manila, Caloocan, Las Piñas, Makati, Malabon, Mandaluyong, Marikina, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Parañaque, Pasay, Pasig, Quezon City, San Juan, Taguig, and Valenzuela, along with one independent municipality, Pateros. As the second most populous and the most densely populated region in the Philippines, it ranks as the 9th most populous metropolitan area in Asia and the 6th most populous urban area in the world.
Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines, after Quezon City. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on the island of Luzon, it is classified as a highly urbanized city. Manila is the world's most densely populated city proper, with 71,263 inhabitants per square kilometer (184,570/sq mi) and a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020; it is also the historic core of a built-up area that extends well beyond its administrative limits. Manila was the first chartered city in the country, designated by Philippine Commission Act No. 183 on July 31, 1901. It became autonomous with the passage of Republic Act No. 409, "The Revised Charter of the City of Manila", on June 18, 1949. Manila is considered to be part of the world's original set of global cities because its commercial networks were the first to extend across the Pacific Ocean and connect Asia with the Spanish Americas through the galleon trade. This marked the first time an uninterrupted chain of trade routes circling the planet had been established.
The president of the Philippines is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Malacañang Palace, officially known as Malacañan Palace, is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the Philippines. It is located in the Manila district of San Miguel, along Jose P. Laurel Street though it is commonly associated with Mendiola Street nearby. The term Malacañang is often used as a metonym for the president, their advisers, and the Office of the President of the Philippines. The sprawling Malacañang Palace complex includes numerous mansions and office buildings designed and built largely in the bahay na bato and neoclassical styles. Among the presidents of the present Fifth Republic, only Gloria Macapagal Arroyo actually lived in the main palace as both her office and her residence, with all others residing in nearby properties that form part of the larger palace complex. The palace has been seized several times as a result of protests starting with the People Power Revolution of 1986, the 1989 coup attempt, the 2001 Manila riots, and the EDSA III riots.
Intramuros is the 0.67-square-kilometer (0.26 sq mi) historic walled area within the city of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. It is administered by the Intramuros Administration with the help of the city government of Manila.
The Church of Saint Augustine, also known as the Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation and Cincture or the Immaculate Conception Parish, is a Catholic church under the auspices of the Order of Saint Augustine located inside the historic walled city of Intramuros in Manila, Philippines. Completed in 1607, it is the oldest stone church in the country.
The báhay kúbo, kubo, or payág, is a type of stilt house indigenous to the Philippines. Often serving as an icon of Philippine culture, its design heavily influenced the Spanish colonial-era bahay na bato architecture.
The Department of Tourism is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for the regulation of the Philippine tourism industry and the promotion of the Philippines as a tourist destination.
Santa Cruz is a district in the northern part of the City of Manila, Philippines, located on the right bank of the Pasig River near its mouth, bordered by the districts of Tondo, Binondo, Quiapo, and Sampaloc, as well as the areas of Grace Park and Barrio San Jose in Caloocan and the district of La Loma in Quezon City. The district belongs to the 3rd congressional district of Manila.
Francisco "Bobby" Tronqued Mañosa was a Filipino architect considered one of the most influential Filipino architects of the 20th century for having pioneered the art of Philippine neovernacular architecture. His contributions to the development of Philippine architecture led to his recognition as a National Artist of the Philippines for Architecture in 2018.
The architecture of the Philippines reflects the historical and cultural traditions in the country. Most prominent historic structures in the archipelago are influenced by Austronesian and American architectures.
1979 in the Philippines details events of note that happened in the Philippines in the year 1979.
Mel Lopez Boulevard, formerly known as President Ferdinand E. Marcos Highway or simply as Marcos Road, is a 6.2-kilometer (3.9 mi), six-to-ten lane divided highway in northern Manila, Philippines, connecting Bonifacio Drive in Port Area and Intramuros in the south with Radial Road 10 (R-10) in Navotas in the north. The highway is the main component of the R-10 network, which runs north of the Pasig River until Anda Circle, and is an extension of Bonifacio Drive, running north–south through the Manila North Port area serving the coastal districts of Tondo and Port Area, as well as San Nicolas and Intramuros.
San Ignacio Church in Intramuros, Manila, Philippines, was designed for the Jesuits by architect Félix Roxas Sr., and completed in 1899. It was known as their "Golden Dream" but was destroyed during World War II. Its interiors, embellished with carvings, had been designed by Isabelo Tampinco.
The Nakpil-Bautista House is a bahay na bato ancestral home found in the district of Quiapo, Manila, the Philippines. It was built in 1914 by Arcadio Arellano. The house originally sat on two lots, having a total area of 500 square metres (5,400 sq ft).
Museo de Intramuros is an ecclesiastical museum operated and managed by the Intramuros Administration. It is located at the reconstructed San Ignacio Church and Convent within the historic walled area of Intramuros in Manila, Philippines.
The báhay na bató, also known in Visayan languages as baláy na bató or balay nga bato, is a type of building originating during the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. It is an updated version of the traditional bahay kubo of the Christianized lowlanders, known for its use of masonry in its construction, using stone and brick materials and later synthetic concrete, rather than just full organic materials of the former style. Its design has evolved throughout the ages, but still maintains the bahay kubo's architectural principle, which is adapted to the tropical climate, stormy season, and earthquake-prone environment of the whole archipelago of the Philippines, and fuses it with the influence of Spanish colonizers. It is one of the many architecture throughout the Spanish Empire known as Arquitectura mestiza. The style is a hybrid of Austronesian and Spanish architecture; and later, with early 20th-century American architecture, supporting the fact that the Philippines is a result of these cultures mixing. Its most common appearance features an elevated, overhanging wooden upper story standing on wooden posts in a rectangular arrangement as a foundation. The posts are placed behind Spanish-style solid stone blocks or bricks, giving the impression of a first floor. Still, the ground level contains storage rooms, cellars, shops, or other business-related functions. The second floor is the elevated residential apartment, as it is with the bahay kubo. The roof materials are either Spanish-style curving clay tiles or thatched with leaves, with later 19th-century designs featuring galvanization. Roof styles are traditionally high pitched and include the gable roof, hip roof, and a traditional combination of both. Horses for carriages are housed in stables called caballerizas.
The Gabaldon School Buildings, or simply the Gabaldons, were built during the American colonial era in the Philippines. They were inspired by the bahay kubo and bahay na bato, traditional houses of the Philippines. As of about 2024, there were 2,045 Gabaldon Schoolhouses in the country.
In Philippine architecture, the ventanilla is a small window or opening below a larger window's casement, created—often reaching the level of the floor—to allow either additional air into a room during hot days or some air during hot nights when the main window's panes are drawn. It also allows for more light to strike the floor.
The Intramuros Register of Styles is the main architectural code of Intramuros, the historic core of the City of Manila, Philippines. It became part of Presidential Decree No. 1616, as amended, when it was gazetted by the Official Gazette of the Philippines on June 17, 2022. The Intramuros Administration is the agency of the Philippine Government responsible for the implementation of the Register of Styles.
