Valenzuela, Metro Manila

Valenzuela, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines’ National Capital Region, sits about 14 kilometers north of Manila on the island of Luzon. Landlocked, it covers 45.75 square kilometers and borders Bulacan province to the north, Caloocan and Quezon City to the east, and Malabon to the southwest, with the Tullahan River forming part of that boundary. The 2024 census recorded 725,173 residents, making it one of the nation’s most densely populated cities—the 7th most populous in Metro Manila and the 11th in the entire country. Its population is predominantly Tagalog, and it is classified as a first-class, highly urbanized city under Republic Acts 7160 and 8526.

The city’s history begins in 1623, when the town of Polo was established after separating from Meycauayan, Bulacan. During the Philippine–American War, the Battle of Malinta was fought there in 1899. In 1960, President Carlos P. Garcia ordered Polo’s southern barangays to split off and form a new town named Valenzuela, honoring Pío Valenzuela, a physician and Katipunan member. However, President Diosdado Macapagal revoked that split in 1963 following political disagreements, and the merged town kept the name Valenzuela. In 1975, Valenzuela was transferred from Bulacan to Metro Manila, becoming the only part of the modern National Capital Region that had never belonged to Spanish-era Manila, American-era Rizal province, or the wartime City of Greater Manila. Its current borders were set when it was granted a city charter and became a highly urbanized city on December 30, 1998.

The name Valenzuela comes from Pío Valenzuela y Alejandrino’s surname. He was part of the Katipunan Triumvirate that sparked the 1896 Philippine Revolution and served as the organization’s provisional chairman. In Spanish, Valenzuela is a diminutive of Valencia, meaning “little Valencia.” Before 1960, the area was called Polo, derived from the Tagalog *pulô* (“island” or “islet”), because rivers completely surrounded the town, giving the impression of an island—even though it wasn’t one.

During the Spanish era, present-day Valenzuela, Obando, and Novaliches (now in Quezon City) were all part of Bulacan. The area that became Valenzuela included four haciendas (Malinta, Tala, Piedad, and Maysilo), small political settlements, and a Spanish garrison, collectively known as Polo. It was bounded by the Tullahan River to the south and streams from the Río Grande de Pampanga. When Manila became an archdiocese in 1595, Franciscan friars in Meycauayan decided that the sitio of Polo needed its own church. Through efforts by Friar Juan Taranco and Don Juan Monsód, Polo and Catanghalan (now part of Obando) were separated from Meycauayan on November 7, 1621, with St. Didacus of Alcalá (San Diego de Alcalá) as the new town’s patron. Monsód became the first cabeza de barangay, and Taranco led the parish from a small tavern—the site of today’s San Diego de Alcalá Church. Governor-General Alonso Fajardo de Entenza confirmed the separation by proclamation on November 12, 1623, which the National Historical Commission of the Philippines later recommended as the city’s foundation day, due to uncertainty about the exact date of the town’s creation.

Construction of a parochial church for St. Didacus began in 1627, supervised by José Valencia and Juan Tibay. The first structure was completed in 1632, but its bell was looted during a Chinese uprising in 1635, when Chinese merchants lived mainly in Barrio Pariancillo behind the church. In 1852, Fr. Vicente directed repairs and remodeling, and the church was re-dedicated to Nuestra Señora de la Inmaculada Concepción. A convent and a common house (casa tribunal) with a rectangular prison cell and a stone schoolhouse were also built. On June 3, 1865, a strong earthquake destroyed the church’s belfry, followed by an epidemic that killed thousands. On May 14, 1753, Governor-General Francisco Jose de Obando y Solis ordered a new pueblo carved from Polo’s northwestern area, named Obando in his honor and incorporated into Bulacan. During the British occupation of Manila from 1762 to 1764, Simón de Anda y Salazar’s colonial government fled to Bacolor, Pampanga via Polo. The British pursued him, staying in sitio Mabolo while awaiting orders from civil Governor Dawsonne Drake, and explored nearby communities including Malanday, Wakas, Dalandanan, Pasolo, Rincon, and Malinta. The local population was frightened.