Malabon
Malabon, officially the City of Malabon (Filipino: Lungsod ng Malabon), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 380,522 people.[3]
Malabon
none
May 21, 1599
June 11, 1901
April 21, 2001
21 (see Barangays)
Bernard C. Dela Cruz (NUP)
Josephine Veronique "Jaye" R. Lacson-Noel (NPC)
258,115 voters (2022)
15.71 km2 (6.07 sq mi)
23 m (75 ft)
274 m (899 ft)
−2 m (−7 ft)
380,522
24,000/km2 (63,000/sq mi)
94,241
1st city income class
₱ 2,056 million (2020)
₱ 4,064 million (2020)
₱ 1,860 million (2020)
₱ 1,363 million (2020)
Manila Electric Company (Meralco)
+63 (0)02
Tagalog
Located just north of the city of Manila, it is primarily a residential and industrial area, and is one of the most densely populated cities in the metropolis. It has a total land area of 15.96 square kilometers (6.16 sq mi).
Malabon is part of the sub-region of Metro Manila informally called CAMANAVA, an area which derives its name from the first syllable of its component cities: Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, and Valenzuela. Caloocan lies to the south and east, Navotas to the west, and Valenzuela to the north. Malabon also borders the town of Obando in the province of Bulacan to the northwest.
Etymology[edit]
The name Malabon is from Tagalog malabon, meaning "having many silt deposits". The name was previously also used for two other places in Cavite during the early Spanish colonial period: Santa Cruz de Malabon (now Tanza) and San Francisco de Malabon (now General Trias).[5]
History[edit]
Spanish colonial era[edit]
Originally called Tambobong (tambúbong, a rural Tagalog word for barn[6]), Malabon was founded as a visita (hamlet) of Tondo by the Augustinians on May 21, 1599. It remained under the administrative jurisdiction of the Province of Tondo (renamed to Manila in 1859) from 1627 to 1688.
Malabon played an important economic role in the late 19th century with the founding of La Princesa Tabacalera tobacco company in 1851 and the Malabon Sugar Company in 1878. La Princesa was under the corporate umbrella of Compañia General de Tabacos de Filipinas (owned by the Spanish Crown), while the latter pioneered the refined sugar industry in the Philippines.
In 1859, three barangays under Malabon - San Jose, Navotas, and Bangkulasi were separated from Malabon to form a new town that is now Navotas.[7]
The newspaper La Independencia was first printed in Malabon's Asilo de Huérfanos (Orphanage), where children orphaned by the Plague of 1882 were housed.[8][9]
American invasion era[edit]
The first Mayor of Malabon was Don Agustín Salamante, a Spanish mestizo originally from Cavite. The first Filipino Mayor of Malabon was Don Vicente P. Villongco, in 1899 during the onset of the American regime.
Malabon was officially made a municipality of the newly created Province of Rizal on June 11, 1901, by virtue of Philippine Commission Act No. 137.[10] From 1903 to 1906, Navotas was returned to Malabon to form a single municipality.[11][12]
Philippine independence[edit]
Malabon remained a municipality of Rizal until November 7, 1975, when Malabon became a part of the National Capital Region or Metro Manila by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 824.[13]
Tourism[edit]
The Malabon City Tourism Office launched the Malabon Tricycle Tours in December 2014. The tours take visitors to eight heritage sites including the newly renovated 400-year-old San Bartolome Church as well as to notable heritage houses like the Raymundo House and Ibaviosa House.[33]
On March 14, 2015, the tours started to offer visitors a unique gastronomic experience through visits to the city's home-based eateries. This culinary aspect was the brainchild of current Mayor Antolin Oreta III's wife Melissa Oreta, the next mayor of Malabon.[34]
The Malabon Zoo and Aquarium, located in Potrero, is a small zoo that features an array of caged animals, along with an aquarium and gardens.
