1. The National Capital Region The National Capital Region, more popularly known as Metro Manila, is the
Philippines in microcosm. It is the country's premier region located in the central part of Luzon. It is the
country's political, economic, social, educational, recreational and cultural hub that it exerts a dominant
influence on the rest of the country's regions. Emerging from a small tribal settlement on the banks of the Pasig
river near the mouth of Manila Bay, NCR has grown into a thriving, urban sprawl consisting of 17 contiguous
areas. History tells us that Metro Manila first spread along an area south of the Pasig River and flat coastal
lands between Manila Bay and the Marikina Valley. A large portion of the Manila Bay was reclaimed to the
west in the 1980's to cover a wider urbanized area. The National Capital Region is the country's capital and
considered the nation's gateway to the world. It remains the country's major commercial, financial and
educational center and the heart of the country's national government. Its strategic location enables the
formation of the nation's economic, political and social structure that trickles down to the countryside. Since
1975, Metro Manila has been designated the National Capital Region. At present, 14 cities and 3 municipalities
comprise the National Capital Region. Its 14 cities include: Manila, Quezon City, Caloocan, Pasay, Parañaque,
Makati, Taguig, Pasig, Mandaluyong, Malabon, Muntinlupa, Valenzuela, Marikina, and Las Piñas. While the
three municipalities are Pateros, San Juan and Navotas. The metropolis lists several trading centers and
shopping malls, including the Ayala Center, Greenbelt Shopping Center, Landmark (Makati), the SM malls in
Mandaluyong, Quezon City, Las Pinas and Manila, Robinson's malls in Pasig, Manila, Las Pinas; Rustan's
Department Stores, Festival mall, and the Tutuban Center. Recent additions are major commercial centers
such as The Fort Bonifacio Business Park and the Rockwell Center in Makati. Metro Manila is also home to the
major financing institutions including the Asian Development Bank (ADB). There are 47 commercial banks, 16
thrift banks and two (2) specialized government banks to date. There are 81 higher educational institutions
including and 1,559 elementary and secondary schools in the metropolis posting a literacy rate of 92.4 percent.
Noted educational institutions such as the Asian Institute of Management (AIM), University of Asia and the
Pacific (UAP), University of the Philippines, the International School, Ateneo de Manila, University of Santo
Tomas and De La Salle University are among the many that can be found here.
The National Capital Region (NCR) or Metropolitan Manila is the Republic of the Philippines’ premier urban
area. It is the center of the country’s political, economic and educational setting. The Metropolis is divided into
four (4) districts with four (4) cities as its centers: First District – Manila; Second District – Quezon City, Pasig
City, Marikina City, Mandaluyong City and San Juan; Third District – Caloocan City, Malabon, Navotas and
Valenzuela City; and Fourth District – Pasay City, Makati City, Parañaque City, Muntinlupa City, Las Piñas
City, Pateros and Taguig. The sixteen (16) cities and one (1) municipality is located along the flat alluvial and
deltaic lands around the mouth of Pasig River and extends to the higher rugged lands surrounding Marikina
Valley in the East. It is bounded by Manila Bay in the West, the Sierra Mountains in the East, the fertile plains
of Central Luzon in the North, and Laguna Bay in the South. Its principal river, Pasig, extends from Laguna
Lake in the East to Manila Bay in the West, virtually bisecting the area horizontally. Total Land Area of the
NCR: 636 square kilometers Socio-Economic Profile NCR is characterized by the concentration of economic,
social and political activities as evidenced by the presence of 90 out of 100 biggest corporations in the country.
About 90% of the internal revenue collection for the entire country is taken from the area and almost 80% of
the national imports enter through its harbors. The various types of industries operating in Metro Manila are
food manufacturing, lumber and wood products, stone, clay and glass products, electrical and electronic
products, metals, chemical allied products, aggregate products, apparel and textile products, petroleum,
gasoline stations, plastic manufacturing, animal feeds, fabricated metals, tobacco, cigar and cigarette
manufacturing, printing and publishing, transport services, miscellaneous products, construction, rubber
products, commercial centers, dyeing and laundry services, condominiums and hotels, cordage, cosmetic,
soap and detergent, pharmaceutical, power plants, hospitals, memorial parks, piggery and poultry
manufacturing, pulp and paper. Metro Manila is one of the largest in the Asia Pacific Region and projected to
be a Megapolis in the year 2004. It is the 18 th largest Metropolitan area in the world. Its estimated population
of 11,553,427 accounts from 13% of the national population and about one third of the total urban population.
Metro Manila is predominantly Catholic, being a bastion of Catholicism as early as the Spanish times.
However, churches or chapels of other religious denominations like the Iglesia ni Kristo, numerous Protestants
groups, as well as Muslim mosques can also be seen all over the Metropolis.