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There is more
to San Juan than its colorful political and
cultural history. The city has improved
considerably all these years and merit must
be given to the local government's constant
effort to address the fundamental economic,
social and political concerns, especially
the enforcement of laws and anti-crime
campaigns, to make it better and safer place
to live and to do business.
San Juan is officially named,
Municipality of San Juan del Monte
before it is converted into a highly
urbanized City of San Juan in June
17, 2007. It is located nearly in the center
of Metro Manila; bordered by Quezon City to
the north and east, Mandaluyong City to the
south, and Manila to the west. It is the
second smallest among the cities and
municipalities in the metropolis.
It is a small, congested city and one of the
smallest political subdivisions of the
metropolis. It has a total land area of 5.94
sq. kms., that accounts for less than one
percent of the total area of the National
Capital region. It has a population of
204,382 as of the year 2006.
History
During the pre-Spanish times, San Juan was a
mere village until it became a small
encomienda in 1590. Formerly a barrio of
Santa Ana de Sapa, which was ruled by King
Lacantagean and his wife Bouan, the town
derived its name from the patron saint San
Juan de Bautista (Saint John the Baptist),
and “Del Monte,” often annexed to it, was
named after the hilly structure of the land.
In 1602, the Dominican friars built a
retreat house for their immediate use, where
aging convalescing friars stayed. Later, the
Dominicans Constructed a convent sanctuary
and a stone church dedicated to the Holy
Cross, a church destined to be ravaged
during the Spanish occupation. To this day,
the thrice-rebuilt church of the Holy Cross
stands on the same site, with the Aquinas
School for the boys and the Dominican
College for the girls. In 1783, San Juan
became independent of Sta. Ana but it was
still then a barrio.
History remained silent in the town of San
Juan until August 30, 1896 when
Spanish-Filipino war erupted and became the
most inspiring battle in our history, the
Battle of San Juan Del Monte.
Conversion
of the Municipality of San Juan into a
Highly-Urbanized City
For quite some
time, the effort to convert the Municipality
into a highly-urbanized city had been
difficult. Not only because of its small
land area and limited income, but its
population, according the National
Statistics Office, seemed to be decreasing
every census year despite the influx of
people due to establishment of high-rise
condominiums and business enterprises in the
municipality.
In 2006,
Representative Ronaldo Zamora re-filed the
cityhood bill in the House of
Representatives geared with a special
computation of its population and boasting
of the remarkable 200% increase in its
income. It was approved and later forwarded
to the Philippine Senate. Both Houses
approved the bill and, on March 2008, it was
transmitted to the Office of the President
for signature. The 30-day veto period lapsed
which automatically entitled the provision
to a plebiscite.
After months of
campaign, the plebiscite was held and
received more than 96% of YES votes. On June
17, 2008, Republic Act 9388 Converting the
Municipality of San Juan into a Highly
Urbanized City was approved.
Location and General Description
San Juan is a small congested City located
in the heart of Metro Manila. It is among
the smallest political subdivisions of the
Metropolis. Its land area of 5.94 sq. kms.
accounts for less than 1 percent of the
region. Located in the very center of the
Metropolis, it is bounded by Manila in the
west, Quezon City in the north and
Mandaluyong in the east and south, at
coordinates 12º 36’ latitude due north and
121º 02 longitude due east.
San Juan may be described as a congested
town with very little space for expansion.
It is predominantly residential with
scattered commercial and manufacturing
establishments. The City is politically
divided into 2 Districts with 10 barangays
in District 1 and 11 barangays in District
2.
Because of its
central location and its accessibility to
and from all points of the region, San Juan
has attracted migrants from other areas. The
presence of squatter settlements is a
problem the city government has to
perennially contend with.
Physical Features
Physiography
and Terrain
San Juan is composed entirely of undulating
low grade tuffaceous plateau of soil. This
means that it has the depth and stability to
carry almost any type of construction and it
has the ability to absorb and hold water.
Most of San
Juan’s terrain is gently rolling with a
predominant slope of 2 – 12%. However there
are flat areas with a slope of 0 –1%
scattered along the western boundary and
other parts of the city. Except for these
flat areas, the physiography and terrain of
San Juan make it ideal for urban
development.
Flood and
Earthquake Risk
Being in the heart of region’s central
plateau, the city is free of earthquake
damage risks.
However, areas along the western boundary
rimmed by the San Juan River are sometimes
visited by floods are barangays Salapan,
Balong Bato, Progreso, Rivera, San Perfecto,
Batis and sometimes Kabayanan.
Land Use
Of the city’s 5.94 square kilometers total
land area, about 63.5% square or 3.77 square
kilometers are residential, 16% or 0.95
square kilometers is road network 8.9% or
0.53 square kilometer is commercial, 6.7% or
0.40 square kilometer is institutional and
the remaining 4.9% or 0.29 square kilometer
is industrial.
Approximately, 10% of San Juan has been
rendered unfit for development due to high
flood risk and level slope. However, the
remaining 90% has very good capacities for
urban development.
Based on the proposed land use, the land
area intended for commercial use rose
significantly to 0.99 square kilometer,
representing 17% of the town’s total land
area intended for commercial use rose
significantly to 0.99 square kilometer,
representing 17% of the town’s total land
area. Land area proposed for institutional
use also expanded to 0.42 square kilometer,
accounting for 7.1% of the total. On the
other hand, land area designed for
residential and industrial uses were reduced
to 3.54 and 0.05 square kilometers,
respectively. Meanwhile, the land area for
road network is still the same at 0.95
square kilometer.
Natural
Drainage
Aside from the San Juan River which runs
along the western order of the municipality,
two narrow creeks outline the north western
and south western borders of San Juan. The
Ermitaño creek from the northern border of
Barangay Pasadena near the creek are also
visited by floods due to the presence of the
creek.
Maytunas creek, on the other hand, runs
along the southern border of the
municipality but hardly causes flooding on
the surrounding areas.
Population and Demography
Considered as the second smallest in the
metropolis, the population of San Juan
exhibited a downward trend. From 126,708
inhabitants in 1990, the city’s total
population slid to 120,752 in 2002 or a
reduction of 4.7%. As a matter of fact, from
1990 onwards, an annual decline in the
population has been observed, averaging at
0.39%. This was a stark contrast to the
city’s total population of 129,833 in 1980,
whose growth was attributed to both
migration and natural increase. The town’s
total population represents 1.2% of the
region’s total.
While a drop in the town’s population was
reported, increases in the number of
inhabitants were registered in some of its
barangays. From the year 2000 to 2002,
population growths were reported in eight
barangays, with barangay Rivera and St.
Joseph registering the biggest growth rates
of 26% and 21%, respectively. Other
barangays, which exhibited increases in
population, include Greenhills, Sta. Lucia,
San Perfecto, Salapan, Progreso and
Isabelita.
Although San Juan’s total population
decreases, its population density on the
other hand, rises. Population density is the
number of persons per unit of area. From
21,323 persons per square kilometer in 1990,
the town’s population density rose to 21,063
persons per square kilometer in 2003.
This indicates that San Juan is becoming
less densely populated as the number of
people, who live on each square kilometer of
its total land area, has reduced to 21,063
persons per square kilometer in 2003 from
21,323 persons per square in 1990.
Of the municipality’s total population, 53%
or 64,537 are males while 47% or 56,215 are
females.
The population of San Juan is relatively
young. 27% or 32,165 people of the town’s
inhabitants belong to the age bracket under
1-14 years old.
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