Makati

Makati City is one of the most important cities in the Philippines in terms of finance and commerce. A suburb of the capital, Manila, Makati is one of the cities and municipalities that comprise Metro Manila—the National Capital Region. Makati is often referred to as the Business Capital of the Philippines since many companies have their offices and headquarters in the city. Makati is also home to the influential Makati Business Club and the Philippine Stock Exchange.

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

City of Makati

Region: National Capital Region (NCR)

Founded:

Population:

2000 census—444,867.

Density—16,260 per km².

Area: 27.3 km²

Barangays: 33

Congressional districts: 1st and 2nd districts of Makati City

Class: 1st class; urban

Makati is noted for its highly cosmopolitan culture. Many expatriates live and work in the city. Makati is also home to many first-class shopping malls such as Ayala Center and Rockwell Center. The city also has many of the country's five-star hotels like The Peninsula Manila, the Mandarin Oriental, and the Shangri-la Makati Hotel.

Makati came from the Tagalog word kati, which means tide. Geologists have hypothesized that the Manila Bay was once larger than it is now and its shoreline reached up to Makati. Due to thousands of years of sedimention caused by the Pasig River, on the city's northern border, new land was reclaimed from the sea and formed the river delta on which Manila now stands. Makati literally means a place of tides.

Today the city is one of the most modern cities in the country. However, it faces challenges due to the disparate gap between the new city in the west, which contains the Central Business District, and the old city in the east, which is largely poor and where most of the city's slums are located.

The City

Makati is located within the quadrangle of 12′011″ °north and 14′331″ °E right at the center of Metro Manila. The city is bounded on the north by the Pasig River, facing Mandaluyong City, on the northeast by Pasig City, on the southeast by the municipalities of Pateros and Taguig, on the northwest by the City of Manila, and on the southwest by Pasay City. Makati has a total land area of 27.36 square kilometers; it constitutes 4.3 percent of Metro Manila's total land area.

At the center of the city is the Central Business District (CBD) where many companies in the Philippines have their offices or headquarters. This is where many of the country's tallest skyscrapers are located. The Makati skyline is one of the most impressive sights in Metro Manila.

Two of Metro Manila's main arteries pass through Makati. The Epifanio De los Santos Avenue (EDSA) pass along the southeast part of Makati and connects the city with Mandaluyong City and Pasay City. The South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) runs through the western part of Makati and connects the city with Manila to the north and with southern Metro Manila. The Skyway, an elevated highway built on top of SLEX provides residents coming from southern Metro Manila a fast way to reach Makati. SLEX and EDSA intersect at the Magallanes Interchange, which is the most complex system of elevated roadways in Metro Manila.

Other major roads in Makati include Buendia Avenue, also called Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue, which connects EDSA and SLEX in the north; Ayala Avenue, an important street that runs through the Central Business District; and Makati Avenue, which connects Ayala Avenue with Buendia Avenue.

Population

Makati City has a population of 444,867, according to the 2000 Census. This figure represents an increase of 39,824 or 8 per cent over the 1995 Census figure. Among the cities and municipalities in Metro Manila, Makati ranks fifth in population, with a 5 percent share. In a span of 97 years, Makati's population grew 193 times. The 1903 Census placed the population at 2,700.

Although its population is slightly less than half a million, the daytime population of Makati City is estimated to be a million during the weekdays because of the large number of people who go to the city to work, shop, and do business, especially in the Central Business District.

Central Business District

The Central Business District (CBD) is where most of Makati's financial resources is concentrated. This is an informal district bounded by Buendia Avenue, Makati Avenue, Ayala Avenue, Pasay Road, and Pasong Tamo. It mainly encompasses Legaspi Village, Salcedo Village, and parts of Bel-Air.

Many skyscrapers rise in this area. PBCom Towes, the country's tallest building reaches up ??? meters along Ayala Avenue.

The Philippine Stock Exchange, also along Ayala Avenue is the headquarters

Shopping centers

Ayala Center, along EDSA and Ayala Avenue is the most known commercial center in the City. Developed by the Ayala Corporation, it contains two shopping malls, five hotels, and an office building. The larger of the two shopping malls is Glorietta. Rising from Glorietta 4 is the Oakwood Premier Hotel. Along the periphery of Glorietta are three department stores: SM Makati, Rustan's, and the Landmark. Across Makati Avenue from Glorietta is the Greenbelt Mall. This is one of the most beautiful malls in the country. Greenbelt features dozens of coffee stores and restaurants, all overlooking a well-maintained public park at the center of which is a domed Catholic chapel. Other hotels in Ayala Center are the Makati Shangri-la Hotel, the Dusit Hotel Nikko Manila Garden, the Hotel Intercontinental Manila, and the New World Renaissance Hotel.

Rockwell Center is the other first-class shopping center in Makati. Rockwell features the large Power Plant Mall popular with expatriates. At the periphery of the center are many high-class residential condominium towers.

Other shopping centers. The Cash and Carry Supermarket in the west along South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) features many products at low prices. Makati Cinema Square, along Pasong Tamo Road, used to be a popular shopping mall with the residents. The Guadalupe Commercial Center, along EDSA and Pasig River is a middle-class shopping center frequented by residents from the poorer areas of Makati.

Housing and Residences

Many of the country's wealthiest families live in Forbes Park and Dasmariñas Village, on the other side of EDSA from the Central Business District. Other well-to-do people live in Urdaneta Village, San Antonio Village, San Lorenzo Village, Bel-Air, and Magallanes Village; others live in condominium and apartment units in the Central Business District in Salcedo and Legaspi Villages. Most of the poor residents of the city live in the city's periphery at Bangkal and especially in the eastern portions of Guadalupe, Rembo, Cembo, Pembo, and Comembo.

Housing, especially for the poor residents of the city, remains an acute problem. Many people in the provinces migrate to Metro Manila looking for better living. Subsequently, many of them end up squatting in many areas of the metropolis. In Makati, the squatters live in poor shanties along Pasig River and in the eastern areas.

Education

Educational Institutions in Makati:

University of Makati (Pamantasan ng Makati)
Colegio de San Agustin
Assumption College
Don Bosco Technical Institute
Colegio de Sta. Rosa
Makati Science High School
Makati High School
General Pio Del Pilar National High School
Fort Bonifacio National High School
San Isidro National High School
Benigno Aquino National High School
San Antonio National High School

Transportation

Makati is a short drive from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and the Manila Domestic Airport. Buses plying the Epifanio De los Santos Avenue (EDSA) route from Baclaran in Paranaque to Quezon City and Calookan City pass through the Central Business District daily. Jeepneys ply Makati's inner roads, and connect the city to its surrounding towns and cities. The Metropolitan Rail Transit (MRT) on EDSA has three stations located in Makati: Guadalupe, Buendia and Ayala Avenue.

Government

Like other cities in the Philippines, Makati City is governed by a Mayor and Vice mayor elected to three-year terms. The Mayor is the executive head and leads the City departments in executing the city ordinances and improving public services. The Vice mayor heads a legislative council consisting of 10 members. The council is in charge of creating the city's policies.

Makati City, being a part of the Metro Manila region has its mayor in the Metro Manila Council headed by the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA). This council formulates development plans that seeks to solve the problems and improve the conditions in the metropolis.

Makati city is divided into 33 barangays (the smallest local government units) which handles governance in a much smaller area. These barangays are grouped into two congressional districts where each district is represented by a congressman in the country's House of Representatives. Congressional District I occupies the western and modern half of the city, while District II covers the poorer half.

Barangay	Population¹	Area²	District
Bangkal	27,652	74.4581	1st
Bel-Air	6,054	170.57	1st
Carmona	4,344	33.8672	1st
Cembo	26,880	24.9247	2nd
Comembo	15,555	26.8790	2nd
Dasmarinas	6,767	26.8790	1st
East Rembo	22,939	47.5842	2nd
Forbes Park	3,807	252.6642	1st
Guadalupe Nuevo	24,803	57.4931	2nd
Guadalupe Viejo	13,250	62.0934	2nd
Kasilawan	6,274	9.2284	1st
La Paz	9,609	31.8110	1st
Magallanes	6,963	119.8220	1st
Olympia	22,414	44.3766	1st
Palanan	18,635	65.3886	1st
Pembo	51,570	123.0850	2nd
Pingkaisahan	7,778	123.0850	2nd
Pio del Pilar	23,283	64.6802	1st
Pitogo	13,459	14.0373	2nd
Poblacion	17,836	103.5215	1st
Post Proper Northside	6,816		2nd
Post Proper Southside	16,458		2nd
Rizal	10,527		2nd
San Antonio	12,227	89.1309	1st
San Isidro	10,631	50.0824	1st
San Lorenzo	5,264	209.3586	1st
Santa Cruz	8,802	47.33374	1st
Singkamas	8,487	18.5965	1st
South Cembo	13,343	19.8749	2nd
Tejeros	20,535	28.6478	1st
Urdaneta	3,575	73.7564	1st
Valenzuela	7,567	23.9936	1st
West Rembo	30,072	53.7558	2nd

¹ 2000 Census
² in hectares

History

External Links

Official website of City of Makati

Metro Manila: