
Mendiola Street (or simply "Mendiola") is a short thoroughfare in
Manila
Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
,
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
. The street is named after
Enrique Mendiola, the pedagogue, author of textbooks, educator and member of the first Board of Regents of the
University of the Philippines
The University of the Philippines (UP; ) is a Higher education in the Philippines#State universities and colleges, state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by List of Philippine laws, Re ...
. As a street leading to
Malacañang Palace
Malacañang Palace (, ), officially known as Malacañán Palace, is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the Philippines. It is located in the Manila district of San Miguel, Manila, San Miguel, along Jose Laurel S ...
, the
President of the Philippines
The president of the Philippines (, sometimes referred to as ) is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in-ch ...
'
official residence
An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (either their own or that of th ...
, it has been a convergence area of numerous and sometimes bloody demonstrations.
On the north end of the street is the Don Chino Roces Bridge, named in honor of
Chino Roces
Joaquin "Chino" Pardo Roces (June 29, 1913 – September 30, 1988) was a Filipino businessman and newspaper publisher. He was best known for being the founder of the Associated Broadcasting Corporation (now known as TV5) and a former owner ...
, a well-known figure during the Philippines'
Martial Law
Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...
years. (An illuminated street sign above the intersection of Recto and Mendiola erroneously refers to the latter street as Chino Roces Avenue).
Mendiola Street starts at the intersection of
Legarda Street and
Claro M. Recto Avenue and ends at
Jose Laurel Street
Jose Laurel Street is a tree-lined street in the district of San Miguel, Manila, San Miguel in north-central Manila, Philippines. It runs parallel to the Pasig River from the Nagtahan Interchange south-westwards to Ayala Bridge. It is where Ma ...
, just outside
Malacañang Palace
Malacañang Palace (, ), officially known as Malacañán Palace, is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the Philippines. It is located in the Manila district of San Miguel, Manila, San Miguel, along Jose Laurel S ...
. Four colleges and universities forming part of the
University Belt are on Mendiola Street.
To protect Malacañang Palace, the part of Mendiola Street that starts at the sentinel gate in front of the
College of the Holy Spirit and
La Consolacion College Manila is closed to vehicles. Vehicles are diverted to Concepcion Aguila Street, a narrow side street that passes through residential areas of San Miguel district.
In addition, Mendiola Street is extended southward from the street’s main segment across the
Pasig River
The Pasig River (; ) is a water body in the Philippines that connects Laguna de Bay to Manila Bay. Stretching for , it bisects the Philippine capital of Manila and Metro Manila, its surrounding urban area into northern and southern halves. Its m ...
as Mendiola Extension, running linearly through
Malacañang Park and as a short street in
Paco. This is a result of the street being initially planned to run further south up to
Pandacan but was only partially realized.
Protests

Mendiola Street has been the site of often violent confrontations between protesters and government troops protecting Malacañang Palace:
1970
During the administration of
Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and Kleptocracy, kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the c ...
, Mendiola Street was the site of the "Battle of Malacañang" or "The Battle of Mendiola Bridge", a confrontation between student demonstrators and police forces that occurred during the
First Quarter Storm on January 30, 1970. The confrontation resulted in the deaths of four student demonstrators and two bystanders.
1983
On September 21, 1983, breakaway protesters from the "National Day of Sorrow" rally, organized to commemorate the 11th anniversary of the
declaration of martial law and condemn the
assassination of Ninoy Aquino
Ninoy Aquino, Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr., a former Senate of the Philippines, Philippine senator, was assassinated on Sunday, August 21, 1983, on the airport apron, apron of Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Manila International Airport (no ...
, which occurred on August 21, went to Mendiola Street, where marines and firemen were stationed, initiating a standoff that resulted in the deaths of 11 people, seven of whom were protesters.
1987
On January 22, 1987, crowd control troops opened fire on a protest rally of about 10,000 peasant farmers demanding "genuine"
land reform
Land reform (also known as agrarian reform) involves the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership, land use, and land transfers. The reforms may be initiated by governments, by interested groups, or by revolution.
Lan ...
from then-President
Corazon Aquino
María Corazón "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipino politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines and the first woman president in the country, from Presidency of Corazon ...
. Thirteen of the protesters were killed, and hundreds were injured in the incident now known as the
Mendiola massacre.
2001
On May 1, 2001, supporters of former
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
Joseph Estrada, angered by his arrest following his
ouster from power earlier that year, marched to Mendiola Street after staging demonstrations outside the
EDSA Shrine
The National Shrine of Mary, Queen of Peace, also known as Mary, Queen of Peace Shrine, Our Lady of Peace Quasi-Parish and commonly known as the EDSA Shrine, is a small church building, church of the Archdiocese of Manila located at the inte ...
. They demanded the release and reinstatement of Estrada. A violent confrontation ensued between Estrada's supporters and members of the
Philippine National Police
The Philippine National Police (PNP; ) is the national police force of the Philippines. Its national headquarters is located at Camp Crame in Bagong Lipunan ng Crame, Quezon City. Currently, it has approximately 228,000 personnel to police a pop ...
and the
Armed Forces of the Philippines
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) () are the military forces of the Philippines. It consists of three main service branches; the Philippine Army, Army, the Philippine Air Force, Air Force, and the Philippine Navy, Navy (including the P ...
, who were then tasked by the then-President,
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal-Arroyo (; born April 5, 1947), often referred to as PGMA or GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician who served as the 14th president of the Philippines from Presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, 2001 to 2010 ...
, to secure
Malacañang Palace
Malacañang Palace (, ), officially known as Malacañán Palace, is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the Philippines. It is located in the Manila district of San Miguel, Manila, San Miguel, along Jose Laurel S ...
and the areas surrounding it. Mendiola Street and the vicinity around Malacañang Palace became a front line after the protesters tried to storm the Palace. Casualties were high on both the Estrada supporters' and government troops' end. As a result of the looting of stores and shops and the burning of several government and private vehicles by the protesters, damage to and loss of property along Mendiola Street and areas within the vicinity of Malacañang Palace was estimated to be millions of pesos. President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal-Arroyo (; born April 5, 1947), often referred to as PGMA or GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician who served as the 14th president of the Philippines from Presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, 2001 to 2010 ...
declared a state of rebellion to stifle the rioting; it was lifted after two days.
References
External links
GMANews.TV, Protest marks 21st anniversary of Mendiola Massacre- January 21, 2008
gmanews.tv/video, Saksi: Mendiola Massacre anniversary march comes off peaceful January 23, 2008 (in
Filipino)
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Streets in Manila
San Miguel, Manila