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Parañaque

Coordinates: 14°28′N 121°1′E / 14.467°N 121.017°E / 14.467; 121.017
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City of Parañaque
Lungsod ng Parañaque
Parañaque
Parañaque
Official seal of City of Parañaque
Seal
Motto: 
Hataw Parañaque! (Go Parañaque! or Go for it Parañaque!)
Map of Metro Manila showing the location of Parañaque City
Map of Metro Manila showing the location of Parañaque City
Country Philippines
RegionNational Capital Region
Districts1st and 2nd District of Parañaque City
Barangays16
Incorporated (town)November 30, 1572
Incorporated (city)February 15, 1998
Government
 • MayorFlorencio M. Bernabe, Jr. (Lakas-Kampi-CMD
 • Vice MayorGustavo S. Tambunting (Lakas-Kampi-CMD)
 • Sangguniang Panlungsod
Area
 • Total47.69 km2 (18.41 sq mi)
Elevation
12.0 m (39.4 ft)
Population
 (2007)
 • Total552,660
 • Density11,589/km2 (30,020/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+8 (PST)
Area code2
Websitewww.paranaque.gov.ph

The City of Parañaque (Filipino: Lungsod ng Parañaque), or simply Parañaque (pop. 552,660; 2007 Census), is one of the cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila in the Philippines. It is bordered on the north by Pasay, by Taguig to the northeast, Muntinlupa to the southeast, by Las Piñas to the southwest, and by Manila Bay to the west.

Parañaque is also known has a festival called "Sunduan Festival" which held every November during their "Parañaque Day" or "Araw ng Parañaque" Celebration.


Parañaque is famous for many things like Caracol, it is a festivity that revolves around boats. There’s a musical band that performs at the end of the procession with a hermano y hermana mayors in one of the boats waiving and smiling. Another is called Sabong, a form of cockfighting constrained in coliseums.

Like other provinces, Parañaque also celebrated Sinakulo a presentation during the Lenten season. They also have Pasko ng Pagkabuhay (Easter)and Santacruzan (a procession reenacting the search of the True Cross of Christ).

Today, Parañaque is a blossoming city. The country’s international airport can be found here, the popular Baclaran Church as one of the most active parishes in Manila is also here and the Duty Free, where you can buy imported goods.

It is also one of the centers for trade and business in Metro Manila. Around Baclaran, where dry goods market are known was always visited by many people from all over the country. They believed that you could buy products at a very low price. You can also see small fishing villages called “fisherman’s wharf” alongside Barangay La Huerta where you can purchase fresh seafood. (It's where the famous DAMPA can be found)


History

Parañaque was founded in 1572 by the Augustinian Missionaries. Being close to the sea, the Paraqueños (Parañaquense) traded with the Japanese, Chinese, Indonesians, Indians and Malayans. Traditional livelihoods included salt-making, fishing, planting rice, shoemaking, slipper-making and weaving. The community was headed by cabezas de barangay, a westernization of the local chieftains and the principalia, as the local aristocrats were called. They justified and moderated the demands of the Spanish colonizers. Education was limited to the principalia since it is only they who could afford it. The recorded beginnings of Palanyag began in 1580 when Fr. Diego de Espinar, an Augustinian missionary, was appointed Prior or superior of the convent or religious house of the town. As resident priest, he established the mission house there, with its spiritual jurisdiction reaching up to Kawit in the province of Cavite. The Council of the Definitors (or conference of chiefs of the religious orders) held on May 11, 1580, accepted Palanyag as an independent town. The image of Palanyag's patroness, Nuestra Señora del Buen Suceso, was brought to St. Andrew's Church in La Huerta in 1580. Nuestra Señora del Buen Suceso is the 3rd oldest Marian Image in the Philippines.

Early Spanish census dated 1591 to 1593 also mentioned Longalo (or Dongalo) and Parañaque as two villages along Manila Bay composed of some 800 tribute-payers. Politically, Dongalo and Parañaque were then under the Provincia de Tondo.

Historical accounts state that since Palanyag was located at the crossroads of Manila, the provinces of Cavite and Batangas, the town's strategic location enabled the townspeople to play an important role in Philippine history. During the invasion of the town by the forces of the Chinese pirate Limahong in 1574, Parañaque residents, particularly those from Barangay Dongalo, heroically aided in preventing the attack in Manila. This became known as the "Red Sea Incident" due to the blood that flowed as a result of the defense made by the people from barrio Sta. Monica, the barangay's former name. With the arrival of Spanish forces led by Captain Juan de Salcedo from Ilocos, Limahong was finally repulsed and the occupation of the town was prevented.

When the British invaded Manila in 1762, the townspeople once again remained loyal to the Spanish colonizers, especially the Augustinians. The invasion however showed that the power of the Spaniards was not invincible and more than a hundred years later, this would prove to be true. Then came the Philippine Revolution (circa late 19th century) and the Spaniards realized that the town was a practical gateway to Cavite, the bastion of the revolutionary Katipuneros. Conversely to the rebels based in Cavite, they saw the town as their gateway to Intramuros, the Spanish seat of government in Manila. Prominent Paraqueños, like Manuel Quiogue and secular priest Father Pedro Dandan became leading revolutionary figures. When the Americans took over, one of the first towns to have a municipal government was Parañaque.

A burning building along Taft Avenue which was hit during the Japanese air raid in Barrio Parañaque, December 13, 1941.

During the Japanese occupation (circa 1940's), Parañaque supplied the leadership of the guerilla movement like the ROTC Hunters as well as food and arms. Parañaque was one of the first towns to be liberated and its guerillas helped in paving the way for the combined American and Philippine Commonwealth forces to enter the south of Manila. As can be gleaned from the above, Parañaque then and now has and continues to play a strategic role in the Philippines' political and economic progress. Another outstanding feature of this historic town by the bay is the cultivation of its cultural traditions like the Komedya, Sunduan, and Bati-Bati, among others that continue to attract local and foreign tourists alike, especially during the summer months.

On August 21, 1983, Sen. Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr. (the husband of former then-to-be Philippine President Corazon Aquino) was assassinated in Manila International Airport (now Ninoy Aquino International Airport) during the Marcos Administration.

From Palanyag to Parañaque

Palanyag, the old name for the city of Parañaque, loosely translated, means "my beloved", referring to the residents' affection for their hometown. Another explanation of the name comes from the combination of the terms "palayan" and "palalayag", the former meaning rice fields, which the city once abounded in, and the latter pertaining to the sailing and fishing occupation of many of its residents. This was also a sign of cooperation and goodwill between the two major working sectors of the town, the farmers and the fishermen.

It was however a drunken guest, during a certain affair which decided on the final name, who said "Mabuhay ang Palanyag at ang mga taga-Palanyag! (Long live Palanyag and the people of Palanyag!)" So the name stuck from that day on. Another version, according to tradition, was when a Spanish soldier told the driver of his caruaje or horse-drawn carriage, to "Para aqui, para aqui (Stop here, stop here)!" The driver, uncomprehending, kept on prodding his horse to go on while the soldier angrily repeated his instruction: "Para aqui, para aqui!" Onlookers just laughed as the Spaniards said "para aniya aqui para aniya aqui (he said 'stop here' he said 'stop here)." For days the incident was repeated around and term "para aniya aqui" stuck. There is another story that says of an imposing balete tree at the mouth of the Parañaque. It looked like a boat sailing slowly and majestically, earning the Tagalog term Palanyag, a corruption of the term "palayag" which means "point of navigation". Further adulteration of the word later resulted in the word "palanyaque". A historian believes the town's name may have come from the term "palanas" which means a "broad flat plain," the geographic description of Parañaque.

Other origins of the name Parañaque are "palanac" (with no special meaning), "patanyag" or contest for popularity, and "paranac", a native term for the shell product that used to be the livelihood of the natives of the town at one time. Parañaque, in the olden times, was where many people unboard the "kalesa", or horse-drawn carriage and would usually tell the conductor to "para na aque", which literally means "stop now, boy". The word "para", taken from the Spanish word "parar" which means to stop, "na" is a term in the Filipino language which means "now", and "aque" taken from the Filipino term "lalaki" or "lalake", meaning "boy". The phrase "para na aque" was used so often that it eventually evolved into a term pertaining to a place, thus, Parañaque. An alternative meaning of "para na aque" is "stop here", where the term "'aque'" might have also come from the Spanish word "aqui" which means "here". Whatever the correct origin of the name of Parañaque, the various terms strongly suggest the town's storied and mosaic past.

During the Philippine Revolution, Parañaque became one of the hottest battle zones due to its location halfway between the province of Cavite, where the revolutionaries held sway, and Manila, the seat of the Spanish colonial government.

During the American occupation of the Philippines, Parañaque became one of the first municipalities in the Metro Manila region.

Cityhood

Parañaque City was converted as the 11th city in Metro Manila (after sister city Las Piñas City in 1997, the following year later), and chartered and urbanized city by Former President Fidel V. Ramos on February 15, 1998, also the celebration of Parañaque City's 426th Founding Anniversary.

Parañaque City Today

In March 2000, Habalo Bldg. in BF Homes Paranaque City the 1st Starbucks Branch in Paranaque City was opened.

In November 2002, Paranaque City celebrated its 430th Founding Anniversary as a municipality.

In May 2001, SM City Sucat (Formerly SM Supercenter Sucat) was formally launched, and it became the 1st SM Mall Franchise in Parañaque City, the Supercenter was changed later to SM City, and it became a larger and wider mall.

In November 2002, the second SM City mall in Parañaque City was launched, SM City Bicutan, becoming one of the most popular malls in Parañaque City after Uniwide Coastal Mall. The same year Paranaque City celebrated its 430th anniversary of a former municipality now a city.

In February 2003, the City of Parañaque celebrated its 5th Cityhood Anniversary.

In September 2007, the first strip mall located in Sucat, Parañaque City was "Santana Grove". It has more than 10 restaurants and 1 coffee house chain.

In November 2007, Paranaque City celebrated its 435th anniversary of a former municipality now a city.

In February 2008, the City of Parañaque celebrated its 10th Cityhood Anniversary.

In April 2008, the Pergola Lifestyle Mall in BF Homes was formally opened and launched.

In February 2009, Speedworld Motorcross Racing Park was formally opened beside SM Bicutan in West Bicutan, Paranaque City.

In spite of the rapid growth in infrastructure and the revenue that the city has been gaining in the last few years, Parañaque has yet to go back to its "subdivision" roots and address the rising reports in crime - burglary, hold-ups, rape and street gang violence. Most recently, the city has been plagued with crimes involving current call center workers in and around the city. With the upswing in the call center business in last 2 years, Parañaque has yet publicly come out and identify contingencies measures and visibility to protect these wave of employees who are mostly graveyard - 9:00pm to 9:00am, shift workers.

Entertainment City Manila/PAGCOR City

File:PagcorCity-Animation.jpg
PAGCOR City fronting Manila Bay

Entertainment City Manila (also known as Bagong Nayong Pilipino Entertainment City Manila and sometimes called Bagong Nayong Pilipino Manila Bay Tourism City) or simply Pagcor City is Asia's Las Vegas-like gaming and entertainment complex that PAGCOR proposed to offer on 8 km² of land on the reclamation area of Manila Bay, Philippines. It lies the western side of Roxas Boulevard and south of SM Corporate District (SM Mall of Asia), part of Parañaque City (and soon to be independent from Parañaque as part of Metro Manila's newest city). Investments to the project can reach up to $15 billion, which is scaled down from the more recent $20 billion budget announcement that had been previously announced in 2007. All investments will come from private companies.[1] The project is officially named as the "Bagong Nayong Pilipino-Entertainment City Manila", and has been called several other names by the press. The most common name being referenced is "Entertainment City Manila". The site has been declared a PEZA approved economic zone.

Etymology

The name "Parañaque" is derived from the phrase "para na aque," which was commonly used in the past when people wished to disembark from kalesas (horse-drawn carriages). The phrase literally means "stop now, boy": "para" from the Spanish parar (to stop), "na" from the Tagalog word for "now" or "already," and "aque" from the Tagalog word for boy, lalaki. An alternative meaning of "para na aque" could be "stop here," with "aque" being derived from the Spanish aquí ("here").

Notable residents

Government

Districts and barangays

Parañaque is composed of two congressional districts and two legislative districts which are further subdivided into 16 Barangays. Legislative District One contains eight barangays in the western half of the city, while legislative District Two contains the eight barangays in the eastern portion of the city.

While barangays are the administrative divisions of the city, and are legally part of the addresses of establishments and homes, many residents indicate their subdivision (village) instead of their barangay.

Listed below are the barangays in each district and some notable subdivisions.

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