Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...

of the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populated city proper. Manila is considered to be a global city and rated as an Alpha – City by

Globalization and World Cities Research Network The Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) is a think tank that studies the relationships between world cities in the context of globalization. It is based in the geography department of Loughborough University in Leicestersh ...

(GaWC). It was the first chartered city in the country, designated as such by the Philippine Commission Act 183 of 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 fil, Galyon ng Maynila , english_name = Manila Galleon , duration = From 1565 to 1815 (250 years) , venue = Between Manila and Acapulco , location = New Spain (Spanish Empire ...

; when this was accomplished, it marked the first time in world history that an uninterrupted chain of trade routes circling the planet had been established. It is among the most populous and fastest growing cities in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

.. Manila is classified as a Medium-Port Megacity, using the Southampton system for port-city classification . A

Tagalog Tagalog may refer to: Language * Tagalog language, a language spoken in the Philippines ** Old Tagalog, an archaic form of the language ** Batangas Tagalog, a dialect of the language * Tagalog script, the writing system historically used for Tagal ...

-fortified

polity A polity is an identifiable political entity – a group of people with a collective identity, who are organized by some form of institutionalized social relations, and have a capacity to mobilize resources. A polity can be any other group of p ...

called Maynila had already existed on the site of modern Manila dating as far back as 1258. On June 24, 1571, the Spanish-built walled fortification of

Intramuros Intramuros (Latin for "inside the walls") is the 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. Present-day I ...

was constructed by

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

'' conquistador''

Miguel López de Legazpi Miguel López de Legazpi (12 June 1502 – 20 August 1572), also known as ''Adelantado, El Adelantado'' and ''El Viejo'' (The Elder), was a Spaniard who, from the age of 26, lived and built a career in Mexico (then the Viceroyalty of New Sp ...

on the ruins of the older settlement from which the Spanish and English name Manila derives. However, that Spanish construction began only after the defeat of the polity's last indigenous

Raja ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in history of South Asia, South Asia and History of ...

h, Sulayman III, in the Battle of Bangkusay. Manila was used as the capital of the captaincy general of the

Spanish East Indies The Spanish East Indies ( es , Indias orientales españolas ; fil, Silangang Indiyas ng Espanya) were the overseas territories of the Spanish Empire in Asia and Oceania from 1565 to 1898, governed for the Spanish Crown from Mexico City and Madri ...

(which included the Marianas,

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic ce ...

and other islands) and was controlled and administered by

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley of ...

in the

Viceroyalty of New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Ame ...

for the Spanish crown. Today, it is home to many historic sites. In modern times, the term "Manila" is commonly used to refer to the whole metropolitan area, the greater metropolitan area, or the city proper. The officially defined metropolitan area, called

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...

, the "

capital region A capital region, also called a capital district or capital territory, is a region or district surrounding a capital city. It is not always the official term for the region, but may sometimes be used as an informal synonym. Capital regions can exis ...

" of the Philippines, includes the much larger

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 2,960,048 people. It was foun ...

and the Makati Central Business District. It is the most populous region in the country, one of the most populous urban areas in the world, and is one of the wealthiest regions in Southeast Asia. The city proper was home to 1,846,513 people in 2020, and is the historic core of a built-up area that extends well beyond its administrative limits. With 71,263 people per square kilometer, Manila is the most densely populated city proper in the world. Manila is located on the eastern shore of

Manila Bay Manila Bay ( fil, Look ng Maynila) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between the Phi ...

, on the island of

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, ...

. The Pasig River flows through the middle of the city, dividing it into the north and south sections. The city comprises 16 administrative districts and is divided into six political districts for the purposes of its representation in the

Congress of the Philippines The Congress of the Philippines ( fil, Kongreso ng Pilipinas, italic=unset) is the legislature of the national government of the Philippines. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, although colloquially the te ...

and the election of city council members. In 2018, the

listed Manila as an "Alpha-" global city and ranked it seventh in economic performance globally and second regionally, while the

Global Financial Centres Index The Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) is a ranking of the competitiveness of financial centres based on over 29,000 financial centre assessments from an online questionnaire together with over 100 indices from organisations such as the World ...

ranks Manila 79th in the world.

Etymology

''Maynilà'', the

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

name for the city, comes from the phrase ''may-nilà'', meaning "where indigo is found". ''Nilà'' is derived from the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominalization, nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cul ...

word ''nīla'' (), which refers to

indigo Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', ...

– and, by extension, to several plant species from which this natural

dye A dye is a colored substance that chemically bonds to the substrate to which it is being applied. This distinguishes dyes from pigments which do not chemically bind to the material they color. Dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution and ...

can be extracted. The name ''Maynilà'' was probably bestowed because of the indigo-yielding plants that grow in the area surrounding the settlement, and not because it was known as a settlement that traded in indigo dye: Indigo-dye extraction became an important economic activity in the area only in the 18th century, several hundred years after the Maynila settlement was founded and named. ''Maynilà'' was eventually

hispanicized Hispanicization ( es, hispanización) refers to the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by Hispanic culture or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-Hispanic becomes Hispanic. Hispanicization is il ...

into Spanish as ''Manila''.

May-nilad

An antiquated, inaccurate, and now debunked etymological theory held that the city's name originated from the word ''may-nilad'' (meaning "where ''nilad'' is found"). There are two versions of this false etymology. One popular incorrect notion is that the old word ''nilad'' refers to the

water hyacinth ''Pontederia crassipes'' (formerly ''Eichhornia crassipes''), commonly known as common water hyacinth is an aquatic plant native to South America, naturalized throughout the world, and often invasive outside its native range.Pasig River. However, this plant species was only recently introduced into the Philippines from South America, and therefore could not have been the source of the toponym for old Manila. Another incorrect etymology has arisen from the observation that, in

, ''nilád'' or ''nilár'' refers to a shrub-like tree (''

Scyphiphora hydrophyllacea ''Scyphiphora'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It is the only genus in the tribe Scyphiphoreae. The genus contains only one species, viz. ''Scyphiphora hydrophylacea'', which has a large distribution range ...

''; formerly ''Ixora manila'' Blanco) that grows in or near

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in several ...

swamps. However,

linguistic Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

analysis shows that the word ''Maynilà'' is unlikely to have developed from this term. It is unlikely that native

speakers would completely drop the final consonant /d/ in ''nilad'' to arrive at the present form ''Maynilà''. As an example, nearby Bacoor still retains the final consonant of the old Tagalog word ''bakoód'' ("elevated piece of land"), even in old Spanish renderings of the placename (e.g., ''Vacol'', ''Bacor''). Moreover, the historians Ambeth Ocampo and

Joseph Baumgartner Joseph Baumgartner (November 16, 1904 in Sulzemoos – January 21, 1964 in Munich) was a German politician, representative of the Christian Social Union of Bavaria, Bavarian People's Party and the Bavaria Party. He was a member of the Landtag o ...

have shown that, in every early document, the place name Maynilà was always written without a final /d/. This documentation shows conclusively that the ''may-nilad'' etymology is spurious. Originally, the mistaken identification of ''nilad'' as the source of the toponym probably originated in an 1887 essay by

Trinidad Pardo de Tavera Trinidad Hermenegildo José María Juan Francisco Pardo de Tavera y Gorricho (13 April 1857 – 26 March 1925) was a Filipino physician, historian and politician of Spanish and Portuguese descent who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the Phil ...

, in which he mistakenly used the word ''nila'' to refer both to ''

Indigofera tinctoria ''Indigofera tinctoria'', also called true indigo, is a species of plant from the bean family that was one of the original sources of indigo dye. Description True indigo is a shrub one to two meters high. It may be an annual, biennial, or ...

'' (true indigo) and to '' Ixora manila'' (which is actually ''nilád'' in Tagalog). Early 20th century writings, such as those of Julio Nakpil and of Blair and Robertson, then simply repeated the claim.Blair and Robertson, The Philippine Islands, 1493–1898, Vol. VIII, p. 96-141. The Arthur H. Clarke Company.; Census of the Philippines, 1903 Today, this erroneous etymology continues to be perpetuated through casual repetition in both literatureAn example is: and in popular use. Examples of popular adoption of this mistaken etymology include the name of a local utility, Maynilad Water Services, and the name of an underpass close to

Manila City Hall The Manila City Hall ( fil, Bulwagan ng Lungsod ng Maynila) is the official seat of government of the City of Manila, located in the historic center of Ermita, Manila. It is where the Mayor of Manila holds office and the chambers of the Mani ...

, ''

Lagusnilad The Lagusnilad Underpass refers to the pedestrian underpass in Manila, Philippines which connects the Manila City Hall and Intramuros. It also refers to the nearby vehicular underpass where part of the Taft and Padre Burgos Avenues merge. Histo ...

'' (meaning "Nilad Pass").

History

Early history

The earliest evidence of human life around present-day Manila is the nearby Angono Petroglyphs, dated to around 3000 BC.

Negritos The term Negrito () refers to several diverse ethnic groups who inhabit isolated parts of Southeast Asia and the Andaman Islands. Populations often described as Negrito include: the Andamanese peoples (including the Great Andamanese, the Onge, ...

, the aboriginal inhabitants of the Philippines, lived across the island of

, where Manila is located, before the Malayo-Polynesians migrated in and assimilated them. Manila was an active trade partner with the

Song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetiti ...

and Yuan dynasties of China. The polity of Tondo flourished during the latter half of the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

as a result of direct trade relations with China. The Tondo district was the traditional capital of the empire, and its rulers were sovereign kings, not mere chieftains. Tondo was christened under the

traditional Chinese characters Traditional Chinese characters are one type of standard Chinese characters, Chinese character sets of the contemporary written Chinese. The traditional characters had taken shapes since the libian, clerical change and mostly remained in the ...

in the

Hokkien The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages ...

reading, , due to its chief position located southeast of China. The kings of Tondo were addressed variously as ''panginoón'' in

("lords") or ''panginuan'' in

Maranao The Maranao people (Maranao: mәranaw Filipino: ''Maranaw''), also spelled Meranao, Maranaw, and Mëranaw, is the term used by the Philippine government to refer to the southern indigenous people who are the "people of the lake", a predomi ...

; ''anák banwa'' ("son of heaven"); or ''

lakandula Lakandula (Baybayin: , Spanish orthography: ''Lacandola'') was the title of the last ''lakan'' or paramount ruler of pre-colonial Tondo when the Spaniards first conquered the lands of the Pasig River delta in the Philippines in the 1570s. Th ...

'' ("lord of the palace"). The

Emperor of China ''Huangdi'' (), translated into English as Emperor, was the superlative title held by monarchs of China who ruled various imperial regimes in Chinese history. In traditional Chinese political theory, the emperor was considered the Son of Heave ...

considered the

lakan In early Philippine history, the rank of ''lakan'' denoted a " paramount ruler" (or more specifically, "'' paramount datu''") of one of the large coastal barangays (known as a "bayan") on the central and southern regions of the island of Luzo ...

s—the rulers of ancient Manila—"王", or kings. During the 12th century, then Hindu Brunei called "Pon-i", as reported in the Chinese annals, ''Nanhai zhi'', that Pon-i invaded Malilu 麻裏蘆 (present-day Manila) as it also administered

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the Malaysian state of Sabah to the northeast, ...

and

Sabah Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory ...

as well as the Philippine kingdoms of

Butuan Butuan (pronounced ), officially the City of Butuan ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Butuan; Butuanon: ''Dakbayan hong Butuan''; fil, Lungsod ng Butuan), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the region of Caraga, Philippines. It is the ''de facto'' ...

Sulu Sulu (), officially the Province of Sulu ( Tausūg: ''Wilāya sin Lupa' Sūg''; tl, Lalawigan ng Sulu), is a province of the Philippines in the Sulu Archipelago and part of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). Its capi ...

Ma-i Ma-i or Maidh (also spelled Ma'I, Mai, Ma-yi or Mayi; Baybayin: ; Hanunoo: ; Hokkien ; Mandarin ) was an ancient sovereign state located in what is now the Philippines. Its existence was first documented in 971 in the Song dynasty documents k ...

(Mindoro), Shahuchong 沙胡重 (present-day Siocon), Yachen 啞陳 ( Oton), and 文杜陵 Wenduling (present-day

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of t ...

). However, Manila regained independence. In the 13th century, Manila consisted of a fortified settlement and trading quarter on the shore of the Pasig River. It was then settled by the Indianized empire of

Majapahit Majapahit ( jv, ꦩꦗꦥꦲꦶꦠ꧀; ), also known as Wilwatikta ( jv, ꦮꦶꦭ꧀ꦮꦠꦶꦏ꧀ꦠ; ), was a Javanese Hindu-Buddhist thalassocratic empire in Southeast Asia that was based on the island of Java (in modern-day Indonesi ...

, as recorded in the epic eulogy poem ''

Nagarakretagama The ''Nagarakretagama'' or ''Nagarakṛtāgama'', also known as ''Desawarnana'' or ''Deśavarṇana'', is an Old Javanese eulogy to Hayam Wuruk, a Javanese king of the Majapahit Empire. It was written on lontar as a '' kakawin'' by Mpu Pr ...

'', which described the area's conquest by

Maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great Monarch, king" or "high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Em ...

Hayam Wuruk Hayam Wuruk (Sanskrit: हयम् वुरुक्, Kawi: ꦲꦪꦩ꧀ꦮꦸꦫꦸꦏ꧀) (1334–1389), also called Rajasanagara, Pa-ta-na-pa-na-wu, or Bhatara Prabhu after 1350, was a Javanese Hindu emperor from the Rajasa Dynasty and t ...

. Selurong (षेलुरोङ्), a historical name for Manila, is listed in Canto 14 alongside Sulot, which is now

, and

Kalka Kalka is a town in the Panchkula district of Haryana, India. It is near Panchkula city. The name of the town is derived from the Hindu goddess Kali. It is situated in the foothills of the Himalayas and is a gateway to the neighbouring state ...

. Selurong (Manila) together with Sulot (Sulu) was able to regain independence afterward, and Sulu even attacked and looted the then Majapahit-invaded province of Po-ni (Brunei) in retribution. During the reign of the Arab emir, Sharif Ali's descendant, Sultan Bolkiah, from 1485 to 1521, the Sultanate of Brunei which had seceded from Hindu

and became a Muslim, had invaded the area. The Bruneians wanted to take advantage of Tondo's strategic position in trade with China and Indonesia and thus attacked its environs and established the rajahnate of Maynilà (كوتا سلودوڠ; ''Kota Seludong''). The rajahnate was ruled under and gave yearly tribute to Brunei as a

satellite state A satellite state or dependent state is a country that is formally independent in the world, but under heavy political, economic, and military influence or control from another country. The term was coined by analogy to planetary objects orbitin ...

. It created a new dynasty under the local leader, who accepted Islam and became Rajah Salalila or Sulaiman I. He established a trading challenge to the already rich House of Lakan Dula in Tondo. Islam was further strengthened by the arrival of Muslim traders from the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

and

Spanish period

Walled_City_of_Manila,_detail_from_Carta_Hydrographica_y_Chorographica_de_las_Yslas_Filipinas_(1734)

On June 24, 1571, the conquistador

arrived in Manila and declared it a territory of

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Am ...

(Mexico), establishing a city council in what is now the district of

. Inspired by the ''

Reconquista The ' ( Spanish, Portuguese and Galician for "reconquest") is a historiographical construction describing the 781-year period in the history of the Iberian Peninsula between the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in 711 and the fall of the Na ...

'', a war in mainland Spain to rechristianize and reclaim the parts of the country that once fell to the

Umayyad Caliphate The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...

's rule, he took advantage of a Hindu Tondo versus Islamic Manila territorial conflict to justify expelling or converting Bruneian Muslim colonists who supported their Manila vassals while his Mexican grandson

Juan de Salcedo Juan de Salcedo (; 1549 – March 11, 1576) was a Spanish- Novohispanic conquistador. He was born in Mexico in 1549 and he was the grandson of Miguel López de Legazpi and brother of Felipe de Salcedo. Salcedo was one of the soldiers who accom ...

had a romance with a princess of Tondo, Gandarapa. López de Legazpi had the local royalty executed or exiled after the failure of the Conspiracy of the Maharlikas, a plot wherein an alliance between

datu ''Datu'' is a title which denotes the rulers (variously described in historical accounts as chiefs, sovereign princes, and monarchs) of numerous indigenous peoples throughout the Philippine archipelago. The title is still used today, especia ...

raja ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in history of South Asia, South Asia and History of ...

hs, Japanese merchants and the Sultanate of Brunei would band together to execute the Spaniards, along with their

Latin American Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-et ...

recruits and Visayan allies. The victorious Spaniards made Manila the capital of the

and of the Philippines, which their empire would control for the next three centuries. In 1574, Manila was temporarily besieged by the Chinese pirate Lim Hong, who was ultimately thwarted by the local inhabitants. Upon Spanish settlement, Manila was immediately made, by papal decree, a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Mexico. Then, by royal decree of

Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal fro ...

, the city of Manila was put under the spiritual patronage of Saint Pudentiana and Our Lady of Guidance (spurred by a locally found sacred image, i.e., a

Black Madonna The term ''Black Madonna'' or ''Black Virgin'' tends to refer to statues or paintings in Western Christendom of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Infant Jesus, where both figures are depicted with dark skin. The Black Madonna can be found bo ...

of unknown origin; one theory is that it is from Portuguese-Macau, another is that it is a Tantric goddess and this was worshiped by the natives in a Pagan-Hindu manner and had survived Islamic iconoclasm by the Sultanate of Brunei. This image was interpreted to be of Marian nature, and it was found during the Miguel de Legazpi expedition and eventually a Mexican hermit built a chapel around that image). Manila became famous for its role in the Manila–Acapulco galleon trade, which lasted for more than two centuries and brought goods from Europe, Africa and Hispanic America across the

Pacific Islands Collectively called the Pacific Islands, the islands in the Pacific Ocean are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of ...

to Southeast Asia (which was already an

entrepôt An ''entrepôt'' (; ) or transshipment port is a port, city, or trading post where merchandise may be imported, stored, or traded, usually to be exported again. Such cities often sprang up and such ports and trading posts often developed into c ...

for goods coming from India, Indonesia and China), and vice versa.

Silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

that was mined in Mexico and Peru was exchanged for Chinese

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the ...

, Indian gems and the spices of Indonesia and Malaysia. Likewise,

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are ...

s and

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...

s grown in Europe and North Africa were shipped via Mexico to Manila. Because of the

Ming The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peop ...

ban on trade leveled against the

Ashikaga shogunate The , also known as the , was the feudal military government of Japan during the Muromachi period from 1336 to 1573.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Muromachi-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 669. The Ashikaga shogunate was establis ...

in 1549, this resulted in the ban for all the Japanese to enter China, and for Chinese ships to sail to Japan. Thus, Manila became the only place where the Japanese and Chinese can openly trade, often also trading Japanese silver from Chinese silk. In 1606, upon the Spanish conquest of the

Sultanate of Ternate The Sultanate of Ternate ( Jawi alphabet: كسلطانن ترنتاي), previously also known as the Kingdom of Gapi is one of the oldest Muslim kingdoms in Indonesia besides Tidore, Jailolo, and Bacan. The Ternate kingdom was established b ...

, one of monopolizers of the growing of spice, the Spanish deported the ruler, Sultan Said Din Burkat of Ternate, along with his clan and his entire entourage to Manila, were they were initially enslaved and eventually converted to Christianity. About 200 families of mixed Spanish-Mexican-Filipino and Moluccan-Indonesian-Portuguese descent from Ternate and Tidor followed him there at a later date. The city attained great wealth due to it being at the confluence of three great commercial exchanges: the Silk Road, the Spice Route and the Silver Flow. Significant is the role of

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ...

ns, who acted as merchant intermediaries that made Europe to Asia trade possible in this area. Most specifically, it was France first trying to finance their Asian trade with a partnership in Manila through Armenian khojas. The largest trade volume was in iron, and 1000 men of iron bars were traded only in 1721. In 1762, the city was captured by

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

as part of the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754– ...

, which Spain had recently become involved in. The city was then occupied by the British for twenty months from 1762 to 1764 in their attempt to capture the

, but they proved to be unable to extend their occupation past Manila proper. Frustrated by their inability to take the rest of the archipelago, the British eventually withdrew in accordance with the Treaty of Paris signed in 1763, which brought an end to the war. An unknown number of

Indian soldiers The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

known as

sepoy ''Sepoy'' () was the Persian-derived designation originally given to a professional Indian infantryman, traditionally armed with a musket, in the armies of the Mughal Empire. In the 18th century, the French East India Company and its oth ...

s, who came with the British, deserted and settled in nearby Cainta, Rizal. The Chinese minority were then punished for supporting the British, and the fortress city of

, initially populated by 1,200 Spanish families and garrisoned by 400 Spanish troops, kept its cannons pointed at

Binondo Binondo () is a district in Manila and is referred to as the city's Chinatown. Its influence extends beyond to the places of Quiapo, Santa Cruz, San Nicolas and Tondo. It is the oldest Chinatown in the world, established in 1594 by the ...

, the world's oldest Chinatown.Raitisoja, Gen
" Chinatown Manila: Oldest in the world"
, ''Tradio86.com'', July 8, 2006, accessed March 19, 2011. The native Mexican population was concentrated at the south part of Manila, and also at

Cavite Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite ( tl, Lalawigan ng Kabite; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Located on the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest ...

, where ships from Spain's American colonies docked, and at

Ermita Ermita is a district in Manila, Philippines. Located at the central part of the city, the district is a significant center of finance, education, culture, and commerce. Ermita serves as the civic center of the city, bearing the seat of city ...

, an area so named because of a Mexican hermit that lived there. The Philippines hosts the only Latin American-established districts in Asia. When the Spanish evacuated

Ternate Ternate is a city in the Indonesian province of North Maluku and an island in the Maluku Islands. It was the ''de facto'' provincial capital of North Maluku before Sofifi on the nearby coast of Halmahera became the capital in 2010. It is off th ...

, they settled the Papuan refugees in

Ternate, Cavite Ternate, officially the Municipality of Ternate ( tgl, Bayan ng Ternate, cbk, Municipio de Ternate), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 24,653 people. Formerl ...

which was named after their former homeland. The rise of Spanish Manila marked the first time in world history where all hemispheres and continents were interconnected in a worldwide trade network. Thus, making Manila, alongside

and

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), an ...

, the world's original set of global cities, predating the ascent of modern Alpha++ class world cities like

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

as global financial centers, by hundreds of years. A Spanish Jesuit priest commented that due to the confluence of many foreign languages gathering in Manila, he said that the confessional in Manila is "the most difficult in the world". Another Spanish missionary in the 1600s by the name of Juan de Cobo was so astonished by the manifold commerce, cultural complexity and ethnic diversity in Manila he thus wrote the following to his brethren in Mexico: After Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821, the Spanish crown began to govern Manila directly. Under direct Spanish rule, banking, industry and education flourished more than they had in the previous two centuries. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 facilitated direct trade and communications with Spain. The city's growing wealth and education attracted indigenous peoples, Negritos, Malays, Africans, Chinese, Indians, Arabs, Europeans, Latinos and Papuans from the surrounding provinces and facilitated the rise of an '' ilustrado'' class that espoused liberal ideas: the ideological foundations of the Philippine Revolution, which sought independence from Spain. A revolt by Andres Novales was inspired by the Latin American wars of independence as the revolt itself was led by demoted Latin-American military officers stationed at the city, from the then newly independent nations of Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Costa Rica. Following the Cavite Mutiny and the Propaganda Movement, the Philippine revolution eventually erupted, Manila was among the first eight provinces to rebel and thus their role was enshrined in the Philippine Flag where Manila was marked as one of the eight rays of the symbolic sun.

American period

Philippine Island - Manila - NARA - 68156635

After the 1898 Battle of Manila, Spain ceded Manila to the United States. The

First Philippine Republic The Philippine Republic ( es, República Filipina), now officially known as the First Philippine Republic, also referred to by historians as the Malolos Republic, was established in Malolos, Bulacan during the Philippine Revolution agains ...

, based in nearby

Bulacan Bulacan, officially the Province of Bulacan ( tl, Lalawigan ng Bulacan), is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the city of Malolos. Bulacan was established on August 15, 1578, and part of the Me ...

, fought against the Americans for control of the city. The Americans defeated the First Philippine Republic and captured its president,

Emilio Aguinaldo Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy (: March 22, 1869February 6, 1964) was a Filipino revolutionary, statesman, and military leader who is the youngest president of the Philippines (1899–1901) and is recognized as the first president of the Philippin ...

, who declared allegiance to the United States on April 1, 1901. Upon drafting a new charter for Manila in June 1901, the Americans made official what had long been tacit: that the city of Manila consisted not of Intramuros alone but also of the surrounding areas. The new charter proclaimed that Manila was composed of eleven municipal districts: presumably Binondo,

, Intramuros,

Malate Malic acid is an organic compound with the molecular formula . It is a dicarboxylic acid that is made by all living organisms, contributes to the sour taste of fruits, and is used as a food additive. Malic acid has two stereoisomeric forms ...

, Paco,

Pandacan Pandacan is a district in Manila, Philippines which is known in recent history for its former Pandacan oil depot which supplies the majority of oil exports in the country. Profile In 2000, Pandacan had a total population of close to 82,194. ...

, Sampaloc, San Miguel, Santa Ana, Santa Cruz and Tondo. In addition, the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

recognized five parishes—Gagalangin, Trozo, Balic-Balic,

Santa Mesa Santa Mesa is a district in Manila, Philippines. It is surrounded by Pasig River on the southwestern side, and by the San Juan River on its southern and eastern side. Land borders include the districts of San Miguel to the west and Sampaloc t ...

and Singalong—as part of Manila. Later, two more would be added: Balut and San Andres.Joaquin, Nick (1990). Manila My Manila. Vera-Reyes, Inc. p. 137, 178. Under American control, a new, civilian-oriented

Insular Government The Insular Government of the Philippine IslandsThis form of the name appeared in the titles of U.S. Supreme Court cases, but was otherwise rarely used. See Costas v. Insular Government of the Philippine Islands, 221 U.S. 623, 1911. The Admini ...

headed by

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

invited city planner

Daniel Burnham Daniel Hudson Burnham (September 4, 1846 – June 1, 1912) was an American architect and urban designer. A proponent of the '' Beaux-Arts'' movement, he may have been, "the most successful power broker the American architectural profession has ...

to adapt Manila to modern needs. The Burnham Plan included the development of a road system, the use of waterways for transportation, and the beautification of Manila with waterfront improvements and construction of parks, parkways and buildings. The planned buildings included a government center occupying all of Wallace Field, which extends from

Rizal Park Rizal Park ( fil, Liwasang Rizal, es, link=no, Parque Rizal), also known as Luneta Park or simply Luneta, is a historic urban park located in Ermita, Manila. It is considered one of the largest urban parks in the Philippines, covering an are ...

to the present

Taft Avenue Taft Avenue ( fil, Abenida Taft; es, Avenida Taft) is a major road in the south of Metro Manila. It passes through three cities in the metropolis: Manila, Pasay and Parañaque. The road was named after the former Governor-General of the Philippin ...

. The Philippine capitol was to rise at the Taft Avenue end of the field, facing towards the sea. Along with buildings for various government bureaus and departments, it would form a quadrangle with a

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into '' coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons' ...

in the center and a monument to

José Rizal José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda (, ; June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896) was a Filipino nationalist, writer and polymath active at the end of the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. He is considered the national h ...

at the other end of the field. Of Burnham's proposed government center, only three units—the Legislative Building and the buildings of the Finance and Agricultural Departments—were completed when

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

erupted.

Japanese occupation and World War II

US Navy Photo 114-1 Bombing Manila 14 Nov 1944

During the

Japanese occupation of the Philippines The Japanese occupation of the Philippines ( Filipino: ''Pananakop ng mga Japones sa Filipinas''; ja, 日本のフィリピン占領, Nihon no Firipin Senryō) occurred between 1942 and 1945, when Imperial Japan occupied the Commonwealth of t ...

, American soldiers were ordered to withdraw from Manila, and all military installations were removed on December 24, 1941. Two days later, General Douglas MacArthur declared Manila an open city to prevent further death and destruction, but Japanese warplanes continued to bomb it. Manila was occupied by Japanese forces on January 2, 1942. From February 3 to March 3, 1945, Manila was the site of one of the bloodiest battles in the Pacific theater of World War II. Under orders of Japanese Rear Admiral

Sanji Iwabuchi was a rear admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Pacific War of World War II. He committed suicide after facing imminent defeat during the Battle of Manila (1945), Battle of Manila. Units under his command committed the Manila massacre. ...

, retreating Japanese forces killed some 100,000 Filipino civilians and perpetrated mass raping of women in February. At the end of the war, Manila had suffered from heavy bombardment and became the second most-destroyed city in World War II. Manila was recaptured by joint American and Philippine troops.

Post-war years and the Marcos Sr. Dictatorship era (1946–1986)

After the war, reconstruction efforts started. Buildings like the

, Legislative Building (now the National Museum of Fine Arts) and Manila Post Office, roads and other infrastructures were rebuilt. In 1948, President

Elpidio Quirino Elpidio Rivera Quirino (born Elpidio Quirino y Rivera; ; November 16, 1890 – February 29, 1956) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the sixth president of the Philippines from 1948 to 1953. A lawyer by profession, Quirino ente ...

moved the seat of government of the Philippines to

, a new capital in the suburbs and fields northeast of Manila, created in 1939 during the administration of President

Manuel L. Quezon Manuel Luis Quezon y Molina, (; 19 August 1878 – 1 August 1944), also known by his initials MLQ, was a Filipino people, Filipino lawyer, statesman, soldier and politician who served as president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1 ...

. The move ended any implementation of the Burnham Plan's intent for the government center to be at Luneta. With the Visayan-born Arsenio Lacson as its first elected

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

in 1952 (all mayors were appointed before this), Manila underwent ''The Golden Age'', once again earning its status as the "Pearl of the Orient", a moniker it earned before the Second World War. After Lacson's term in the 1950s, Manila was led by Antonio Villegas for most of the 1960s. Ramon Bagatsing (an

Indian-Filipino Indian Filipinos are Filipinos of Indian descent who have historical connections with and have established themselves in what is now the Philippines. The term refers to Filipino citizens of either pure or mixed Indian descent currently residin ...

) was mayor from 1972 until the 1986

People Power Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, was a series of popular Demonstration (people), demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a ...

. During the administration of

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martia ...

, the region of Metro Manila was created as an integrated unit with the enactment of Presidential Decree No. 824 on November 7, 1975. The area encompassed four

cities A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

and thirteen adjoining

towns A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

, as a separate regional unit of government. On the 405th anniversary of the city's foundation on June 24, 1976, Manila was reinstated by President Marcos as the capital of the Philippines for its historical significance as the seat of government since the Spanish Period. Concurrent with the reinstatement of Manila as the capital, Ferdinand Marcos designated his wife,

Imelda Marcos Imelda Romualdez Marcos (; born Imelda Remedios Visitacion Trinidad Romualdez; July 2, 1929) is a Filipino politician who served as the First Lady of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986, wielding significant political power during the Dictators ...

, as the first governor of Metro Manila. She started the rejuvenation of the city as she re-branded Manila as the " City of Man". During the martial law era, Manila became a hot-bed of resistance activity as youth and student demonstrators repeatedly clashed with the police and military which were subservient to the Marcos regime. After decades of resistance, the non-violent

, led by

Corazon Aquino Maria Corazon "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; ; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipina politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992. She was the most prominent figure of the 1986 People ...

and Cardinal Jaime Sin, ousted the dictator Marcos from power.

Contemporary period (1986–present)

From 1986 to 1992, Mel Lopez was mayor of Manila. During his early years, his administration was faced with 700 million pesos worth of debt and inherited an empty treasury. In the first eleven months, however, the debt was reduced to 365 million pesos and the city's income rose by around 70% eventually leaving the city with positive income until the end of his term. Lopez closed down numerous illegal gambling joints and jueteng. In January 1990, Lopez padlocked two Manila casinos operated by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), saying the billions it gained cannot make up for the negative effects gambling inflicts upon the people, particularly the youth. He also revived the Boys' Town Haven (now referred to as "Boys Town"), rehabilitating its facilities to accommodate underprivileged children and provide them with livelihood and education. In 1992, Alfredo Lim was elected mayor, the first Chinese-Filipino to hold the office. He was known for his anti-crime crusades. Lim was succeeded by

Lito Atienza Jose "Lito" Livioko Atienza Jr. (; born August 10, 1941) is a Filipino politician. He served as a Party-list Representative for Buhay from 2013 to 2022, and was a House Deputy Speaker from 2020 to 2022. He served as the Secretary of Environ ...

, who served as his vice mayor. Atienza was known for his campaign (and city slogan) "''Buhayin ang Maynila''" (''Revive Manila''), which saw the establishment of several parks and the repair and rehabilitation of the city's deteriorating facilities. He was the city's mayor for three terms (9 years) before being termed out of office. Lim once again ran for mayor and defeated Atienza's son Ali in the 2007 city election and immediately reversed all of Atienza's projects claiming Atienza's projects made little contribution to the improvements of the city. The relationship of both parties turned bitter, with the two pitting again during the 2010 city elections in which Lim won against Atienza. Lim was sued by councilor Dennis Alcoreza on 2008 over

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

, charged with graft over the rehabilitation of public schools, and was heavily criticized for his haphazard resolution of the Rizal Park hostage taking incident, one of the deadliest hostage crisis in the Philippines. Rizal Park Front View

In 2012, DMCI Homes began constructing Torre de Manila, which became controversial for ruining the sight line of

. The tower is infamously known as "Terror de Manila" or the "national photobomber". The

Torre de Manila controversy The Torre de Manila (; fil, Tore ng Maynila) is a high-rise residential building built by DMCI Homes in Ermita, Manila, Philippines. The building has been controversial due to its proximity to the Rizal Monument, and has been publicly known a ...

is regarded as one of the most sensationalized heritage issues of the country. In 2017, the

National Historical Commission of the Philippines The National Historical Commission of the Philippines ( fil, Pambansang Komisyong Pangkasaysayan ng Pilipinas, abbreviated NHCP) is a government agency of the Philippines. Its mission is "the promotion of Philippine history and cultural herit ...

erected a 'comfort woman' statue along

Roxas Boulevard Roxas Boulevard is a popular waterfront promenade in Metro Manila in the Philippines. The boulevard, which runs along the shores of Manila Bay, is well known for its sunsets and stretch of coconut trees. The divided roadway has become a trade ...

, which made Japan express regret that such statue was erected in the city despite the healthy relationship between Japan and the Philippines. In the

2013 elections The following elections were occurred in the year 2013. Asia * 2013 Armenian local elections 26 May, 17 November, and 8 December 2013 * 2013 Armenian presidential election 18 February 2013 * 2013 Bangladeshi presidential election 22 April 2013 ...

, former President

Joseph Estrada Joseph Ejercito Estrada, (; born Jose Marcelo Ejercito; April 19, 1937), also known by the nickname Erap, is a Filipino politician and former actor. He served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, the 9th vice presi ...

defeated Lim in the mayoral race. During his term, Estrada allegedly paid ₱5 billion in city debts and increased the city's revenues. In 2015, in line with President

Noynoy Aquino Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III (; February 8, 1960 – June 24, 2021), also known as Noynoy Aquino and colloquially as PNoy, was a Filipino politician who served as the 15th president of the Philippines from 2010 to 2016. The son of ...

's administration progress, the city became the most competitive city in the Philippines, making the city the best place for doing business and for living in. In the

2016 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2016. Africa Benin Republic *2016 Beninese presidential election 6 March 2016 Cape Verde * 2016 Cape Verdean presidential election 2 October 2016 Chad * 2016 Chadian presidential election 10 A ...

, Estrada narrowly won over Lim in their electoral rematch. Throughout Estrada's term, numerous Filipino

heritage site A historic site or heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have been re ...

s were demolished, gutted out, or approved for demolition. Among such sites are the post-war Santa Cruz Building, Capitol Theater, El Hogar, old Magnolia Ice Cream Plant, and Rizal Memorial Stadium, among many others Some of these sites were saved upon the intervention of various cultural agencies of government and heritage advocate groups against Estrada's orders. In May 2019, Estrada claimed that Manila was debt-free, however, two months later, the Commission on Audit verified that Manila has a total of 4.4 billion pesos in debt. Manila_Skyline_March_2020

Estrada, who was seeking for re-election for his third and final term, lost to

Isko Moreno Francisco Moreno Domagoso (born October 24, 1974), popularly known by his stage name Isko Moreno or Isko Moreno Domagoso (), is a Filipino politician and actor who previously served as the 27th mayor of Manila from 2019 to 2022. Before heading ...

in the 2019 local elections. Moreno has served as the vice mayor under both the Lim and Estrada administrations. Estrada's defeat was seen as the end of their reign as a political clan, whose other family members run for various national and local positions. After assuming office, Moreno initiated a city-wide cleanup against illegal vendors, signed an executive order promoting open governance, and vowed to stop bribery and corruption in the city. Under his administration, several ordinances were signed, giving additional perks and privileges to Manila's senior citizens, and monthly allowances for Grade 12 Manileño students in all public schools in the city, including students of Universidad de Manila and the

University of the City of Manila The Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (from 'University of the City of Manila', abbreviated as PLM) is a city-government-funded local university situated inside the historic walled area of Intramuros, Manila, Philippines. It was established on ...

. The city government also undertook infrastructure projects such as the restoration of

Jones Bridge The William A. Jones Memorial Bridge, commonly known as the Jones Bridge, is an arched girder bridge that spans the Pasig River in the City of Manila, Philippines. It is named after the United States legislator William Atkinson Jones, who serv ...

to its near-original architecture, sprucing up the city's parks and plazas, and clearing the public roads of obstructions. In 2022, ''

Time Out Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to: Time * Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team * Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken * Timeout (computing), an enginee ...

'' ranked Manila as one of the 53 best cities in the world landing in the 34th spot, citing it as "an underrated hub for art and culture, with unique customs and cuisine to boot". Manila was also voted the third most resilient and least rude city for the year's index.

Geography

The City of Manila is situated on the eastern shore of

, on the western edge of

, from mainland Asia. One of Manila's greatest natural resources is the protected harbor upon which it sits, regarded as the finest in all of Asia. The Pasig River flows through the middle of city, dividing it into the north and south. The overall grade of the city's central, built-up areas, is relatively consistent with the natural flatness of its overall natural geography, generally exhibiting only slight differentiation otherwise. Almost all of Manila sits on top of centuries of prehistoric

alluvial Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Al ...

deposits built by the waters of the Pasig River and on some land reclaimed from

. Manila's land has been altered substantially by human intervention, with considerable

land reclamation Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new land from oceans, seas, riverbeds or lake beds. The land reclaimed is known as reclam ...

along the waterfronts since the American colonial times. Some of the city's natural variations in topography have been evened out. , Manila had a total area of 42.88 square kilometers. In 2017, the City Government approved five reclamation projects: the New Manila Bay–City of Pearl (New Manila Bay International Community) (407.43 hectares), Solar City (148 hectares), the Manila Harbour Center expansion (50 hectares), Manila Waterfront City (318 hectares) and Horizon Manila (419 hectares). Out of the five planned reclamation, only Horizon Manila was approved by the Philippine Reclamation Authority in December 2019 and was slated for construction in 2021. Another reclamation project is possible and when built, it will contain the in-city housing relocation projects. Reclamation projects have been criticized by environmental activists and the

Philippine Catholic Church , native_name_lang = , image = Front view of The Cathedral in Intramuros, Manila.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = , caption = Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Concepcion , abbreviation ...

, claiming that these are not sustainable and would put communities at risk of flooding. In line of the upcoming reclamation projects, the Philippines and the Netherlands forged a cooperation to craft the ₱250 million Manila Bay Sustainable Development Master Plan to guide future decisions on programs and projects on

Barangays and districts

Manila is made up of 897

barangay A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolit ...

s, which are grouped into 100 Zones for statistical convenience. Manila has the most barangays in the Philippines. Attempts at reducing its number have not prospered despite local legislation—Ordinance 7907, passed on April 23, 1996—reducing the number from 896 to 150 by merging existing barangays, because of the failure to hold a plebiscite. * District I (2015 population: 415,906) covers the western part of Tondo and is made up of 136 barangays. It is the most densely populated Congressional District and was also known as Tondo I. The district is the home to one of the biggest urban poor communities. The

Smokey Mountain ''Smokey Mountain'' was the term coined for a large landfill once located in Tondo, Manila. History ''Smokey Mountain'' operated for more than 50 years, consisting of over two million metric tons of waste. The flammable substances on decompos ...

in Balut Island is once known as the largest landfill where thousands of impoverished people lives in the slums. After the closure of the landfill in 1995, mid-rise housing buildings were built in place. This district also contains the Manila North Harbour Centre, the Manila North Harbor, and the Manila International Container Terminal of the

Port of Manila The Port of Manila ( fil, Pantalan ng Maynila) refers to the collective facilities and terminals that process maritime trade function in harbors in Metro Manila. Located in the Port Area and Tondo districts of Manila, Philippines facing the M ...

. The boundaries of the 1st District are the neighboring cities of

Navotas Navotas, officially the City of Navotas ( fil, Lungsod ng Navotas), 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 247,543 people. It is known as t ...

and the southern enclave of

Caloocan Caloocan, officially the City of Caloocan ( fil, Lungsod ng Caloocan; ), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in Metropolitan Manila, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population ...

. * District II (2015 population: 215,457) covers the eastern part of Tondo which contains 122 barangays. It is also referred to as Tondo II. It contains Gagalangin, a prominent place in Tondo, and Divisoria, a popular shopping place in the Philippines and the site of the Main Terminal Station of the

Philippine National Railways The Philippine National Railways (PNR) ( fil, Pambansang Daang-Bakal ng Pilipinas and es, Ferrocarril Nacional de Filipinas) is a state-owned railway company in the Philippines which operates one commuter rail service between Metro Manila an ...

. The boundary of the 2nd District is the neighboring city of

. * District III (2015 population: 221,780) covers Binondo, Quiapo, San Nicolas and Santa Cruz. It contains 123 barangays and encompasses the so-called "Downtown Manila" or the historic business district of the city and the oldest Chinatown in the world. The boundary of the 3rd District is the neighboring city of

. * District IV (2015 population: 265,046) covers Sampaloc and some parts of Santa Mesa. It contains 192 barangays and has numerous colleges and universities, which were located along the city's " University Belt", a ''de facto'' sub-district. The

University of Santo Tomas The University of Santo Tomas (also known as UST and officially as the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, Manila) is a private, Catholic research university in Manila, Philippines. Founded on April 28, 1611, by Spanish friar Mig ...

is located here, the oldest existing university in Asia which was established in 1611. The boundaries of the 4th District are the neighboring cities of

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

and Quezon City. * District V (2015 population: 366,714) covers Ermita, Malate, Port Area, Intramuros, San Andres Bukid, and a portion of Paco. It is made up of 184 barangays. The historic Walled City is located here, along with

Manila Cathedral The Minor Basilica and Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception ( fil, Basilika Menor at Kalakhang Katedral ng Kalinis-linisang Paglilihi; es, Basílica Menor y Catedral Metropolitana de la Inmaculada Concepción), also known as the ...

and San Agustin Church, a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. I ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

. The boundaries of the 5th District are the neighboring cities of

Makati Makati ( ), officially the City of Makati ( fil, Lungsod ng Makati), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. Makati is the financial center of the Philippines; it has the highest concentratio ...

and

Pasay Pasay, officially the City of Pasay ( fil, Lungsod ng Pasay; ), 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 440,656 people. Due to its location j ...

. This district also includes the Manila South Cemetery, an

exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

surrounded by Makati City. * District VI (2007 population: 295,245) covers Pandacan, San Miguel, Santa Ana, Santa Mesa and a portion of Paco. It contains 139 barangays. Santa Ana district is known for its 18th Century Santa Ana Church and historic ancestral houses. The boundaries of the 6th District are the neighboring cities of Makati,

Mandaluyong Mandaluyong, officially the City of Mandaluyong ( fil, Lungsod ng Mandaluyong), is a first class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 425,758 people. Lo ...

, Quezon City, and San Juan.

Climate

Under the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

system, Manila has a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of ...

( Köppen ''Aw''), bordering closely on a

tropical monsoon climate An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ...

( Köppen ''Am''). Together with the rest of the Philippines, Manila lies entirely within the tropics. Its proximity to the

equator The equator is a circle of latitude, about in circumference, that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, halfway between the North and South poles. The term can al ...

means that temperatures are hot year-round especially during the daytime, rarely going below or above . Temperature extremes have ranged from on January 11, 1914, to on May 7, 1915. Humidity levels are usually very high all year round, making the temperature feel hotter than it is. Manila has a distinct

dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The ...

from late December through early April, and a relatively lengthy

wet season The wet season (sometimes called the Rainy season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. It is the time of year where the majority of a country's or region's annual precipitation occurs. Generally, the se ...

that covers the remaining period with slightly cooler temperatures during the daytime. In the wet season, it rarely rains all day, but rainfall is very heavy during short periods.

Typhoon A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...

s usually occur from June to September.

Natural hazards

Swiss Re ranked Manila as the second riskiest capital city to live in, citing its exposure to natural hazards such as earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons, floods and landslides. The seismically active Marikina Valley Fault System poses a threat of a large-scale

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

with an estimated magnitude between 6–7 and as high as 7.6 to

and nearby provinces. Manila has endured several deadly earthquakes, notably in

1645 Events January–March * January 3 – The Long Parliament adopts the '' Directory for Public Worship'' in England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland, replacing the Book of Common Prayer (1559). Holy Days (other than Sundays) are no ...

and in 1677 which destroyed the stone and brick medieval city."Fire and Quake in the construction of old Manila"
. The Frequency of Earthquakes in Manila. Retrieved November 22, 2013. The Earthquake Baroque style was used by architects during the Spanish colonial period in order to adapt to the frequent earthquakes."The City of God: Churches, Convents and Monasteries"
Discovering Philippines. Retrieved July 6, 2011. Manila is hit with five to seven typhoons yearly. In 2009, Typhoon Ketsana (Ondoy) struck the Philippines. It led to one of the worst floodings in

and several provinces in Luzon with an estimated damages worth ₱11 billion ($237 million). The floodings caused 448 deaths in Metro Manila alone. Following the aftermath of Typhoon Ketsana, the city began to dredge its rivers and improve its drainage network.

Pollution

Due to industrial waste and automobiles, Manila suffers from

air pollution Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different type ...

, affecting 98% of the population. Swiss firm IQAir reported in December 2020 that Manila suffered from an average PM2.5 concentration of 6.1 μg/m3, which was classed as "Good" according to recommendations made by the World Health Organization. According to a report in 2003, the Pasig River is one of the most polluted rivers in the world with 150 tons of domestic waste and 75 tons of industrial waste dumped daily. The city is the second biggest waste producer in the country with 1,151.79 tons (7,500.07 cubic meters) per day, after

which yields 1,386.84 tons or 12,730.59 cubic meters per day. Both cities were cited as having poor management in garbage collection and disposal. Rehabilitation efforts have resulted in the creation of parks along the riverside, along with stricter pollution controls. In 2019, the

Department of Environment and Natural Resources The Department of Environment and Natural Resources ( fil, Kagawaran ng Kapaligiran at Likas na Yaman, DENR or KKLY) is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for governing and supervising the exploration, developmen ...

has launched a rehabilitation program for

that will be administered by different government agencies.

Cityscape

Manila is a

planned city A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...

. In 1905, American Architect and Urban Planner

was commissioned to design the new capital. His design for the city was based on the

City Beautiful movement The City Beautiful Movement was a reform philosophy of North American architecture and urban planning that flourished during the 1890s and 1900s with the intent of introducing beautification and monumental grandeur in cities. It was a part of the ...

, which features broad streets and avenues radiating out from rectangles. The city is made up of fourteen city districts, according to Republic Act No. 409—the Revised Charter of the City of Manila—the basis of which officially sets the present-day boundary of the city. Two districts were later created, which are

(partitioned off from Sampaloc) and San Andres (partitioned off from Santa Ana). Ermita-Malate skyline in Manila as of June 2015

Manila's mix of

architectural style An architectural style is a set of characteristics and features that make a building or other structure notable or historically identifiable. It is a sub-class of style in the visual arts generally, and most styles in architecture relate closely ...

s reflects the turbulent

history of the city Towns and cities have a long history, although opinions vary on which ancient settlements are truly cities. The benefits of dense settlement included reduced transport costs, exchange of ideas, sharing of natural resources, large local markets, a ...

and country. During the Second World War, Manila was razed to the ground by the Japanese forces and the shelling of American forces. After the liberation, rebuilding began and most of the historical buildings were thoroughly reconstructed. However, much of the historic churches and buildings in Intramuros, Manila's historic core, had been damaged by the war beyond repair. Manila's current urban landscape is one of modern and contemporary architecture.

Architecture

Manila is known for its eclectic mix of architecture that shows a wide range of styles spanning different historical and cultural periods. Architectural styles reflect American, Spanish, Chinese, and Malay influences. Prominent Filipino architects such as Antonio Toledo,

Felipe Roxas Felipe is the Spanish variant of the name Philip, which derives from the Greek adjective ''Philippos'' "friend of horses". Felipe is also widely used in Portuguese-speaking Brazil alongside Filipe, the form commonly used in Portugal. Noteworthy p ...

, Juan M. Arellano and Tomás Mapúa have designed significant buildings in Manila such as churches, government offices, theaters, mansions, schools and universities. Manila is also famed for its Art Deco theaters. Some of these were designed by National Artists for Architecture such as Juan Nakpil and Pablo Antonio. Unfortunately most of these theaters were neglected, and some have been demolished. The historic Escolta Street in Binondo features many buildings of Neoclassical and Beaux-Arts architectural style, many of which were designed by prominent Filipino architects during the American Rule in the 1920s to the late 1930s. Many architects, artists, historians and heritage advocacy groups are pushing for the rehabilitation of Escolta Street, which was once the premier street of the Philippines. Luneta Hotel

Almost all of Manila's prewar and Spanish colonial architecture were destroyed during its battle for liberation by the intensive bombardment of the United States Air Force during

. Reconstruction took place afterwards, replacing the destroyed historic Spanish-era buildings with modern ones, erasing much of the city's character. Some buildings destroyed by the war have been reconstructed, such as the Old Legislative Building (now the National Museum of Fine Arts), Ayuntamiento de Manila (now the Bureau of the Treasury) and the under construction San Ignacio Church and Convent (as the Museo de Intramuros). There are plans to rehabilitate and/or restore several neglected historic buildings and places such as Plaza Del Carmen, San Sebastian Church and the NCCA Metropolitan Theater. Spanish-era shops and houses in the districts of

, Quiapo, and San Nicolas are also planned to be restored, as a part of a movement to restore the city to its prewar state. Since Manila is prone to earthquakes, the Spanish colonial architects invented the style called Earthquake Baroque which the churches and government buildings during the Spanish colonial period adopted. As a result, succeeding earthquakes of the 18th and 19th centuries barely affected Manila, although it did periodically level the surrounding area. Modern buildings in and around Manila are designed or have been retrofitted to withstand an 8.2 magnitude quake in accordance to the country's building code.

Demographics

According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 1,846,513 people, making it the second most populous city in the Philippines. Manila is the most densely populated city in the world, with 41,515 inhabitants per km in 2015. District 6 is listed as being the most dense with 68,266 inhabitants per km, followed by District 1 with 64,936 and District 2 with 64,710. District 5 is the least densely populated area with 19,235. (from

Webcite WebCite was an on-demand archive site, designed to digitally preserve scientific and educationally important material on the web by taking snapshots of Internet contents as they existed at the time when a blogger or a scholar cited or quoted f ...

archive) Manila has been presumed to be the Philippines' largest city since the establishment of a permanent Spanish settlement with the city eventually becoming the political, commercial and ecclesiastical capital of the country. Since colonial times, Manila has been the destination of peoples whose origins are as wide-ranging as India and Latin-America. In the 1860s to 1890s, in the urban areas of the Philippines, especially at Manila, according to burial statistics, as much as 3.3% of the population were pure European Spaniards and the pure Chinese were as high as 9.9% of the people. The Spanish-Filipino and Chinese-Filipino Mestizo populations also fluctuated. Eventually, everybody belonging to these non-native categories diminished because they were assimilated into and chose to self-identify as pure Filipinos since during the Philippine Revolution, the term "Filipino" included anybody born in the Philippines coming from any race. That would explain the abrupt drop of otherwise high Chinese, Spanish and mestizo percentages across the country by the time of the first American census in 1903. Manila's population increased dramatically since the 1903 census as the population tended to move from rural areas to towns and cities. In the 1960 census, Manila became the first Philippine city to breach the one million mark (more than 5 times of its 1903 population). The city continued to grow until the population somehow "stabilized" at 1.6 million and experienced alternating increase and decrease starting the 1990 census year. This phenomenon may be attributed to the higher growth experience by suburbs and the already very high population density of city. As such, Manila exhibited a decreasing percentage share to the metropolitan population from as high as 63% in the 1950s to 27.5% in 1980 and then to 13.8% in 2015. The much larger

marginally surpassed the population of Manila in 1990 and by the 2015 census already has 1.1 million people more. Nationally, the population of Manila is expected to be overtaken by cities with larger territories such as

and

Davao City Davao City, officially the City of Davao ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Dabaw; ), is a first class highly urbanized city in the Davao Region, Philippines. The city has a total land area of , making it the largest city in the Philippines in terms of lan ...

by 2020. The vernacular language is

, based mostly on the

Tagalog language Tagalog (, ; ; ''Baybayin'': ) is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language spoken as a first language by the ethnic Tagalog people, who make up a quarter of the population of the Philippines, and as a second language by the majority. It ...

of the city and its surroundings, and this Manilan form of spoken Tagalog has essentially become the lingua franca of the Philippines, having spread throughout the archipelago through mass media and entertainment. English is the language most widely used in education and business, and it is in heavy everyday use throughout Metro Manila and the rest of the Philippines. A variant of

Southern Min Southern Min (), Minnan (Mandarin pronunciation: ) or Banlam (), is a group of linguistically similar and historically related Sinitic languages that form a branch of Min Chinese spoken in Fujian (especially the Minnan region), most of Taiwan ...

Philippine Hokkien Philippine Hokkien is a dialect of the Hokkien language of the Southern Min branch, primarily spoken vernacularly by Chinese Filipinos in the Philippines, where it serves as the local Chinese ''lingua franca'', primarily spoken as an oral langua ...

(locally known as ''Lan-nang-oe''), is mainly spoken by the city's Chinese-Filipino community. According to data provided by the Bureau of Immigration, a total of 3.12 million Chinese citizens arrived in the Philippines from January 2016 to May 2018.

Crime

Toyota Vios Philippine Police Car Manila City

Crime in Manila is concentrated in areas associated with poverty,

drug abuse Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods which are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder. Differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, ...

, and gangs. Crime in the city is also directly related to its changing demographics and unique criminal justice system.

Illegal drug trade The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs through ...

is a major problem of the city. In

alone, 92% of the

s are affected by illegal drugs. From 2010 to 2015, the city had the second highest index crime rates in the Philippines, with 54,689 cases or an average of about 9,100 cases per year. By October 2017, the

Manila Police District The Manila Police District (MPD) is the agency of the Philippine National Police (PNP) responsible for law enforcement in the City of Manila. Formerly known as the Western Police District (WPD), the MPD is under the National Capital Region Police ...

(MPD) reported a 38.7% decrease in index crimes, from 5,474 cases in 2016 to only 3,393 in 2017. MPD's crime solution efficiency also improved, whereby six to seven out of 10 crimes have been solved by the city police force. MPD was cited as the Best Police District in

in 2017 for registering the highest crime solution efficiency.

Religion

Christianity

As a result of

cultural influence, Manila is a predominantly

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

city. ,

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

were 93.5% of the population, followed by adherents of the Iglesia ni Cristo (1.9%); various

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

churches (1.8%); and

Buddhists Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and g ...

(1.1%). Members of Islam and other religions make up the remaining 1.4% of its population. Manila is the seat of prominent Catholic churches and institutions. There are 113 Catholic churches within the city limits; 63 are considered as major shrines, basilicas, or a cathedral. The

is the seat of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila ( lat, Archidioecesis Manilensis; fil, Arkidiyosesis ng Maynilà; es, Arquidiócesis de Manila) is the archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in Metro Manila, Philippines, encompassing ...

and the oldest established church in the country. Aside from the Manila Cathedral, there are also three other basilicas in the city: Quiapo Church, Binondo Church, and the Minor Basilica of San Sebastián. The San Agustín Church in Intramuros is a

. Several

Mainline Protestant The mainline Protestant churches (also called mainstream Protestant and sometimes oldline Protestant) are a group of Protestant denominations in the United States that contrast in history and practice with evangelical, fundamentalist, and chari ...

denominations are headquartered in the city. St. Stephen's Parish pro-cathedral in the Santa Cruz district is the see of the Episcopal Church in the Philippines' Diocese of Central Philippines, while align Taft Avenue are the main cathedral and central offices of the

Iglesia Filipina Independiente , native_name_lang = fil , icon = Logo of the Philippine Independent Church (Aglipayan Church).svg , icon_width = 80px , icon_alt = Coat of arms of the Philippine Independent Church , image ...

(also called the Aglipayan Church, a

national church A national church is a Christian church associated with a specific ethnic group or nation state. The idea was notably discussed during the 19th century, during the emergence of modern nationalism. Samuel Taylor Coleridge, in a draft discussin ...

that was a product of the Philippine Revolution). Other faiths like

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ...

(

Mormons Mormons are a Religious denomination, religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the mov ...

) have temples within the city such as the Manila Philippines Temple in the Quezon City and Alabang Philippines Temple in Muntinlupa. The indigenous Iglesia ni Cristo has several locales (akin to parishes) in the city, including its very first chapel (now a museum) in Punta, Santa Ana.

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual exp ...

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

and

Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, a ...

denominations also thrive. The headquarters of the Philippine Bible Society is in Manila. Also, the main campus of the Cathedral of Praise is located along

. Jesus Is Lord Church Worldwide has several branches and campuses in Manila. Religious groups such as Iglesia ni Cristo, Jesus Is Lord Church Worldwide and the El Shaddai (movement) celebrate their anniversary at the Quirino Grandstand, which is an open space, in Rizal Park. File:02237jfManila Cathedral Intramuros Manila Palacio del Gobernador Landmarksfvf 12.jpg,

is the seat of

File:Basílica de San Sebastián, (Agustinos Recoletos) Manila, Filipinas..jpg, The Minor Basilica of San Sebastián is the only

all-steel The All-Steel Motor Car Co.of Macon, Missouri, was formed in St. Louis in 1915 to manufacture an automobile called the ''All-Steel'' or ''Alstel''. All-Steel moved to Macon for production in a new factory. The automobile to be built was called ...

church in Asia. File:Ph-mm-manila-intramuros-san agustin church (2014).JPG, San Agustín Church in

, a

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

. File:0728jfBuildings Streets Binondo Plaza Lorenzo Ruiz Landmarks Manilafvf 06.jpg, Binondo Church serves the Roman Catholic Chinese community File:Allan Jay Quesada- Quiapo Church DSC 0065 The Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene or Quiapo Church, Manila.JPG, Quiapo Church, home of the iconic

Black Nazarene The Black Nazarene ( es, El Nazareno Negro, Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno; fil, Poóng Itím na Nazareno, Hesus Nazareno) is a life-sized image of a dark-skinned, kneeling Jesus Christ carrying the Cross enshrined in the Minor Basilica of the ...

whose ''Traslacion'' feast is celebrated every January 9

Other faiths

There are many

Taoist Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Ta ...

and Buddhist temples like Seng Guan Temple in the city serving the spiritual needs of the

Chinese Filipino Chinese Filipinos; tl, Tsinoy, / Tsinong Pilipino, ; Hokkien in the Philippines, Philippine Hokkien , Mandarin Chinese in the Philippines, Mandarin (also known as Filipino Chinese in the Philippines) are Filipinos of Chinese descent, mo ...

community. Quiapo has a " Muslim town" where the city's largest mosque,

Masjid Al-Dahab Masjid Al-Dahab (or the Manila Golden Mosque and Cultural Center; ) is situated in the predominantly Muslim section of the Quiapo district in Manila, Philippines, and is considered the largest mosque in Metro Manila. Background The Golden Mosqu ...

, exists. Members of the Indian expatriate population have the option of worshiping at the large Hindu temple in the city, or at the

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ' ...

gurdwara A gurdwara (sometimes written as gurudwara) ( Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ''guradu'ārā'', meaning "Door to the Guru") is a place of assembly and worship for Sikhs. Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all fait ...

along United Nations Avenue. The National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of the Philippines, the governing body for followers of the

Baháʼí Faith in the Philippines The Baháʼí Faith in the Philippines is a community of Filipinos, who like their fellow Baháʼís living in other parts of the world, view the world's major religions as a part of a single, progressive process through which God reveals His will ...

, is headquartered near Manila's eastern border with Makati.

Economy

Manila is a major center for commerce, banking and finance, retailing, transportation, tourism, real estate,

new media New media describes communication technologies that enable or enhance interaction between users as well as interaction between users and content. In the middle of the 1990s, the phrase "new media" became widely used as part of a sales pitch for ...

as well as traditional media, advertising, legal services, accounting, insurance, theater, fashion, and the arts in the Philippines. Around 60,000 establishments operate in the city. The National Competitiveness Council of the Philippines which annually publishes the Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI), ranks the cities, municipalities and provinces of the country according to their economic dynamism, government efficiency and infrastructure. According to the 2016 CMCI, Manila was the second most competitive city in the Philippines. Manila placed third in the Highly Urbanized City (HUC) category. Manila held the title country's most competitive city in 2015, and since then has been making it to the top 3, assuring that the city is consistently one of the best place to live in and do business. The

is the largest seaport in the Philippines, making it the premier international shipping gateway to the country. The Philippine Ports Authority is the government agency responsible to oversee the operation and management of the ports. The

International Container Terminal Services Inc. International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) () is a global port management company headquartered in Manila, Philippines. Established on December 24, 1987, ICTSI is the Philippines' largest multinational and transnational company, havi ...

cited by the

Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966, which is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. The bank also maintains 31 field offi ...

as one of the top five major maritime terminal operators in the world has its headquarters and main operations on the ports of Manila. Another port operator, the Asian Terminal Incorporated, has its corporate office and main operations in the Manila South Harbor and its container depository located in

. Binondo, the oldest and one of the largest Chinatowns in the world, was the center of commerce and business activities in the city. Numerous residential and office skyscrapers are found within its medieval streets. Plans to make the Chinatown area into a

business process outsourcing Outsourcing is an agreement in which one company hires another company to be responsible for a planned or existing activity which otherwise is or could be carried out internally, i.e. in-house, and sometimes involves transferring employees and ...

(BPO) hub progresses and is aggressively pursued by the city government of Manila. 30 buildings are already identified to be converted into BPO offices. These buildings are mostly located along the Escolta Street of Binondo, which are all unoccupied and can be converted into offices. Divisoria in Tondo is known as the "shopping mecca of the Philippines". Numerous shopping malls are located in this place, which sells products and goods at bargain price. Small vendors occupy several roads that causes pedestrian and vehicular traffic. A famous landmark in Divisoria is the Tutuban Center, a large shopping mall that is a part of the

' Main Station. It attracts 1 million people every month, but is expected to add another 400,000 people upon the completion of the LRT Line 2 West Extension, thereby making it Manila's busiest transfer station. Diverse manufacturers within the city produce industrial-related products such as chemicals, textiles, clothing, and electronic goods. Food and beverages and tobacco products also produced. Local entrepreneurs continue to process primary commodities for export, including rope, plywood, refined sugar,

copra Copra (from ) is the dried, white flesh of the coconut from which coconut oil is extracted. Traditionally, the coconuts are sun-dried, especially for export, before the oil, also known as copra oil, is pressed out. The oil extracted from copr ...

, and coconut oil. The food-processing industry is one of the most stable major manufacturing sector in the city. The Pandacan oil depot houses the storage facilities and distribution terminals of the three major players in the country's petroleum industry, namely Caltex Philippines, Pilipinas Shell and

Petron Corporation Petron Corporation is the largest oil refining and marketing company in the Philippines, supplying more than a third of the country's oil requirements. It operates a refinery in Limay, Bataan with a rated capacity of . From the refinery, Petro ...

. The oil depot has been a subject of various concerns, including its environmental and health impact to the residents of Manila. The Supreme Court has ordered that the oil depot to be relocated outside the city by July 2015, but it failed to meet this deadline. Most of the oil depot facility inside the 33 hectare compound have been demolished, and plans have been put into place to transform it into a transport hub or food park. Manila is a major publishing center in the Philippines. ''

Manila Bulletin The ''Manila Bulletin'' (), (also known as the ''Bulletin'' and previously known as the ''Manila Daily Bulletin'' from 1906 to September 23, 1972, and the ''Bulletin Today'' from November 22, 1972, to March 10, 1986) is the Philippines' largest ...

'', the Philippines' largest broadsheet newspaper by circulation, is headquartered in Intramuros. Other major publishing companies in the country like ''

The Manila Times ''The Manila Times'' is the oldest extant English-language newspaper in the Philippines. It is published daily by The Manila Times Publishing Corp. (formerly La Vanguardia Publishing Corporation) with editorial and administrative offices at 2/F ...

'', ''

The Philippine Star ''The Philippine Star'' (self-styled ''The Philippine STAR'') is an English-language newspaper in the Philippines and the flagship brand of the Philstar Media Group. First published on July 28, 1986, by veteran journalists Betty Go-Belmonte, ...

'' and ''

Manila Standard Today The ''Manila Standard'' is a broadsheet newspaper in the Philippines. , it is owned by the Romualdez family. The Romualdezes, through incumbent speaker of the House Martin Romualdez, also own Journal Publications, Inc., the owner of tabloid p ...

'' are headquartered in the Port Area. The '' Chinese Commercial News'', the Philippines' oldest existing Chinese-language newspaper, and the country's third-oldest existing newspaper is headquartered in

DWRK DWRK (96.3 FM), broadcasting as 96.3 Easy Rock, is a radio station owned and operated by Manila Broadcasting Company. It serves as the flagship station of Easy Rock Network. The station's studio is located at the MBC Building, Star City, Vi ...

used to have its studio at the FEMS Tower 1 along South Superhighway in

before transferring to the MBC Building at the CCP Complex in 2008. Manila serves as the headquarters of the

Central Bank of the Philippines The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (; commonly abbreviated as BSP in both Filipino and English) is the central bank of the Philippines. It was established on July 3, 1993, pursuant to the provision of Republic Act 7653 or the New Central Bank Act ...

which is located along

. Some universal banks in the Philippines that has its headquarters in the city are the

Landbank of the Philippines Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP; often referred to simply as LandBank), is a government-owned bank in the Philippines with a special focus on serving the needs of farmers and fishermen. While it provides the services of a universal bank, it ...

and Philippine Trust Company. Unilever Philippines used to have its corporate office along

United Nations Avenue United Nations Avenue (also known as U.N. Avenue and formerly known as Isaac Peral Street) is a major thoroughfare in Manila, Philippines. A commercial, residential and industrial artery, the avenue runs east–west through the near-center of th ...

in Paco before transferring to

Bonifacio Global City Bonifacio may refer to: Places * Bonifacio, Corse-du-Sud, a town in Corsica, France * Strait of Bonifacio, separating Corsica from Sardinia * Bonifacio, Misamis Occidental, a municipality in the Philippines * Bonifacio Global City, a central bu ...

in 2016.

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

, a company listed in the

Forbes Global 2000 The ''Forbes'' Global 2000 is an annual ranking of the top 2000 public companies in the world, published by ''Forbes'' magazine. "The Global 2000" annual ranking is assembled by ''Forbes'' using a weighted assessment of four metrics: sales, profi ...

, also has its regional office along UN Avenue.

Tourism

Manila welcomes over 1 million tourists each year. Major tourist destinations include the historic Walled City of

, the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex, Manila Ocean Park, Binondo (Chinatown), Ermita,

, Manila Zoo, the National Museum Complex and

. Both the historic Walled City of Intramuros and Rizal Park were designated as flagship destinations and as tourism enterprise zones in the Tourism Act of 2009. Rizal Park, also known as Luneta Park, is a national park and the largest urban park in Asia with an area of , The park was constructed in honor of and dedication to the country's national hero

, who was executed by the Spaniards on charges of subversion. The flagpole west of the Rizal Monument is the Kilometer Zero marker for distances to the rest of the country. The park is managed by the National Parks and Development Committee. The Walled City of

is the historic center of Manila. It is administered by the Intramuros Administration, an attached agency of the Department of Tourism. It contains the famed

and the 18th Century San Agustin Church, a

. Kalesa is a popular mode of transportation for tourists in Intramuros and nearby places including Binondo, Ermita and Rizal Park. Known as the oldest chinatown in the world,

was established on 1521 and served as a hub of Chinese commerce before the Spaniards colonized the Philippines. Its main attractions are Binondo Church, Filipino-Chinese Friendship Arch, Seng Guan Buddhist temple and authentic Chinese restaurants. Manila is designated as the country's pioneer of medical tourism, estimated to generate $1 billion in revenue annually. However, lack of a progressive health system, inadequate infrastructure and the unstable political environment are seen as hindrances to its growth.

Shopping

Manila is regarded as one of the best shopping destinations in Asia. Major

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...

department stores A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic appea ...

, markets,

supermarket A supermarket is a self-service shop offering a wide variety of food, beverages and household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earlier grocery stores, but is smaller and more lim ...

s and bazaars thrive within the city. One of the city's famous shopping destinations is Divisoria, home to numerous shopping malls, including the famed Tutuban Center and the Lucky Chinatown. It is also dubbed the shopping mecca of the Philippines where everything is sold at a bargain price. There are almost 1 million shoppers in Divisoria according to the Manila Police District. Binondo, the oldest Chinatown in the world, is the city's center of commerce and trade for all types of businesses run by Filipino-Chinese merchants, with a wide variety of Chinese and Filipino shops and restaurants. Quiapo is referred to as the "Old Downtown", where tiangges, markets, boutique shops, music and electronics stores are common. Many department stores are on

Recto Avenue Claro M. Recto Avenue, more popularly known as simply Recto Avenue, is the principal commercial thoroughfare in north-central Manila, Philippines. It spans seven districts just north of the Pasig River in what is generally considered Manila's o ...

Robinsons Place Manila Robinsons Manila (formerly Robinsons Place Manila), also known as Robinsons Ermita and Robinsons Place Ermita, is a large shopping mall located in Ermita, Manila, Philippines. It is the largest Robinsons Mall ever built. Robinsons Manila is loca ...

is the largest shopping mall in the city. The mall was the second and the largest

Robinsons Malls Robinsons Malls is one of the largest shopping malls and retail operators in the Philippines. It was incorporated on September 9, 1997, by entrepreneur John Gokongwei Jr. to develop, conduct, operate and maintain the Robinsons commercial sho ...

built. SM Supermalls operates two shopping malls in the city which are the SM City Manila and SM City San Lazaro. SM City Manila is located on the former grounds of YMCA Manila beside the

, while SM City San Lazaro is built on the site of the former San Lazaro Hippodrome in Santa Cruz. The building of the former Manila Royal Hotel in Quiapo, which is famed for its revolving restaurant atop, is now the SM Clearance Center established in 1972. The site of the first SM Department Store is located at Carlos Palanca Sr. (formerly Echague) Street in San Miguel.

Culture

Museums

04762jfNational Museum of the Philippines Ermita Manilafvf 07

As the cultural center of the Philippines, Manila is the home to a number of museums. The National Museum Complex of the

National Museum of the Philippines The National Museum of the Philippines ( fil, Pambansang Museo ng Pilipinas}) is an umbrella government organization that oversees a number of national museums in the Philippines including ethnographic, anthropological, archaeological, and visu ...

, located in

, is composed of the National Museum of Fine Arts, the

National Museum of Anthropology The National Museum of Anthropology ( es, Museo Nacional de Antropología, MNA) is a national museum of Mexico. It is the largest and most visited museum in Mexico. Located in the area between Paseo de la Reforma and Mahatma Gandhi Street wit ...

, the

National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. In 2021, with ...

, and the National Planetarium. The famous painting of

Juan Luna Juan Luna de San Pedro y Novicio Ancheta (, ; October 23, 1857 – December 7, 1899) was a Filipino painter, sculptor and a political activist of the Philippine Revolution during the late 19th century. He became one of the first recogni ...

, the

Spoliarium The ''Spoliarium'' (often misspelled ''Spolarium'') is a painting by Filipino painter Juan Luna. Luna, working on canvas, spent eight months completing the painting which depicts dying gladiators. The painting was submitted by Luna to the ''Expo ...

, can be found in the complex. The city also hosts the repository of the country's printed and recorded cultural heritage and other literary and information resources, the

National Library A national library is a library established by a government as a country's preeminent repository of information. Unlike public libraries, these rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuable, or significant w ...

. The

maintains two history museums in the city which are the Museo ni Apolinario Mabini – PUP and the Museo ni Jose Rizal – Fort Santiago. Museums established or run by educational institutions are the DLS-CSB Museum of Contemporary Art and Design,

UST Museum of Arts and Sciences The University of Santo Tomas Museum of Arts and Sciences is the oldest existing museum in the Philippines. It started as a ''Gabinete de Fisica'', or observation room, of mineral, botanical and biological collections in the 17th century. Under ...

, and the UP Museum of a History of Ideas. Bahay Tsinoy, one of Manila's prominent museums, documents the Chinese lives and contributions in the history of the Philippines. The Intramuros Light and Sound Museum chronicles the Filipinos desire for freedom during

the revolution A revolution is a drastic political change that usually occurs relatively quickly. For revolutions which affect society, culture, and technology more than political systems, see social revolution. Revolution may also refer to: Aviation *Warner ...

under Rizal's leadership and other revolutionary leaders. The Metropolitan Museum of Manila is a museum of modern and contemporary visual arts exhibits the Filipino arts and

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these grou ...

. Other museums in the city are the Museum of Manila, the city-owned museum that exhibits the city's culture and history, Museo Pambata, a children's museum and a place of hands-on discovery and fun learning, and Plaza San Luis which is an outdoor heritage public museum that contains a collection of nine Spanish Bahay na Bato houses. Ecclesiastical museums in the located in the city are the Parish of the Our Lady of the Abandoned in Santa Ana, the San Agustin Church Museum and the Museo de Intramuros which houses the ecclesiastical art collection of the Intramuros Administration in the reconstructed San Ignacio Church and Convent.

Sports

Sports in Manila have a long and distinguished history. The city's, and in general the country's main sport is

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

, and most barangays have a basketball court or at least a makeshift basketball court, with court markings drawn on the streets. Larger barangays have covered courts where inter-barangay leagues are held every summer (April to May). Manila has many sports venues, such as the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex and San Andres Gym, the home of the now defunct Manila Metrostars. The Rizal Memorial Sports Complex houses the Rizal Memorial Track and Football Stadium, the Baseball Stadium, Tennis Courts, the

Rizal Memorial Coliseum The Rizal Memorial Coliseum is an indoor arena in the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila, Philippines. Its capacity is 6,100. History The Rizal Memorial Coliseum within the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex was built on the former site of Man ...

and the

Ninoy Aquino Stadium The Ninoy Aquino Stadium, now known as PSC Multipurpose Gym, is an indoor sporting arena located in the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila, Philippines. Originally built in the 1950s, it was renovated and renamed for Philippine senator ...

(the latter two are indoor arenas). The Rizal complex had hosted several multi-sport events, such as the

1954 Asian Games The 1954 Asian Games ( fil, Palarong Asyano 1954), officially known as the Second Asian Games – Manila 1954 was a multi-sport event held in Manila, Philippines, from May 1 to 9, 1954. A total of 970 athletes from 19 Asian National Olympic Commi ...

and the

1934 Far Eastern Games The 1934 Far Eastern Championship Games was the tenth edition of the regional multi-sport event, contested between China, Japan and the Philippines, and was held from 16 to 20 May in Manila, the Philippines. A total of eight sports were contested d ...

. Whenever the country hosts the

Southeast Asian Games The Southeast Asian Games, also known as the SEA Games, is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with supe ...

, most of the events are held at the complex, but in the 2005 Games, most events were held elsewhere. The

1960 ABC Championship The 1960 ABC Championship was the first edition of the ABC Championship, a tournament which was held by FIBA Asia. The tournament which was held in Manila, Philippines saw seven teams compete in a round-robin tournament with the top four teams qua ...

and the

1973 ABC Championship The 1973 Asian Basketball Confederation Championship for Men were held in Manila, Philippines. Preliminary round Group A Group B Final round Classification 7th–12th Championship ...

, forerunners of the

FIBA Asia Championship The FIBA Asia Cup (formerly the FIBA Asia Championship and ABC Championship) is an international basketball tournament which takes place every four years between the men's national teams of Asia and Oceania. Through the 2015 edition, the tourna ...

, was hosted by the memorial coliseum, with the national basketball team winning on both tournaments. The

1978 FIBA World Championship The 1978 FIBA World Championship was the 8th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's teams. The tournament was hosted by the Philippines from October 1 to 14, 1978 in Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila a ...

was held at the coliseum although the latter stages were held in the

Araneta Coliseum The Araneta Coliseum, also currently known by naming rights sponsorship as Smart Araneta Coliseum, is an indoor multi-purpose sports arena that is part of the Araneta City in the Cubao area of Quezon City, Philippines. Nicknamed as "the Big ...

. Manila also hosts several well-known sports facilities such as the

Enrique M. Razon Sports Center De La Salle University ( fil, Pamantasang De La Salle or Unibersidad ng De La Salle), also referred to as DLSU, De La Salle or La Salle, is a private, Catholic coeducational research university run by the Institute of the Brothers of the Chris ...

and the University of Santo Tomas Sports Complex, both of which are private venues owned by a university; collegiate sports are also held, with the

University Athletic Association of the Philippines The University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), established in 1938, is an athletic association of eight Metro Manila universities in the Philippines. The eight-member schools are Adamson University (AdU), Ateneo de Manila Univers ...

and the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athlete, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic sports, ...

basketball games held at Rizal Memorial Coliseum and Ninoy Aquino Stadium, although basketball events had transferred to

Filoil Flying V Arena The Filoil EcoOil Centre, formerly Filoil Flying V Centre, Filoil Flying V Arena and The Arena in San Juan, also known as the Entertainment and Recreational Arena of the People (initials taken after former mayor and president Joseph Estrada's nic ...

and the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City. Other collegiate sports are still held at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex. Professional basketball, which has been organized mostly by corporate teams, also used to play at the city, but the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the se ...

now holds their games at Araneta Coliseum and

Cuneta Astrodome The Cuneta Astrodome is an indoor arena that is located in Pasay, Philippines. Since the 1993 PBA season, it was better known as the home of the Philippine Basketball Association. when it left the PhilSports Arena (that was then known as ULTRA) ...

; the now defunct

Philippine Basketball League The Philippine Basketball League (PBL) was a commercial semi-professional basketball league in the Philippines. The league was composed of several commercial teams with several collegiate and provincial stars. History The PBL was formed on Ma ...

played some of their games at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex such as its 1995–96 Philippine Basketball League season. Manila has always been represented whenever city-based sports leagues are set up. The Manila Metrostars participated in the

Metropolitan Basketball Association The Metropolitan Basketball Association (MBA), or Metroball, was a Professional sports, professional basketball league in the Philippines that ran from March 7, 1998, to July 26, 2002. History The MBA played its first game on March 7, 1998, at t ...

. The Metrostars, named after the Metrostar Express, the brand name of the Metro Manila MRT-3, which does not have stations in the city, participated in its first three seasons, and won the 1999 championship. The Metrostars later merged with the Batangas Blades and subsequently played in

Lipa Lipa or LIPA (Cyrillic: Липа) may refer to: Acronym *Liquid Isopropyl alcohol *League for Independent Political Action, a former American progressive political organization *Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, a performing arts school in ...

. Almost two decades later, the Manila Stars participated in the

Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League The Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) is a men's professional sports, professional basketball league in the Philippines. History Manny Pacquiao launched the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League on August 29, 2017, starting off as a ...

. The Stars' best performance was reaching the Northern Division Finals in 2019. Both teams played in the San Andres Sports Complex. Other teams that represented Manila but did not host games in the city are the

Manila Jeepney F.C. Manila Jeepney Football Club is a professional Filipino football club, based in the city of Manila, Philippines. The team competed in the United Football League, the highest level of club football in the Philippines. The team entered the Unite ...

and FC Meralco Manila. Jeepney were acknowledged by the city's government as Manila's representative in the United Football League. Meralco Manila played in the

Philippines Football League The Philippines Football League, commonly known as PFL, is a Philippines, Filipino professional association football, football league sanctioned by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF). It is the Philippines, Philippines' highest level of men ...

and designated the Rizal Memorial Stadium as their home ground. The Manila Storm are the city's

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

team training at Rizal Park (Luneta Park) and playing their matches at Southern Plains Field,

Calamba, Laguna Calamba, officially the City of Calamba ( fil, Lungsod ng Calamba), is a 1st class component city in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 539,671 people. Calamba is the regional center of t ...

. Previously a widely played sport in the city, Manila is now the home of the only sizable

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

stadium in the country, at the

Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium The Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium is a baseball stadium located inside the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila, Philippines. It has a seating capacity of 10,000. History 1934 Far Eastern Championship Games The Far Eastern Championshi ...

. The stadium hosted games of the now defunct Baseball Philippines;

Lou Gehrig Henry Louis Gehrig (born Heinrich Ludwig Gehrig ; June 19, 1903June 2, 1941) was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1923–1939). Gehrig was renowned f ...

and

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

were the first players to score a

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run is ...

at the stadium at their tour of the country on December 2, 1934. Another popular sport in the city are

cue sports Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as . There are three major subdivisions ...

, and billiard halls are a feature in most barangays. The

2010 World Cup of Pool The 2010 World Cup of Pool was the fifth World Cup of Pool championship. It was held at the Robinsons Place Manila in Manila, Philippines, from September 7 to 12, 2010. China won this year's event. Rules *Winners' break. *Teammates take shots al ...

was held at

. The Rizal Memorial Track and Football Stadium hosted the first

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the ' (FIFA), the ...

qualifier in decades when the

hosted

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

in July 2011. The stadium, which was previously unfit for international matches, had undergone a major renovation program before the match. The stadium also hosted its first rugby test when it hosted the 2012 Asian Five Nations Division I tournaments.

Festivities and holidays

Manila celebrates civic and national holidays. Since most of the city's citizens are

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

s as a result of the Spanish colonization, most of the festivities are religious in nature. Manila Day, which celebrates the city's founding on June 24, 1571, by

'' conquistador''

, was first proclaimed by

Herminio A. Astorga Herminio “Togay” Aldaba Astorga (December 22, 1929 – January 19, 2004) served as the vice-mayor of the City of Manila from 1962 to 1967. He was also a National Collegiate Athletic Association (Philippines) (NCAA) and University Athletic Ass ...

(then vice mayor of Manila) on June 24, 1962. It has been annually commemorated under the patronage of

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

, and has always been declared by the national government as a special non-working holiday through Presidential Proclamations. Each of the city's 896 barangays also have their own festivities guided by their own

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholic Church, Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocacy, advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, ...

. The city is also the host to the Procession of the Feast of the Black Nazarene (''Traslacíon''), held every January 9, which draws millions of

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

devotees. Other religious festivities held in Manila are the Feast of Santo Niño in Tondo and Pandacan held on the third Sunday of January, the Feast of the Nuestra Señora de los Desamparados de Manila (Our Lady of the Abandoned), the patron saint of Santa Ana which was held every May 12, and the ''

Flores de Mayo Flores de Mayo (Spanish for "flowers of May") is a festival held in the Philippines in the month of May. It is one of the May devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary and lasts for the entire month. The Santacruzan (from the Spanish ''santa cruz'', ...

''. Non-religious holidays include the

New Year's Day New Year's Day is a festival observed in most of the world on 1 January, the first day of the year in the modern Gregorian calendar. 1 January is also New Year's Day on the Julian calendar, but this is not the same day as the Gregorian one. Wh ...

, National Heroes' Day, Bonifacio Day and Rizal Day.

Government

12-10-20 International Human Rights Day Protest Manila

Manila—officially known as the City of Manila—is the

national capital A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses the go ...

of the Philippines and is classified as a Special City (according to its income) and a Highly Urbanized City (HUC). The

is the chief executive, and is assisted by the vice mayor, and the 38-member

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

. The members of the City Council are elected as representatives of the six councilor districts within the city, and the municipal presidents of the

Liga ng mga Barangay The Liga ng mga Barangay sa Pilipinas (League of Barangays in the Philippines) and the Asosasyon ng mga Kapitan ng Barangay (Association of Barangay Captains) or ABC are formal organizations of all the barangays in the Philippines. Presently, al ...

and

Sangguniang Kabataan Sangguniang Kabataan (abbreviated as SK; ) is a council meant to represent the youth in each barangay in the Philippines. It was put "on hold", but not quite abolished, prior to the 2013 barangay elections. In January 2016, the Sangguniang ...

. The city, however, has no control over

and the Manila North Harbor. The historic Walled City is administered by the Intramuros Administration, while the Manila North Harbor is managed by the Philippine Ports Authority. Both are national government agencies. The barangays that have jurisdictions over these places only oversee the welfare of the city's constituents and cannot exercise their executive powers. Manila has a total of 12,971 personnel complement by the end of 2018. Under the proposed form of federalism in the Philippines, Manila may no longer be the capital or Metro Manila may no longer be the seat of government. The committee has not yet decided on the federal capital and states that they are open to other proposals. The

is Dr. Maria Shielah "Honey" Lacuna-Pangan, daughter of former Manila vice mayor

Danilo Lacuna Danilo "Danny" Bautista Lacuna, Sr. (born March 20, 1938) is a Filipino lawyer and retired politician who last served as vice mayor of Manila from 1998 to 2007, the post he previously held from 1970 to 1971 and from 1988 to 1992. He also served ...

. Lacuna made history as she became the first female Mayor of Manila. The vice mayor is

Yul Servo John Marvin Cruz Nieto (born February 22, 1977), popularly known by his stage name Yul Servo Nieto or simply Yul Servo, is a Filipino actor and politician who is currently the vice mayor of Manila, the capital city of the Philippines, since 20 ...

. The mayor and the vice mayor are term-limited by up to 3 terms, with each term lasting for three years. The city has an ordinance penalizing cat-calling since 2018, and is the second city in the Philippines to do so after

passed a similar ordinance in 2016. Recently, the city government is planning to revise existing curfew ordinance since the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional in August 2017. Out of the three cities reviewed by the Supreme Court, namely: the City of Manila,

and

; only the curfew ordinance of Quezon City was approved. Manila, being the seat of political power of the Philippines, has several national government offices headquartered at the city. Planning for the development for being the center of government started during the early years of

American colonization During the Age of Discovery, a large scale European colonization of the Americas took place between about 1492 and 1800. Although the Norse had explored and colonized areas of the North Atlantic, colonizing Greenland and creating a short ter ...

when they envisioned a well-designed city outside the walls of Intramuros. The strategic location chosen was Bagumbayan, a former town which is now the Rizal Park to become the center of government and a design commission was given to

to create a master plan for the city patterned after Washington, D.C. These improvements were eventually abandoned under the Commonwealth Government of

. A new government center was to be built on the hills northeast of Manila, or what is now Quezon City. Several government agencies have set up their headquarters in Quezon City but several key government offices still reside in Manila. However, many of the plans were substantially altered after the devastation of Manila during World War II and by subsequent administrations. The city, as the capital, still hosts the Office of the President, as well as the president's

official residence An official residence is the residence of a head of state, head of government, governor, religious leader, leaders of international organizations, or other senior figure. It may be the same place where they conduct their work-related functions. ...

. Aside from these, important government agencies and institutions such as the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

, the

Court of Appeals A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much ...

, the

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (; commonly abbreviated as BSP in both Filipino and English) is the central bank of the Philippines. It was established on July 3, 1993, pursuant to the provision of Republic Act 7653 or the New Central Bank Act ...

, the

Departments Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

of Budget and Management, Finance,

Health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

, Labor and Employment and Public Works and Highways still call the city home. Manila also hosts important national institutions such as the National Library, National Archives,

and the Philippine General Hospital.. Other notable institutions based in Manila are the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, National Historical Commission, Film Development Council of the Philippines and the

Cultural Center of the Philippines The Cultural Center of the Philippines ( fil, Sentrong Pangkultura ng Pilipinas, or CCP) is a government-owned and controlled corporation established to preserve, develop and promote arts and culture in the Philippines.Presidential Decree No. ...

. Congress previously held office at the Old Congress Building. In 1972, due to declaration of martial law, Congress was dissolved; its successor, the

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multi ...

Batasang Pambansa, held office at the new

Batasang Pambansa Complex The Batasang Pambansa Complex, or simply the Batasan (), is the seat of the House of Representatives of the Philippines. It is located along the Batasan Road in Batasan Hills, Quezon City. The complex was initially the home of the Batasa ...

. When a new

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princip ...

restored the

bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single gro ...

Congress, the House of Representatives stayed at the Batasang Pambansa Complex, while the Senate remained at the Old Congress Building. In May 1997, the Senate transferred to a new building it shares with the Government Service Insurance System at reclaimed land at

. The

was slated to transfer to its new campus at

Taguig Taguig (), officially the City of Taguig ( fil, Lungsod ng Taguig), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in Metro Manila, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 886,722 people. Located in the northwestern shores of ...

in 2019 but was postponed to a later year. In Congress, Manila is represented by its six representatives, one each from its six congressional districts, while in the Senate, that body is elected nationally.

Finance

In the 2019 Annual Audit Report published by the Commission on Audit, the total revenue of the City of Manila amounted to ₱16.534 billion. It is one of the cities with the highest tax collection and internal revenue allotment. For the 2019 fiscal year, the total tax revenue collected by the city amounted to ₱8.4 billion. The city's total Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA), coming from the National Treasury, is at ₱2.94 billion. Meanwhile, its total assets was worth ₱63.4 billion in 2019. The City of Manila has the highest budget allocation to healthcare among all the cities and municipalities in the Philippines, which maintains the six district hospitals, 59 health centers and lying-in clinic, and healthcare programs.

Infrastructure

Housing

Development of public housing in the city began in the 1930s when the United States rule over the Philippines. Americans have to deal with the problem of sanitation and concentration of settlers around business areas. Business codes and sanitation laws were implemented in the 1930s. During this period until the 1950s, new communities were opened for relocation. Among these were Projects 1–8 in Diliman,

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. In 2016, the national government completed several medium-rise houses for 300 Manila residents whose slum community was destroyed by a fire in 2011. Meanwhile, the city government plans to retrofit dilapidated tenements within the city, and will construct new housing buildings for the city's informal settlers such as the 14-storey Tondominium 1 and Tondomium 2 buildings, containing 42-square meter, two-bedroom units. The construction of these new in-city vertical housing projects was funded by a loan from the

Development Bank of the Philippines The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) is a state-owned development bank headquartered in Makati, Philippines. It was established after World War II in 1947 on the government's effort through its mandate to rebuild the country's war t ...

and the Land Bank of the Philippines. A multitude of other vertical housing projects are in development. Since 2019, the Manila City Government has initiated 5 housing projects, namely: Tondominium 1 & 2, Binondominium, BaseCommunity, San Lazaro Residences and the Pedro Gil Residences.

Transportation

One of the more famous modes of transportation in Manila is the

jeepney Jeepneys (), sometimes called jeeps (), are minibus-like public utility vehicles, serving as the most popular means of public transportation in the Philippines. They are known for their crowded seating and kitsch decorations, which have beco ...

. Patterned after U.S. Army jeeps, these have been in use since the years immediately following World War II. The Tamaraw FX, the third generation

Toyota Kijang The Toyota Kijang is a series of pickup trucks, multi purpose vehicles and light commercial vehicles sold mainly in Southeast Asia, Taiwan and India by Toyota. It was first introduced in Indonesia in 1977 and had become the most popular car in ...

, which competed directly with jeepneys and followed fixed routes for a set price, once plied the streets of Manila. They were replaced by the

UV Express UV Express (formerly known as FX, Metered Taxi, and GT Express) is a license to operate utility vehicles, particularly vans, as an alternative mode of public transportation in the Philippines. The term also refers to the vehicles themselves. This ...

. All types of public road transport plying Manila are privately owned and operated under government-issued franchises. On a for-hire basis, the city is served by numerous

taxicab A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choi ...

s, " tricycles" (motorcycles with sidecars, the Philippine version of the

auto rickshaw An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many terms in various countries including auto, auto rickshaw, baby taxi, mototaxi, pigeon, jonnybee, bajaj ...

), and "''trisikads''" or "''sikads''", which are also known as "''kuligligs''" (bicycles with sidecars, the Philippine version of

pedicabs The cycle rickshaw is a small-scale local means of transport. It is a type of hatchback tricycle designed to carry passengers on a for-hire basis. It is also known by a variety of other names such as bike taxi, velotaxi, pedicab, bikecab ...

). In some areas, especially in Divisoria, motorized pedicabs are popular. Spanish-era horse-drawn calesas are still a popular tourist attraction and mode of transportation in the streets of Binondo and Intramuros. Manila will phase out all gasoline-run tricycles and pedicabs and replace them with electric tricycles (e-trikes), and plans to distribute 10,000 e-trikes to qualified tricycle drivers from the city. As of January 2018, the city has already distributed e-trikes to a number of drivers and operators in

and Santa Cruz. The city is serviced by LRT Line 1 (LRT-1) and

Line 2 Line 2 or 2 Line may refer to: Public transport Americas *2 (New York City Subway service), a rapid transit service in the A Division of the New York City Subway *2 Line (Sound Transit), a light rail line in Seattle, Washington *Line 2 Bloor–Dan ...

(LRT-2), which form the Light Rail Transit. Development of the railway system began in the 1970s under the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos, when the LRT Line 1 was built, making it the first light rail transport in Southeast Asia, though despite the name "light rail", LRT-1 operates as a

light metro A medium-capacity system (MCS), also known as light rapid transit or light metro, is a rail transport system with a capacity greater than light rail, but less than typical heavy-rail rapid transit. MCS’s trains are usually 1-4 cars, or 1 lig ...

running on dedicated right-of-way. LRT 2 on the other hand, operates as a full-metro heavy rail system. These systems are undergoing a multibillion-dollar expansion. The LRT runs along the length of

(N170/R-2) and Rizal Avenue (N150/R-9), while LRT-2 runs along Claro M. Recto Avenue (N145/C-1) and Ramon Magsaysay Boulevard (N180/R-6) from Santa Cruz, through

, up to Masinag in

Antipolo Antipolo, officially known as the City of Antipolo ( fil, Lungsod ng Antipolo), is a 1st class component city and capital of the province of Rizal, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 887,399 people. It is the m ...

Rizal Rizal, officially the Province of Rizal ( fil, Lalawigan ng Rizal), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Its capital is the city of Antipolo. It is about east of Manila. The province is named after José R ...

. The central terminal of the

lies within the city. One commuter railway within Metro Manila is in operation. The line runs in a general north–south direction from Tutuban (Tondo) toward the province of Laguna. The

, located at the western section of the city at the vicinity of Manila Bay, is the largest and chief seaport of the Philippines. The Pasig River Ferry Service which runs on the Pasig River is another form of transportation. The city is also served by the

Ninoy Aquino International Airport Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA , ; fil, Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Ninoy Aquino or ''Pandaigdigang Paliparan ng Ninoy Aquino''; ), originally known and still commonly referred to as Manila International Airport (MIA), is the main ...

, the country's main international airport and hub for domestic flights. “Trolleys", hand-made human-powered metal handcarts operated by “trolley boys” transport people along sections of the PNR lines. This is a popular means of transport, due to it being cheap (roughly ₱10 or US$.20) and avoiding traffic. Many “trolley boys” are homeless, and live alongside the rail line as a result. Since the line is actively used by passenger trains, collisions with passenger trains are a consistent danger, although casualties are reportedly rare. Rides are unofficial and unregulated, but tolerated by authorities. Manila was ranked by '' TomTom'' as the second world's most traffic-congested city in 2019. According to

Waze Waze (; he, ווייז, label=Hebrew), formerly FreeMap Israel, is a subsidiary company of Google that provides satellite navigation software on smartphones and other computers that support the Global Positioning System (GPS). In addition t ...

's 2015 "Global Driver Satisfaction Index", Manila is the town with the worst traffic worldwide. Manila is notorious for its frequent

traffic jam Traffic congestion is a condition in transport that is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. Traffic congestion on urban road networks has increased substantially since the 1950s. When traffic d ...

s and high densities. The government has undertaken several projects to alleviate the traffic in the city. Some of the projects include: the proposed construction of a new viaduct or underpass at the intersection of España Boulevard and Lacson Avenue, the construction of Skyway Stage 3,

NLEX Connector NLEX Connector (North Luzon Expressway Connector), also known as the NLEX–SLEX Connector Road (North Luzon Expressway–South Luzon Expressway Connector), NLEX Connector Road, and NLEX Segment 11 during the planning stages, is a , four-lane e ...

Pasig River Expressway The Pasig River Expressway (PAREX) is a proposed elevated expressway in Metro Manila, Philippines that will skirt the banks of the Pasig River and connect the cities of Manila, Mandaluyong, Makati, Pasig, Taguig and the municipality of Taytay. ...

, the proposed LRT Line 2 West Extension Project from

to Pier 4 of the Manila North Harbor, the proposed construction of the PNR east–west line, which will run through España Boulevard up to

, and the expansion and widening of several national and local roads. However, such projects have yet to make any meaningful impact, and the traffic jams and congestion continue unabated. The Metro Manila Dream Plan seeks to address these urban transport problems. It consists of a list of short term priority projects and medium to long term infrastructure projects that will last up to 2030.

Water and electricity

Water services used to be provided by the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System, which served 30% of the city with most other sewage being directly dumped into storm drains, septic tanks, or open canals. MWSS was privatized in 1997, which split the water concession into the east and west zones. The Maynilad Water Services took over the west zone of which Manila is a part. It now provides the supply and delivery of potable water and sewerage system in Manila, but it does not provide service to the southeastern part of the city which belongs to the east zone that is served by

Manila Water Manila Water Company, Inc. has the exclusive right to provide water and used water (wastewater) services to over six million people in the East Zone of Metro Manila. It is a subsidiary of the country's oldest conglomerate, Ayala Corporation. In ...

. Electric services are provided by

Meralco The Manila Electric Company (), also known as Meralco (, ), is an electric power distribution company in the Philippines. It is Metro Manila's only electric power distributor and holds the power distribution franchise for 22 cities and 89 munic ...

, the sole electric power distributor in Metro Manila.

Healthcare

The Manila Health Department is responsible for the planning and implementation of the health care programs provided by the city government. It operates 59 health centers and six city-run hospitals, which are free of charge for the city's constituents. The six public city-run hospitals are the Ospital ng Maynila Medical Center, Ospital ng Sampaloc, Gat Andres Bonifacio Memorial Medical Center, Ospital ng Tondo, Santa Ana Hospital, and Justice Jose Abad Santos General Hospital. Manila is also the site of the

Philippine General Hospital The Philippine General Hospital (also known as University of the Philippines–Philippine General Hospital or UP–Philippine General Hospital), simply referred to as UP–PGH or PGH, is a tertiary state-owned hospital administered and operated ...

, the tertiary state-owned hospital administered and operated by the University of the Philippines Manila. The city is also planning to put up an education, research and hospital facility for cleft-palate patients, as well as establishing the first children's surgical hospital in Southeast Asia. Manila's healthcare is also provided by private corporations. Private hospitals that operates in the city are the Manila Doctors Hospital, Chinese General Hospital and Medical Center, José R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center, Metropolitan Medical Center, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, and the

University of Santo Tomas Hospital The University of Santo Tomas Hospital (''simply'' UST Hospital or USTH) is a hospital located at the University of Santo Tomas. The hospital has two divisions, a clinical teaching hospital that offers inexpensive medical care for indigent patient ...

. The

Department of Health A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their o ...

(DOH) has its main office in Manila. The national health department operates the San Lazaro Hospital, a special referral tertiary hospital. DOH also operates the

Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital, the National Maternity Hospital, is a maternal and newborn tertiary hospital located in Santa Cruz, Manila in the Philippines. It also houses the Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital School of Midwifery, one of the ...

, Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center and the

Tondo Medical Center The Tondo Medical Center, also known as Tondo Med, is a 300-bed capacity tertiary public medical center established in 1971, under the supervision and control of the Department of Health (DOH). It is located on North Bay Boulevard, Tondo, Manila, ...

. Manila is the home to the headquarters of the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level o ...

's Regional Office for the Western Pacific and Country Office for the Philippines. The city has free immunization programs for children, specifically targeted against hepatitis B, Hemophilus influenza B pneumonia, diphtheria, tetanus, polio, measles, mumps and rubella. As of 2016, a total of 31,115 children age one and below has been "fully immunized". The Manila Dialysis Center that provides free services for the poor has been cited by the United Nations Committee on Innovation, Competitiveness and Public-Private Partnerships as a model for public-private partnership (PPP) projects. The dialysis facility was named as the Flora V. Valisno de Siojo Dialysis Center in 2019, and was inaugurated as the largest free dialysis facility in the Philippines. It has 91 dialysis machines, which can be expanded up to 100, matching the capabilities of the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI).

Education

The center of education since the colonial period, Manila is home to several Philippine universities and colleges as well as its oldest ones. The city contains the University Belt, an area where there is a high concentration of colleges and universities. Each of the colleges and universities found here are at a short walking distance of each other. The area is commonly understood as the one where the San Miguel, Quiapo, and Sampaloc districts meet, while another cluster of colleges lies along the southern bank of the Pasig River, mostly at the Intramuros and

districts, and still a smaller cluster is found at the southernmost part of

near the city limits. The historic district of Intramuros once served as the home of the

(1611),

Colegio de San Juan de Letran The Colegio de San Juan de Letran, (transl: College of San Juan de Letran) also referred to by its acronym CSJL, is a private Catholic coeducational basic and higher education institution owned and run by the friars of the Order of Preachers ...

(1620), and

Ateneo de Manila University , mottoeng = Light in the Lord , type = Private, research, non-profit, coeducational basic and higher education institution , established = December 10, 1859 , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic (Jesuits) , academic_aff ...

(1859). Today, only Colegio de San Juan de Letran 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. Meanwhile, new non-sectarian schools were built after the war:

Mapúa University Mapúa University ( fil, Pamantasang Mapúa), also known simply as Mapúa or MU, is a private research-oriented non-sectarian university located in Metro Manila, Philippines. The university was founded in 1925 by the first registered Filipino a ...

(1925),

Lyceum of the Philippines University Lyceum of the Philippines University ( fil, Pamantasang Liseo ng Pilipinas) also referred to by its acronym LPU is a private, non-sectarian, coeducational higher education institution located at intramuros in the City of Manila, Philippines. ...

(1952), and

Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila The Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (from 'University of the City of Manila', abbreviated as PLM) is a city-government-funded local university situated inside the historic walled area of Intramuros, Manila, Philippines. It was established on ...

(1965) which is owned and operated by the Manila city government. Together, the four schools in the district formed the Intramuros Consortium. Other notable universities in the city include National University (1900),

De La Salle University De La Salle University ( fil, Pamantasang De La Salle or Unibersidad ng De La Salle), also referred to as DLSU, De La Salle or La Salle, is a private, Catholic coeducational research university run by the Institute of the Brothers of the Chris ...

(1911), the largest of all De La Salle University System of schools,

Far Eastern University Far Eastern University ( Filipino: ''Pamantasan ng Malayong Silanganan''), also referred to by its acronym FEU, is a private non-sectarian liberal arts university in Manila, Philippines. Created by the merger of Far Eastern College and the Ins ...

(1928), and

Adamson University Adamson University ( fil, links=no, Pamantasang Adamson) also referred to by its acronym AdU is a private, Catholic coeducational basic and higher education institution run by the Congregation of the Mission in Manila, Philippines. The univers ...

(1939). The

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 200 ...

(1908), the premier state university of the country, was established in Ermita, Manila. It moved its central administrative offices from Manila to Diliman in 1949 and eventually made the original campus the University of the Philippines Manila – the oldest of the constituent universities of the University of the Philippines System and the center of health sciences education in the country. The city is also the site of the main campus of the

Polytechnic University of the Philippines Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP; fil, Politeknikong Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a research institute, research and coeducational state Universities and Colleges (Philippines), state university in Manila, Philippines. It was founde ...

, the largest university in the country in terms of student population. The Division of the City Schools of Manila, a branch of the

Department of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

, refers to the city's three-tier public education system. It governs the 71 public elementary schools and 32 public high schools within the city. The city also contains the Manila Science High School, the pilot science high school of the Philippines.

Sister cities

Asia

Astana Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmola Region, tho ...

, Kazakhstan * Bacoor, Cavite *

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populatio ...

, Thailand *

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, People's Republic of China *

Dili Dili ( Portuguese/ Tetum: ''Díli'') is the capital, largest city of East Timor and the second largest city in Timor islands after Kupang (Indonesia). It lies on the northern coast of the island of Timor, in a small area of flat land hemmed ...

, East Timor *

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong ...

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020 ...

, People's Republic of China *

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropoli ...

, Israel *

Ho Chi Minh City , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

, Vietnam * Incheon, South Korea * Jakarta, Indonesia * Nantan, Kyoto, Japan *

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

, Japan (business partner) *

Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a commonwealth of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 est ...

, Northern Mariana Islands *

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

, People's Republic of China *

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

, Taiwan * Takatsuki, Osaka, Japan *

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of ...

Kanagawa is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kanagaw ...

, Japan

Europe

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north ...

, Romania * Lisbon, Portugal *

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is official ...

, Poland *

, Spain * Màlaga, Spain *

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, Russia *

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

, France

Americas

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has ...

Guerrero Guerrero is one of the 32 states that comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in Municipalities of Guerrero, 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo and its largest city is Acap ...

, Mexico *

Cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,227,642 residents according to the 2018 census. The city spans with of urban area, making Cali the secon ...

, Colombia * Cartagena, Colombia *

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, Cuba *

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the islan ...

, Hawaii, United States *

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of t ...

, Peru * Maui County, Hawaii, United States *

, Mexico *

Montevideo Montevideo () is the capital and largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . Montevideo is situated on the southern ...

, Uruguay *

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

, Quebec, Canada *

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

, New York, United States (global partner) *

Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...

, Panama *

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, California, United States *

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, California, United States *

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, who ...

, Chile *

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...

, Manitoba, Canada

International relations

Manila hosts the foreign embassies of the United States and Vietnam. Honorary consulates of Belize, Burkina Faso, Jordan, Nepal, Poland, Thailand, and Tunisia are based in the city.

Notes

References

Sources

* Moore, Charles (1921)
"Daniel H. Burnham: Planner of Cities"
Houghton Mifflin and Co., Boston and New York.

External links

* *

Philippine Standard Geographic Code The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

* {{Authority control Capitals in Asia Cities in Metro Manila 1574 establishments in the Philippines Planned cities in the Philippines Populated places established in 1574 Populated places on Manila Bay Populated places on the Pasig River Port cities and towns in the Philippines Highly urbanized cities in the Philippines

Etymology

May-nilad

History

Early history

Spanish period

American period

Japanese occupation and World War II

Post-war years and the Marcos Sr. Dictatorship era (1946–1986)

Contemporary period (1986–present)

Geography

Barangays and districts

Climate

Natural hazards

Pollution

Cityscape

Architecture

Demographics

Crime

Religion

Christianity

Other faiths

Economy

Tourism

Shopping

Culture

Museums

Sports

Festivities and holidays

Government

Finance

Infrastructure

Housing

Transportation

Water and electricity

Healthcare

Education

Sister cities

Asia

Europe

Americas

International relations

See also

Notes

References

Sources

External links