EDSA (road)
Epifanio de los Santos Avenue referred to by its acronym EDSA, is a limited-access circumferential highway around Manila, the capital of the Philippines. It is the main thoroughfare in Metro Manila passing through 6 of the capital region's 17 local government units, from north to south, Quezon City, San Juan, Mandaluyong and Pasay. Named after academic Epifanio de los Santos, the road links the North Luzon Expressway at the Balintawak Interchange in the north to the South Luzon Expressway at the Magallanes Interchange in the south, as well as the major financial districts of Makati Central Business District, Ortigas Center and Araneta Center, it is the most congested highway in the metropolis, stretching some 23.8 kilometers. The avenue is a component of Circumferential Road 4 of Manila's arterial road network, National Route 1 of the Philippine highway network and Asian Highway 26 of the Asian highway network; the locations around the avenue were marked with great economic and industrial growth, proven by the fact that all but 2 industrial centers in the Metropolis are directly accessible from the thoroughfare.
The decent economic growth of the areas around the avenue adds a significant volume of traffic on the avenue, in recent estimates, an average of 2.34 million vehicles go through it every day. The avenue is a divided carriageway consisting of 12 lanes, 6 in either direction, with the elevated railroad Manila Metro Rail Transit System serving as its median. Although it is not an expressway, traffic rules and speed limits are implemented to the vehicles that pass along it, it is operated by the Metro Manila Development Authority and is maintained and being repaired by the Department of Public Works and Highways. EDSA starts from the Bonifacio Monument Roundabout in Gracepark, adjacent to the Apolonio Samson Road, the western side of the C-4 Road; the roundabout is the marker of the 1896 Revolution by Andres Bonifacio. The 1.7 kilometers of the road are in Caloocan. The Avenue will enter Quezon City through the Balintawak District, after an intersection with the North Luzon Expressway in the Balintawak Interchange.
EDSA crosses much of the northern part of Quezon City, passing through the Project 6 and Muñoz districts. It curves southwards after crossing the North Avenue-West Avenue Intersection in the Triangle Business Park. On the north side of EDSA is the SM City North EDSA. In front of it is the Eton Centris or Centris Walk. ABS-CBN Broadcasting Center and its transmitter can be seen from EDSA and continues southwards turning westwards until it leaves the Triangle Park after crossing the East Avenue-Timog Avenue Intersection, where the GMA Network Center is located, it continues through the district of Cubao, entering the Araneta Center after crossing the Aurora Boulevard Tunnel. In Cubao, several malls and offices are located, most notably the Smart Araneta Coliseum, the biggest coliseum in Southeast Asia; the Avenue curves southwards and enters the Santolan and Socorro districts, where the twin military bases of Camp Rafael Crame and Camp Aguinaldo, are located. The Greenhills Shopping Center and the Eastwood City are located nearby.
EDSA continues on its route and serves as the boundary of the cities of San Juan and Quezon City. The People Power Monument can be seen on the north side of EDSA in the White Plains Avenue junction. After the 11 kilometers of EDSA in Quezon City, the Avenue will leave the city and enter the City of Mandaluyong. EDSA enters Mandaluyong after crossing the borders of the Ortigas Center. In the Ortigas Center, some notable buildings around the area are the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration building, Robinsons Galleria, SM Megamall, Forum Robinsons, the bronze EDSA Shrine, a memorial church to the 1986 Revolution, it curves smoothly westwards after it crosses the Pioneer Street, crosses the Pasig River via the Guadalupe Bridge and leaving the City of Mandaluyong. It enters the city of Makati after crossing the Pasig River, passing through the districts of Guadalupe and Magallanes. In Guadalupe, EDSA provides access to the Rockwell Center, a major mixed-use business park in Makati; the highway provides quick access to the city of Taguig and the Bonifacio Global City nearby.
After crossing Buendia Avenue, the highway enters the Ayala Center, an important commercial district in the Philippines, where the Greenbelt and Glorietta shopping centers are located. The road curves eastwards, continues on a straight route to the city of Pasay, passing the South Luzon Expressway through Magallanes Interchange. EDSA enters Pasay shortly after crossing SLEX in Makati. In Pasay, the highway provides access to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport via a flyover. EDSA will pass to Pasay Rotonda and continues on a straight route until it crosses to Roxas Boulevard. After crossing Roxas Boulevard, it enters to Bay City reclamation area, where the large SM Mall of Asia is located. EDSA's terminus is at a rotunda in front of the Globe of the SM Mall of Asia; the lead agency that manages the flow of traffic along EDSA is the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, a government agency under the Office of the President of the Philippines and is advised by the Metro Manila Mayors League.
One of the MMDA's traffic management schemes, in effect on EDSA, among other major thoroughfares in the metropolis, is the Uniform Vehicular Volume Reduction Program. Many have observed that the cause of many traffic jams on EDSA are erring jeepneys. Subsequently, buses have been the target of other traffic management pro
Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources (Philippines)
The Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources is the head of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources of the Philippines. The post is headed by Ret. Gen. Roy Cimatu who holds the position as secretary after Gina Lopez was rejected by the Commission on Appointments on May 3, 2017. Acting Capacity Ad InterimNotes: A in concurrent capacity as Vice President DENR - History History of the Department of Agriculture:'DA Then and Now'
Government Arsenal
The Government Arsenal is an agency of the Philippine government under the Department of National Defense, responsible for the production of basic weaponry and ammunition for the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police, among others, for the sale and export of products in excess of AFP/PNP requirements. The Government Arsenal is located on a 370-hectare defense industrial estate in Lamao, Bataan, about 120 km from Manila by land, 70 km from Subic and 90 km from Clark. Just three km from the Port of Limay, the Arsenal is strategically situated near the Petron Bataan Refinery, the Bataan Combined Cycle Power Plant, the National Power Corporation Plant, the Petro-Chemical Complex, the Special Economic Zone at Mariveles, Bataan. To sustain its operations, the GA presently maintains and operates 124 buildings and structures sprawled over 70 hectares of land. A creation of Republic Act No. 1884, signed into law on June 22, 1957, the Arsenal is a line bureau under the Department of National Defense.
However, it was only about a decade on March 7, 1967, that a presidential proclamation on its present site at Limay, Bataan was declared. Accordingly, on October 12, 1967, the ground breaking materialized at the spot where the statue of General Antonio Luna now stands. Site preparations were subsequently undertaken by the 514th and 564th Engineering Construction Battalions of the 51st Engineering Brigade of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Construction of essential buildings and facilities followed along with training abroad of selected military and newly hired civilian personnel on the manufacture of small arms ammunition. On August 15, 1971, or fourteen years after the enactment of Republic Act 1884, the first SAA cartridge rolled out of the GA's production assembly line. Three years the integrated SAA manufacture began, with all the components - case, propellant powder, bullet assembled into a complete cartridge - manufactured in the arsenal; as a strategic resource, the arsenal is envisioned to be a center for defense industries to meet domestic requirements and supply the world market.
In line with this vision, the GA explored in the early 1980s, the possibility of exporting excess production, improving ammunition technology and expanding the capability for weapons production as called for in its charter. However, the impediments under the existing laws prevented any real progress in this direction. On February 23, 1995, Republic Act 7898, otherwise known as the AFP Modernization Act, was enacted. Republic Act 7898 provides for the modernization of the Government Arsenal for the development of production capabilities to enhance self-sufficiency in defense requirements. Section 12 of this Act mandates that "the government arsenal shall be utilized in the production of basic weapons and other munitions for the use of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police, for the sale and export of products in excess of AFP/PNP requirements." Furthermore, the GA is authorized to use such production facilities as it may own or be provided under the law or as it may arrange under joint venture, co-production or similar arrangements with local and foreign entities.
As part of the modernization effort, the arsenal, through the Department of National Defense, issued an invitation to bid for a Multi-Station Bullet Assembly Machine for 5.56mm M193/M855 in August 2009. This marks a significant expansion of existing production lines; as of the most recent supplemental bulletin for the bid, bids for this acquisition were to have been opened on 4 December 2009. In July 1, 2010, Congressman Albert Garcia sponsored the House Bill 0076 known as the "Government Arsenal Modernization Act". Congressmen Mel Sarmiento, Francis Ortega, Leopoldo Bataoil are listed as co-sponsors; the bill sought to implement the following four-phase, 6.3 billion peso, modernization program: Phase I - Enhancement of the Arsenal's Capacity in Production of Small Arms AmmunitionProjected budget: One Billion Three Hundred Forty Million Pesos The Arsenal shall acquire various equipment necessary to enhance ts capability and increase its annual capacity in the production of Small Arms to a level where it can support the Small Arms Ammunition requirements of the AFP, PNP, other government law enforcement agencies in accordance with its modernization objectives.
Phase I shall be aimed at increasing its annual Small Arms Ammunition production to meet the overall Small Arms Ammunition requirements of all defense and law enforcement agencies. Phase II - Development of the Arsenal's Capability in Weapons ManufactureProjected budget: Two Billion Pesos for a period of four years The Arsenal shall acquire necessary equipment and technologies to develop its capabilities in the field of weapons manufacture to a level where it can perform its lawful mandate; the Arsenal shall continuously conduct research and development activities in accordance with the spirit of Self-Reliant Defense Posture Program of the government in order to gain insights and develop technical capability in the manufacture of weapons that are vital to support the mission of the AFP, PNP and other law enforcement agencies. Phase III - Establishment of Various Munitions Testing FacilitiesProjected budget: Five Hundred Million Pesos The Arsenal shall be transformed from its present status as a mere small arms ammunition manufacturer into a multi-task-capable agency by establishing various facilities with necessary equipment and appropriate technology to hone and harness its technical know-how in the conduct of tests and evaluation of an assortment of defense material.
Phase IV - Development of Arsenal's C
Cardozo Luna
Cardozo M. Luna is a retired three-star general and the 35th Vice Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Cardozo Luna served as the commander of two unified commands, Eastern Mindanao Command and Central Command, he served as the Philippine Ambassador to The Hague, Netherlands from 2009 until 2010 He is the current Undersecretary of Department of National Defense. Cardozo was born to his wife, Teofista M. Luna, he was born in San Ildefonso, Bulacan and raised in Santo Tomas, Batangas where he graduated on top of his elementary and high school classes. Owing to Colonel Luna’s profession as a lawyer, his son Cardozo is named after Benjamin N. Cardozo, the renowned Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court who contributed to the development of American Civil Law in the 20th century, he descended from the Luna clans of Badoc, Ilocos Norte where the ancestry of Antonio Luna and Juan Luna, members of the 1896 Philippine Revolution came from. He is married to Mrs. Joyce Marcelina Espinosa Siongco Luna.
She is the daughter of Brig. General Gonzalo H. Siongco, the first Commanding General of the 6th Infantry Division. Cardozo and Joyce have three daughters. Cardozo is a member of the Philippine Military Academy "Makabayan" Class of 1975, graduated number 6 in a class of 91. Prior to his admission to PMA as a cadet, Cardozo Luna entered Mapúa Institute of Technology taking up Civil Engineering. While in the service, he pursued post-graduate courses in the Philippines and the United States, he graduated with Masters in Economics Development from the University of the Philippines. He obtained his second graduate degree of Master of Arts in Economics Planning and poised to complete his Doctoral Degree in Regional Economics at the prestigious Ivy League business school of the University of Pennsylvania, he is a member of the prestigious Wharton-Penn Club of the Philippines. He is a Defense Diplomacy Fellow in Cranfield University in the United Kingdom. Other than being touted as an academic giant in the military, Cardozo excelled in his military education and training record.
He attained top honors when he took the PC Officers Basic Course, PC Officers Advance Course, the AFP Command and General Staff Course and the Joint Command and Staff Course. Upon graduation from the academy, Cardozo was commissioned as Second Lieutenant and joined the Philippine Constabulary, he spent most of his junior-officer's years in Mindanao. After his stint in Mindanao, he served as Junior Staff at AFP General Headquarters & Headquarters Service Command and at Department of National Defense, he was assigned as a Junior Staff at the defense attaché in Washington, D. C. USA from 1981 until 1984. Upon his return to the country, he served as Vice President of the Armed Forces & Police Mutual Benefit Association and, soon after, as Vice President/Assistant General Manager of the Armed Forces & Police Savings and Loan Association Inc.. In 1987, he assumed as the District Commander of the Philippine Constabulary 1st District, Regional Command 4 and served as the Commanding Officer of the 214th PC Coy, RECOM 4 in Batangas.
Among the significant positions he held in the past were: Defense Intelligence Security Group and Military Intelligence Group Commander. Upon promotion to star-rank, he assumed positions of higher responsibility as Commanding General of the 602nd Infantry Brigade, 6th Infantry Division from April 16, 2002 to July 25, 2003. During his stint as the Commanding General of the AFP EastMinCom, he commanded and controlled 3 Army Infantry Divisions, a Naval Force, a Tactical Operations Wing, several AFP Wide Service Support Units in Eastern Mindanao whose area of responsibility covers Regions 10, 11, 12, Caraga Region, three provinces of ARMM such as: Maguindanao, Sharif Kabunsuan, Lanao del Sur, consisting of not less than 25,000 uniformed personnel and civilian employees of the AFP. Luna is a recipient of various military awards and decorations, numerous Letters of Commendations from various military officers and Resolutions from Chief Executives of government agencies and Local Government Units for his valuable services rendered as an officer and a gentleman.
Col. Cardozo Luna, head of the 602nd Infantry Brigade, captured a key rebel stronghold of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front on February 14, 2003; the stronghold is located in Buliok complex in Cotabato and Maguindanao, part of a major offensive on the southern island of Mindanao. After the successful campaign, Luna earned his first star as Brigadier General. Brig. Gen. Cardozo M. Luna, 56th Commandant of the Philippine Military Academy, changed the required uni
Corazon Aquino
María Corazón "Cory" Cojuangco Aquino was a Filipino politician who served as the 11th President of the Philippines, becoming the first woman to hold that office. The first female president in the Philippines, Aquino was the most prominent figure of the 1986 People Power Revolution, which ended the 21-year rule of President Ferdinand Marcos, she was named Time magazine's Woman of the Year in 1986. Prior to this, she had not held any elective office. A self-proclaimed "plain housewife", she was married to Senator Benigno Aquino Jr. the staunchest critic of President Marcos. She emerged as leader of the opposition after her husband was assassinated on 21 August 1983 upon returning to the Philippines from exile in the United States. In late 1985, Marcos called for snap elections, Aquino ran for president with former senator Salvador Laurel as her running mate for vice president. After the elections were held on 7 February 1986, the Batasang Pambansa proclaimed Marcos and his running mate Arturo Tolentino as the winners.
Defections from the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the support of the local Catholic hierarchy led to the People Power Revolution that ousted Marcos and secured Aquino's accession on 25 February 1986. As President, Aquino oversaw the promulgation of the 1987 Constitution, which limited the powers of the Presidency and re-established the bicameral Congress, her administration provided strong emphasis on and concern for civil liberties and human rights, on peace talks to resolve the ongoing Communist insurgency and Islamist secession movements. Her economic policies centered on restoring economic health and confidence and focused on creating a market-oriented and responsible economy. In 1987, she became the first Filipino to be bestowed with the prestigious Prize For Freedom Award. Several coup attempts were made against Aquino's government, she was succeeded as President by Fidel Ramos, returned to civilian life while remaining public about her opinions on political issues. In recognition for her role in the world's most peaceful revolution to attain democracy, she was awarded the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1998.
Aquino was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2008. Her monuments of peace and democracy were established in the capital Manila and her home province of Tarlac after her death, her son Benigno Aquino III became President of the Philippines from 30 June 2010 to 30 June 2016. Throughout her life, Aquino was known to be a devout Roman Catholic, was fluent in French, Japanese and English aside from her native Tagalog and Kapampangan, she is regarded by the international diplomatic community as the Mother of Asian and Philippine Democracy. Aquino was born Maria Corazon Sumulong Cojuangco on 25 January 1933 in Paniqui and was the sixth of eight children of José Cojuangco, a former congressman, Demetria Sumulong, a pharmacist, her siblings were Pedro, Teresita, Jose Jr. and Maria Paz. Both Aquino's parents came from prominent clans, her father was a prominent Tarlac businessman and politician, her grandfather, Melecio Cojuangco, was a member of the historic Malolos Congress. Her mother belonged to the Sumulong family of Rizal province who were politically influential.
As a young girl, Aquino spent her elementary school days at St. Scholastica's College in Manila, where she graduated on top of her class as valedictorian, she transferred to Assumption Convent to pursue high school studies. Afterwards and her family went to the United States and attended the Assumption-run Ravenhill Academy in Philadelphia. In 1949, she graduated from Notre Dame Convent School in New York, she pursued her college education in the U. S. graduating from the College of Mount Saint Vincent in 1953 in New York, with a major in French and minor in mathematics. During her stay in the United States, Aquino volunteered for the campaign of U. S. Republican presidential candidate Thomas Dewey against Democratic U. S. President Harry S. Truman during the 1948 U. S. Presidential Election. After graduating from college, she returned to the Philippines and studied law at Far Eastern University in 1953, she met Benigno "Ninoy" S. Aquino Jr.—son of the late Speaker Benigno S. Aquino Sr. and a grandson of General Servillano Aquino.
She discontinued her law education and married Ninoy in Our Lady of Sorrows church in Pasay on 11 October 1954. The couple raised five children: Maria Elena, Aurora Corazon, Benigno Simeon III, Victoria Elisa and Kristina Bernadette. Aquino had had difficulty adjusting to provincial life when she and her husband moved to Concepcion, Tarlac in 1955. Aquino found herself bored in Concepcion, welcomed the opportunity to have dinner with her husband inside the American military facility at nearby Clark Field. Unknown to many, she voluntarily sold some of her prized inheritance to fund the candidacy of her husband, she led a modest existence in a bungalow in suburban Quezon City. A member of the Liberal Party, Aquino's husband Ninoy rose to become the youngest governor in the country and became the youngest senator elected to the Senate of the Philippines in 1967. During her husband's political career, Aquino remained a housewife who helped raise their children and played hostess to her spouse's political allies who would frequent their Quezon City home.
She would decline to join her
Department of Education (Philippines)
The Department of Education is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for ensuring access to, promoting equity in, improving the quality of basic education. It is the main agency tasked to govern the Philippine system of basic education, it is the chief formulator of Philippine education policy and responsible for the Philippine primary and secondary school systems. It has its headquarters at the DepEd Complex in Pasig City; the department is led by the Secretary of Education, nominated by the President of the Philippines and confirmed by the Commission on Appointments. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet; the current Secretary of Education is Leonor Briones. Presently, its mission is to provide quality basic education, equitably accessible to all and lay the foundation for lifelong learning and service for the common good, it has changed its vision statement, removing a phrase that some groups deem to be "too sectarian" for a government institution. During the early Spanish period, education in the Philippines was religion-oriented and was for the elite in the first years of Spanish colonization.
Access to education by Filipinos was liberalized through the enactment of the Educational Decree of 1863, which provided for the establishment of at least one primary school for boys and girls in each town under the responsibility of the municipal government, the establishment of a normal school for male teachers under the supervision of the Jesuits. Primary instruction was secularized and free, the teaching of Spanish was compulsory, it was through this decree that the'Superior Commission of Primary Instruction' was established, the seminal agency of the Department of Education. The defeat of Spain by United States forces in 1898 paved the way for Aguinaldo's Republic under a Revolutionary Government; the schools maintained by Spain for more than three centuries were closed temporarily but were reopened on August 29, 1898 by the Secretary of the Interior. A system of free and compulsory elementary education was established by the Malolos Constitution, under Article 23. However, this first sovereign education system was interrupted in 1899 with the start of the Philippine–American War, was dismantled.
A secularized and free public school system during the first decade of American rule was established upon the recommendation of the Schurman Commission in 1900. Free primary instruction that trained the people for the duties of citizenship was enforced by the Taft Commission as per instructions of US President William McKinley. Chaplains and non-commissioned officers were assigned to teach using English as the medium of instruction. A centralized public school system was instituted in January 1901 by the Taft Commission, by virtue of Act No. 74. This act established the Department of Public Instruction, headed by a General Superintendent; the implementation of this Act created a heavy shortage of teachers so the Philippine Commission authorized the Superintendent of Public Instruction to brin 500 teachers from the United States to the Philippines. They would be popularly known as the Thomasites. In 1908, the Philippine Legislature approved Act No. 1870, creating the University of the Philippines.
The Organic Act of 1916 reorganized the Department of Public Instruction, mandating that it be headed by a Secretary. This act mandated the Filpinization of department secretaries, except that of the Secretary of Public Instruction. During World War II, the department was reorganized once again through the Japanese's Military Order No. 2 in February 1942, splitting the department into the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health and Public Instruction. Under the Japanese, the teaching of Tagalog, Philippine history, character education was given priority. Love for work and the dignity of labor were emphasized. In October 1944, months after Pres. Manuel L. Quezon's death, the department was renamed as the Department of Public Instruction and Information, with Carlos P. Romulo at the helm. Upon the return and resumption of the Commonwealth Government in February 1945, its name was changed to the Department of Instruction. In 1947, by virtue of Executive Order No. 94 by Pres. Manuel Roxas, the department was reorganized to the Department of Education.
During this period, the regulation and supervision of public and private schools belonged to the Bureau of Public and Private Schools. Upon the start of Martial Law in September 1972, it became the Department of Education and Culture and subsequently reorganized into the Ministry of Education and Culture in June 1978 by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 1397, due to the shift to a parliamentary system of government. Thirteen regional offices were created and major organizational changes were implemented in the educational system; the Education Act of 1982 created the Ministry of Education and Sports, which became the Department of Education and Sports in 1987 via Executive Order No. 117 by President Corazon C. Aquino; the structure of DECS as embodied in EO 117 has remained unchanged until 1994, when the Commission on Higher Education was established, in August 25, 1994, when the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority was established to supervise tertiary degree programs and non-degree technical-vocational programs, respectively.
The trifocal education system refocused the department's mandate to basic education which covers elementary and non-formal education, including culture and sports. CHED is responsible for tertiary education, while TESDA now administers the post-secondary, middle-level manpower training and development. In August 2001, the Gov
Metro Manila
Metropolitan Manila is the seat of government and one of the three defined metropolitan areas of the Philippines. It is known as the National Capital Region, is known as Metro Manila or Manila, it is made up of 16 cities namely: the City of Manila, Quezon City, Las Piñas, Malabon, Marikina, Navotas, Parañaque, Pasig, San Juan and Valenzuela, as well as the municipality of Pateros. The region encompasses an area of 619.57 km2 and has a population of 12,877,253 as of 2015. It is the most densely populated region of the Philippines, it is the 9th most populous metropolitan area in Asia and the 5th most populous urban area in the world. The region is the center of culture, economy and government of the Philippines. Designated as a global power city, NCR exerts a significant impact on commerce, media, fashion, technology and entertainment, both locally and internationally, it is the home to all the consulates and embassies in the Philippines, thereby making it an important center for international diplomacy in the country.
Its economic power makes the region the country's premier center for commerce. The region accounts for 37.2% of the gross domestic product of the Philippines. The region was established in 1975 through Presidential Decree No. 824 in response to the needs to sustain the growing population and for the creation for the center of political power and the seat of the Government of the Philippines. The Province of Manila, the predecessor entity of the region, is one of the first eight provinces that revolted against the Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines at the end of the 19th century. Manila's role in the Revolution is honored in the Flag of the Philippines, where the sun's eight rays symbolize the eight revolutionary provinces. A historical province known as Manila encompassed territories once held by various pre-Hispanic polities; this included the well-known Pasig River delta settlements of Maynila and Tondo, but smaller settlements such as those at Tambobong, Taguig and the fortified polity of Cainta.
It became the capital of the colonial Philippines, with Manila serving as the center of colonial power. In 1898, it included the City of 23 other municipalities. Mariquina served as the capital from 1898–1899, just as when the sovereignty of the Philippines was transferred to the United States; the province was dissolved and most of it was incorporated to the newly created province of Rizal in 1901. Since the Spanish colonial period, Manila was considered as one of the original global cities; the Manila galleon was the first known commercially traveled trade route that sailed the Pacific for 250 years, bringing to Spain their cargoes of luxury goods, economic benefits, cultural exchange. During the American period, at the time of the Philippine Commonwealth, American architect and urban designer Daniel Burnham was commissioned to create the grand Plan of Manila to be approved by the Philippine Government; the creation of Manila in 1901 is composed of the places and parishes of Binondo, Intramuros, Manila, Quiapo, San Andrés Bukid, San Fernando de Dilao, San Miguel, San Nicolas, Santa Ana de Sapa, Santa Cruz, Santa Mesa and Tondo.
Meanwhile, the towns and parishes of Caloocan, Las Piñas, Pasig, Parañaque, Navotas, San Juan del Monte, San Pedro de Macati, San Felipe Neri and the Taguig-Pateros area were incorporated into the province of Rizal. Pasig serves as its provincial capital. In 1939, President Quezon established Quezon City with a goal to replace Manila as the capital city of the country. A masterplan for Quezon City was completed; the establishment of Quezon City meant the demise of the grand Burnham Plan of Manila, with funds being diverted for the establishment of the new capital. World War II further resulted in the loss most of the developments in the Burnham Plan, but more the loss of more than 100,000 lives at the Battle of Manila in 1945. On, Quezon City was declared as the national capital in 1948; the title was re-designated back to Manila in 1976 through Presidential Decree No. 940 owing to its historical significance as the uninterrupted seat of government of the Philippines since the Spanish colonial period.
Presidential Decree No. 940 states that Manila has always been to the Filipino people and in the eyes of the world, the premier city of the Philippines being the center of trade, commerce and culture. During the war, President Manuel L. Quezon created the City of Greater Manila as an emergency measure, merging the cities of Manila and Quezon City, along with the municipalities of Caloocan, Las Piñas, Pasig, Parañaque, Navotas, San Juan del Monte, San Pedro de Macati, San Felipe Neri and the Taguig-Pateros area. Jorge Vargas was appointed as its mayor. Mayors in the cities and municipalities included in the City of Greater Manila served as vice mayors in their town; this was in order to ensure Vargas, Quezon's principal lieutenant for administrative matters, would have a position of authority recognized under international military law. The City of Greater Manila was abolished by the Japanese with the formation of the Philippine Executive Commission to govern the occupied regions of the country.
The City of Greater Manila served as a model for the present-day Metro Manila and the administrative functions of the Governor of Metro Manila, established during the Marcos administration. On November 7, 1975, Metro Manila was formally established th
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